Bible Lexicons

1. The א‎, a light and scarcely audible guttural breathing, as a rule entirely loses its slight consonantal power whenever it stands without a vowel at the end of a syllable. It then remains (like the German h in roh, geh, nahte) merely as a sign of the preceding long vowel, e.g. מָצָא‎, מָלֵא‎, הוֹצִיא‎ (but when a syllable is added with an introductory vowel, according to b below, we have, e.g. מְצָאַ֫נִי‎, הֽוֹצִיאַ֫נִי‎, since the א‎ then stands at the beginning of the syllable, not מְצָאנִי‎, הוֹצִיאנִי‎), מְצֹא‎, כָּלוּא‎ (cf., however, §74a), מָצָ֫אתָ‎ (for māṣaʾtā), תִּמְצֶ֫אנָה‎. Similarly in cases like חֵטְא‎, וַיַּרְא‎, שָׁוְא‎, &c. (§19l), and even in דֶּ֫שֶׁא‎, פֶּ֫לֶא‎ (see above, §22e), the א‎ only retains an orthographic significance.

2. On the other hand, א‎ is in general retained as a strong consonant whenever it begins a syllable, e.g. אָמַר‎, מָֽאֲסוּ‎, or when it is protected by a Ḥaṭeph after a short syllable, e.g. לֶֽאֱכֹל‎, and finally, when it stands in a closed syllable with quiescent Š^ewâ after a preceding S^eghôl or Pathaḥ, e.g. וַיֶּאְסֹר‎, נֶאְדָּר‎ näʾdār, יַאְדִּ֫ימוּ‎ yaʾdîmû. Even in such cases the consonantal power of א‎ may be entirely lost, viz.

(a) when it would stand with a long vowel in the middle of a word after Š^ewâ mobile. The long vowel is then occasionally thrown back into the place of the Š^ewâ, and the א‎ is only retained orthographically, as an indication of the etymology, e.g. רָאשִׁים‎ heads (for r^eʾāšîm), מָאתַ֫יִם‎ two hundred (for m^eʾātháyim), שָֽׁאטְךָ‎ Ezekiel 25:6 for שְׁאָֽטְךָ‎; בּוֹדָאם‎ Nehemiah 6:8 for בּֽוֹדְאָם‎; מאוּם‎ Job 31:7, Daniel 1:4 for מְאוּם‎; פֻּארָה‎ for פְּאֻרָה‎ Isaiah 10:33; חֹטִאים‎ ḥôṭîm, 1 Samuel 14:33 for חֹֽטְאִים‎ (cf. §74h, and §75oo); הָֽראוּבֵנִי‎ Numbers 34:14, from רְאוּבֵן‎; so always חַטֹּאת‎ or חַטֹּאות‎ 1 Kings 14:16, Micah 1:5, &c., for חַטְּאוֹת‎. Sometimes a still more violent suppression of the א‎ occurs at the beginning of a syllable, which then causes a further change in the preceding syllable, e.g. מְלָאכָה‎ work for מַלְאָכָה‎ (as in the Babylonian punctuation), יִשְׁמָעֵאל‎ for יִשְׁמַעְאֵל‎; שְׂמֹאל‎ or שְׂמֹאול‎ the left hand, ground form simʾâl.

(b) When it originally closed a syllable. In these cases א‎ is generally (by §22m) pronounced with a Ḥaṭeph, ־ֲ‎ or ־ֱ‎. The preceding short vowel is, however, sometimes lengthened and retains the following א‎ only orthographically, e.g. וַיָּ֫אצֶל‎ Numbers 11:25 for וַיַּֽאֲצֵל‎ (cf. Judges 9:41), and פָּארוּר‎ Joel 2:6 for פַּֽאֲרוּר‎; לֵאמֹר‎ for לֶֽאֱמֹר‎; לִֽאלֹהִים‎ for לֶֽאֱלֹהִים‎; but the contraction does not take place in לֶֽאֱלִילֶ֫יהָ‎ Isaiah 10:11. The short vowel is retained, although the consonantal power of א‎ is entirely lost, in וַֽאדֹנָי‎, &c. (see §102m), וַיַּאת‎ Isaiah 41:25, וָֽאַבֶּדְךָ‎ Ezekiel 28:16 for וָֽאֲאַבֶּדְךָ‎; cf. Deuteronomy 24:10, 1 Kings 11:39, Isaiah 10:13.

Instead of this א‎ which has lost its consonantal value, one of the vowel letters ו‎ and י‎ is often written according to the nature of the sound, the former with ô and the latter with ô and î, e.g. רֵים‎ buffalo for רְאֵם‎. At the end of the word ה‎ also is written for א‎, יְמַלֵּה‎ he fills for יְמַלֵּא‎ Job 8:21 (see below, l).

3. When א‎ is only preserved orthographically or as an indication of the etymology (quiescent), it is sometimes entirely dropped (cf. §19k), e.g. יָצָ֫תִי‎ Job 1:21 for יָצָ֫אתִי‎; מָלֵ֫תִי‎ Job 32:18 for מָלֵאתִי‎; מָצָ֫תִי‎ Numbers 11:11; וַתֹּ֫הֶז‎ 2 Samuel 20:9; וַיְרַפּוּ‎ Jeremiah 8:11 for וַיְרַפְּאוּ‎; וַתַּזְּרֵ֫נִי‎ 2 Samuel 22:40, but וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי‎ Psalms 18:40; תּוֹמִם‎ Genesis 25:24 for תְּאוֹמִם‎; אֲחַטֶּנָּה‎ Genesis 31:39, for , אֲחַטְּאֶנָּה‎; שֵֽׁלָתֵךְ‎ 1 Samuel 1:17 for שְׁאֵֽלָ״‎; רֵמִים‎ Psalms 22:22 for רְאֵמִים‎; גֵּוָה‎ Job 22:29 for גְּאֵוָה‎; הַבֵּֽרֹתִי‎ 1 Chronicles 11:39 for הַבְּאֵֽר״‎, and so 2 Samuel 23:37; שֵׁרִית‎ 1 Chronicles 12:38 for שְׁאֵרִית‎; לַהְשׁוֹת‎ 2 Kings 19:25 K^ethîbh for לְהַשְׁאוֹת‎ (cf. Isaiah 37:26); חֵמָה‎ Job 29:6 for חֶמְאָה‎.^[1] In מַכֹּ֫לֶת‎ 1 Kings 5:25 (for מַֽאֲכ״‎) the strengthening of the following consonant by Dageš compensates for the loss of the א‎; in מָסֹ֫רֶת‎ Ezekiel 20:37, if for מַֽאֲס״‎ (but read מוּסָר‎, with Cornill), the preceding vowel is lengthened; cf. above, c. On אֹמַר‎ for אֹאמַר‎, see §68g.

Rem. 1. In Aramaic the א‎ is much weaker and more liable to change than in Hebrew. In literary Arabic, on the other hand, it is almost always a firm consonant. According to Arabic orthography, א‎ serves also to indicatea long a, whereas in Hebrew it very rarely occurs as a mere vowel letter after Qameṣ; as in קָאם‎ Hosea 10:14 for קָם‎ he rose up; רָאשׁ‎ Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 13:23 for רָשׁ‎ poor; but in 2 Samuel 11:1 the K^ethîbh הַמַּלְאָכִים‎ the messengers, is the true reading; cf. §7b.

2. In some cases at the beginning of a word, the א‎, instead of a compound Š^euâ, takes the corresponding full vowel, e.g. אֵזוֹר‎ girdle for אֱזור‎; cf. §84^aq, and the analogous cases in §52n, §63p, §76d, §93r (אֽהָלְים‎).

3. An א‎ is sometimes added at the end of the word to a final û, î, or ô, e.g. הָֽלְכוּא‎ for הָֽלְכוּ‎ Joshua 10:24 (before !א‎), אָבוּא‎ Isaiah 28:12. These examples, however, are not so much instances of ‘Arabic orthography’, as early scribal errors, as in יִנָּשׂוּא‎ Jeremiah 10:5 for יִנָּֽשְׂאוּ‎; and in נָשׂוּא‎ Psalms 139:20 for נָֽשְׂאוּ‎. Cf. also יְהוּא‎ Ecclesiastes 11:3 (§75s); נָקִיא‎ for נָקִי‎ pure; לוּא‎ for לוּ‎ if; אֵפוֹא‎ for אֵפוֹ‎ then (enclitic); רִבּוֹא‎ for רִבּוֹ‎ myriad, Nehemiah 7:6671. On הוּא‎ and הִיא‎ see §32k.

4. The ה‎ is stronger and firmer than the א‎, and never loses its consonantal sound (i.e. quiesces) in the middle of a word^[2] except in the cases noted below, in which it is completely elided by syncope. On the other hand, at the end of a word it is always a mere vowel letter, unless expressly marked by Mappîq as a strong consonant (§14a). Yet at times the consonantal sound of הּ‎ at the end of a word is lost, and its place is taken by a simple ה‎ or more correctly הֿ‎, with Rāphè as an indication of its non-consonantal character, e.g. לָהֿ‎ to her for לָהּ‎, Zechariah 5:11, &c. (cf. §103g, and §§58g, 91e); cf. also יָה‎ for יָהּ‎ (from יָהוּ‎) in proper names like יִרְמְיָה‎, &c.—Finally, in very many cases a complete elision of the consonantal ה‎ takes place by syncope: (a) when its vowel is thrown back to the place of a preceding Š^ewâ mobile (see above, c, with א‎), e.g. לַבֹּ֫קֶר‎ for לְהַבֹּ֫קֶר‎ (the ה‎ of the article being syncopated as it almost always is); כַּיּוֹם‎ for כְּהַיּוֹם‎ [but see §35n], בֲּשָּׁמַ֫יִם‎ for בְּהַשָּׁמַ֫יִם‎; יֽוֹנָתָן‎ for יְהֽוֹנָתָן‎; perhaps also בְּנִיהֶם‎ for בְּנְהִיהֶם‎ Ezekiel 27:32. (b) By contraction of the vowels preceding and following the ה‎, e.g. סוּסוֹ‎ (also written סוּסֹה‎) from sûsahu (a+u=ô).—A violent suppression of ה‎ together with its vowel occurs in בָּם‎ (from בָּהֶם‎), &c. Rem. In connexion with ō and ē, a ה‎ which only marks the vowel ending is occasionally changed into ו‎ or י‎ (רָאוֹ‎=רָאֹה‎, חַכֵּי‎=חַכֵּה‎ Hosea 6:9), and with any vowel into א‎ in the later or Aramaic orthography, but especially with ā, e.g. שֵׁנָא‎ sleep, Psalms 127:2 for שֵׁנָה‎; נָשֹׁא‎ Jeremiah 23:39 for נָשֹׁהּ‎, &c. Thus it is evident that final ה‎ as a vowel letter has only an orthographical importance.