There are 10 doubles remaining for which there are 0 roots beginning with these letter pairs: hh kk cc ll nn yy pp xx qq rr ww. But, except for qq and rr, these doubled letters occur as second and third letters of roots.
The phenomenon of doubling letters but not at the beginning of a word goes by the name of gemination.
hh also occurs as a prefix - both the definite article and the hiphil and in some
roots but not as a first letter - 888 times in a word or a root. Here are some samples.
Root
Word
Gloss and Reference
hrmvn
hhrmonh
ההרמונה towards the Harmon Amos 4:3
hva
hhua
ההוא that Amos 8:9
nhh
nhi
נהי to moan Amos 5:16
ahh
ho
הו aye yai yai Amos 5:16
hr
hhr
ההר this hill Psalms 68:17
mhh
htmhmhti
התמהמהתי I would linger Psalms 119:60
+vb
hhi'tb
ההיטב is it good Jonah 4:4
hicl
vhhicl
וההיכל and the palace Nahum 2:7
kk occurs in some roots and words. (51)
xkk
xk
צח is dazzling Song 5:10
wkk
-twtokki
תשתוחחי be depressed Psalms 42:6
zkk
umzik
ומזיח and the dam of Job 12:21
prk
prkk
פרחח the brood Job 30:12
kvk
kk
חח bracelet Exodus 35:22
akk
-hak
האח the hearth Jeremiah 36:22
cc is also known. And occurs doubled when it is a prefix. (410)
aic
aicch
איככה why Song 5:3
crml
ccrml
ככרמל like Carmel Song 7:6
mlc
mlccm
מלככם your Moloch Amos 5:26
scc
sicut
סכות the booth of Amos 5:26
cl
ccol
ככל according to everything Joshua 21:44
scc
bsç
בסך undercover Psalms 42:5
cvcb
ccocbi
ככוכבי as the stars of Genesis 22:17
ll is frequent in roots and words including with the first being a prefix. (1,836)
lvi
llviim
ללוים to the Levites Nehemiah 13:22
yvll
yoll
עולל progeny Jeremiah 44:7
hlc
llct
ללכת to go Jeremiah 44:3
gll
gilulih
גלוליה her figurines Jeremiah 50:2
wll
-wollih
שלליה spoiling her Jeremiah 50:10
sll
soluh
סלוה extol her Jeremiah 50:26
gll
vgilgltiç
וגלגלתיך and roll you Jeremiah 51:25
kll
kllim
חללים the profaned Jeremiah 51:4
ill
hililu
הילילו howl Jeremiah 51:8
hll
thilh
תהלה praise Psalms 65:2
pll
tpilh
תפלה prayer Psalms 65:3
nn is frequent (1,167)
ain
ainnu
איננו none of us Jeremiah 44:16
knn
tkinti
תחנתי my supplication Jeremiah 38:26
hnh
hnni
הנני note me well Jeremiah 44:11
ynn
hynn
הענן of the cloud Deuteronomy 5:22
ynh
tynnu
תעננו you will answer us Psalms 65:6
rnn
trnin
תרנין to shout for joy Psalms 65:9
yy is frequent (801) as a root in ryy, but in a word it is rare (7).
There are a lot of single usage roots (233 outside of the domain of
Names) and single usage words (19,772) in the Hebrew Bible, far more than I
have time to look at. Rather, I want to limit the low-usage words to those
where the first two letters of the root are also rare.
This is not too many and it further explores the letter combinations that are
avoided in the first two letters of a root. Some of these we have already met
in the past few posts on Hebrew roots. (All the references are at the links)
ay(3) is
the unique timber from my first post in the series. aq(1) is the ibex. h(1) is the emphatic separation of the definite article from its word. hk(3) is a rarely used name. hc(1) insult, used once in Job. It is a hapax in my translation also (of
course). hx(1) is a rarely used name. So is hq(1), and hw(1) vh(1) likewise as well as vi(1), vn(1), and vp(1) zg(1) is husk - another hapax. zz(1) is a rarely used name. 'ta(3) is the Aramaic for good. 't't(3) frontlets. ld(4) is a rarely used name. lt(1) a measure, a bit more of. m(4) only four times is this prefix connected only to a pronoun. nl(1) a benefaction. s't(2) is a rarely used name. So is ss(2) ya(2) the unique wood from the first post. qt(4) zither. wx(1) another measure - a smidgen. tg(3) is a rarely used name. As are those at td(4) tz(1) lopped. tt(4) is a rarely used name.
Now the challenge is to assimilate all this detail about the letters and see if there is an explanation or two as to why in Hebrew certain sequential sounds are avoided.
I have been examining paired letter patterns in Hebrew roots. The
previous two posts have dealt with vav and tet, the two letters that
account for 20 of the 37 individual letter pairs that are not used in the
first two letters of any roots. We also saw the 20 pairs (e.g. bp pb) of
individual letter pairs that are rarely if ever used
(except where a letter of the pair is used grammatically as a prefix or suffix
letter).
The 17 remaining single letter pairs are: gs, ds, dx, hz, zw, / ka, kh, lz,
ln, ls, / lx, sw, pm, xw, qz, / qk, ts
The reverse of each of these two letters is used as the first letter of some
roots (they too may be rare but they are non-zero).
So are any of the above 17 sequences used at all in Hebrew phonation?
gs - 0, ds - 10 - looks like two borrowed words and a name showing Song and
Qohelet as having words of late origin.
prds
prds
פרדס are a paradise of Song 4:13
prds
uprdsim
ופרדסים and orchards Qohelet 2:5
hdsh
-hdsh
הדסה Hadassah Esther 2:7
hds
hhdsim
ההדסים the myrtle Zechariah 1:8
hds
hds
הדס a myrtle Isaiah 55:13
hds
vhds
והדס and myrtle Isaiah 41:19
prds
hprds
הפרדס the paradise Nehemiah 2:8
hds
hds
הדס myrtle Nehemiah 8:15
hz 0 in roots but many where h is acting as part of a prefix.
zw - 0, ka (107) mostly the infamous Ahab, and a few for the gloss clap perhaps showing that Psalms 98 is contemporary with Second Isaiah. The one instance with wind is the Aramaic grammatical use of aleph as the definite article.
mka
imkau
ימחאו clap Psalms 98:8
akab
akab
אחאב Ahab 2 Kings 1:1
ivka
vioka
ויחא and Joha 1 Chronicles 11:45
rvk
ruka
רוחא the wind Daniel 2:35
xika
-xika
ציחא Tsixa Ezra 2:43
plka
plka
פלחא Pilexa Nehemiah 10:25
kh (1,317) - frequent as the last letter of a word and occasionally of a root. What do we make of this 'final h'? It is sometimes the suffix indicating direction - towards.
prk
hprkh
הפרחה the flourishing of Song 6:11
mwpkh
-hmwpkh
המשפחה the families Amos 3:1
mnkh
umnkoticm
ומנחתיכם and your gifts Amos 5:22
+pk
'tipkh
טפחה cloaked Isaiah 48:13
xlk
vhxlikh
והצליחה and prosper Nehemiah 1:11
mnkh
umnkthon
ומנחתהון and their gifts Ezra 7:17
wlk
vawlkh
ואשלחה and I sent Nehemiah 6:8
nkh
hnkitm
הנחיתם you guided them Nehemiah 9:12
mnkh
-hmnkh
המנחה the gift Nehemiah 13:9
wkh
lhwtkvot
להשתחות to worship 1 Samuel 1:3
pkh
pkot
פחות viceroys Jeremiah 51:23
zrk
mzrkh
מזרחה toward the sunrise Jeremiah 31:40
xmk
xmkh
צמחה the growth Psalms 65:11
lz (211)
zbk
lzbok
לזבח to sacrifice 1 Kings 3:4
ylz
aylozh
אעלזה I will exult Psalms 60:8
zry
ulzryç
ולזרעך and to your seed Numbers 18:19
zat
lzat
לזאת this one Genesis 2:23
zh
hlzh
הלזה this Genesis 24:65
zry
lzryç
לזרעך to your seed Genesis 24:7
znh
lznunim
לזנונים from harlotry Genesis 38:24
ln (86) including one side of the phrase ploni almoni, an old idiom? used only three times - not always politely.
clnh
clnh
כלנה Kalneh Amos 6:2
zbln
zbulun
זבלון Zebulun Psalms 68:28
plni
ploni
פלני what a Ruth 4:1
kln
-kilon
חלן Helon Numbers 1:9
wlni
hwlni
השלני the Shelanites Numbers 26:20
gvln
-goln
גולן Golan Deuteronomy 4:43
gilni
hgiloni
הגילני the Gilonite 2 Samuel 15:12
plni
ploni
פלני suitable 1 Samuel 21:3
plni
ploni
פלני suitable 2 Kings 6:8
ls (23) for roots, (92) if we include the use of l as a prefix.
bls
ubols
ובולס a tender of Amos 7:14
pls
tplsun
תפלסון you level out Psalms 58:3
qls
vqls
וקלס and ridicule Psalms 44:14
yls
nylsh
נעלסה a peacock thrilled Job 39:13
alsr
alsr
אלסר Eliasar Genesis 14:1
lx is also used for the grammatical role of l (179) and for letters of roots after the first (89 of the 179).
klx
iiklxun
יחלצון may be rescued Psalms 60:7
plx
plxut
פלצות tremors Psalms 55:6
ylx
iylxu
יעלצו they will be elated Psalms 68:4
klx
aklxç
אחלצך I will rescue you Psalms 50:15
klx
vklxni
וחלצני and rescue me Psalms 119:153
mlx
-nmlxu
נמלצו gratifying Psalms 119:103
sw (0), pm (65) including those times when m is a suffix. 10 roots end in pm - but only names.
Tet 't ט is the second least used letter in the first two letters of a root. Where did the extra t sound come from? And where has it gone? Was it primal or secondary? Four additional single empty slots in the 401 pages of the concordance involve tet - these are 'ts, 'tq, 'tw, and h't. v't has already been looked at. Tet occurs 6,266 times in the middle of words. But it never occurs in the sequence 'ts or 'tq.
'tw, however, has 65 uses.
n+w
ni'twh
נטשה abandoned Amos 5:2
l+w
mlu'tw
מלטש honed Psalms 52:4
r+w
iru'twu
ירטשו were dashed to pieces Nahum 3:10
p+w
p'twihon
פטשיהון their tunics Daniel 3:21
And the sequence h't occurs 19 times.
rh+
brh'tim
ברהטים in the girders Song 7:6
lh+
loh'tim
להטים with those who are blazing Psalms 57:5
bh+
bh't
בהט marble Esther 1:6
Single pairs of letters with tet not used in the first two letters of a root. (See also this post.)
Looking first at vav. It occurs as the second letter of a root with every letter in the alphabet. So all its one-sided non-uses are in the first position of a root va-vd, vz-v't, vc-vm, vs, vy, vx-vr, vt - 16 of the 37 empty single slots in the table of the 401 concordance pages - see this post.
vav and its pattern of usage in the first two letters of a Hebrew root
There are lots and lots of examples of v followed by other letters. They are pervasive. Vav is a connector of words used for and but so or if - then and many other variations.
But very few roots begin with vav. There is only one that is itself Hebrew, and that is the word vav itself. Just as vav (also written as waw) connects words together, so also it is the hook that connects all the pieces of the tabernacle together.
All 28 of the words beginning with vav in the Hebrew Bible can be scanned in the smallest volume of pages in the concordance beginning here.
vwti
vwti
ושתי Vashti Esther 1:9
vv
vvi
ווי the hooks of Exodus 27:10
vhb
-vhb
והב Vehav Numbers 21:14
vpsi
-vopsi
ופסי Vopsi Numbers 13:14
vwni
vwni
ושני Vashni 1 Chronicles 6:13
vnih
vnih
וניה Vanyah Ezra 10:36
Note the importance of vav in this visual Midrash as outlined in this post by David Z. Moster, "Scribing the Tabernacle: A Visual Midrash Embedded in the Torah Scroll" TheTorah.com (2016). https://thetorah.com/article/scribing-the-tabernacle-a-visual-midrash-embedded-in-the-torah-scroll
Continuing with 'rare' double letters. I look at 20 pairs in this post. In subsequent posts I will look at the 37
singles and 10 double letters (which will turn out to not be rare, but only
rare as the first two letters of a root. This principle is known as
gemination.)
So the 20 pairs - are they rare? Yes and no. It's a lot of information. The lists are a somewhat random selection from the available examples.
g't - t'g score 0 hits. 't (tet) is a curious letter, a second t sound.
Perhaps the fact that it does not occur adjacent to g is a hint for both of
them as to their pronunciation.
gc (0) but cg is frequent where the prefix is 'c' - similar to
bp
but only where the prefix is 'b'.
For gx there are zero results but for xg, the root ixg exists - used 16 times
across 10 books.
ixg
vhxigu
והציגו and exhibit Amos 5:15
ixg
vhxigni
והצגני he has exhibited me Job 17:6
ixg
vixg
ויצג and he exhibited Genesis 30:38
gq (0)
dz (0) but zd (32). Here there is an instance of a vav in a root disappearing
in the word and resulting in these two consonants adjacent to each other. I
have noted before the tendency of z to become d in Aramaic words. E.g. דכרניא
the archives, an aspect of memory zcr in Hebrew. There seems to be some
metastasis with d in Dan 2:9.
zvd
vizd
ויזד and stewed Genesis 25:29
zvd
zdim
זדים the presumptuous Psalms
119:122
azd
azda
אזדא has vanished Daniel 2:5
zmn
hzdmntun
הזדמנתון you cooked up together
Daniel 2:9
adr
adrzda
אדרזדא with excellence Ezra 7:23
d't (0) but 'td (10)
p+d
p'tdt
פטדת the topaz of
Job 28:19
a+d
ha'td
האטד the brierpatch
Genesis 50:10
hy (2,634) but zero occurrence in any root. I.e. like earlier examples, it is
only the h as playing its grammatical roles.
and yh (1,814)
wmy
hwmuyh
השמועה the report Jeremiah 51:46
ryh
riyç
רעך your associate Deuteronomy 5:21
ryy
ryh
רעה evil Jeremiah 51:2
wby
nwbyh
נשבעה we will be satisfied Psalms
65:5
qrqy
hqrqyh
הקרקעה towards Qarqaa Joshua 15:3
z't (0), zs (0), zx (0)
ky (2) yk(0) - as suspected and will occur when we get to rarely used words,
some are borrowed or are names or both.
irky
irky
ירחע Yarxa 1 Chronicles 2:34
irky
lirky
לירחע to Yarxa 1 Chronicles 2:35
'tc (0), 'tx (0)
'tt (1), t't (0)
q+t
vq'tt
וקטת and Qattat Joshua 19:15
cx (87) all related to the use of c as a prefix. xc (23) all arx with the
pronoun suffix cm
cq (41) all related to the use of c as a prefix. qc (1) koqcm your decreed
(bricks) Ex 5:14
lr (0) no uses of l with a root beginning with r! rl (138)
yrl
yorltm
ערלתם their foreskins Genesis 17:23
grl
vgorl
וגורל and the lot of Leviticus 16:8
yrl
-yorlotihm
ערלתיהם their foreskins 1 Samuel
18:27
grl
lgorlç
לגרלך in your lot Daniel 12:13
sx (0)
xt (210) 't' being a grammatical letter and a means of elision, it appears in various guises in these examples.
When I first looked at a Hebrew lexicon, I wanted to see the frequency of use of the letters. One question was - how would I design a concordance by volume? If it was by single letter, some volumes would be too big and some too small. It turned out that letter pairs would work as an organizational scheme, and by the size of the pages, one could tell something about the language.
There are 401 'pages' in my concordance. That means that there are several missing. 22 x 22 would mean I should have 484 pages (+5 for the single prefixes). So 88 pages are missing.
Look at this picture again. Can you see 88 empty slots? Subtract each right column count from 22 and add them up and it comes to 88. Each empty slot has or doesn't have a paired empty slot which is the reverse of the two missing letters. The image with the empty slots highlighted is below.
..
ab
ag
ad
ah
av
az
ak
a+
ai
ac
al
am
an
as
ay
ap
ax
aq
ar
aw
at
21
b
ba
bb
bg
bd
bh
bv
bz
bk
b+
bi
bc
bl
bm
bn
bs
by
bx
bq
br
bw
bt
21
ga
gb
gg
gd
gh
gv
gz
gk
gi
gl
gm
gn
gy
gp
gr
gw
gt
17
da
db
dg
dd
dh
dv
dk
di
dc
dl
dm
dn
dy
dp
dq
dr
dw
dt
18
h
ha
hb
hg
hd
..
hv
hk
hi
hc
hl
hm
hn
hs
hp
hx
hq
hr
hw
ht
18
vh
vv
vi
vn
vp
vw
6
za
zb
zg
zh
zv
zz
zk
zi
zc
zl
zm
zn
zy
zp
zq
zr
zt
17
kb
kg
kd
kv
kz
..
k+
ki
kc
kl
km
kn
ks
kp
kx
kq
kr
kw
kt
18
+a
+b
+h
+v
+k
++
+i
+l
+m
+n
+y
+p
+r
13
ia
ib
ig
id
ih
iv
iz
ik
i+
ii
ic
il
im
in
is
iy
ip
ix
iq
ir
iw
it
22
c
ca
cb
cd
ch
cv
cz
ck
ci
..
cl
cm
cn
cs
cy
cp
cr
cw
ct
17
l
la
lb
lg
ld
lh
lv
lk
l+
li
lc
..
lm
ly
lp
lq
lw
lt
16
m
ma
mb
mg
md
mh
mv
mz
mk
m+
mi
mc
ml
mm
mn
ms
my
mp
mx
mq
mr
mw
mt
22
na
nb
ng
nd
nh
nv
nz
nk
n+
ni
nc
nl
nm
..
ns
ny
np
nx
nq
nr
nw
nt
21
sa
sb
sg
sd
sh
sv
sk
s+
si
sc
sl
sm
sn
ss
sy
sp
sq
sr
st
19
ya
yb
yg
yd
yv
yz
y+
yi
yc
yl
ym
yn
ys
..
yp
yx
yq
yr
yw
yt
19
pa
pg
pd
ph
pv
pz
pk
p+
pi
pc
pl
pn
ps
py
..
px
pq
pr
pw
pt
19
xa
xb
xd
xh
xv
xk
xi
xl
xm
xn
xy
xp
..
xq
xr
14
qa
qb
qd
qh
qv
q+
qi
ql
qm
qn
qs
qy
qp
qx
..
qr
qw
qt
17
ra
rb
rg
rd
rh
rv
rz
rk
r+
ri
rc
rm
rn
rs
ry
rp
rx
rq
..
rw
rt
20
wa
wb
wg
wd
wh
wv
wz
wk
w+
wi
wc
wl
wm
wn
ws
wy
wp
wx
wq
wr
ww
wt
22
ta
tb
tg
td
th
tv
tz
tk
ti
tc
tl
tm
tn
ty
tp
tq
tr
tw
tt
19
19
20
17
19
19
22
14
18
14
22
16
19
20
20
14
18
20
12
17
19
18
19
If there is a ^ in an empty slot, then its corresponding reverse pair is not empty, i.e. there are roots beginning with these two letters. If there is a # in the slot then both pairs are empty, i.e. there are no words beginning with these two letters.
Of the 88 empty slots 40 have # in them, 20 on each side of the diagonal containing the double letters. If you joined them with a line, the lines would all be parallel to each other - some shorter, some longer.
And 37 empty slots have ^ in them showing that their corresponding pair has a page for that letter pair. The remaining 11 slots are the empty double letters (half the alphabet).
..
ab
ag
ad
ah
av
az
ak
a+
ai
ac
al
am
an
as
ay
ap
ax
aq
ar
aw
at
21
b
ba
bb
bg
bd
bh
bv
bz
bk
b+
bi
bc
bl
bm
bn
bs
by
#
bx
bq
br
bw
bt
21
ga
gb
gg
gd
gh
gv
gz
gk
#
gi
#
gl
gm
gn
^
gy
gp
#
#
gr
gw
gt
17
da
db
dg
dd
dh
dv
#
dk
#
di
dc
dl
dm
dn
^
dy
dp
^
dq
dr
dw
dt
18
h
ha
hb
hg
hd
..
hv
^
hk
^
hi
hc
hl
hm
hn
hs
#
hp
hx
hq
hr
hw
ht
18
^
^
^
^
vh
vv
^
^
^
vi
^
^
^
vn
^
^
vp
^
^
^
vw
^
6
za
zb
zg
#
zh
zv
zz
zk
#
zi
zc
zl
zm
zn
#
zy
zp
#
zq
zr
^
zt
17
^
kb
kg
kd
^
kv
kz
..
k+
ki
kc
kl
km
kn
ks
#
kp
kx
kq
kr
kw
kt
18
+a
+b
#
#
+h
+v
#
+k
++
+i
#
+l
+m
+n
^
+y
+p
#
^
+r
^
#
13
ia
ib
ig
id
ih
iv
iz
ik
i+
ii
ic
il
im
in
is
iy
ip
ix
iq
ir
iw
it
22
c
ca
cb
#
cd
ch
cv
cz
ck
#
ci
..
cl
cm
cn
cs
cy
cp
#
#
cr
cw
ct
17
l
la
lb
lg
ld
lh
lv
^
lk
l+
li
lc
..
lm
^
^
ly
lp
^
lq
#
lw
lt
16
m
ma
mb
mg
md
mh
mv
mz
mk
m+
mi
mc
ml
mm
mn
ms
my
mp
mx
mq
mr
mw
mt
22
na
nb
ng
nd
nh
nv
nz
nk
n+
ni
nc
nl
nm
..
ns
ny
np
nx
nq
nr
nw
nt
21
sa
sb
sg
sd
sh
sv
#
sk
s+
si
sc
sl
sm
sn
ss
sy
sp
#
sq
sr
^
st
19
ya
yb
yg
yd
#
yv
yz
#
y+
yi
yc
yl
ym
yn
ys
..
yp
yx
yq
yr
yw
yt
19
pa
#
pg
pd
ph
pv
pz
pk
p+
pi
pc
pl
^
pn
ps
py
..
px
pq
pr
pw
pt
19
xa
xb
#
xd
xh
xv
#
xk
#
xi
#
xl
xm
xn
#
xy
xp
..
xq
xr
^
#
14
qa
qb
#
qd
qh
qv
^
^
q+
qi
#
ql
qm
qn
qs
qy
qp
qx
..
qr
qw
qt
17
ra
rb
rg
rd
rh
rv
rz
rk
r+
ri
rc
#
rm
rn
rs
ry
rp
rx
rq
..
rw
rt
20
wa
wb
wg
wd
wh
wv
wz
wk
w+
wi
wc
wl
wm
wn
ws
wy
wp
wx
wq
wr
ww
wt
22
ta
tb
tg
td
th
tv
tz
tk
#
ti
tc
tl
tm
tn
^
ty
tp
#
tq
tr
tw
tt
19
19
20
17
19
19
22
14
18
14
22
16
19
20
20
14
18
20
12
17
19
18
19
Next post we will see if these pairs, like bp pb, ever show up anywhere in a Hebrew word.
