III The Issue – The Oral-Aural Nature of Biblical Hebrew Poetry, and Some Kinds of Wordplay, Require the Closest Approximation to their Original Pronunciation for the Fullest Possible Appreciation and there are Practical Criteria for Reestablishing a Good Approximation of the Pre-Exilic Pronunciation

1. The Importance of Reconstructed EBHP

Box 5 - The Importance of Using Reconstructed EBHP/LBHP for the Appreciation of BH Poetry

2. The Basis for the Reconstruction of an Approximation to EBHP

Box 6 - Indirect Sources of Information Regarding the Pronunciation of BH

IV The Impact –Wordplay and Reconstructed EBHP

Box 7 - A Word on Homonymy

V Problems in Reconstruction of EBHP

Problem 1 – Where was the Stress Placed in Biblical Hebrew Words in EBHP?

Problem 2 – Problems Caused by the Contrast Between the Sound Structure of EBHP, Tiberian and Israeli Hebrew

Table 7 - Phonemes that were Orally Distinct in EBHP that have Merged in IH and Most Other Modern Pronunciations

EBHP and Tiberian Three Way Consonantal Opposition Reduced to Modern Two Way Opposition

Table 8 - Changes in Pronunciation Between EBHP, TH and BH_IH most of which Alter the Syllabic Structure of Nouns

Problem 3 – Ancient Hebrew Orthography Provides Some, But Not Much, Guidance Regarding the Placement, and Nature of Vowels in EBHP

Table 9 - Ambiguity of Pre-exilic (JEH) Orthography

Table - Matres Lectionis in JEH

Problem 4 - What Letters Were Prone to Be Miscopied in the Course of Transmission of Hebrew Biblical Texts?

Box 8 - Scripts and Scripture

Table A - Potential for the Confusion of Letters In Hebrew Bible Text Transmission

Table B – Confusion of Letters in Paleo-Hebrew and Aramaic-Jewish Scripts

תֵּיקוּ - Questions that Cannot be resolved at Present

A Note on Epigraphic Hebrew

Pronunciation of Numerals in EBHP

VI Reconstruction of EBHP

1. Aims in Reconstructing EBHP

Box 9 - Can Biblical Texts be Linguistically Dated?

2. Changes in the Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew Between EBHP and that Recorded in the Tiberian Masoretic Tradition (early 10^th century CE)

Box 10 - Justification of Proposals for EBHP

3. Guidelines I Have Used in Reconstructing EBHP

Table 10 - Mono-syllabic Prepositions and Conjunctions Usually Linked to the Following Word in the MT by a maqqeph/makef (מקף)

Table 11 - Vowels of EBHP

4. Examples of the Reconstructed EBHP Vocalization of Biblical Hebrew Texts

a. Archaic or Archaizing Poetic Texts

i) Blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49:1-27)

ii) Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1b-18)

iii) The Oracles of Balaam (poetic portions of Numbers 23:7-24:24)

iv) Ha’azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-43)

v) Blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33)

vi) Song of Deborah (Judges 5)

b. Various Short Poems

c. Psalmic Poetry

i) II Samuel Chapt. 22 (Second version Psalm 18)

ii) Psalm 23

iii) Psalm 114

iv) Psalm 121

v) Psalm 122

vi) Psalm 130

d. Lamentations

i) Lament of David (II Samuel 1:19-27)

ii) Lamentations 3:1-15 ("Qinah meter")

e. Poetry of Song of Songs - Song 2:1-17 (as generally in the Song, mainly in "Qinah meter")

f. Poetry of Job - Job 3:3-10

g. Prophetic Poetry

i) Jer. 1: 11-12; Jer. 1: 18-19; Jer. 19:14-15; Zeph. 3:1-2; Deut 15:1,4

ii) Amos 3:3-6; 3:8; 5:5-7; 5:10-12; 5:16b-17; 6:12; 8:7-10; 9:5-6; 9:13

h. Prose Texts

i) Genesis 2:18-24

ii) Genesis 4:1-3; Genesis 13:4-14; Joshua 7:1-3

iii) Siloam Inscription

To print this e-book use the files below -

File Name	Title	Pages
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb.pdf	Table of Contents and Bibliography	41
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_abb_dia.pdf	TERMS, ABBREVIATIONS AND LINGUISTIC SYMBOLS	19
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_1.pdf	Tables and Excurses	5
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_12.pdf	Introduction and Phases of Biblical Hebrew and its Antecedents and the Development of the Biblical Hebrew Reading Tradition of the Tiberian Masoretes	43
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_34.pdf	The Basis for the Reconstruction of the Pronunciation of BH and its relevance to Wordplay	24
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_5.pdf	Problems in Reconstruction of EBHP	10
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_6.pdf	Reconstruction of EBHP	31
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_Problem 5.pdf	Changes in Pronunciation Between EBHP, TH and the Biblical Text Pronounced as IH - most of which Alter the Syllabic Structure of Nouns	6
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_conf_let_pot.pdf	Table A - Potential for the Confusion of Letters In Hebrew Bible Text Transmission	8
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_conf_let.pdf	Table B – Confusion of Letters in Paleo-Hebrew and Aramaic-Jewish Scripts	7
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_bib_heb_EH.htm	Note on Epigraphic Hebrew	4
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_bib_heb_history.pdf	Linguistic Changes Affecting the Pronunciation of Biblical Hebrew 2000 B.C.E. - 850 C.E. According to Various Scholars	20
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_fingem.pdf	Words Ending in Doubled Consonants with the Loss of Case Endings	5
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_forms.pdf	Words Significantly Different in Pronunciation in EBHP	28
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_forms_hist.pdf	History of Some Word Forms in Hebrew	4
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_numerals.pdf	Pronunciation of Numerals in EBHP	5
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_tequ.pdf	*Tequ* - Questions that Cannot be Resolved at Present	160
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_anc_heb_biy_t1.pdf	Table 1 - Reconstructed Late First Temple Orthography and Vocalization (EBHP) with Sound Files and Transposition into Tiberian Graphemes	13
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_anc_heb_biy_t2.pdf	Blessing of Jacob Table 2 - Reconstructed Pre-Exilic Orthographies	6
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_anc_heb_biy_t3.pdf	Blessing of Jacob Table 3 - Proto-Masoretic Orthography	7
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_shirym_t1.pdf	Song of the Sea Table 1 - Reconstructed Late First Temple Orthography and Vocalization (EBHP) with Sound Files and Transposition into Tiberian Graphemes	8
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_shirym_t2.pdf	Song of the Sea Table 2 - Reconstructed Pre-Exilic Orthographies	6
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_shirym_t3.pdf	Song of the Sea Table 3 - Proto-Masoretic Orthography	5
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb_balaam_t1.pdf	Oracles of Balaam Table 1 - Reconstructed Late First Temple Orthography and Vocalization (EBHP) with Sound files and Transposition into Tiberian Graphemes