Reading Genesis 1-2 in Hebrew - Bibal.Net

Reading Genesis 1–2 in Hebrew
cannot be doubled, which results in compensatory lengthening of the vowel in the definite article
from —ñ a (Pa¥tax) to ”ñ A (qAmAc) and “vowel harmonization” in the change of the “e” vowel in the
noun ’r’' to an “a” vowel in ’rA'Ah. The so-called gutturals ', h, x, v and also r cause many
seemingly irregularities in the forms of words in Hebrew.
�������û���π‘�������„��������������������û��������������������1:2�
������Œ����û��π‘�������„
���������������������������
����������������û�������������������—transliteration:
w¸-hA-'Aµ-rec hA-y¸-t‰µ tO-µh˚ wA-bO-µh˚, “and the earth
was formless and void.” The fem. noun eree' (“earth”) has two prefixes: the wau-conjunction and
the definite articleñAh. Note the diamond-shaped accent rebÓav on the word �����������,
which carries
a relatively strong disjunctive force. The final syllable in the word hA-'Aµ-rec is a closed
unaccented syllable. A closed syllable ends with a consonant whereas an open syllable ends
with a vowel. The verbal form hAt¯yAh is Qal 3 rd sg. fem. from the root hƒyAh (“be[come]”). Note that
each syllable here is open: hA-y¸-tAµh, because h at the end of a word, except when that h
constitutes the final root letter, is normally a vowel letter and thus silent, and often transliterated
as ‰. For our purposes here, we are following the practice of Thomas Lambdin (Introduction to
Biblical Hebrew. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971) by indicating all occurrences of the
Hebrew letter h with h, in the Hebrew text we are studying. Other vowel letters include w and y.
Note that the divine name hwhy is made up entirely of these three vowel letters. The masc.
nouns ˚hKät (“formlessness, emptiness”) and ˚h–»bµ (“emptiness”) appear together here as an idiom
to designate primeval chaos. Before an open syllable both of these words lose their daghesh
and are pronounced with the spirantized t and b accordingly.
�������û���π‘�������„���—transliteration: w¸-xOµ-Hek val-P¸-n t¸hÙµm, µ “and darkness was on the face
of the Deep.” The masc. noun eHäx (“darkness”) is the subject in a noun clause in which the
verb “to be” is understood. Note that the dot above the second consonant in the word eHx
(“darkness”) fills two roles simultaneously—as the vowel ◊ñO (xÙlAm) and the dot that
distinguishes W from H. The ږ in must be written in the final KAp, but it has no sound. The
preposition -lav (“upon”) is connected to the masc. noun hƒnLAp (“face”) with the meaning “on the
face of.” The Hebrew is plural: faces-of abyss, not faces of-abyss; that is, the first of two words
in the genitive relation suffers change; not the second, as in Latin or Greek.
The y after ‘ñ in yEn¯Lp (“face of”) is silent, as is the y after ÷ñ in £yih»l¤' ('È-lO-hÓµm). When a final
stressed syllable is closed, it will have a long vowel as in the word t¸hÙµm. The fem. noun £ÙhK¯t
(“deep, abyss”) is closely related to the name of the goddess Tiamat, who plays an important
role in the creation myth of ancient Mesopotamia. The w is silent under ≤ñ or with a dot in it ˚.
������Œ����û��π‘�������„
�����������������������—transliteration:
w¸-r˚µ-ax 'È-lO-hÓµm m¸-ra-xeµ-pet
val-P¸-n ham-mAµ-yim, µ “and the spirit of Elohim was hovering on the face of the waters.” The
wau-conjunction w (“and”), which is affixed to a noun, is normally written with shewa. The verbal
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