Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu/98

 consonant cannot easily be sounded. In such cases the preceding vowel is frequently lengthened, e.g. , from ; , with a distinctive accent or after the article, , from ; but e.g. , , with the final consonant virtually sharpened. On the exceptions (fem.) and  (fem.) hast given, see.

(b) Very frequently in certain consonants with, since the absence of a strong vowel causes the strengthening to be less noticeable. This occurs principally in the case of and  (on  and  after the article, see ; on  after, ); and in the sonants ,  and ; also in the sibilants, especially when a guttural follows (but note , , as ed. Mant. and Ginsb. correctly read, while Baer has  with compensatory lengthening, and others even ;  ;   for ,  ;   from ,   and  ;  ,   &c.);—and finally in the emphatic.

Of the letters,  occurs without  in  ;  in  ;  in   56:8,  (not in ), supposing that it is the Participle Niphʿal of ; lastly,  in. Examples,, (so always the preformative  in the imperf. of verbs), , , , , , , , , , , &c. In correct MSS. the omission of the is indicated by the  stroke (§ 14) over the consonant. However, in these cases, we must assume at least a virtual strengthening of the consonant (Dageš forte implicitum, see, end).

(c) In the Gutturals, see.

Rem. 1. Contrary to rule the strengthening is omitted (especially in the later Books), owing to the lengthening of the preceding short vowel, generally (cf. mīle for mille), e.g., for   (where, however, it is perhaps more correct to suppose, with König, a formation on the analogy of verbs , and moreover to read  with the LXX),   for.

2. Very doubtful are the instances in which compensation for the strengthening is supposed to be made by the insertion of a following. Thus for