Biblical Hebrew Lecture 2 Vowels Study Notes

This lesson introduces the marks that guide pronunciation in a pointed Hebrew Bible. Learn each basic vowel's shape, name, class, length, location, and sound; then learn how vowel letters, full and defective spelling, shewa, and dagesh forte work. This is the foundation for the reading rules in the next chapter. (Pratico and Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar, ch. 2; Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook, lesson 2.)

The lesson in one minute

The Masoretic vowel points help readers pronounce an older consonantal text. The 11 basic vowel signs fall into long, short, and reduced types. Nine vowel-letter combinations use he, waw, or yod. Full and defective spellings may represent the same word. Shewa is two vertical dots that may be silent or briefly sounded. Dagesh forte is a dot inside a consonant that marks doubling. Learn what each sign looks like before trying to apply the later rules.

Why the vowel points matter

Deuteronomy 6:5 can be displayed without vowel points and then with them. The consonants remain the same; the later Masoretic marks guide pronunciation by appearing below, above, or sometimes inside letters. The ancient consonantal script could also use some consonants as vowel letters; those are different from the later pointing marks. (Deuteronomy 6:5; Pratico and Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar, ch. 2.)

Read the consonant first and its vowel second. For example, bet with dagesh and qamets is pronounced b followed by ah: bah. A vowel usually sits beneath its consonant; holem sits above and to the left. Learn the mark's position as well as its shape.

The 11 basic vowel signs

The example letters below make the point visible. They are pronunciation models, not vocabulary words. In this grammar's first chart there are three long vowels, five short vowels, and three reduced vowels.

Long vowels

Qamets בָּ A class; a small T-shaped mark below the consonant; ah as in father.

Tsere בֵּ E class; two horizontal dots below the consonant; ay as in they.

Holem בֹּ O class; one dot above and to the left of the consonant; o as in roll.

Remember the class sequence: qamets is A, tsere is E, and holem is O.

Short vowels

Pathach בַּ A class; one horizontal line below the consonant; a as in bat.

Seghol בֶּ E class; three dots in a small triangle below the consonant; e as in better.

Chireq בִּ I class; one dot below the consonant; i as in bitter.

Qamets hatuf בָּ O class; the same visible T-shaped sign as qamets, but a short o sound. Context will distinguish the two later.

Qibbuts בֻּ U class; three diagonal dots below the consonant; u as in ruler.

Keep pathach's single horizontal line distinct from the vertical pair of dots in shewa.

Reduced vowels

These are also called hateph vowels. Each combines a short-vowel sign with a shewa-like pair of vertical dots. Pronounce them very quickly; in running speech they may be hard to hear.

Hateph pathach אֲ Reduced A class; a very brief a sound.

Hateph seghol אֱ Reduced E class; a very brief e sound.

Hateph qamets אֳ Reduced O class; a very brief o sound.

Memory order: long qamets, tsere, holem; short pathach, seghol, chireq, qamets hatuf, qibbuts; reduced hateph pathach, hateph seghol, hateph qamets. Say the consonant before the vowel when you practice each model.

Vowel letters

A vowel letter is a combination of a vowel sound with one of three consonants: he, waw, or yod. The examples below are schematic combinations for recognizing the signs. Most names are simply the vowel name plus the letter name; shureq is the exception.

With he

These four combinations occur only at the end of a word. Torah is an example of final qamets-he.

Qamets he בָה A sound like qamets; he at the word's end.

Tsere he בֵה E sound like tsere; he at the word's end.

Seghol he בֶה E sound like seghol; he at the word's end.

Holem he בֹה O sound like holem; he at the word's end.

Final he can drop away in later word changes. He combinations are therefore not placed among the unchangeable long vowels.

With waw

Holem waw בּוֹ O sound; the dot is above the waw.

Shureq בּוּ U sound; a dot appears inside the waw. Its name is not formed as 'vowel plus waw.'

These may appear within or at the end of a word. They are called unchangeable long vowels because the waw spelling is relatively resistant to the vowel shortening and reduction that will matter in later grammar.

With yod

Tsere yod בֵּי E sound like tsere, as in they.

Seghol yod בֶּי E sound like seghol, as in better.

Chireq yod בִּי Long ee sound, as in machine.

These may occur within or at the end of a word. Like the waw combinations, the yod combinations are treated here as unchangeable long vowels. Memorize the location of the yod as well as the vowel point.

Full and defective spelling

A full spelling includes the vowel letter; a defective spelling writes the same vowel sound without that vowel letter. Three patterns are especially useful for recognition. The same word can have two spellings without a change in pronunciation.

Shofar: holem-waw in the full spelling becomes simple holem in the defective spelling. This is the word for a horn or trumpet.

Madua: shureq in the full spelling becomes qibbuts in the defective spelling. The word means 'why.'

David: chireq-yod in the full spelling becomes simple chireq in the defective spelling. This is the personal name David.

What to do when reading: recognize the consonants and vowel sound, then allow for either full or defective spelling. A missing vowel letter does not automatically mean a different word.

Shewa and dagesh forte

Shewa

Shewa בְּ Two vertical dots below a consonant. It is outside the 11 basic vowel signs and the A, E, I, O, U classes.

Silent shewa is not pronounced. Vocal shewa is pronounced very briefly after its consonant. The two look identical; chapter 3 will teach how to tell them apart. For now, memorize the shape and the two possible functions.

Dagesh forte

Dagesh forte קּ A dot inside a consonant that marks doubling of that consonant in the traditional analysis.

Dagesh forte looks like the dagesh lene from lesson 1, but the functions differ: forte doubles, while lene marks a hard begadkephat pronunciation. Forte does not occur in the four gutturals or resh. Chapter 3 will explain how to distinguish the two dots when one appears in a begadkephat letter.

What to memorize before chapter 3

1. For each of the 11 basic vowels: shape, name, class, long/short/reduced type, position, and pronunciation.

2. For each vowel letter: vowel sign plus he, waw, or yod; its name, sound, and where it may appear in a word.

3. The three full-to-defective patterns: holem-waw to holem, shureq to qibbuts, and chireq-yod to chireq.

4. Shewa: one shape, two possible values, silent or vocal.

5. Dagesh forte: a dot that marks doubling; distinguish its function from dagesh lene.

6. Practice reading each combination aloud, always pronouncing the consonant before its vowel.

Quick recall

Which three basic vowels are long? Why can qamets and qamets hatuf not be distinguished by shape alone? Which vowel letters must be word-final? Which are comparatively stable? What disappears in defective spelling? What two values can shewa have? What does dagesh forte do?

Reading: Gary D. Pratico and Miles V. Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar, chapter 2, and Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook, lesson 2. Scripture example: Deuteronomy 6:5.