§ 21. The Aspiration of the Tenues.1

a

The harder sound of the six Begadkephath letters, indicated by Dagesëlene, is to be regarded, according to the general analogy of languages, as their older and original pronunciation, from which the softer sound was weakened (§ 6 n and § 13). The original hard sound is maintained when the letter is initial, and after a consonant, but when it immediately follows a vowel or ewaÒ mobile it is softened and aspirated by their influence, e.g. #r;P' paÒrasÌ, #rop.yI yiphroÒsÌ, lKo koÒl, lkol. lekhoÒl. Hence the Begadkephath take Dagesë lene

b

(1) at the beginning of words: (a) without exception when the preceding word ends with a vowelless consonant, e.g, !Ke-l[; ¸al-keÒn (therefore), yrIPe #[eeÒsÌ periÖ (fruit-tree); (b) at the beginning of a section, e.g. tyviareB. Gn 1:1, or at the beginning of a sentence, or even of a minor division of a sentence after a distinctive accent (§ 15 d), although the preceding word may end with a vowel. The distinctive accent in such a case prevents the vowel from influencing the following tenuis, e.g. rv,a]K†; yhi¨y>w: and it was 80, that when, Ju 11:5 (but !ke-yhiy>w*; Gn 1:7).

c

Rem. 1. The vowel letters hàyàwàa, as such, naturally do not close a syllable. In close connexion they are therefore followed by the aspirated Begadkephath, e.g. Hb' ac'mä'W, &c. On the other hand, syllables are closed by the consonantal w and y (except Whtoñ-wq; Is 34:11; Hb'ƒ wälev' Ez 23:42; ~b'ƒ yn"doa] y Ps 68:18), and by H with Mappiq; hence e.g. there is Dagesë lene in ~h,yPi yæl;[' and always after hAhy>, since the QereÖ perpetuum of this word (§ 17) assumes the reading yn"doa].

d

2. In a number of cases Dagesë lene is inserted, although a vowel precedes in close connexion. This almost always occurs with the prefixes B. and T. in the combinations bB.àkK.àpB. (i.e. when a Begadkephath with ewaÖ precedes the same or a kindred aspirate) and mB. (see Baer, L. Psalmorum, 1880, p. 92,2 on y Ps 23:3); cf. e.g. 1 S 25:1, Is 10:9, y Ps 34:2; Jb 19:2; gk. is uncertain; db.àdk., and kb.according to David Qimhi do not take Dagesç, nor gk.àbk., and pk. according to the Dikduke ha-tÌeamim, p. 30. Sometimes the Begadkephath letters, even with a full vowel, take Dagesû before a spirant (and even before x in hV'mix]B†; 1 K 12:32); cf. the instances mentioned above, § 20 e (mostly tenues before a). In all these cases the object is to prevent too great an accumulation of aspirates, The LXX, on the other hand, almost always represent the K and p, even at the beginning of a syllable, by c and f; Cerou,b( Caldai/oi( Farfa,r, &c.—The forms dkod>K†; (after yTiñm.f;w>) Is 54:11, and lkel.K†; (after ytiyaeñl.nIw>) Jer 20:9 are doubly anomalous.

e

(2) In the middle of words after ewaÖ quiescens, i.e. at the beginning of a syllable immediately after a vowelless consonant,3 e.g. aP'r>yI yirpaÒ (he heals), ~T,l.j;qe ye have killed; but after ewaÖ mobile, e.g. ap'r> rephaÒ (heal thou), hd'b.K†' she was heavy.

f

On T.l.j;q'àB.v.YIw: and similar forms, see § 10 i.
Whether ewaÖ be vocal and consequently causes the aspiration of a following tenuis, depends upon the origin of the particular form. It is almost always vocal
(a) When it has arisen from the weakening of a strong vowel, e.g. Wpd>rI pursue ye (not WPd>rI) from @dor>È ykel.m; (not yKel.m;), because originally maçlaçkheÖ, but yKil.m; from the ground-form malk.
(b) With the k of the pronominal suffixes of the 2nd pers. ^¤.à~k,¤.à!k,¤., since ewaÖ mobile is characteristic of these forms (see § 58 f; § 91 b).
Rem. Forms like T.x;l;ñv' thou (fem.) hast sent, in which we should expect an aspirated t after the vowel, cf. D>x;YIòw: Ex 18:9, have arisen from T.x.l;v'àD>x.yI, &c.; Pathah being here simply a helping vowel has no influence on the tenuis; cf. § 28 e.

Footnotes:

1[1] Cf. Delitzsch, ztschr. f. luth. Theol. u. Kirche, 1878, p.585 ff.

2[2] Also L. proverbiorum, 1880, Praef. p. ix; and Dikduke ha-tÌeamim, p. 30 (in German in König's Lehrgeb., i. p. 62).

3[1] The exceptions laet.q.y" Jos 15:38 (see Minh\at shay, on this passage), 2 K 14:7, and ~['d>q.y" Jos 15:56 may perhaps be due to the character of the q.