[Mesorah] Yid-mu vs Yi-demu

[Mandel, Seth via Mesorah]

It is a justifiable question, but that is the rule in Hebrew: for a geminate root, there has to be doubling (signified by a dagesh). Theoretically, this should not apply at the end of a word: the "original" future of the root s-b-b would be yasov, because one cannot double the letter at the end of a word.  But the importance of the doubling is such that in Hebrew (not in Arabic or other Semitic languages), they kept doubling, but put it on the previous letter.  So the normal future of s-b-b- is yissov, and sometimes the plural form is made on the basis of that, as it was here.

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Kopinsky [mailto:mkopinsky at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2015 12:11 PM
To: Mandel, Seth
Cc: Gershon; mesora at aishdas.org
Subject: Re: [Mesorah] Yid-mu vs Yi-demu

Why does a dagesh in the daled double the mem in the shoresh? Should that turn it to d-d-m?

On Thu, Jan 29, 2015 at 7:06 PM, Mandel, Seth via Mesorah <mesorah at lists.aishdas.org> wrote:
> the real difference is in the dagesh.  With a dagesh, it is from the root d-m-m, meaning to be silent (and, of course, the shwa is na‘).  Without the dagesh, it is from the root d-m-h, meaning to be similar (and the sh'wa is silent).
> Cherchez la dagesh, which is in place of doubling.
>
> Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Mesorah [mesorah-bounces at lists.aishdas.org] on behalf of Gershon 
> via Mesorah [mesorah at lists.aishdas.org]
> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2015 4:50 PM
> To: mesora at aishdas.org
> Subject: [Mesorah] Yid-mu vs Yi-demu
>
> Can our learned membership opine on the Sheva in this word in the shiras hayam having a different meaning as na or nach?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
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