1 2 Kings 20:20 (20:20) 150a. strength, might under BDB = ג בוּר ה Rare..ב ר יכ תּ א Arm.ברכת pool, pond under BDB 140a. Arb birkatu(n). Sab = ב ר כ ה Rare. water-course under BDB 752a. = ת ע ל ה participle. pattern of the Qal passive פ קוּד Note the characteristic A-Ū כ תוּב ים 2 Chronicles 32:30 This is a moderately challenging verse. (32:30) (door) stop up, shut up, keep close under BDB 711a. Arb sadama close = סתם (perhaps LW). 1 be a noun מ Or could the?מצא word? Under what root would you find this מוּצ א preformative and the ו is a sign of 1st מ?י is a common noun preformative and often indicates place/location where the action expressed by the root happens. מוּצ א = place or act of going forth, issue, export, source, spring under BDB 425b..מ י ם Alternative reduplicated plural construct form of מ ימ י PN. = ג יחוֹן is sometimes a noun וֹן word? Again under what root would you find this ע ל יוֹן ה and remember that 3rd עלי* sufformative which means the root would be verbs were originally 3rd ע ל יוֹן.י = high; upper under BDB 751a. If this is an adjective what noun does it modify? Peel away (1) the object pronoun and (2) waw-consecutive and prefix ו יּ ישׁ ר ם pronoun which leaves.ישׁר* We have a small problem here which is that the 1 LW = loan word (a word borrowed from another language).
2 vowels do not quite match any stem. BDB suggested the verb should be pointed ם*.ו י י שּׁ ר So what stem would that be? Any idea how the correct(?) form became what we see here? ישׁר = be smooth, straight, right, Piel make smooth, straight. 641a. downwards under BDB = מ טּ ה = II west (Late Biblical Hebrew) under BDB 788a. Sure enough see מ ע ר ב Richard M Wright, Linguistic Evidence for the Pre-Exilic Date of the Yahwistic Source, LHB/OTS (JSOTS) 419 (Sheffield: T and T Clark, 2005), 97-100 and Richard M Wright, Further Evidence for North Israelite Contributions to Late Biblical Hebrew, in Ian Young (ed), Biblical Hebrew Studies in Chronology and Typology (London: T and T Clark, 2003), 129-148. Basically I argue this word for west (1) was present in Israelean Hebrew during the pre-exilic period and (2) became part of Late Biblical Hebrew during the post-exilic period. Historical writing can sometimes be a little dense. Literally and it/he (was) Hezekiah shut off the outlet (of) (the) waters (of) Gihon the upper, and he made them straight to downwards (toward) west to/of (the) city (of) David. And Hezekiah prospered in all (of) his deed/doing.
3 Siloam Tunnel After(? or before?) you read the inscription in square (Aramaic) script I would like you to take a swing at reading it in paleo-hebrew. And I would like you to try reading first without vowels. [תמת.]הנקבה. וזה.היה.דבר.הנקבה.בעוד ].החצבם.מנפם [.1 קב. וישמ ]ע.קל.אש.ק.2.אש.אל.רעו.ובעוד.שלש.אמת.להנ ] הגרזן [ר]א.אל.רעו.כי.הית.זדה.בצר.מימן [.] ]ו[עד. שמא ]ל.ובים.ה.3 נקבה.הכו.החצבם.אש.לקרת.רעו.גרזן.על. [ג]רזן. וילכו [.].4 ם.ו ]אלף.אמה.ומ [א].5 המים.מן.המוצא.אל.הברכה.במאתי ].על.ראש.החצב [ם.].6 ת.אמה.היה.גבה.הצר
4 (ST:1) which we still see ת* developed from ה We are confident the 3fs suffix תמת in this 8th century inscription. Which raises what question(s) regarding the composition of the Hebrew Bible? תמם = be completed, finished under BDB 1070a. Arb tamma. Ph.תם Arm ת מ ימ א perfect. BDB. This word does not appear in the Hebrew Bible and therefore is not in נקבה However we are confident it means tunnel and is related to נקב = pierce under BDB 666a. Compare מ קּ ב ת excavation in Isaiah 51:1. still, yet, again, besides, (here) while under BDB = עוֹד.עוד + preposition בעוד 728b. Compare Genesis 48:7. In Arabic one normally says baʿad-mā to express while (something was happening). hew, hew = חצב ending. A little tricky. Definite article + verb form + החצבם out, cleave under BDB 345a. Notice the lack of vowel letter to express.חוֹצ ב* move to and = נוף ending. This is just brutal. Preformative + verb form + מנפם fro, wave, besprinkle, Hiphil swing, wield, wave under BDB 631b. Compare Exodus 20:25 and other examples. Notice lack of vowel letter to.מ נ יפ ים* express (ST:2) Rare. axe under BDB 173b. = ג ר ז ן הגרזן now? Got it.א ישׁ* period. during this שׂ from שׁ Note lack of dot to distinguish אש Remember this word can express man or each. friend, companion under BDB 945b. Learn = ר ע suffix. noun + pronominal רעו this word now. now? Got it.שׁלשׁ* - שלש = SI Akk ammatu. Note BDB cites.א מּ א ell, cubit under BDB 52a. Arm = א מּ ה Siloam Inscription.
5 stem? preposition + verb. So what is the form? להנקב now? Got it.קוֹל* - קל (ST:3) pattern כוֹכ כ help? You should recognize the distinctive קוֹר א* Form? Would קרא by now! which is what we normally see ה not ת Again notice the 3fs suffix pronoun הית in Biblical Hebrew. This word is a stumper and not present in Biblical Hebrew. Scholars think it זדה is based on root זנד* which they surmise from Syriac and Arabic. Something like narrow, straightened place > fissure, crack(?). 849b. rock, cliff under BDB = צוּר right hand; south (which is on the right when you = י מ ין.ימן + preposition מימן face east) under BDB 411b. north under BDB 969b. Akk šumēlu. Arb šimālu(n) north = שׂ מ אל Try שמאל.שמאל wind. OArm now? Got it.יוֹם* noun. + preposition + ו ובים (ST:4) help? Take away suffix and preformative ה כּוּ* You actually know this. Would הכו and that leaves only.כ Kittel neat verb trick #6 gets lonely sometimes. Take her/him out for a spin. preposition + verb form. What kind of verb takes a preposition? Would לקרת help? Review Kittel 25.3b aka Kittel verb trick #Q6. Do not confuse ק רוֹת*!קרא with קרה See if you can figure this out by yourselves. One of the most common verbs וילכו in Biblical Hebrew. By the way this shows this particular verb form existed
6 (ST:5) and was used in this time period. But wait! What is the subject? Does it normally precede or follow this verb form? How convenient that you learned this word in 2 Chronicles 32:30! Oh wait המוצא a moment. If the Siloam Inscription does not use vowel letters for long Ō then how was this word probably pronounced? 20:20! And this one in 2 Kings הברכה hundred under BDB = מ אָה tricky. preposition + noun + ending. A little במאתים 547b. Ph מאתם,מאת (dual). Akk mē. Tel Amarna mē-at. Arb miʾatu(n). Sab י ד י ם ending?!? Hint Compare תים So what is this.מ אָה Arm.מאתם,מאת (two) hands. Is there such a thing as a feminine dual?!?.א ל ף = II thousand under BDB 48b. Arb ʾalfu(n). Arm אלף (ST:6) belongs to the segholate ג ב הּ height under BDB 147a. Believe it or not = ג ב הּ class of nouns. Remember that ק ט ל aka segholate nouns developed from ending. and the original form appears again when there is a suffix or ק ט ל * In other words מ ל ך came from *.מ ל ךּ So how was this word probably pronounced during the time of Hezekiah? right? ר אשׁ You know ראש