Information AboutNiqqud |
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| diacritics | |
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In Hebrew Orthography , Niqqud or '''Nikkud''' ( Standard Hebrew '''''', Biblical Hebrew '''ְקֻ''', Tiberian Hebrew "vowels") is the system of Diacritical '''vowel points''' (or '''vowel marks''') in the Hebrew Alphabet . Several orthographic systems for representing Hebrew vowels were developed in the early middle ages. The most widespread system (and the only one still used to a significant degree today) was created by the Masoretes of Tiberias (see Masoretic Text , Tiberian Hebrew ). Niqqud marks are small compared to the consonants they are positioned adjacent to, and thus can be added, without requiring the retranscription of texts whose writers did not anticipate their eventual addition. Non-speakers of Hebrew give their greatest attention to vowel points (usually without using the word "niqqud") in the context of controversy over the interpretation of those written with the Tetragrammaton -- written as ְהָה in Hebrew . The interpretation affects discussion of the authentic ancient pronunciation of the name whose other conventional English forms are " Jehovah " and "Yahweh". The signs of the niqqud This table uses the consonants , or , where appropriate, to demonstrate where the niqqud is placed in relation to the consonant it is pronounced ''after''. Any other consonants shown are actually part of the vowel. Note that there is some variation among different traditions in exactly how some vowel points are pronounced. The table below shows how most Israeli s would pronounce them, but the classic Ashkenazi pronunciation, for example, differs in several respects. This demonstration is known to work in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Browsers in at least some circumstances, but in most other Windows browsers the niqqud do not properly combine with the consonants. This is because, currently, the Windows text display engine does not combine the niqqud automatically. Except as noted, the vowel pointings should appear directly beneath the consonants, although the accompanying "vowel letter" consonants for the mālê (unchangeable long) forms appear after. DISPUTES AMONG PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS Protestant literalists who believe that the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is the inspired Word of God are divided on the question of whether or not the vowel points should be considered an inspired part of the Old Testament. In 1624, Louis Cappel , a French Huguenot scholar at Saumur , published a work in which he concluded that the vowel points were a later addition to the biblical text and that the vowel points were added not earlier than the fifth century AD. This assertion was hotly contested by Swiss theologian Johannes Buxtorf in 1648. Brian Walton 's 1657 polyglot bible followed Cappel in revising the vowel points. In 1675, the 2nd and 3rd canons of the so-called Helvetic Consensus of the Swiss Reformed Church confirmed Buxtorf's view as orthodox and affirmed that the vowel points were inspired. SEE ALSO
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