Bible HebrewSyllables, Sheva and the Doubling Dot
Split a word into syllables, tell a said sheva from a silent one, and spot the dot that doubles a letter.
Syllables, sheva and the doubling dot
You know the letters and the vowels. Here are the rules that join them into words. Every syllable starts with one consonant and has one full vowel, so to count syllables, count the full vowels: דָּבָר “word” has two, and הַשָּׁמַיִם “the heavens” has four. A syllable that ends in a vowel is open, like the first syllable of דָּבָר. One that ends in a consonant is closed, like its second, which ends in ר. Most words are stressed on the last syllable.
Sheva: said or silent? You met sheva as a very quick “ə”, or nothing. A said sheva is too short to count as a syllable; it runs into the next one. Here is how to tell the two apart:
| Sheva is … | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| said | at the start of a word | בְּרִית “covenant” |
| said | under a doubled letter | הַמְּאֹרֹת “the lights” (Genesis 1:16) |
| said | the second of two shevas in a row | יִשְׁמְרוּ “they will keep”: the sheva under שׁ is silent, the one under מ is said |
| silent | when it closes a syllable after a short vowel | מִשְׁפָּט “justice”: the first syllable ends with שׁ |
| silent | at the end of a word | מֶלֶךְ “king” |
The dot inside a letter has two jobs. Look at what comes just before it. In a letter outside ב ג ד כ פ ת, a dot always doubles it, as in אִשָּׁה “woman”; the one exception you know already is וּ, where the dot makes the vowel u.
| The dot comes … | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| right after a vowel | doubles the letter: it closes one syllable and starts the next | שַׁבָּת “Sabbath”: the ב is said twice |
| right after a vowel | doubles the letter, in any letter | הַשָּׁמַיִם “the heavens” (Genesis 1:1) |
| at the start of a word | only makes ב ג ד כ פ ת hard, said once | דָּבָר “word” |
| after a silent sheva | only makes ב ג ד כ פ ת hard, said once | מִשְׁפָּט “justice” |
Qamets as “o”. Qamets is usually a long a. In a closed syllable without the stress it is a short o: כָּל־ “all”, joined to the next word by a short line, and חָכְמָה “wisdom”, whose first syllable ends in כ. The text writes both sounds with the same mark, so learn the common words and listen to the recordings.
Half-vowels. The throat letters א ה ח ע can't carry a said sheva. Where one would be, they take a half-vowel, sheva joined to a vowel and said very quickly: אֲשֶׁר “who, which”, אֱלֹהִים “God”. A half-vowel is always said, and like a said sheva it is too short to count as a syllable.
Check yourself
How many syllables does דָּבָר “word” have?
✓ two · one · three · four
Two full vowels, two syllables. The first ends in a vowel, so it is open. The second ends in ר, so it is closed.
In מִשְׁפָּט “justice”, is the sheva said or silent?
✓ silent: it closes the first syllable · said: a quick ə · said, because it is under שׁ · there is no sheva
After the short vowel hireq, the sheva closes the syllable. The dot in פּ then only makes it a hard p.
Is the dot in the שּׁ of הַשָּׁמַיִם “the heavens” a doubling dot?
✓ yes: it comes right after a vowel, so שׁ is said twice · no: it only makes the letter hard · no: it marks a long vowel · it is the vowel u
שׁ is not one of ב ג ד כ פ ת, and it follows the vowel of הַ: the dot doubles it.
In מִדְבָּר “wilderness”, what does the dot in בּ do?
✓ only makes it a hard b, because it comes after a silent sheva · doubles the ב · makes it a v · marks a long vowel
The sheva under ד closes the first syllable, so the dot only hardens the ב.
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