Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Jože Krašovec on the Gutturals Aleph, He, and Ḥeth and their Reception in Translated Texts

  

The Gutturals Aleph, He, and eth

 

The gutturals א and ה have no consonantal value, but serve only to carry a vowel sign or to act as a mere orthographic indication of a preceding vowel. With regard to pronunciation it may be remarked that א is the weakest of the gutturals; it corresponds to the spiritus lenis of the Greeks and is actually pronounced only in a syllable that is closed in one way or another. The letter ה, on the other hand, corresponds to the spiritus asper of the Greeks and is pronounced at the end of a syllable and before a vowel as a light guttural; at the end of a word it is inaudible. In the Greek transliteration of Hebrew proper names contained in the Septuagint and other Bible translations A is always considered merely as the bearer of the respective vowel: אבימאל (Gen 10:27)—‘Αβιμαελ, Vg. Abimahel; אלמוֹדד (Gen 10:27)—‘Ελμωδαδ, Vg: Helmodad; יזרעאל (1 Chr 4:3)—‘Ιεζραηλ, Vg: Phanuhel. How can the insertion of an /h/ before the radical א be explained? Since this happened only in compound names, we may assume that the purpose was to indicate that the two vowels are to be pronounced separately: Bahalmeon, Behelfegor, Behelsefon, Beselehel, Iamuhel, Israhel, Misahel, Raguhel. In transliterated proper names into Greek ה is fairly often dropped; rarely is it rendered by the spiritus asper. In transliteration into Latin this letter is sometimes retained and rendered as h: אברהם (Gen 17:5)—‘Αβρααμ, Vg. Abraham; אהרוֹן (Exod 4:14)—‘Ααρων, the syncopated form ‘Αρων (A Exod 6:26; 7:8; Num 12:10; Sir 45:6), Vg: Aaron ני-הנֹם (Josh 15:8)—‘Εννομ, Vg: Gehennom; חוֹשׁע (Hos 1:1)—Ωσηε, Vg: Osee; הימם (Gen 36:22)—Αιμαν, Vg: Heman; הלם (1 Chr 7:35)—‘Ελαμ, Vg: Helem; יהורה (Gen 29:35)—Ιουδας, ‘Ιουδα, Vg: Iuda; יהוֹשע (Exod 17:9)—‘Ιησους, Vg: Iosue. We may conclude that Jerome transliterates ה at times with h on the basis of Hebrew grammar. An especially conspicuous example of this kind is the name Abraham as explained by Jerome in his discussion of the changes in the name forms Abram/Abraham (see S. Hieronymus, Hebraicae quaestiones in libro Geneseos, in S. Hieronymi presbyteri opera, Pars 1/1/ 21 [on Gen 17:5]).

 

Greek could not convey the guttural sound of the Hebrew letter ח. In a number of names it is transliterated with the letter χ, in Latin with the letter h; for instances: אחאב (1 Kings 16:28)—‘Αχααβ, Vg: Ahab; חברוֹן (Gen 13:18)—Χεβρων, Vg: Hebron. More often the letter is not expressed at all either in Greek or in Latin, or it is transcribed with a vowel: אחשׁורוֹשׁ (Ezra 4:6)—‘Ασσουηρος, Vg: Asuerus; חנוֹך (Gen 5:21)—‘Ενωχ, Josephus: ‘Ανωχος, ‘Ανωχης, Vg: Enoch; חצוֹר (Josh 11:1)—‘Ασωρ, Vg: Asor; חרמוֹן (Deut 3:8)—‘Αερμων, Vg: Hermon; יוֹחנן (2 Kgs 25:23)—‘Ιωαναν (A)A, ‘Iωνα (B), in many other biblical places and in Josephus ‘Ιωαννης, Vg: Iohannan. A good number of names are transliterated without considering this sound or with a semi-vowel, indicated with the spiritus asper, חגי (Hag 1:1)—‘Αγγαιος, ‘Αγγαιος, Vg: Aggeus; חוקיק (Hab 1:1)-‘Αμβακουμ, Vg: Abacuc; חוּה (Gen 4:1)—Ευα, Ευα, Vg: Hava; חזקיהוּ (2 Kgs 16:20)—‘Εζεκιας, Vg: Ezechias; חנה (1 Sam 1:2)—‘Αννα, ‘Αννα, Vg: Anna; חנניה (Jer 28:1)—Ανανιας, Ανανιας, Vg: Ananias.

 

Medial ח with a vowel, when it represents a laryngeal rather than a velar, is variously rendered: as a single or double vowel with omission of the sign, and so on. Note, for instance: יחלאל (Gen 46:14 A)—‘Αλοηλ, Vg: Iahelel, but in Num 26:26 (22)—Αλληλ, Vg: Ialel; יחצאל (Gen 46:24)—‘Ασιηλ, Vg: Iahelel, Iessihel (Num 26:46); מחלי (Exod 6:19)—Μοολι, Vg: Mooli; נחבּי (Num 13:14 [15])—Ναβι, Vg: Naabbi; נחלאל (Num 21:19)—Νααλιηλ, Vg: Nahalihel; נחשׁוֹן (Exod 6:23)—Ναασσων, Vg: Naasson; רחב (Josh 2:1)—‘Ρααβ, Josephus Ρααβη, Ραχαβη, Vg: Raab; רחֹב (Num 13:21 [22])—‘Ρααβ, Vg: Roob. (Jože Krašovec, The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names [Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 418; London: T&T Clark, 2010, 2019], 97-99; this might have implications for the NHM/NM debate about Book of Mormon Nahom [1 Nephi 16:34])