I'm just stumped by the transliteration of tohu-bohu, Dr. Carasik. Is there some reason why this is not as tohu-vohu? I always see this as tohu-bohu. The Bet does not have the dagesh though for the harder b-sound. Is the reason related to the sound of the words as they are said when put together?
There's a tendency to transliterate ב as B because in a sense that's the "basic" sound of this letter, altered when it immediately follows a vowel sound. In this particular case, I seem to remember I just "translated" these words into the word as it's spelled in English dictionaries. If I were transliterating the words I would say "tóhu va-vóhu."
I'm a newcomer to your online presence and I've just begun working through your Great Courses Biblical Hebrew teachings. Your use of "think" rather than "say" for God's acts of Creation fascinates me. I've looked at many commentaries, Jewish and Christian, and never encountered discussion such as yours. I hasten to add that I'm not yet skilled enough to read the any of the Sages in their original Hebrew or Aramaic. Would you please discuss this further. Also, as a newcomer to your site here, how do I learn if there is response to my comment, and how/where I can access it. Thank you.
Thanks so much for your comment and your subscription. I don't know whether you'll know automatically that I've responded, but I hope you will! I'll have a little more to say about אמר = "think" in an upcoming column on 8:21, but this is no secret; you'll find it in the Biblical Hebrew dictionaries. As you'll see, the point of this column is to get me thinking a little more and not just saying what everybody always says anyway. Glad you have joined me!
I'm just stumped by the transliteration of tohu-bohu, Dr. Carasik. Is there some reason why this is not as tohu-vohu? I always see this as tohu-bohu. The Bet does not have the dagesh though for the harder b-sound. Is the reason related to the sound of the words as they are said when put together?
There's a tendency to transliterate ב as B because in a sense that's the "basic" sound of this letter, altered when it immediately follows a vowel sound. In this particular case, I seem to remember I just "translated" these words into the word as it's spelled in English dictionaries. If I were transliterating the words I would say "tóhu va-vóhu."
I'm a newcomer to your online presence and I've just begun working through your Great Courses Biblical Hebrew teachings. Your use of "think" rather than "say" for God's acts of Creation fascinates me. I've looked at many commentaries, Jewish and Christian, and never encountered discussion such as yours. I hasten to add that I'm not yet skilled enough to read the any of the Sages in their original Hebrew or Aramaic. Would you please discuss this further. Also, as a newcomer to your site here, how do I learn if there is response to my comment, and how/where I can access it. Thank you.
Thanks so much for your comment and your subscription. I don't know whether you'll know automatically that I've responded, but I hope you will! I'll have a little more to say about אמר = "think" in an upcoming column on 8:21, but this is no secret; you'll find it in the Biblical Hebrew dictionaries. As you'll see, the point of this column is to get me thinking a little more and not just saying what everybody always says anyway. Glad you have joined me!