Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu/111

 contained in the  (see  and ). To the same category belong also the cases where these prepositions with Ḥireq stand before a consonant with simple Šewâ mobile, e.g., , &c.

(e) In forms like  (they are strong),   (thy deed). These again are cases of the subsequent opening of closed syllables (hence, e.g. also occurs);  is properly ; cf. generally, end, and.

Such cases as, ,   do not come under this head, since they all have ă in a virtually sharpened syllable; nor does the tone-bearing  in suffixes (e.g. ), nor  for ă before a guttural with. On and, see.

4. The independent syllables with a firm vowel which have been described above, are frequently preceded by a single consonant with vocal Šewâ, simple or compound. Such a consonant with vocal Šewâ never has the value of an independent syllable, but rather attaches itself so closely to the following syllable that it forms practically one syllable with it, e.g. (cheek) ;  (sickness) ;  yil-medhû. This concerns especially the prefixes, , ,. See.

The is no doubt in all such eases weakened from an original full vowel (e.g.  Arab.,  Arab. , &c.); from this, however, it cannot be inferred that the Masoretes regarded it as forming a kind of  syllable, for this would be even more directly opposed to their fundamental law (viz. that a long vowel should stand in an open syllable), than are the exceptions cited above, –. Even the use of Metheg with Šewâ in special cases (see ) is no proof of such a view on the part of the Masoretes.

5. syllables ending with one consonant, when without the tone, necessarily have  vowels, whether at the beginning or at the end of words, e.g., , , , ,.

A closed syllable may have either a long or short vowel, but if the latter, it must as a rule be either Pathaḥ or Seghôl. The tone-bearing closed penultima admits, of the vowels, only the tone-long ā, ē, ō, not the longest î, ê, ô, û; of the short vowels, only ă, ĕ, not ĭ, ŭ, ŏ (but on ĭ and ŭ, see ). Thus (3rd pl. masc. Imperf. Hiph.) but  3rd pl. fem., and  (and pl. masc. Imperat. Qal) but  fem.