[Avodah] Two dikduk questions

[Zev Steinhardt]

I had two dikduk questions on the recent parshiyos that we just lained,
 and I was hoping someone could explain these odd dikduk cases to me.

1.  As most of us know, if a word that ends with two segols (kesef,
 degel, eretz) is placed at the end of a word (or by an esnachta), the
 first segol is changed to a kamatz (kasef, dagel, aretz).  Yet, in Parshas
 Shmos, there is a word at the end of the parsha, teven (5:7, 10, 12,
 13) which is not changed even at the end of the parsha.  Is there some
 special reason that this word is not changed?

2.  As a general rule, whenever a letter is preceded by a heh hayediah
 (a heh that defines a definite article), the first letter of the word
 received a dagesh (unless, of course, the letter is one of the five that
 don't take a dagesh).  However, in Va'era, there is a word,
 hatzefardi'im (7:29, 8:1, 3, 4 5, 7, 8, 9), where the dagesh is missing from the
 tzadi.  Interestingly, it is present in the singular form of the word
 (hatz'fardeah - 8:2), but not in the plural.  Does anyone know why this
 is?

Zev Steinhardt
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