A Short Hebrew Grammar
A SHORT HEBREW GRAMMAR.
1. THE Hebrews, like most of the Eastern nations, read from the right hand to the left.
2. They have two-and-twenty Consonants: —
Their Figure. Their Name. Their Power.
a Aleph
b Beth b, bh
g Gimel g, gh
d Daleth d, dh
h He h
w Vau v
z Zain z
j Cheth ch
f Teth t
y Jod i
˚ k Caph c, ch
l Lamed l
µ m Mem m
ˆ n Nun n
s Samech s
[ Gnain gn
π p Pe p, ph
≈ x Tsade ts
q Koph k
r Resh r
ç Shin sh
t Tau t, th
3. Five of these have a twofold shape, one writ only at the end of a word; six, a twofold power; soft and harsh.
4. c with a point on the left side is sounded s.
5. The Vowels are fifteen: —
Five long. Five short.
a; Kamets a aæ Patha a
ae Tseri e a, Segol e
yai Great Hirik i ai Little Hirik i
/ Holem o a’ Kamets Katuph o
W Shurek u au Kibbuts u
Five are very short.
Sheva, e; æ Patha Genubha, a; } Hateph Patha, a;. ‘ Hateph Segol, e; ‘ Hateph Kamets, o.
6. Sheva sometimes is mute, that is, not pronounced; namely, after a short vowel, (unless the consonant over it has a point in it,) after a long vowel accented, before another Sheva, and at the end of a word.
7. A Consonant begins, and with a Vowel makes, a syllable; but without one, adheres to the preceding.
8. Patha Genubha is always inserted under, and read before, a final h, j, or [, preceded by any long Vowel but Kamets; as, hæ/la’ jæWr [æde/y.
9. Holem is often without a Vau, and is swallowed up by the contiguous point of ç; as, hv,m, ˆmec.
10. a, h, j,and [, are termed guttural letters.
11. a is never pronounced; nor h at the end of a word; neither y without a vowel, or w with Holem or Shurek.
12. Eleven Consonants are termed Servile, a, b, h, w, y, k, l, m, n, ç, t: Eleven Radical, g, d, z, j, f, s, [, p, x, q, r. These are always Radical letters; but those are not always Servile.
13. Consonants express numbers: The ten first, units; the ten following, tens; the rest, and the final letters, hundreds: Consonants marked with points or little lines, thousands; so, aO,1000; bO, 2000.
14. Kamets and Patha answer each other; Tseri and Little Hirik, or Segol; Holem and Kibbuts, or Kamets Katuph.
15. Shurek is sometimes changed into Kibbuts, and Holem into Kibbuts, for better sound’s sake.
16. Segol, by reason of [ or j in the middle or end of a word, is changed into Patha; as, r [ænæ for r [,n,.
17. All vowels, except Shurek and Kibbuts, may be changed into Sheva.
18. Sheva under a guttural takes to itself a short vowel, chiefly Patha; but under a, Segol.
19. Sheva before a compound vowel is changed into the short one that answers it.
20. A compound vowel before Sheva loses its points, and becomes a short one.
21. Sheva is understood under every Dagesh and Mappik, and before Maccaph; as, WnGej; µd;a;h;Alk;.
22. Patha Genubha vanishes away when any addition is made to a word; as, jæWr yjiWr.
23. Hateph Kamets scarce ever loses its points: Kamets Chatuph frequently does.
24. There is no proper diphthong in the Hebrew, unless y joined with a vowel be such; as, ynædoa}, Adonai.
25. Dagesh doubles all the letters, except Gutturals and Resh; but in the beginning of a word, and in the middle of one, after a consonant that is pronounced, or a mute Sheva, it only hardens the letters TPæK]D]GæB].
26. Of two like (sometimes unlike) letters meeting, in the middle of a word, one is hid by a Dagesh.
27. Sometimes n, rarely y, is inserted in the room of Dagesh.
28. Dagesh excluded commonly (not always) makes the preceding vowel long; expressed, makes it short.
29. Mappik causes a final H to be pronounced with force, and turns Iod between two vowels into Jod.
30. Maccaph joins words, and shortens vowels.
31. Metheg lengthens the preceding vowel.
32. The points are aâ Silluk, a period; a– Athnach, a colon; a± Zakephkaton, a semicolon; aO Rebbia, a comma. These are placed on the same syllable where the tone is.
33. The tone is commonly on the last syllable. The word is then termed Milra,
(1.) In Patha, Iod, Hirik; as, µyIm`æ:
(2.) In Segol, or Patha put for it:
(3.) In Serviles, yTi, T;, W, hn:, ynI, Ú, /m, h, and h Paragogic. These words are termed Milhel: But Segol before a radical h, and a servile Mem or Nun, is Milra. Sheva has no tone.
34. Soph Pasuk is at the end of all verses.
35. A little circle ° is the mark of a word which is read otherwise than it is written; namely, with the vowels in the text, and the consonants in the margin. Such words are called Keri and Ketib.
36. An Article is either an entire word, as, hz,, taOz this, these, rv,a} which; or a letter of each prefixed to another word, with a Dagesh following.
37. h is prefixed with a Patha, as, rb,g,hæ (but when Dagesh is excluded, with a Kamets, as, vyaih;); but before: h, j, and [, having a Kamets, with Segol, as µyrih;h,: v always with a Segol.
38. Sometimes an emphatical h is prefixed to hz, or taOz.
39. There are few Primitive Nouns: Most Nouns are derived from Verbs, which therefore are called Roots.
40. A Root is usually triliteral, like l [æp; the ancient paradigm of a Verb; whence the first consonant of every Root is called Pe, the second Gnain, the third Lamed.
41. Nouns are formed from Roots: —
(1.) By changing the vowels:
(2.) By adding the Serviles wyTin]mæa’h, and sometimes v or l.
42. m is added in the beginning of a word; h often, y or ˆ sometimes, at the end; t at the beginning or end.
43. h is sometimes doubled, the former being changed into t.
44. The first consonant of a Noun derived from Pe Iod changes y into w; as, hr;/t from hr;y;.
45. A final h frequently has a Kamets before it; a final t, a Segol, Great Hirik, or Shurek; sometimes an Holem.
46. Lamed h often passes into y; as, yrip].
47. Nouns have only one Case, but three Genders, the Masculine, Feminine, and Common. The Feminine supplies the place of the Neuter.
48. The Numbers are three, Singular, Dual, and Plural.
49. Nouns ending in a Servile h or t are Feminine; as are those that signify a thing double by nature.
50. All others are Masculine; only a few are of the Common Gender.
51. The Plural Number is formed from the Singular Masculine, by adding µyi; as, ryvi µyriyvi; throwing away h with the preceding Segol; as, hn,qmi µynq]mi: Feminines, by changing h with the preceding Kamets, or t with the preceding Segol, into t/; but tyI, tW, into t/Y, tWY u.
52. Some Masculine Nouns form the Plural like Feminines: Some Feminine, like Masculines.
53. The Dual Number assumes µyi with a Patha preceding; but changes h into t; as, hn;v; µyitæn;v].
54. When two Nouns treating of different things concur, the former changes its termination, and is said to be in construction. A Masculine Plural changes µyi into y e; a Feminine changes h; into t æ; hence arises a kind of Declension.
Substantive Masc. Sing. ryvi. Pl. µyrivi yreyvi.
Fem. Sing. hr;yvi træyvi. Pl. t/ryvi.
Adjective Sing. b/f hb;/f tbæ/f. Pl. t/b/f µybi/f ybe/f.
55. The Personal Pronouns are three.
ynia} or ykinOa; I, me; Wnj]næa} or Wnj]næ: we, us, Com. Gen. hT;aæ M. Taæ F. thou, thee: µT,aæ M. ˆT,aæ F. you. aWh he: ayhi she: µhe, hm;he they, M. ˆhe, hn;he they, Fem.
56. The other Pronouns are fragments of these, the Tau of the second being changed into Caph; suffixed to Nouns of any Gender or Number duly prepared.
57. Nouns Masculine; Singular, lose h with the preceding Segol; Plural, m with the preceding Hirik; Jod also being cut off before another Iod.
58. Nouns Feminine; Singular, change h into t; Plural, assume Iod, unless before another Iod.
59. The Singular suffixes y, mine; Ú,i, thine; w, H, his, hers, are suffixed to Nouns,
Singular, with Hirik; Sheva, Tseri; Holem, Kamets.
Plural, with Patha: Segol, Patha Hirik; Kamets, Segol, h being changed into h;.
60. The Plural suffixes, Wn ours; µk,, ˆk, yours; µ, or ˆ, his, or theirs, are suffixed to Nouns,
Singular, with Tseri: Twice Sheva: Twice Kamets.
To all Plurals with Tseri; µh,, ˆh,, being put for µ, ˆ.
61. µk, ˆk,, µh, ˆh,, are suffixed to construct Nouns.
62. Plural Terminations often retain µ or ˆ with a Kamets, omitting y; as, µt;/mv] for µh,yTe/mv].
63. Masculines drop h with a Segol preceding, and take Wh with a Tseri for /; as, hl, [;, Whle [;.
64. In verse /m is put for m, or µh,, and sometimes for Vau; as, /mynep; for wyn;p;.
65. hP, construct, or with a suffix, becomes ypi; which is imitated by ba;, ja;, µh;.
66. The Root of a Verb is the Third Person Singular of the Preterperfect Tense, consisting of three Consonants with Kamets and Patha; as, dqæp;.
67. The Conjugations are seven, — Kal, Niphal: Pihel, Puhal: Hiphil, Hophal: Hithpahel.
68. Kal has usually a Neutral sense: Pihel, Hiphil, an Active Niphal, Puhal, Hophal, a Passive: Hithpahel, a Reciprocal.
69. Again, Kal signifies simply to do a thing; Pihel, to do it earnestly; Hiphil, to do, to permit, or cause to be done.
70. The Passives, Niphal, Puhal, Hophal, answer to the Actives, Kal, Pihel, and Hiphil.
71. Pihel, Puhal, Hithpahel, are called Grave Conjugations, because the middle Consonant is burdened with a Dagesh: The rest, Light.
72. The Moods are three: The Indicative, Imperative, and Infinitive; and are ranked with Futures: The two latter are written nearly alike. Puhal and Hophal have no Imperative.
73. The Present Tense is supplied by the Participle, which in Kal is either Benoni, Present Active, or Pahul, Present Passive. The other Participles all assume Mem.
74. A Verb is conjugated thus: —
Praet. Imp. Inf. Future. Part.
Kal dqæP; dqop] d/qp]a, dqePo dWqp;
Niphal dqæp]nI dqeP;hi dqeP;a, dq;p]nI
Pihel dQæpi dQepæ dQepæa} dQepæm]
Puhal dQæpu d/qpu dQæpua} dQ;Pum]
Hiph. dyqip]hi dyqip]hæ dyqip]aæ dyqip]m;
Hoph. dqæp]h; dqep]h; dqæp]a; dq;p]m;
Hithp.dQepæt]hi dQepæt]hi dQePæt]a, dQepætmi
75. Verbs admit of Genders. Indeed all the first Persons, and the third Person Plural of the Preterperfects, have but one termination, which is common: But the rest a twofold, Masculine and Feminine.
76. The Persons are distinguished by the final Formatives. Of the Preterperfect, Sing. h; T; T] yTi. Pl. W µT, ˆT, Wn. Of the Imperative, F., sing. y. Pl. hn;.
Of the Future, by the initial Formatives y Ti nI a, with the finals of the Imperative. Aleph has Segol under it; the rest, Little Hirik.
77. Again a is the formative of the first Person Singular, n of the first Person Plural, T of the second of both Genders and Numbers, as also of the third Person Feminine, y of the third Masculine.
78. The formatives h; y i W are termed Asyllabical, and change Patha, Holem, and Tseri, into Sheva; before which an initial Sheva becomes little Hirik; as, dqop] ydiq]pi. Observe, in this case Lamed tpæk] d]gæb] does not admit of Dagesh Lene even after a mute Sheva.
79. The other formatives, termed Syllabical, take a mute Sheva, and change nothing, but keep throughout the Patha of the Root.
80. The Persons therefore in Kal are formed thus: —
Preterperfect.
Sing. Plur.
3. Masc. dqæP; 3. Com. Wdq]ôP;
Fem. hd;q]ôP;
2. Masc. T;d]qæP; 2. Masc. µT,d]qæP]
Fem. T]d]qæP; Fem. ˆT,d]qæP]
1. Common yTid]qæP; 1. Com. Wnd]qæP;
Imperative.
Sing. Plur.
2. Masc. d/qP] 2. Masc. Wdq]Pi
Fem. ydiq]Pi Fem. hn;d]/qêP]
Future.
Sing. Plur.
1. Com. d/qp]a, 1. Com. d/qp]nI
2. Masc. d/qp]Ti 2. Masc. Wdq]p]Ti
Fem. yôdiq]p]Ti Fem. hn;d]/qoêp]Ti
3. Masc. d/qêp]yI 3. Masc. Wdq]p]yI
Fem. d/qp]Ti Fem. hn;d]/qêp]Ti
81. The Persons are formed much after the same manner in the rest of the Conjugations. But the initial formatives in Niphal and Hithpahel have little Hirik (only Aleph, Segol) in Pihel and Puhal, Sheva (only Aleph, Hatephpatha) in the Perfect of Hiphil, little Hirik; elsewhere Patha: In Hophal, Kamets Chatuph throughout.
82. But the emphatical Infinitive retains Kamets.
83. An initial z, s,x, or ç, is transposed with t in Hithpahel: And that t, after z, is changed into d; after x into f.
84. A Root sometimes ends in Tseri, rarely in Holem.
85. Tseri is conjugated like other Verbs; Holem with Kamets Chatuph in the second and first Persons of the Perfect; as, T;x]pæh; yTix]pæj;, T;l]k;y; yTil]k;y:.
86. Futures frequently turn Holem or Tseri into Patha; chiefly before the finals j, [, or r.
87. Frequently they assume a paragogical h with Kamets, sometimes with Segol.
88. The Future sometimes signifies somewhat that is customary, or wont to be done.
89. The conversive Particle w, with a Patha, (and with a Kamets before the First Person Singular,) turns the Future into the Perfect; with Sheva or Shurek, the Perfect into the Future; unless preceded by a perfect Verb unconverted.
90. The Preter and Future Tense, when they signify somewhat that is, or ought to be, constantly done, without limitation or respect to any particular time, are then to be explained in the Present. Psalms 1:1, 2.
91. The formatives, y of the Future, and m of the Participle, though they have a Sheva, reject Dagesh.
92. A Participle is declined like an Adjective, changing the Tseri or Holem into Sheva.
93. All Participles, beside Pahul, have a second Feminine ending in t with two Segols preceding; as, hd;q]po, td,q,poo.
94. Verbs are irregular either,
(1.) Because of irregular vowels. These are termed Guttural Verbs; and are either Pe Guttural, Gnain Guttural, or Lamed Guttural: Or,
(2.) Because of irregular consonants. These are termed Defective Verbs, wanting one of the Radical letters; either the first, as, Pe Nun, Pe Iod; or the second, as, Double Gnain, Gnain Vau.
95. Pe Guttural takes a compound vowel for Sheva; Hateph Patha in the Futures of Kal and Hiphil, and the Participle of Hiphil; Hateph-Segol in the Perfect of Niphal and Hiphil, and the Participle of Niphal, as also in the Futures of Kal, under a whether Servile or Radical; sometimes under the other Gutturals; throughout Hophal, Hateph-Kamets.
96. The formative takes the analogous short vowel.
97. Sometimes the short vowel remains under the formative, and is omitted under the Guttural.
98. The vowels of Pe Aleph are mixed and transposed in the Future of Kal, a being sometimes excluded.
99. Gnain Guttural changes Sheva into Hateph-Patha.
100. Lamed Guttural takes Patha for Sheva in the Second Person Feminine of the Perfect.
101. Lamed Aleph and Lamed He, termed Quiescent Verbs, differ a little from other Guttural Verbs.
102. Lamed Aleph in Kal requires before it Patha for Kamets or Holem, and in the Third Person Singular of the Passive Perfects, and in all the naked Futures of Puhal and Hophal. Elsewhere it usually takes Tseri; only Segol before hn:, excluding the mute Sheva with the Dagesh before the syllabic formatives.
103. Tseri remains also in the Third Person of the Perfect of Kal, even with the syllabic formatives.
104. Lamed He terminates all the Perfects in Kamets, the Imperatives in Tseri, the four former Infinitives in Holem, the rest in Tseli; all its Constructs in t/, the Futures and Participles in Segol.
105. Pahul and the syllabic Terminations exclude Dagesh, and change h into Iod, which in the Perfect of Kal has a regular Hirik before it, elsewhere more frequently a Tseri; but Segol before hn:.
106. The syllabic terminations cut off h; but the Feminine of the Perfects change it into t, sometimes into Iod, with Kamets preceding; which is also done in the Future before a pause. Lastly:
107. The Participle Benoni Feminine sometimes ends in hY:; as, hY:ripo.
108. In the Futures an Apocope is common, frequently changing the vowels, and drawing back the accent.
109. He with a Mappik drops it, and is formed regularly; as, Hbæg:, T;h]bæg:.
110. Lamed a and Lamed h sometimes exchange vowels.
111. Pe Nun throws away Nun with Sheva, unless in the Perfect of Kal, and the Participle Pahul.
112. This defect is supplied by Dagesh in the following Radical.
113. The Infinitive Kal takes t with two Segols; as, tv,g,.
114. ˆtæn:, has Tseri in the Imperative and Future of Kal, and contracts tn,T, into tTe.
115. Some Pe Lamed Verbs imitate Pe Nun; as jqæa:, jq;, jqæl:, so [tæL;, [TænI.
116. Pe Iod in Kal imitates Pe Nun, exchanging the vowels into Tseri, and excluding Dagesh; as, bvæy:, bve, bveae.
117. But Iod in the Future of Kal remains, and has Hirik with a final Patha; as, bvæyaI
118. Niphal and Hiphil change y into w, Hophal into Shurek; as, bvæ/n, byvewh, bviWh.
119. But the Futures of Niphal, instead of y, have a Vau dageshed, and pronounced as a consonant.
120. In some Verbs, where the Iod is excluded, the middle Radical is dageshed, as in Pe Nun.
121. Gnain doubled in Niphal, Hiphil, and Hophal, loses the second Radical, and transfers its vowel to the first.
122. But the Participles of Kal are regular.
123. All Niphal, except the Participle, ends in Patha; all Hiphil, in Tseri.
124. The formatives take Kamets in the Futures of Kal and Hiphil, and in the Perfect and Participle of Niphal; Tseri in the Perfect and Participle of Hiphil; Shurek throughout Hophal: But in the Futures of Niphal the short vowel remains.
125. In every increase there is a Dagesh to show the defect, which before the asyllabic terminations changes nothing; but before the syllabic, w is inserted in the Perfects, y, in the Futures, and the preceding vowel is regularly short.
126. The initial formatives, when the accent is carried forward, change Kamets and Tseri into Sheva; but h changes them into Hateph-Patha.
127. The Participles have but one Feminine.
128. Nouns derived from these Verbs take Dagesh; as do those derived from such as have a middle or a final Nun; as, πaæ, /Paæ, from πnæa;.
129. In Pihel, Puhal, and Hithpahel, the first vowel is Holem, omitting Dagesh in the second Radical, and the formatives are regularly pointed.
130. Gnain Vau much resembles Gnain doubled.
131. But the Perfect of Kal in the Third Person, and Participle Benoni, throws away Vau, and takes Kamets.
132. The Futures of Kal, and the Participle Pahul, retain Vau with Shurek.
133. Niphal throughout ends in Holem; only before another Holem this is changed into Shurek.
134. Hiphil changes Vau into Iod with a regular Hirik.
135. Kal and Hophal reject / before the syllabic terminations, as all the Conjugations do y, before hn.
136. The Imperative of Hiphil often rejects the formative.
137. Pihel, Puhal, and Hithpahel, double the last Radical, taking / before it; as, µme/q, µmæ/q, µmewqt]hi.
138. In Pihel, Iod dageshed has Patha before it; as, µYIqæa}.
139. These things being well understood, Verbs doubly irregular, with those of a mixed or peculiar form, will be easily distinguished.
140. All Irregular Verbs are regular in many particulars.
141. Verbs receive suffixes like Nouns; but frequently ynI for Iod, and Wh for Vau.
142. The final Patha of the Perfect, or Sheva put for it, is changed into Kamets with a Sheva preceding; but before µk,, ˆk,, Patha remains.
143. ynI adheres to the Perfects with a Patha; Wh, Wn, µ, ˆ, with Kamets; all adhere to the Futures with Tseri; only µ, ˆ, to the Infinitives, with Kamets.
144. The Feminine h; becomes t æ which receives Suffixes simply; but before i, H, µ, ˆ, Kamets remains with their own vowels: Only before Pauses, µ and ˆ are frequently suffixed with Patha.
145. Suffixes of the First and Second Person are not added to Verbs of the same Person in either Number.
146. A naked Kamets is excluded; as, ynITæd]qæp], WhT;d]qæp].
147. Words ending in Great Hirik or Shurek receive Suffixes simply; so does T] changed into yTi; µT,, ˆT,, changed into WT; hn: changed into W.
148. The Suffix; h;, after these terminations, and in the Futures with Segol preceding, becomes h;.
149. In the Imperative and Infinitive, Holem being changed into Sheva, the preceding Sheva becomes Kamets-Chatuph; but before Ú, µk,, ˆk,, this is usually placed under the middle consonant.
150. In the Future, Holem or Tseri becomes Sheva; but before Sheva, a short vowel.
151. Lamed a keeps Kamets, Lamed h loses h before a Suffix.
152. The final Patha of the Imperative and Future becomes Kamets.
153. Nun is often inserted before a Suffix; as, Whn]k,r]b;y”.
154. Dagesh frequently thrusts h into a preceding n or t.
155. Participles receive Suffixes like Nouns in both Numbers, changing Tseri into Sheva; but before another Sheva, into Segol.
156. Only the Second Feminine receives them; changing the former Segol into Patha, the latter into Sheva.
157. Particles are either separable; as the Adverbs alo, ˆke, the Preposition l [æ, the Conjunction µai.
158. Or inseparable: Such are the seven letters, blek;w] hv,m, taken from words of the same, or the like, sense; m, from ˆmi, out of, from, before; ç and h, as above; w, and, but; k, from ˆKe, as, according to; l, from lae, to; b from ˆybe, in, through.
159. hv,m are prefixed with a Dagesh following; m with a Hirik, as, r/Bm; ç and h as above.
160. But h interrogative, or emphatical, is prefixed without a Dagesh with Hateph-Patha; as, vyEh}.
161. blek;w” are prefixed with a Sheva.
162. But w and l near a Pause, with Monosyllables or Milhel words, have Kamets.
163. w before Sheva or πmæWB takes Shurek.
164. blek; before h, j, [, with Kamets, have Segol.
165. The Article h is frequently cut off by any of these prefixed to it; but the vowel under it remains.
166. Some Particles receive Suffixes like Singular Nouns, some like Plural.
167. Some words consist only of a Prefix and a Suffix; as, yli, to me; Úl], to thee.
168. m with a Suffix is often doubled; as, yNIM,mi.
169. /m sometimes separates the Prefix from its word; as, lp,aoA/mB], lg, [,A/mb]; sometimes is inserted between the Prefix and the Suffix; as, Ú/mK;, µh,/mK].
170. Vowels are often changed by shortening, lengthening, or contraction, because of construction, increase, concourse, or pause.
171. Construction shortens the last Kamets and Tseri of a Milra word into Patha, the last but one into Sheva.
172. It lengthens Segol before h into Tseri.
173. It contracts Patha and Hirik under Iod into Tseri, Kamets and Segol under w into Holem: So does increase likewise.
174. Increase shortens into Sheva,
(1.) Kamets and Tseri in the last syllable but two of a word, unless it includes Dagesh, or a mute letter.
(2.) The Segol of a Milhel word.
(3.) A final Tseri, unless after a Kamets or Sheva, or in Verbs Gnain Vau.
(4.) The Holem and Patha of a Verb suffixed.
(5.) The Hirik in the form yrIp]; as also of the form tyIbæ with a local or paragogical h.
175. It lengthens the last Segol, or a Sheva sprung from it, in the Plural Number, into Kamets; as also the Hirik of the form yrIp].
176. Some Plurals have an irregular Kamets.
177. The concourse of two Shevas in the beginning of a word lengthens the former into Hirik; under a Guttural, into Patha; (which form is followed by ˚l,m,, and not a few other words;) of the form ≈p,je, into Segol; of the form rq,bo, into Kamets-Chatuph; yea, and the latter, under a Guttural, into Hateph-Kamets; as, /lj’a;; or of the form dqop], with He paragogic, or a Suffix.
178. The concourse of two middle Shevas lengthens the former, if sprung from Segol, into Patha; if from Tseri, into Segol, sometimes into Hirik; if from Holem, into Karnets-Chatuph.
179. It contracts three Points through Iod into one, six or eight through a into two, Patha and Hateph-Patha into Patha.
180. A Pause lengthens Patha in the last syllable of a word into Kamets; (yea, Patha in the last but one, before the syllabic terminations;) Sheva, in the last syllable but one, into the long vowel whence it came; Sheva of the form yrIp] into Segol, and before Ú. (N.B. Ú, with l or b prefixed, transposes its vowels.) Lastly, the former Segol of the form ˚l,m,, and Patha of the form tyIbæ, into Kamets. The same holds as to an analogous or vicarious vowel.
181. To find the Root of a word in which there are more than three consonants, see whether those at either end are not Suffixes or Prefixes, the formatives of a Noun or Verb, which is easily known by the preceding Rules; and let all these be removed.
182. But if there are only two or three, and yet you cannot find it in the Lexicon, see whether the Root be Lamed He. Pe Nun, Pe Iod, Double Gnain, or Gnain Vau.