BOOK ONE

Similarly, regarding the letter heth The eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: ח.: the function of these letters at the end of words is to place a breath after each point. They provide either a rough or a smooth breathing, even though the letters he The fifth letter: ה. and heth differ in writing. A final he is never pointed. However, a final heth sometimes has a point placed beneath it. An example is [Hebrew: רוּחַ] original: "רוּחַ" which is pronounced Ruah and not ruha.

This is certainly a point worthy of notice and should not be forgotten. What I have said applies when it is a terminal heth. If another letter follows it, the letter itself begins another syllable. It then places its breath in the usual order. For example, [Hebrew: רוּחִי] original: "רוּחִי" means ruhi meaning "my spirit" and [Hebrew: רוּחוֹ] original: "רוּחוֹ" means ruho meaning "his spirit". But when the letter itself creates the final syllable, the sound of the point below it precedes the breath. Then, a strong breath follows the vocalization of the word.

Furthermore, you should not be unaware of the practice observed regarding the sheva A vowel point ( ְ ) indicating either a very short sound or no sound at all. point. It is customary for it to be pronounced sometimes and not at others. In the case of connected consonants Reuchlin uses the term "connexiles" to refer to consonant clusters., those on the other side of the Alps Meaning the Italians and Spaniards. follow one custom, while those on this side Meaning the Germans. follow another. According to the teaching of Priscian A famous Latin grammarian from the 6th century. at the end of the first book of his Grammatical Art, there are double connections: BD, GD, CT, PT, MN, SB, SC, SL, SM, SP, ST. Among the Hebrews, the same rules apply to the letter Z as they do to S. All "mute" consonants Consonants like b, d, g, p, t, k. precede the three "liquid" consonants Consonants that flow easily into others, like l, n, r. individually: specifically L, N, and R. But only C, D, G, and T can be placed before M. At the end of a word, all liquids are found before S, but only three precede X or CS: specifically L, N, and R. Likewise, triple capital letters can hold together, such as SCR, STR, SPR; and similarly SCL, STL, SPL. As for final clusters, they consist first of a liquid, then a mute, and thirdly an S.

After considering this carefully, one must observe that whenever the sheva point is written under connected consonants, it is usually silent and still among the Germans. However, among the Italians and Spaniards, it is moved slightly and whispered, as if you hear a very thin "e" sound. We experience this in the beginning of the Bible mentioned previously, [Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית] original: "בְּרֵאשִׁית" meaning "In the beginning." where the mute and liquid letters are connected. For this reason, the sheva under the letter beth The first letter of the word: בְּ. is not pronounced by the Germans. They say bresith, just as the Latins say brevis.

Let us take the beginning of the second book of the Bible Exodus.. The second word is found to be [Hebrew: שְׁמוֹת] original: "שְׁמוֹת" meaning "Names." where the connected letters are S and M. Therefore, the sheva point is quiet and silent on this side of the mountains, that is, in Germany. But it is whispered beyond the mountains. The Germans say smoth. The Italians and Spaniards say semoth. They speak it in an iambic fashion, meaning the first syllable is very short. It is the same with [Hebrew: סְפָרַד] original: "סְפָרַד" which means Spain, and [Hebrew: צְפַנְיָה] original: "צְפַנְיָה" which is the name Zephaniah.

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