It is understood that the name Joshua in the Old Testament is properly “Yehoshua.” This “yeh” pronunciation is based on the vocal shewa under the yod יְה The pronunciation of this shewa is usually taught in Biblical Hebrew that it has the sound of “eh”. We asked Steven Fassberg, one of the world’s foremost Hebrew Scholars at the Hebrew Language Department of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, the following question:
I was taught that the vocal shewa (shewa marked under an initial letter is classified shewa naʼ or mobil) makes a short “eh” sound. But I stumbled on a Tiberian Hebrew lesson that said that in Tiberian Hebrew, the vocal shewa makes an “ah” sound while modern Hebrew uses an “eh.” Can you please clarify? I understand that hateph vowels take on the sound of the vowel next to them but what about when these vowels appear alone in the initial syllable?
“The Modern Hebrew pronunciation ‘e’ of the shewa mobile is based on the medial Sephardic pronunciation of Hebrew. The Tiberian Masoretes pronounced shewa mobile as a short a (like a hataf patah). We know this from: 1) the fact that sometimes a hataf patah replaces a shewa mobile when the consonant is not a guttural; 2) Tiberian Masoretic compositions; 3) the traditional Yemenite Hebrew pronunciation of Hebrew, which agrees in many points with Tiberian Masoretic compositions.” (Note: The Hateph Pathach has the sound of “a” as in amuse)
–Steven Fassberg, PhD
– Member, The Academy of the Hebrew Language, Jerusalem
– Associate Editor, The Historical Dictionary of the Hebrew Language project, The Academy of the Hebrew
Language
– Associate Editor, Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Leiden: Brill, 2013.
– Acting Provost, The School for Overseas Students, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Spring semester 1998
– Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, 2004-2005
– Chair, Department of Hebrew Language 1998-2001, 2006-2009
– Director, Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, 2006-2009
– Academic Head, Revivim Honors Program for the Training of Jewish Studies Teachers, 2014-
Full list of credentials:
https://pluto.huji.ac.il/~fassberg/
