Multiple Orthographies of מאד Demystified

Abstract

Abstract:מְאֹד is one of Biblical Hebrew's most frequently used words. "Very" is considered the general sense of מְאֹד by scholars, and "strength" is the other slightly less popular alternative. Qumran scribal analysis of מְאֹד reveals eight different orthographic forms, which suggests diverse pronunciations. The scholars hitherto regarded מְאֹד orthographic variations as simple use of matres lectionis, specifically connected to the Qumran scribal tradition. Dealing with this issue, this paper re-examines מאד's senses in the Qumran context and considers them as grounds for its various pronunciations. The obtained results show that the forms can be divided into three orthographic categories, each in correspondence with a specific sense, which could hint at three dissimilar words that have close phonic similitude in common but are derived from partly diverse roots. By converging those three words into a single shortened form, מאד, this fact went unnoticed by later copyists.