The Double Shewa Rule

Although the purpose of this blog is to discuss aspects of composing in biblical Hebrew that you probably won't find in grammar books, this post is a little exception because this is a rule that's easy to miss when writing, especially when it comes to the interrogative ה for yes-no questions. 

The rule: you cannot have two shewa vowels together at the beginning of a word. 

You may have two shewas together in the middle of a word (אִשְׁתְּךָ), and occasionally the end of a word (וַיֵּבְךְּ, הָלַכְתְּ), but not the beginning.

This rule is the reason we see changes like the following, to break up the initial cluster of shewas and/or hatef (half) vowels: 

vav conj. before shewa becomes וּ

 וְ + לְאַבְרָם = וְלְאַבְרָם ←  וּלְאַבְרָם  

 vav conj. before yod+shewa becomes וִ

 וְ + יְהוּדָה = וְיְהוּדָה ←  וִיהוּדָה

vav conjunction & prepositions ב,כ,ל  before hatef vowel copy following vowel

 וְ + אֲנִי = וְאֲנִי ←  וַאֲנִי

בְּ + אֱמֶת = בְּאֱמֶת ←  בֶּאֱמֶת

prepositions ב,כ,ל before shewa take hiriq vowel

 בְּ + מְקֹמוֹ= בְּמְקֹמוֹ ←  בִּמְקֹמוֹ

These are relatively straightforward rules that are taught in most textbooks. However, it's easy to miss this when adding the interrogative ה prefix to words. 

Since the base form is הֲ with a hatef patah, it cannot be added to words beginning with shewa without changing form.

 ?הֲבְנֵי יַעֲקֹב הֵם ✘

Are they Jacob's sons?

This is an incorrect combination of vowels at the beginning. To prevent this shewa cluster, the interrogative ה lengthens its hatef patah vowel to patah. The correct form would be:

?הַבְנֵי יַעֲקֹב הֵם ✔

In the same way:

?הֲזְכַרְתֶּם ✘

?הַזְכַרְתֶּם ✔

Do you (pl.) remember?

Similarly, two hatef vowels cannot occur together at the beginning of a word: 

 

?...הֲֲאֲנִי ✘

?...הַאֲנִי ✔

Do I... ?

Examples:

הַאֲנִ֥י אַשְׁבִּ֛יר וְלֹ֥א אוֹלִ֖יד יֹאמַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה (Isa. 66:9)

Do I bring to the point of birth and not cause to be born? says YHWH 

הַיְדַעְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־לָבָ֣ן בֶּן־נָח֑וֹר (Gen. 29:5)

Do you (pl.) know Laban son of Nahor? 

So if you are writing in Hebrew and you see two shewas together at the beginning of a word, check your spelling because something's got to change!