Reconstruction of Pre-Exilic Biblical Hebrew and wordplay

Edition 2.0

12 December 2011

Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Word Play

Reconstructing the Original Oral, Aural and Visual Experience

By David Steinberg

David.Steinberg@houseofdavid.ca

Home page http://www.houseofdavid.ca/

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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

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

IV The Impact – Wordplay and Reconstructed EBHP

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

Importance of Using Reconstructed EBHP/LBHP for Appreciation of BH Poetry

“Essential to metrical analysis in (biblical) … Hebrew … is some knowledge of the pronunciation of the language at the time of the composition of a given poem. Since … Hebrew … orthography (did not) fully indicate(d) vowels it is obvious that a certain degree of subjectivity will be present in reconstructing (this) … spoken language(s). It is nevertheless mandatory that such an attempt be made as a prelude to metrical analysis in spite of the pitfalls involved[1]. To do otherwise would be to ignore the manifestly oral-aural nature of the poetry. Phonetic features … are inherently determinative in the composition, memorization, and vocal reproduction of our poems.”

“ The general characteristics of (the) vowels … (of biblical Hebrew poetry can) be understood.”

Stuart p. 24iii

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

Box 6

Indirect Sources of Information Regarding the Pronunciation of BH

“Naturally we only have indirect sources of information about the pronunciation of Classical Hebrew. Among the more important of them are:

1. The Jewish traditions.

2. The pronunciation of living Semitic languages, especially Arabic, Ethiopic and Aramaic.

3. Internal considerations.

4. Transliteration and transcription of Hebrew words and names, especially in Greek and Latin, e.g. the second column of the Hexapla, Jerome, and the Septuagint; there are some inherent difficulties arising from the nature of the phonemic inventories of these classical, non-Semitic languages.

5. Transliterations in Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Egyptian, though here again similar problems arise.”

Joϋon-Muraoka 1991 § 5ga

See Reconstruction of EBHP below.

IV The Impact – Wordplay and Reconstructed EBHP

Box 7

A Word on Homonymy

In my view homonymy is only a useful concept when applied synchronically i.e. at a given stage and dialect in a language’s development. The terminology relating to homonyms is unfortunately confused. For the sake of this paper I will use the following definitions:

Full Homonym – words that are spelled and pronounced identically but have distinctly different meanings at a given stage and dialect in a language’s history e.g. (drill) bit and bit (of toast);

Homograph – words that are spelled identically but have distinctly different pronunciations and meanings at a given stage and dialect in a language’s history e.g. read (present tense) and read (past tense);

Homophone – words that are pronounced identically but have distinctly different spellings and meanings at a given stage and dialect in a language’s history e.g. read (past tense) and red.

It is not unusual for sound shifts to lead to the development of homophones from words which were not so in earlier stages in the language. Thus the modern English words knight (Anglo-Saxon cniht ) and night (Anglo-Saxon niht ) became homophones when the initial k in knight ceased to be pronounced.

I should note that reading a biblical text with a reconstructed pre-exilic will reveal or strengthen some similarities between words and reveal that others, found due to either Tiberian graphemes or due to modern pronunciations imposed on Tiberian graphemes, are unlikely to have existed in the minds of the authors or original audiences.

a) Original Homograph Becomes Full Homonym

i) Homophones formed Due to sound Shift ḫ > ḥ

Herzberg discusses a number of cases of possible and probable polysemy (multiple meanings) i.e. where either ḥrb or ḫrb is intended as the primary meaning while the reader or listener is meant to hear echoes of the other root’s meaning[2]. A key point to bear in mind, is that from the earliest times both ḫ and ḥ have been denoted by ח in Hebrew and, sometime after the third century BCE /ḫ/ [x] shifted to /ḥ/ [ħ] in pronunciation thus merging with the already existing /ḥ/ [ħ]. Thus until at least the late third century BCE the polysemy would have been apparent only to the reader, not to the listener. After the sound shift ḫ >ḥ, it would have been apparent to both the reader and the listener.

In Ugaritic ḥrb “sword” while ḫrb “dry”. Both roots are well attested in Hebrew i.e. (MT followed by */EBHP/): חֶרֶב /ˈḥarb/ “sword”; חָרֵב /ḫaˈreːb/ “dry”. In some forms they overlap e.g. √ḥrb in the qal “to massacre” and in the niphal “to fight one another” while √ḫrb in the qal “to dry up” and in the niphal “to be laid waste”

ii) Homophones formed Due to sound Shift ġ > ^c

Both ^c and ġ were denoted by ע in Hebrew and, sometime after the third century BCE /ġ/ [ɣ] shifted to /^c/[ʕ] in pronunciation thus merging with the already existing /^c/[ʕ]. Herzberg discusses the roots √n^cm “goodness” and √nġm “melody, music” and shows probable polysemy[3].

b) Examples where Reconstructing the Probable Original Pronunciation Resulting in More Convincing Wordplay

For the sake of convenience, I have reviewed the examples of wordplay presented in the book Puns and Pundits: Word Play in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Literature edited by Scott B. Noegel (Noegel 2000) and have selected a number of cases that, in my opinion, would be strengthened by substituting a reconstruction of the original pronunciation.

In Puns and Pundits the MT is transliterated using a form of the conventional scholarly transcription of TH (TH_CST) generally of the TH_SBL variety. Elsewhere I have outlined its unsuitability for this, or most other scholarly uses. Nb. When accepting Tiberian vocalization, one has to assume that the hearer will respond to similar sounds without regard to their historical origin.

From the paper "Wordplay in Biblical Hebrew: an Eclectic Collection" by Gary A. Rendsburg[4] :

1. Gen 1:1 (p. 137) Num. 16:30 (pp. 140-1)

Masoretic Text (MT)		בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God created…” בְּרִיאָ֞ה יִבְרָ֣א Num. 16:30 “(God a) creation creates”
Transcriptions and reconstructions of MT	TH_SBL	bĕrêʾšît bårå - bĕrîʾāh yibrāʾ
	[TH_{CSP IS-ENG}]	bәrẹˈʃit bɐˈrɐ - bәri.ˈrɐ yivˈrɐ	*MP³* sound file
	/TH/⁺	bәrẹˈšit båˈrå - bәriˈʾå yibˈrå
	*[TH]	bәrẹːˈšiːθ bɔːˈrɔː - bәriːˈʔɔː yivˈrɔː	*MP³* sound file
Phonemic transcription of reconstructed pre-exilic BH pronunciation	*/EBHP/⁺^{^[5]}	bạrêˈšῑt baˈraʾ - bạrῑˈʾâ yibˈraʾ
Possible phonetic reconstruction of pre-exilic BH pronunciation	[EBHP*]^{^[6]}	bɐɾẹːʃiːt bɐˈɾɐʔ - bɐɾiːˈʔɐː yɪbˈɾɐʔ	*MP³* *sound file*

2. P. 138 – Song 4:4 - example of alliteration

Masoretic Text (MT)		בָּנ֖וּי לְתַלְפִּיֹּ֑ות אֶ֤לֶף הַמָּגֵן֙ תָּל֣וּי עָלָ֔יו “… built in courses; on it hang a thousand bucklers”
Transcriptions and reconstructions of MT	TH_SBL	lĕtalpiyyôt ... ’elep ... tālûy
	[TH_{CSP IS-ENG}]	lәtɐlpiyˈyot ... ˈelef ... tɐˈlu.i	*MP³* sound file
	/TH/⁺	lәtalpiyˈyot - ˈ’ɛlɛp - tåˈluy
	*[TH]	lәtɐlpiyˈyoːθ - ˈʔɛːlɛf - tɔːˈluːy	*MP³* sound file
Phonetic transcription of reconstructed post-exilic BH pronunciation	*/EBHP/⁺	lạ talpiːˈyōt - ˈ’alp - taˈlūy
Possible phonetic reconstruction of pre-exilic BH pronunciation	[EBHP*]	lɐtɐlpiːˈyoːt - ˈʔɐlp - tɐˈlūy	*MP³* *sound file*

Comment - The point is stronger with the *EBHP in which tɐlpiːˈyoːt and tɐˈlūy have 'tɐl' in common, while tɐlpiːˈyoːt and ˈʔɐlp have 'ɐlp' in common

3. P. 141 – “…in 1 Sam 2:36, where the rare verb s-p-ḥ is used in the form סְפָחֵנִי sәfåḥēnῑ "attach me." The five letters of this name include both the four letters of ḥopnῑ "Hophni" and the five letters of pinḥås "Phineas," the names of the two sons of Eli…”.

Masoretic Text (MT)		סְפָחֵ֥נִי - חָפְנִי֙ - פִּ֣נְחָ֔ס
Transcriptions and reconstructions of MT	TH_SBL	sĕpāḥēnî - ḥofnî - pînḥās
	[TH_{CSP IS-ENG}]	sәfɐˈxẹni - xofˈni - pinˈxɐs	*MP³* sound file
	/TH/⁺	sәpåˈḥẹni - ḥǫpˈni - pinˈḥås
	*[TH]	sәfɔːˈħẹːniː - ħɔfˈniː - pinˈħɔːs	*MP³* sound file
Phonemic transcription of reconstructed pre-exilic BH pronunciation	*/EBHP/⁺	sụpuˈḥiniː or spuˈḥiniː - ḥupˈniː - piːnˈḥaːs
Possible phonetic reconstruction of pre-exilic BH pronunciation	[EBHP*]	so̞po̞ˈħɪniː or spo̞ˈħɪniː - ħo̞pˈniː - piːnˈħaːs	*MP³* *sound file*

Comment - A rather cerebral wordplay which is weakened by the fact that the פ /p/, in Tiberian Hebrew is pronounced as [p] in [pinˈḥɔːs] and as [f]׀in [ḥɔfˈniː] and [sәfɔːˈḥẹːniː] . However, in *EBHP it would always be pronounced p.

4. P. 149 – Genesis 49:6

בְּסֹדָם אַל־תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל־תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי – “Let my soul not enter/desire their council”

P. 149 – Job 3:6

אַל־יִחַדְּ בִּימֵי שָׁנָה- “Let it not be united with/rejoice in the days of the year”

Comment - The polysemy of reading תֵּחַד and יִחַדְּ as both from the root y-ḥ-d = “unite with” and from the root ḫ-d-y = “rejoice would have worked as a visual level before the sound shift ḫ > ḥ after 300 BCE and would have also worked orally after that sound shift.

From the paper "Wordplay and Puns as a Rhetorical Device in the Book of Samuel" by Moshe Garsiel[7]

1. Pp. 182-183. The author explores the linking effect of the phoneme /p/ in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. He draws on the words:

פְּנִנָּה – לִפְנִנָּה; וּפִנְחָס; פְּנֵי- לִפְנֵי

Masoretic Text (MT)		פְּנִנָּה – לִפְנִנָּה; וּפִנְחָס; פְּנֵי- לִפְנֵי
Transcriptions and reconstructions of MT	TH_SBL	pĕninnāh - lipninnāh - ûpînḥās - pĕnē - lipnē
	[TH_{CSP IS-ENG}]	pәniˈnɐ - lifniˈnɐ - ufinˈḥɐs - ˈpnẹ - lifˈnẹ	*MP³* sound file
	/TH/⁺	pәninˈnå - lipninˈnå - upinˈḥås - pˌnẹ - lipˌnẹ
	*[TH]	pәninˈnɔː - lifninˈnɔː - uːfinˈḥɔːs - pәˌnẹː - lifˌnẹː	*MP³* sound file
Phonemic transcription of reconstructed pre-exilic BH pronunciation	*/EBHP/⁺	pạninˈnâ - lạpạninˈnâ - wạpiːnˈḥaːs - pạˌnay - lạpạˌnay
Possible phonetic reconstruction of pre-exilic BH pronunciation	[EBHP*]	pɐnɪnˈnɐː - lɐpɐnɪnˈnɐː - wɐpiːnˈḥaːs - pɐˌnɐy - lɐpɐˌnɐy	*MP³* *sound file*

Comment - The *EBHP differs from the Tiberian pronunciation in that all the vowels are identical in the first syllable. The recognition that in pre-exilic times פ was always realized as ׀p ׀is necessary to make the wordplay work on the oral level.

2. P. 185 – re. 1 Samuel 1:18 (1:17 in the Hebrew) and 1:20

וֵאלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יִתֵּן אֶת־שֵׁלָתֵךְ אֲשֶׁר שָׁאַלְתְּ מֵעִמֹּו

"... may the God of Israel grant you (šēlātēk)

what you have asked (šā’alt) of him."

וַתִּקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמֹו שְׁמוּאֵל כִּי מֵיְהוָה שְׁאִלְתִּיו

"She named him Samuel, meaning, "I asked (šĕ’iltîw) the Lord for him."

Masoretic Text (MT)		שְׁאִלְתִּיו - שָׁאַלְתְּ - שֵׁלָתֵךְ
Transcriptions and reconstructions of MT	TH_SBL	šēlātēk - šā’alt - šĕ’iltîw
	[TH_{CSP IS-ENG}]	ʃẹlɐˈtẹx - ʃɐˈɐlt - ʃә.ilˈtiv	MP³ sound file
	/TH/⁺	šẹlåˈtẹk - šåˈ’alt - š’ilˈtiw
	*[TH]	ʃẹːlɔːˈθẹːx - ʃɔːˈʔ<