Ch. 36 Supplements

Requirements

• Beginning with Quiz 36, the quizzes will consist of only the vocabulary and sentence translations.
• There will be no parsing questions.
• The exercise asks for identification of the accents. The quizzes will not test on the accents. You need only to prepare the biblical passage listed in the Assignment Chart, that is, Exodus 17:8-16.

Others

• Chapter 36 talks about cantillation marks and other Masoretic conventions.
• These are the works of the Masoretic but probably reflect a much earlier tradition.
• The cantillation marks are everywhere in the Hebrew Bible.
• Almost all grammar books use the “◌֫” sign to mark the stress syllable of a Hebrew verb.
• In the Hebrew Bible, however, this sign does not exist.
• Instead, the cantillation marks mark the accented syllable (though some are prepositive or postpositive).
• When we approach the Hebrew Bible as a student and an exegete, the most valuable functions of the cantillation marks are:
• They enable us to know where the stress falls in most cases (not only for reading but also for distinguishing forms);
• They help us group words together and divide a clause into different parts.
• Try to memorize the disjunctive cantillation marks on page 275.
• With these signs, you can divide a clause into a few word groups, as demonstrated on page 274.
• Knowing this trick will help you tremendously in reading and translation.