§ 102. Prefixed Prepositions.

b

Rem. The separate -!mi (always with a following Maqqeph) is usual (but not necessary, cf. Ju 20:14 with verse 15, Ez 43:6, &c.) only before the article, e. g. #r,a'ñh'-!mi, and sometimes occurs before the softer consonants, e. g. za'-!mi Jer 44:18, ynEB.-!mi Jo 1:12, 1 Ch 5:18; cf. Ex 18:14, Lv 1:14, 14:30, Ju 7:23, 10:11, 19:16, y Ps 104:7 (2 K 23:36 before r; also before q in y Ps 18:49), and elsewhere in the later, books (as in Aramaic)¹; there is besides a poetic by-form yNImi (cf. § 90 m) and yNEmi Is 30:11. Its form is most commonly ·mi with a following Dagesë, which may, however, be omitted in letters which have Sè^ewaÖ (cf. § 20 m). With a following y the mi is, as a rule, contracted to ymi, e. g. ydeymi = ydeY>mi or ydey>m)I (but cf. ynEveY>mi Dn 12:2; ^t.V†'ruY>mi 2 Ch 20:11); before gutturals it becomes me (according to § 22 c), e. g. ~d'a'm†eà~['me; before x the mi occurs with the guttural virtually sharpened in #Wxmi on the outside, and in jWxmi Gn 14:23; before h in tAyh.m†i (cf. § 28 b and § 63 q. The closed syllable here is inconsistent with the required, virtual sharpening of the h; probably tAyh.m†i is merely due to the analogy of tAyh.l†i); similarly Is 14:3 before r; but in 1 S 23:28, 2 S 18:16 @doR>mi is to be read, according to § 22 s.

(a) The Sè^ewaÖ mobile, with which the above prefixes are usually pronounced, has resulted from the weakening of a short vowel (an original aç, according to f)²; the short vowel is regularly retained before Sè^ewaÖ: before Sè^ewaÖ simplex in the form of an iç, attenuated from aç: before a HÍatÌeph the prefix takes the vowel of the HÍatÌeph, e. g. yrIp.li for fruit, yrIa]K†; as a lion, ynI[\B†' boçÇ^oniÖ, in affliction (sometimes with the syllable subsequently closed, cf. § 28 b, and the infinitives with l; § 63 i): before weak consonants it follows the rule given in § 24 c, e. g. hd'Whyl†i for  äy>li. When the prefixes b.àw>àk.àl. precede ~yhioa/ God, the SèewaÖ and HÍatÌeph SeghoÖl regularly coalesce in SÍeÒreÖ e. g. ~yhioaB†e &c., for  äla/B†,; so with suffixes wyh'oa)wE, &c. (once also in the sing. Ahoal†e Hb 1:11); also regularly rmoale to say, for rmoa/l†,, see § 23 d.

e

(b) When the prefixes precede the article, the h is almost always dropped, and they take its vowel. See further in § 35 n.

f

(c) Immediately before the tone-syllable, i. e. before monosyllables and dissyllables with the tone on the penultima (in the fore-tone), they take QamesÌ (undoubtedly a lengthening of an original aç, cf. § 26 e, § 28 a), but only in the following cases:

(aa) l' before infinitives of the above-mentioned forms, as ttel' to give, !ydIl' to judge, zbol' to plunder, zgOl' to shear, gxol' to keep a festival, td,l,ñl' to bring forth, lk,l,ñl' to go, tx;q;ñl' to take, except when the infinitive (as a nomen regens) is closely connected with another word (especially its subject, § 115 e), and consequently, as being in a sort of constr. state, loses the principal tone, e. g. tacel. Ex 19:1, tb,v,ñl. Gn 16:3, and so always tm'x] abol. Nu 13:21, &c. (in such cases as br,x,ñ-tt,l†' Ex 5:21 the aÒ is protected by the secondary tone; before infinitives of verbs W¾¾[, the l' is retained even in close connexion; cf. Ez 21:20, 25, 22:3);

g

(bb) before many pronominal forms, e. g. hz<B' (so also in 1 S 21:10; not hZ<B;), hz<l'àhz<K'àtaozl' (in close connexion, however, taozl. Gn 2:23; taozK. Gn 45:23); hL,aeñK' as these; and especially ~k,B'à~k,l'à~k,K' (~keK') and ~h,B'à~h,l'à~heK' (~h,K'), see § 103 e;

h

(cc) l' before monosyllables or fore-toned nouns in such combinations as hp,l' hP, mouth to mouth, 2 K 10:21, ~yIm'ñl' ~yIm;ñ !yBe between waters and waters, Gn 1:6; xr;joñl' for a trouble, Is 1:14, but always before the principal pause. The instructive example in Dt 17:8 also shows that the punctuation l' is only possible with at least the lesser pause after it; in Is 28:10, 13 the l' is twice repeated, even before the small and smallest disjunctives;

i

(dd) in certain standing expressions, which have become stereotyped almost as adverbs, e. g. d[;l' to eternity, brol' in multitude, xj;b,ñl' in security, xc;n<ñl' to eternity, but ~yxic'n> xc;nEòl. to all eternity, Is 34:10. Cf. also vp,n<òl' for the dead, Lv 19:28, Nu 5:2, 9:10.

k

(d) With the interrogative hm' they are pointed as in hM,B;; in pause and before a as in hM'B; by what ? (before a following relative clause, as in Ec 3:22, hm,B.; cf. Delitzsch, Jesaia, 4th ed., on Is 2:22);hM'K; how much ? but also hM,K; 1 K 22:16, in close connexion, and at a greater distance from the pause. The S^eghoÖl in these forms arises from a modification of the original aç, while the m is sharpened in order to maintain the original aç of the prefixes.

l

When l. (prop. la) is united to hm., it takes, according to § 49 f, g, the form hM'l'ñ (Jb 7:20 hm'l'ñ, 1 S 1:8 hm,l'ñ, all MilÇeÖl, and hence the aç in the tone is lenthened to aÒ) for what ? why? Before the gutturals a Ã hà[àhm'ñl' is used for euphonic reasons (exceptions 1 S 28:15, 2 S 14:31, Jer 15:18, before h; 2 S 2:22, y Ps 49:6, before a); hM'l'ñ, however, remains before x. Before letters which are not gutturals, hm'ñl' is found in y Ps 42:10, 43:2 (immediately after a tone-syllable).

m

Rem. The divine name hA'hy>, which has not its original vowels (hw<h.y:) but those of yn"doa] (see § 17 c), except that the y has simple not compound Sè^ewaÖ, takes the prefixes also, after the manner of yn"doa], thus hA'hyw);àhA'hyl†;àhA'hyB†;àhA'hy>m†e (since they are to be read yn"doa)w:àyn"doa)l;àyn"doaB†;àyn"doa]m†e); for the a of yn"doa], as of yn"doa]à~ynIdoa], &c. (see below), quiesces after the prefixes B;àK;àl;àw:, but is audible after me (for !mi), v, (no instance in the O.T.), and h' (in ~ynIdoa]h†' Dt 10:17, y Ps 136:3, the article, not h; interrog., is intended; the only example with h interrog., Jer 8:19, is to be pointed hA'hyh†;, i. e. yn"doah†;, not hA'hy>h;). Hence the rule, ayciAm hv,m Moses brought out (i. e. màvàh make the a audible), synIk.m; blek'w> and Caleb brought in (i. e. wàkàlàb allow it to quiesce).³—As regards the other plural forms of !Ada', elision of the a always takes place after B;àw:àK;àl;, except in the form ynEdoa], thus wyn"doal†;à^yn<òdoal†;, &c.; but ynEdoa]l†;, &c., WnynEñdoa]l†;, &c., ~h,ynEd)oa]l†;.

Footnotes:

¹[1] König, Einleitung ins A. T., p. 393 (cf. also the almost exhaustive statistics in his Lehrgebäude, ii. 292 ff.), enumerates eight instances of !mi before a word without the article in 2 Samuel and Kings, and forty-five in Chronicles.

²[2] Jerome (see Siegfried, ZAW. iv. 79) almost always represents B. by ba.

³[1] Another vox memor. is ~l'[/n), AB-lK' all is hidden in him.