Another quiz

1. In later editions of the Hebrew text, the melody may return unexpectedly to the tonic within a verse. 

• How can you spot a suspicious return to the tonic?
• Where would you always expect a return to the tonic?
• What causes this?

2. What accent pairs that we have seen to date are unique to the poetry? (Include accents above and below the text.)

3. What other accents are used only in the poetry?  

4. What ornament in the prose books acts with a predictable pause value though it is not an internal verse cadence?

5. Fix this: בִֽ֝ימֵיהֶ֗ם.

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1. Later editions of the Hebrew are subject to changes in the use of accents: (Reference example here.)

• sudden drops to the tonic in the middle of a phrase are possible so each one has to be checked.
• always at the end of a verse, usually but not always on the last syllable.
• generally it is the addition of a meteg. These are not changes of pitch but pronunciation aids. I admit I have not understood the need for them. Because Unicode has the same coding for the sign, it is difficult for a program to identify them accurately.

2. Only in the poetry:

• Ole followed by mercha (f#), called ole veyored. Mercha seems to have yored as a synonym.
• revia-megrash, often on separate syllables but sometimes on a single syllable. Always after the mid point rest as part of the phrase that returns to the tonic.
• zarqa followed by mahpach (C).

3.  The geresh by itself occurs only twice in the 21 books. It is frequent with revia in the 3 books and also sometimes stands separately from revia in the poetry. Also unique to the poetry books is the illuy.

4. The zaqef qatan.

5. This is a revia-mugrash (2b above), and notice the silluq (spurious) in the middle of the two. בִֽ֝ימֵיהֶ֗ם.

The correction is: בִ֝ימֵיהֶ֗ם. The deciphering key can handle the error but it produces the wrong music.

Here is the context corrected from psalm 44.

2 God with our ears we have heard, our ancestors have recounted to us, a work you worked in their days in the days of old. (1-4-1)
ב אלה֤ים באזנ֬ינו שמ֗ענו אבות֥ינו ספרו־ל֑נו פ֥על פע֥לת ב֝ימיה֗ם ב֣ימי קֽדם	17 12		b alohim baozninu wmynu abotinu sipru-lnu poyl pylt bimihm bimi qdm