[Mesorah] three consecutive shvas

Mon Aug 23 10:20:45 PDT 2021

No, do not contact Artscroll. This could be an acutal form.
One of the first things you learn when you learn Aramaic is that nouns have three forms.  The "absolue" and the "s'mikhut" forms, as in Hebrew, plus the "definite" form, which is the equivalent of the Hebrew plus the "he' hay'di‘ah," except that there is no definite word (like "the" in English or like "he' hay'di‘ah"), but rather a suffix.  So for a masculine singular noun like "melekh," the definite form is "malkho," meaning "the king" (in the plural, the three forms would be Malkhin (kings), malkhei (kings of) and malkhayyo (the kings).
For a feminine noun like "widow," there are three forms: "arm'lo" (a widow), "armalto" (the widow), and "arm'lat" (widow of).
And so both forms with the tav and without the tav exist.
However, in these three p'suqim we can determine which form is the one that Unq'los would have used, because the word "widow" comes together with "orphan" and "ger." Either all three words must be definite or all three non-definite; you cannot because of the clause mix up forms (it would be like saying "the orphan, a widow, and the ger). Since the words for orphan and convert are both the definite forms in Aramaic ("giyoro, yatmo" vs. indefinite "giyor, y'tam"), then the form for "widow" MUST be 'armalto (vs. 'arm'lo").  And that indeed is the form found in the early mss.  and is the Teimani version.
As I said, the printed version of the Targum in Europe was set up by someone to whom Aramaic was like Greek, an unknown language. So you find mistakes everywhere.  I grew up with the printed editions of chumashim, same as most other people on this list, and I can testify that there is almost no example of a pasuq with more than a couple of words without a mistake in the printed Aramaic.
You can see yourself, by comparing the regular printed editions of the Targum to the good versions found in Torat Chayim and in Miqra'ot G'dolot haKeter.
And now you have answered my doubt about what Artscroll used.  As I suspected, they use the version (I cannot really call it "the Targum") used in the printed editions, mistakes and all.
So you cannot rely on the Targum printed in Artscroll for anything.
Now I realized that there actually is an Artscroll chumash in my house with the English translation.
Regarding these p'suqim you see another impossible form.  The word for orphan in Aramaic is y'tom (with a qomatz)/yatmo (the definite form). Artscroll has an imaginary form "yittammo."

You perhaps thought that I would give you a short answer.  HAH.  As with Torah, if you really want to understand what is going on in languages, there are no short answers.  Torah is complicated, and so are languages.  Both contain elements of the Divine.

Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel
________________________________
From: Mesorah <mesorah-bounces at lists.aishdas.org> on behalf of Aaron Gal via Mesorah <mesorah at lists.aishdas.org>
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2021 10:19 AM
To: mesorah at lists.aishdas.org <mesorah at lists.aishdas.org>; mesorah at aishdas.org <mesorah at aishdas.org>
Subject: Re: [Mesorah] three consecutive shvas

I searched using Tochnat HaKeter Bar Ilan.  With the software that you can download (not the one on line), there is an option to search by vowel only.  I could not find in any of the Targumim a word which has three consecutive Sheva.

Aharon
201-414-7190

Aaron
201-414-7190

-----Original Message-----
From: Akiva Miller via Mesorah <mesorah at lists.aishdas.org>
To: mesorah at aishdas.org <mesorah at aishdas.org>
Sent: Mon, Aug 23, 2021 7:58 am
Subject: Re: [Mesorah] three consecutive shvas

R' Ahaon Gal asked:

>>> Can anyone explain to me what the problem is?
>>> I looked at the Hebrew/English ArtScroll Chumash, the Hebrew Devarim only) Arstctoll Chumash, Tikun Kor'im Simanim, Taj (Yemenite) Chumash, and other Chumashim.
>>> In all of them the word "ularmela"  וּלְאַרְמְלָא verses 19, 20, 21 is spelled the same way.

I don't have any of the Chumashim you listed, but I have three others, and they are the same as yours.

Apparently, the problem is only in the new ArtScroll Onkelos, where all three are spelled with a tav near the end.
In 19 it is spelled with a shva on the mem: וּלְאַרְמְלְתָּא
In 20 and 21 it is spelled with a patach on the mem: וּלְאַרְמַלְתָּא

I'm glad that I have not yet alerted ArtScroll to this, because now the question is more complicated: Should the tav be there or not?

Akiva Miller

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 6:45 AM Aaron Gal via Mesorah <mesorah at lists.aishdas.org<mailto:mesorah at lists.aishdas.org>> wrote:
Can anyone explain to me what the problem is?

I looked at the Hebrew/English Arstcroll Chumash, the Hebrew Devarim only) Arstctoll Chumash, Tikun Kor'im Simanim, Taj (Yemenite) Chumash, and other Chumashim.
In all of them the word "ularmela"  וּלְאַרְמְלָא verses 19, 20, 21 is spelled the same way.

Aharon
201-414-7190

-----Original Message-----
From: Akiva Miller via Mesorah <mesorah at lists.aishdas.org<mailto:mesorah at lists.aishdas.org>>
To: mesorah at aishdas.org<mailto:mesorah at aishdas.org>
Sent: Fri, Aug 20, 2021 5:24 pm
Subject: [Mesorah] three consecutive shvas

The usual rule for two consecutive shvas is that the first is nach and the second is na. (Example: nifl'osecha in Modim)

What about when there are three? I don't know if it ever happens in Hebrew, but I just found an example in Aramaic: Onkelos' translation of v'laalmana in Devarim 24:19. Shvas are on the resh, mem, and lamed. My first guess was to read them nach na na: ul-ar-m-l-ta. But then I realized it could also be nach nach na: ul-arm-l-ta.

Just wondering if anyone more familiar with Aramaic wants to offer their ideas. (And by the way, no puns intended if anyone thinks there's any Breslover influence on how I phrased this. Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Akiva Miller

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