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5:05 AM

Q: Questions asking for bible reference/Bible translation

Before I ask, I just want to confirm if these are on topic here: Questions asking for references Questions on a biblical character's idea on something Questions on translations/original text in Greek

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2 hours later…

Susan

6:54 AM

Do modern Greek people read the NT in Koine? (I’m sure there exist modernizations of some sort; I’m just curious if they usually can.)

Susan

7:52 AM

@Davïd That link you pointed to has שָׁ֫בֶט? (Not that I can see it in chat, but that first one is a qamets.) My limited experience with that site is that there are more pages with mistakes than without, and the transliteration given is shebet, but since this conversation started with my confusion about vowels, I’m feeling uncertain.

(I was just looking at the Cook/Holmstedt grammar to find out why in the world you think I should know about historical vowel patterns and see that they introduce segholate nouns that way, asterisks and all. Interesting.)

Davïd

8:12 AM

@Susan Oh - I see. I was just thinking it was the most convenient way to link to the BDB entry, which is what you get if you scroll down just a bit. It's proper there. The שָׁ֫בֶט form is pausal (like אָֽרֶץ in Gen 1:1).

@Susan I'm not convinced that including historical forms is the best way of teaching intro, but I've found that if there is a reason for apparent anomalies, then the resistance is reduced. ("Why does it do that? Stupid language!", etc. etc.)

@Susan I know one or two native Greek speakers for whom NT Greek is not at all straightforward. Less understandable than Tanakh for Israelis, I think.

Susan

@Davïd Doesn’t הָאָֽרֶץ get a qamets anyway just for having the article?

Davïd

Errmm... yes! :) But it's still pausal. OK. Not the best example.

Susan

@Davïd I’m just being obnoxious as usual. But are there any absolute, singular, whatever-the-opposite-of-pausal-is segholates that start with qamets? I can think of a lot of patachs, but no qamets.

Davïd

@Susan Not a whiff of obnoxiousness that I can detect! I don't think there are any non-pausal segholates that start with qamets. The *qutl type start with short-o. You won't get a long vowel in the first syllable of a segholate noun.

Susan

8:31 AM

@Davïd Uh, the tsere isn’t long?

Susan

8:41 AM

(Cheating with vocabulary lists now; it’s a word I don’t know): עָ֫וֶל?

(Well, maybe I do now.)

אָ֫וֶן.

Something to do with the waw in the middle.

2 hours later…

Davïd

11:13 AM

@Susan Oh man. Lessons for today: (a) don't commit yourself to things when you're in a hurry, and (b) especially when in a caffeine-deprived state. "Doh!" also comes to mind: one of most common segholates is sēfer which was given as an example earlier.

Don't mind me. Nothing to see here. Keep moving.

1 hour later…

Susan

12:18 PM

@Davïd Well, perhaps it doesn't merit saying, but presumably the second vowel can't be long.

And agreed, caffeine is a very good thing. I've often reflected on how thankful I am that it isn't a prescription drug (it never could be for obvious reasons, but based on purely pharmacologic considerations it really should be) because people would never stop clamoring for it.

3 hours later…

ScottS

3:51 PM

@Davïd Amen to both (a) and (b)!

3 hours later…

Librarian

6:29 PM

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