Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures The Tiberian Pronunciation Khan Tradition of Biblical Hebrew (Vol. I) The Tiberian Pronunciation Geoffrey Khan Tradition of Biblical Hebrew The form of Biblical Hebrew that is presented in printed edi� ons, with vocaliza� on and Tradition of Biblical Hebrew Vol. I accent signs, has its origin in medieval manuscripts of the Bible. The vocaliza� on and Volume I accent signs are nota� on systems that were created in Tiberias in the early Islamic period The Tiberian Pronunciation The by scholars known as the Tiberian Masoretes, but the oral tradi� on they represent has roots in an� quity. The gramma� cal textbooks and reference grammars of Biblical Hebrew in use today are heirs to centuries of tradi� on of gramma� cal works on Biblical Hebrew in GEOFFREY KHAN Europe. The paradox is that this European tradi� on of Biblical Hebrew grammar did not have direct access to the way the Tiberian Masoretes were pronouncing Biblical Hebrew. In the last few decades, research of manuscript sources from the medieval Middle East has made it possible to reconstruct with considerable accuracy the pronuncia� on of the Tiberian Masoretes, which has come to be known as the ‘Tiberian pronuncia� on tradi� on’. This book presents the current state of knowledge of the Tiberian pronuncia� on tradi� on of Biblical Hebrew and a full edi� on of one of the key medieval sources, Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ ‘The Guide for the Reader’, by ʾAbū al-Faraj Hārūn. It is hoped that the book will help to break the mould of current gramma� cal descrip� ons of Biblical Hebrew and form a bridge between modern tradi� ons of grammar and the school of the Masoretes of Tiberias. Links and QR codes in the book allow readers to listen to an oral performance of samples of the reconstructed Tiberian pronuncia� on by Alex Foreman. This is the fi rst � me Biblical Hebrew has been recited with the Tiberian pronuncia� on for a millennium. As with all Open Book publica� ons, this en� re book is available to read for free on the publisher’s website. Printed and digital edi� ons, together with supplementary digital material, can also be found at www.openbookpublishers.com Cover image: The Aleppo Codex. Courtesy of the Ben-Zvi Insti tute, Jerusalem. Photographer: Ardon Bar Hama. Cover design: Luca Baff a. book 1 ebooke and OA edi� ons also available OPEN ACCESS OBP https://www.openbookpublishers.com © 2020 Geoffrey Khan. Recorded material © 2020 Alex Foreman, CC BY. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Attribution should include the following information: Geoffrey Khan, The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume I. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2020, https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0163 In order to access detailed and updated information on the license, please visit, https:// doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0163#copyright Further details about CC BY licenses are available at, https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/ All external links were active at the time of publication unless otherwise stated and have been archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web Updated digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0163#resources Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or error will be corrected if notification is made to the publisher. Semitic Languages and Cultures 1, volume 1. ISSN (print): 2632-6906 ISSN (digital): 2632-6914 ISBN Paperback: 978-1-78374-675-0 ISBN Hardback: 978-1-78374-676-7 ISBN Digital (PDF): 978-1-78374-677-4 DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0163 Cover image: The Aleppo Codex, Courtesy of the Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem. Photographer: Ardon Bar Hama Cover design: Luca Baffa. I.2. VOWELS AND SYLLABLE STRUCTURE I.2.1. BASIC VOWEL SIGNS I.2.1.1. The Qualities of the Vowels The basic vowel signs in the standard Tiberian vocalization system indicated distinctions in vowel quality rather than distinctions in length. The qualities of the various vowels can be reconstructed as follows from the sources that are discussed :(א below (the signs are added to the letter [Open, unrounded front [a] or back [ɑ :( ַַא) ָּפַתח Pataḥ [Back, open-mid rounded [ɔ :( ַָּא) ָּקֵמץ Qameṣ [Front, open-mid unrounded [ɛ :( ֶַא) ֶסגֹול Segol [Front, close-mid unrounded [e :( ֵַא) ֵצֵרי Ṣere [Front, close, unrounded [i :( ִַא) ִחיֶרק Ḥireq [Back, close-mid rounded [o :(ֹֹאַ) חֹוֶלם Ḥolem [Back, close, rounded [u (אּו) ׁשּוֶרק Shureq :( ַא) ִקּבּוץ Qibbuṣ These qualities correspond to the eight primary cardinal vowels, which are represented diagrammatically according to their position of articulation below: © Geoffrey Khan, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0163.02 Vowels and Syllable Structure 245 I.2.1.2. The Terms Pataḥ and Qameṣ The terms pataḥ and qameṣ are found in the early Masoretic and grammatical sources. They are in origin Aramaic active participles and are vocalized as such in some manuscripts, viz. In some Masoretic treatises forms with a final he 1.קָּמֵ ץ and פָּתַ ח The suffix may be the Aramaic .קמצה and פתחה .are used, viz definite article or the feminine ending.2 In Arabic sources such as Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ equivalent Arabic feminine participles are used, 3 qāmiṣa. The terms referred to the קאמצה fātiḥa and פאתחה .viz distinct lip positions of the two vowels, pataḥ ‘opening’, qameṣ 4 ‘closing, contracting’, indicating that the pataḥ was pronounced 1 For examples in early Karaite grammatical texts (Khan 2000a, 28). 2 For the sources see Steiner (2009). 3 Eldar (1994, 123–24) 4 is used in the sense of קמץ In Jewish Palestinian Aramaic the verb because (the sleeping‘ דיַקמיץַחדאַופתחַחדא .closing (eye, mouth), e.g‘ deer) opens one (eye) and closes the other’ (Palestinian Talmud, Shabbat 14b) (Sokoloff 1992, 496). 246 The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew with open, spread lips whereas the qameṣ was pronounced with a smaller aperture of the mouth on account of some degree of lip- rounding. The fact that the terms are Aramaic in origin indicates that they must have been created in the early Masoretic period, before the tenth century, when Aramaic was in productive use by the Masoretes. By the tenth century, Masoretic treatises were written in Hebrew or Arabic (§I.0.13.1.). The names of these vowels came to receive a variety of different vocalizations in later sources. The practice developed of vocalizing the first syllable of the names of vowels symbolically with the vowel it designated, ,This type of vocalization .פַתַ ח so pataḥ came to be vocalized as which according to Dotan was used from the eleventh century onwards,5 is the vocalization used, for example, by Elias Levita (1469-1549). Subsequently, the vowel of the second syllable of the names of vowels was also given a similar symbolic vocalization. These often reflect pronunciation traditions that did not distinguish between the pronunciation of the two vowels and 6.פַתָּ ח and פַתָּ ח ,קָּמַ ץ one finds vocalizations such as I.2.1.3. More on the Quality of Pataḥ and Qameṣ Saadya and Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ give details of the articulatory distinction between the vowels within the oral cavity. Their descriptions are based on a theory of the production of vowels, which can be traced to the Muslim physician Ibn Sīnā (980–1037 C.E.), that involves both the position of buccal organs and the 5 Dotan (2007, 634). 6 For details see Steiner (2009). Vowels and Syllable Structure 247 7 direction of the dynamic flow of air. The Hidāya states that the place of articulation of pataḥ is the ‘surface of the tongue at the 8 bottom (of the mouth)’. Saadya similarly states that ‘its strength (i.e. dynamic realization by airflow) goes over the surface of the 9 tongue moving downwards.’ With regard to qameṣ the Hidāya indicates that its place of articulation is ‘slightly above the root of the tongue, that is the (back) third of the tongue, and its 10 movement is towards the (place) above the palate.’ Saadya indicates that the place of articulation of qameṣ is next to that of ḥolem: ‘If one wants to move the vowel from this place (of ḥolem) and then articulate it, the strength (i.e. realization) of qameṣ comes about, and its movement (i.e. direction of airflow) is towards the place above the palate in 11 particular.’ According to the theory of the realization of vowels by dynamic airflow, the realization of pataḥ took place through the free flow of air across the surface of the tongue in a low position, 7 For details see Eldar (1983). 8 ,long version, edition in vol. 2 of this book ,סטח ַאללסאן ַמן ַאספל §II.L.2.15.3.; Eldar (1994, 130). 9 .(Dotan 1997, 445) קותהאַסאירהַעליַסטחַאללסאןַמנחדרהַאליַאלספל 10 ,long version ,פוקַאצלַאללסאןַקלילאַוהוַת̇לת̇ ַאללסאןַוהרכתהאַאליַפוקַאלחנך edition in vol. 2 of this book, §II.L.2.15.2.; Eldar (1994, 130). 11 ואןַשאַאןַיתגאוזַבהאַהדאַאלמוצ̇ עַתםַיפצלהאַט̇ הרתַקוהַעלקמץַוכאנתַחרכתהַ .(Dotan 1997, 445) אליַאעליַאלחנךַכאצה 248 The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew whereas in the realization of qameṣ there was some obstruction that directed the air upwards towards the palate.12 From the vowel names and the aforementioned des- criptions of articulation, it can be determined that Tiberian pataḥ was an open, unrounded vowel in the region of [a] or [ɑ] whereas qameṣ was a back half-open rounded vowel below ḥolem in the region of [ɔ].