[Avodah] Re: Yehoshua and Yehonasan

[Lisa Liel]

On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:46:29 -0500, Micha Berger <mi... at aishdas.org> wrote:

>The niqud we see in siddurim for the sheim Havayah is that of sheim 
>Adnus, with the minor alteration of putting a sheva under the yud 
>instead of a chataf patach. (Not sure if that's because the printer 
>thought that a chataf patach under a yud looks weird, or because it 
>would widen the word -- a sheva fits under the yud better.) This is 
>standard practice for q'ri ukesiv, to place the niqud for the q'ri.
>
>BUT, if the vowels of the first two letters weren't sheva and 
>cholam, why would Yehoshua and Yehonasan as they are?
>
>That's assuming, of course, that the suffix version is more likely 
>to be modified: Yoshiyahu, Eliyahu....

A counter-argument would be that ancient Assyrian and Babylonian 
inscriptions transcribe names like Yehoram as Yau-ram and Yehudah as 
Yaudi.  The letter heh is dropped in Akkadian, and this suggests that 
the suffix version is closer to the correct pronunciation of the Shem Havaya.

Lisa