Hebrew Grammar
Paul D. Wegner
LESSON 5:
Generally a word cannot begin with a shewa since it lacks vowel qualities, but a rare
exception in Psalm 45:3 is a word that begins with three shewas (circled below):
M∂dDa
You are more beautiful than the sons of men
y´nV;bIm DtyIpÎyVpÎy
Grace
pours
from
your
lips
ÔKyRtwøtVpV
cV;b NEj qAx…wh
MDlwøoVl
MyIhølTa ÔKVkårE;b NE;k_lAo
Therefore God has blessed you forever
Grammatically it is not possible for a word to begin with three shewas. The textual note
in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (modern Hebrew Bible) therefore states that the Codex
Leningradens is corrupted here. The Stuttgartensia is known as a “diplomatic edition”
(i.e., it follows a single manuscript source, even reproducing possible corruptions) that
follows the text of the Codex Leningradensis. It would be almost impossible to
pronounce a word with three consecutive shewas and thus the middle shewa must be
changed to a ˙îreq which is the next closest vowel to the shewa (this is called
attenuation). The form should therefore read
ÔKyRtwøtVpˆcV;b
A. Simple Shewas (;k )
A shewa is a sign which indicates the absence of a vowel and it fills the gap under a letter
with no vowel point. A simple shewa may be either vocal or silent and is represented by the
e
same sign (; ) (e.g., ;k). The vocal shewa is transcribed as ( ), but the silent shewa is not
transcribed. Examples:
day;b.
b
e
owm;$il
- ya∂
liß -
mº
vocal shewa
silent shewa
1. Silent Shewa
A silent shewa indicates the end of a syllable (i.e., functions as a syllable divider) and is
not pronounced. When transcribing a word, a silent shewa is not written:
Example:
Llo+;qit.
tiq-ªºl
Lboot.;;kiiy
Notice the silent shewa is not written
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yi˚-tº∫
Hebrew Grammar
Paul D. Wegner
There are two principles that help to determine whether the shewa is silent:
a. Following a short, unaccented vowel. In Hebrew there cannot be a short vowel in a
distant open syllable—the syllable must close thereby causing a closed unaccented
syllable.
Examples :
hfmfh;lim
Mek;mi)
silent shewa
Note that the final consonant of a word does not regularly contain a silent shewa even
though it does close a syllable. However, there are two notable exceptions:
1. When a word ends with two unvocalized consonants (e.g., common in the Perfect
2FS form, ;;;t.;batfk. kœ-tabt ). In this case, the syllable is said to
doubly close and both unvocalized consonants take a silent shewa.
2. A kœπ (K ) without a vowel carries a silent shewa to distinguish it from the final nûn
(N ).
Example:
Kele≥em
me-lek
b. The first shewa in a series of two.
Examples:
w.r;m;$iy
w.b;t.;kit.
silent shewa
w.k;l;miy
vocal shewa
silent shewa (closes the syllable)
2. Vocal Shewa
e
A vocal shewa always indicates the beginning of a syllable and is transliterated as ( ).
e
Example:
=b
A shewa is vocal if it appears:
a. At the beginning of the word.
;b.
Example:
rowk;b.
b
e
- ˚ôr
b. The second one in a series of two shewas.
Example:
w.r;m;$iy
vocal shewa
yiß-m
e-
rû
silent shewa
c. Following a Dagesh Forte (this is a doubling dot that is discussed later).
Example:
w.r;b.id.
dib-be-rû
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Hebrew Grammar
Paul D. Wegner
d. Following a long vowel.
Example:
w.k;l"y
y®-l e-kû
w.b ;t. ;kiy = yi˚-te-∫û
vocal shewa
silent shewa
An important rule concerning two consecutive shewas is called The Rule of Shewa:
The Rule of Shewa:
A WORD CANNOT BEGIN WITH TWO CONSONANTS THAT DO NOT
HAVE VOWELS (i.e., TWO VOCAL SHEWAS). THE FIRST VOCAL
SHEWA THEREFORE BECOMES THE NEAREST, SHORT VOWEL
(i.e., ˙îreq ).
Example:
l)w.m:$ + ;l = l)w.m:$il
:AA:
:A:AE:
F:
B. Compound (Composite) Shewas: (e.g.,
,
,
)
Technically the compound shewa is a short vowel plus a simple vocal shewa, sometimes
referred to as ˙œªeπ (half) vowels.
Example:
a
+
:
MowdE:)el
=
A:x
as in
MowlA:x
MyimfkA:x
“dream”
boqA:(£ay
Compound shewas are only placed under guttural letters (), h, x, () and r r®ß, because these
letters need a helping sound. A compound shewa is not a vowel, however; it is merely a place
holder. In pronunciation, a compound shewa is to be slightly colored by the corresponding short
vowel. There are three composite shewas, one for each of the semitic vowel classes (i.e., A, I,
and U).
A:))
(E:))
(F:))
A-Class compound shewa is a ˙œªeπ (half) patha˙ (
I-Class compound shewa is a ˙œªeπ (half) se©ºl
U-Class compound shewa is a ˙œªeπ (half) qœm®∆
(The qœm®∆ of the ˙œªeπ qœm®∆ is always a short “o”.)
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Hebrew Grammar
Paul D. Wegner
When a simple vocal shewa immediately precedes a compound shewa (remember the Rule of
Shewa—a word cannot begin with two vocal shewas), the simple vocal shewa changes to the
corresponding full short vowel of the ˙œªeπ vocalization.
Examples:
MowlA:A:x
+
;b.
=
MowlA:xab.
MowdEE:) + ;;l = MowlA:xaal
Summary:
1. There are two types of simple shewas:
a. Silent Shewa: indicates the end of a syllable and is silent.
b. Vocal Shewa: indicates the beginning of a syllable and is vocal.
2. Rules for determining shewas:
a. Silent Shewa: Whenever the shewa closes the syllable it is silent (e.g.
bot.;kiy
).
Silent Shewa
b. Vocal Shewa: Whenever a shewa is the only vowel in a syllable it must be vocal
(e.g.
rowk;b.
)
Vocal Shewa
c. Rule of Shewa: A word cannot begin with two vowelless consonants and thus the
first vocal shewa must go to the nearest, short vowel (e.g.,
l)w.m:$ + ;l = l)w.m:$il
3. Compound Shewas: These shewas go under Gutturals and r®ß in order to provide a
helping vowel sound.
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Hebrew Grammar
Paul D. Wegner
Exercise 5
A. Divide the following words into syllables and label the shewas (i.e., vocal = v; and silent =
s):
Examples:
MyihlE:)
Myih l E:)
vocal shewa
w.l;lah
w.l ;lah
silent shewa
1.
lo+:qit. _______ 5.
hfn;b≥ot.;kit.
_______
2.
Mek.;mi) _______ 6.
w.b;t.;kiy
_______
3.
hfmfx;lim _______
7.
rowk;b.
8.
Met.;rak;zw.
_______
4.
w.r;m;$iy _______
_______
B. Write the names of the ˙œªeπ vowels in the following words:
1.
MowlA:x
__________________ 4.
henA:xam
__________________
2.
MyihlE:)
__________________
5.
K;bfzEE:(e)
__________________
3.
yirA:)
__________________
__________________
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6.
damF:(£fh
Hebrew Grammar
Paul D. Wegner
For Further Reading:
Gesenius, W. and E. Kautzsch. Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar. Trans. A. E. Cowley. Oxford: Clarendon,
1910. Pp. 51–54.
Kelley, P. H. Biblcal Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992. Pp. 8, 13.
Lambdin, T. O. Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. New York: Scribner, 1971. Pp. xix–xx.
Seow, C. L. A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Nashville: Abingdon, 1989. Pp. 10-11.
Weingreen, J. A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew. 2nd Ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1959. Pp. 8–14.
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