This page was corrected according to Additions and Corrections that appear in the 1910 edition.
§ 63 q. (ζ) With the Qameṣ of the plural forms of בַּ֫יִת house (thus בָּֽתִּ֫ים bâttím, cf. § 96 under בַּיִת), and with אָֽנָּ֫ה[1] prithee! to guard against the pronunciation bŏttím, ŏnnā.—Every kind of light Mèthĕg may in certain circumstances be changed into a conjunctive accent, e.g. בָּ֣תִּים 2 Ch 34, &c.
[g] 2. The grave Mèthĕg (Gaʿyā in the more limited sense) is especially employed in the following cases in order more distinctly to emphasize a short vowel or an initial Šewâ: (a) with the Pathaḥ of the article or of the prefixes ב, כ, ל, when followed by (Šewâ under a consonant without (Dageš, e.g. הַֽמְסִלָּה, לַֽמְסִלָּה &c., but not before יְ (before which וַ also remains without Mèthĕg, with the exception of וַֽיְהִי and וַֽיְחִי when they are followed by Maqqēph, or accented with Pašṭā), nor before the tone-syllable of a word, and neither before nor after the common Mèthĕg; likewise not in words which are connected by a conjunctive accent with the following word; (b) with the interrogative הַ with Pathaḥ (except when it precedes יְ, Dageš forte or the tone-syllable of the word), e.g. הַֽאֵלֵךְ. When a Šewâ follows the הַ and after the Šewâ there is an untoned syllable, Baer places the Mèthĕg to the right of the Pathaḥ , e.g. הֽ͏ַבְרָכָה[critic 1] Gn 27 (but ed. Mant. and Ginsb. הַֽב׳); (c) with the Pathaḥ or Segôl[critic 2] of the article before a guttural (which cannot take Dageš), e.g. הַֽחַיִּים, הֶֽהָרִים.—The Šewâ-Gaʿyā (־ְֽ) is especially important in the accentuation of the תא״ם, for purposes of musical recitation; it stands chiefly in words whose principal tone is marked by a disjunctive without a preceding conjunctive, e.g. וְֽהָיָ֗ה ψ 1.
[h] 3. The euphonic Gaʿyā, to ensure the distinct pronunciation of those consonants which in consequence of the loss of the tone, or because they close a syllable, might easily be neglected, e.g. וַיִּשָּ֫בַֽע לוֹ Gn 24; פַּדֶּ֫נָֽה אֲרָם (here to avoid a hiatus) 28, or in such cases as רֽוּחַֽ־אֵל Jb 33, &c.; תַּֽדְשֵׁא Gn 1.
[i] Mèthĕg (especially in the cases mentioned in 1, b, a) is a guide to correct pronunciation, since it distinguishes ā from ŏ (except in the case noted in § 9 v, b) and î from ĭ; e.g. אָֽכְלָ֫ה ʾā-khelā (she has eaten), but אָכְלָ֫ה ʾŏkhlā (food), since the ־ָ stands here in a toneless closed syllable, and must therefore be a short vowel; thus also יִֽרְא֫וּ yî-reʾû (they fear), but יִרְא֫וּ yirʾû (they see), יִֽשְׁנ֫וּ (they sleep), but יִשְׁנ֫וּ (they repeat). The Jewish grammarians, however, do not consider the syllables lengthened by Mèthĕg as open. They regard the Šewâ as quiescent in cases like אָֽכְלָה and belonging to the preceding vowel; cf. Baer, Thorat ʾEmeth, p. 9, and in Merx's Archiv, i. p. 60, Rem. I, and especially Dikduke ha-ṭeamim, p. 13.
On Qerê and Kethîbh see Ginsburg, Intr., p. 183 ff.
[a] 1. The margin of Biblical MSS. and editions exhibits variants of an early date (§ 3 c), called קְרֵי[2] to be read, since, according to
- ↑ The common form is אָֽנָּ֫א with an accent on both syllables, in which case, according to Qimḥi, the tone is always to be placed on the former. For the above mode of writing and position of the tone cf. Is 38, Jon 1, 4, ψ 116. [Editions often vary in individual passages, as regards the accentuation of the first syllable: but in the 7 occurrences of אנא, and the 6 of אנה, Baer, Ginsburg, and Kittel agree in having an accent on both syllables (as אָ֣נָּ֗א) in Gn 50, Ex 32, ψ 116, and Metheg on the first syllable and an accent on the second syllable (as אָֽנָּ֣ה) in 2 K 20=Is 38, Jon 1, 4, ψ 116, 118, Dn 9, Ne 1, except that in ψ 116 Ginsburg has אָנָּ֥ה.—S. R. D.]
- ↑ On the necessity of the punctuation קְרֵי as passive participle ( = legendum) instead of קְרִי Qeri, which was formerly common but is properly a past tense (lectum est), see Kautzsch, Gramm. des Bibl.-Aram., p. 81, note.
