closed final syllable, and ŏ in a toneless syllable, e.g. יָקוּם he will arise, יָקֹם jussive, let him arise, וַיָּ֫קָם and he arose. The only instance of ŭ in an ultima which has lost the tone is וַיָּ֫רֻם Ex 16 (see § 67 n). Similarly, of vowels of the I-class, ê, î, and ē stand in a tone-bearing closed final syllable, and ĕ in a toneless syllable, e.g. יָקֵים he will raise, יָקֵם let him raise, וַיָּ֫קֶם and he raised. The only instance of ĭ in an ultima which has lost the tone is וַתָּ֫רִץ Ju 9 (see § 67 p).
2. In the place of a Pathaḥ we not infrequently find (according to § 9 f) a Seghôl (ĕ, è) as a modification of ă:
[p] (a) In a closed antepenultima, e.g. in the proper names אֶבְיָתָר and אֶבְיָסָף, where LXX Ἀβι- = אַבְי׳, which is certainly the better reading, cf. Ulmer, Die semit. Eigennamen, 1901, p. 12: or in a closed penultima, e.g. יֶהְדֹּף, but also יֶדְכֶם your hand, for yadekhèm. In all these cases the character of the surrounding consonants (see § 6 q) has no doubt had an influence.
[q] (b) Regularly before a guttural with Qameṣ or Ḥaṭeph Qameṣ, where the strengthening has been dropped, provided that a lengthening of the Pathaḥ into Qameṣ be not necessary, e.g. אֶחָיו his brothers, for ’aḥāw; כֶּחָשׁ false, for kaḥāš; פֶּחָה governor, constr. st. פַּחַת; פֶּחָם coal; הֶחָי the living (with the article, הֶ for הַ); יִתְנֶחָם Nu 23, &c., and so always before הָ and חֳ, as הֶֽחֳדָשִׁים the months, see § 35 k. Before הָ and עָ Seghôl generally stands only in the second syllable before the tone, e.g. הֶֽהָרִים the mountains; הֶֽעָוֹן the guilt; immediately before the tone Pathaḥ is lengthened into a (pretonic) Qameṣ, e.g. הָהָר, הָעָם; but cf. also הִטֶּהָ֫רוּ Nu 8. Before the weak consonants א and ר (cf. § 22 c, q), the lengthening of the Pathaḥ into Qameṣ almost always takes place, e.g. הָאָב the father, pl. הָֽאָבוֹת; הָרֹאשׁ the head, pl. הָֽרָאשִׁים. Exceptions, הֶ֫רָה towards the mountain, Gn 14, in the tone-syllable, for hárrā; יְבֶֽרֶכְיָ֫הוּ (pr. name) for יְבָֽרֶכְיָהוּ. On הֶ as a form of the interrogative הֲ (הַ), see § 100 n; on מֶה for מָה (מַהּ), § 37 e, f. Finally, אֲכֶלְךָ֫ Ex 33 also comes partly under this head, in consequence of the loss of the strengthening, for אֲכַלְּךָ, and יְחֶזְקֵאל Ezekiel for יְחַזְּקֵאל = יְחַזֵּקְאֵל God strengthens.
[r] (c) As a modification of the orIginal Pathaḥ in the first class of the segholate forms (§ 93 g), when a helping vowel (§ 28 e) is inserted after the second consonant. Thus the ground-form kalb (dog), after receiving a helping Seeghôl, is modified into כֶּ֫לֶב (also in modern Arabic pronounced kelb),[1] yarḥ (month), with a helping Pathaḥ, יֶ֫רַח. The same phenomenon appears also in the formation of verbs, in cases like יֶ֫גֶל (jussive of the Hiphʿîl of גָּלָה), with a helping Seeghôl, for yagl.
[s] 3. The attenuation of ă to ĭ is very common in a toneless closed syllable.
(a) In a firmly closed syllable, מִדּוֹ his measure, for מַדּוֹ (in a sharpened syllable); יְלִדְתִּ֫יךָ I have begotten thee, from יָלַ֫דְתִּי with the suffix ךָ; cf. Lv 11, Ez 38, and § 44 d. Especially is this the case in a large number of segholates
- ↑ So the LXX write Μελχισεδέκ for מַלְכִּיצֶ֫דֶק.
