Qumran Hebrew: An Overview of Orthography, Phonology, and Morphology (Society of Biblical Literature Resources for Biblical Study)

**A unique study of the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls** In __Qumran Hebrew__, Reymond examines the orthography, phonology, and morphology of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Short sections treat specific linguistic phenomena and present a synopsis and critique of previous research. Reymond's approach emphasizes problems posed by scribal errors and argues that guttural letters had not all weakened but instead were weak in specific linguistic environments, texts, or dialects. Reymond illustrates that certain phonetic shifts (such as the shift of yodh to aleph and the opposite shift of aleph to yodh) occur in discernible linguistic contexts that suggest this was a real phonetic phenomenon. Qumran Hebrew: An Overview of Orthography, Phonology, and Morphology 4 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations 12 A Note on Transliteration, Etymological Bases, and Manuscript Identification 16 Introduction 20 1. Corpus 24 2. General Remarks 32 3. Orthography 42 3.1. Scribal Mistakes 42 3.2. Plene Orthography 54 3.3. Aleph as Internal Mater 62 3.4. Etymological Short /u/ Marked with Waw 66 3.5. Digraphs 70 3.6. Two Yodhs for a Consonantal Yodh and Two Waws for a Consonantal Waw 80 4. Phonetics and Phonology 84 4.1. Phonemic Inventory 84 4.2. Spirantization 89 4.3. Weakening of Gutturals 90 Quiescence of Aleph 96 Quiescence of ʿAyin 106 Quiescence of Heh 119 Quiescence of Ḥeth 126 Summary 130 4.4. Aleph < Yodh and Yodh < Aleph 133 Evidence from the MT of Aleph < Yodh 133 Evidence from the DSS of Aleph < Yodh 138 Evidence from the MT of Yodh < Aleph 142 Evidence from the DSS of Yodh < Aleph 143 Explanation of the DSS Forms 146 4.5. Aleph < Waw and Waw < Aleph 150 4.6. Waw < Yodh 153 4.7. Accent or Stress 154 4.8. Vowel Reduction 156 4.9. /å/ < /ā/ /ō/ 199 5.5. *quṭl Nouns 200 5.6. Verbs 207 Lexicon 207 Lack of Confusion between III-Waw/Yodh and III-Aleph Verbs 208 Conjugations 209 Perfect and Waw-Consecutive Perfect 214 Imperfect and Waw-Consecutive Imperfect 215 Imperatives 222 Infinitives 223 Participles 228 5.7. Qal Imperfect + Suffix 228 5.8. Qal Imperative + Suffix 240 5.9. Adverbial Heh 242 Conclusions 244 Bibliography 254 Sources Index 276 Word Index 312 Author Index 326 This Book Explores Salient Topics In Hebrew Orthography, Phonology, And Morphology From The Dead Sea Scrolls. The Book, Helpfully Divided Into Short Sections That Treat Specific Linguistic Phenomena, Presents A Synopsis Of Previous Research And Critiques This Research By, Among Other Things, Considering Evidence From Recently Published Scrolls. Reymond Argues That Several Grammatical Matters Distinguish His Study From Previous Studies Of Hebrew In The Dead Sea Scrolls. First, He Emphasizes Problems Posed By Scribal Errors And Highlights Some Of The More Obvious Examples Of These. He Also Argues That Gutteral Letters Had Not All Weakened To The Point Of Not Being Pronounced And/or Being Confused With Each Other, As Some Have Implied. Rather, The Guttural Letters Each Show A Distinct Distribution, Suggesting That They Were Weak In Specific Linguistic Environments And In Specific Texts And/or Dialects. Lastly, Reymond Shows That Certain Phonetic Shifts (such As The Shift Of Yodh> Aleph And The Opposite Shift Of Aleph> Yodh) Occur In Discernible Linguistic Contexts That Suggest This Was A Real Phonetic Phenomenon. Eric D. Reymond. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A unique study of the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls In Qumran Hebrew, Reymond examines the orthography, phonology, and morphology of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Short sections treat specific linguistic phenomena and present a synopsis and critique of previous research. Reymond's approach emphasizes problems posed by scribal errors and argues that guttural letters had not all “weakened” but instead were “weak” in specific linguistic environments, texts, or dialects. Reymond illustrates that certain phonetic shifts (such as the shift of yodh > aleph and the opposite shift of aleph > yodh) occur in discernible linguistic contexts that suggest this was a real phonetic phenomenon. Features: Summary and critique of previous research Discussion of the most recently published scrolls Examination of scribal errors, guttural letters, and phonetic shifts Introduction 1. Corpus 2. General Remarks 3. Orthography 4. Phonetics and Phonology 5. Morphology Conclusions