Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu/55

 A point, or later an oblique stroke, serves as the sign of abridgement in old MSS. and editions, e.g. for,  for ,  for ,  for , i.e. and so on. Also in the middle of what is apparently a word, such strokes indicate that it is an abbreviation or a vox memorialis (cf. e.g. ). Two such strokes are employed, from  onward, to mark the different classes of weak verbs.—Note also  or  (also ) for.

5. Peculiarities in the tradition of the O.T. text, which are already mentioned in the Talmud, are—(1) The 15, about which the tradition (from Siphri on onwards) differs considerably, even as to their number; on particular consonants, , , , ; or on whole words, , , , , , , , , , , , —all no doubt critical marks; cf. Strack,, p. 88 ff.; L. Blau, , Strassburg, 1891, p. 6 ff., and , Budapest, 1894; Königsberger, , 1891, nos. 29–31, and, Berlin, 1892, p. 6 ff.; Mayer-Lambert, 30 (1895), no. 59; and especially Ginsburg, , p. 318 ff.; also on the ten points found in the Pentateuch, see Butin (Baltimore, 1906), who considers that they are as old as the Christian era and probably mark a letter, &c., to be deleted. (2) The (e.g. ,   as the middle consonant of the Pentateuch,  ), and  (e.g.  ). (3) The  (Ginsburg, , p. 334 ff.)   (which points to the reading  for ,   (the middle of the Psalms ) and . (4) The ‘mutilated’  in  , and   , and  . (5)  in  , and  in  . (6)  before , and after ver. 36, as also before  and 40; according to Ginsburg, , p. 341 ff., a sort of bracket to indicate that the verses are out of place; cf. Krauss,  1902, p. 57 ff., who regards the inverted Nûns as an imitation of the Greek obelus.

P. Haupt, ‘Die Semit. Sprachlaute u. ihre Umschrift,’ in, by Delitzsch and Haupt, i, Lpz. 1889, 249 ff.; E. Sievers,, i, Lpz. 1901, p. 14 ff.

1. An accurate knowledge of the original phonetic value of each consonant is of the greatest importance, since very many grammatical peculiarities and changes ( ff.) only become intelligible from the nature and pronunciation of the sounds. This knowledge is obtained partly from the pronunciation of the kindred dialects, especially the still living Arabic, partly by observing the affinity and interchange