(ה:ז)
וְקֹשְׁשׁוּ לָהֶם תֶּבֶן
At the end of a פסוק or at an אתנחתא, we find that שֶמֶן becomes שָמֶן and אֶבֶן becomes אָבֶן but for some odd reason תֶּבֶן does not become תָּבֶן. I did a little fishing around in a Concordance and I came up with a theory that perhaps we do not modify the word if it will appear to change its meaning. This theory is based on איוב י"ג:א שָׁמְעָה אָזְנִי, וַתָּבֶן לָהּ where the word is from the root בינה, understanding.
However, others have suggested otherwise.
Please see the comments for further discussion on the topic.
MG said...
R' Yaakov Kaminetsky suggests an explanation for this in his sefer Emes L'Yaakov.
If you don't have this sefer, you should buy it. R' Yaakov was the last great American dikduk expert and he addresses many questions regarding dikduk and "trop" in the Torah.
If you don't have this sefer, you should buy it. R' Yaakov was the last great American dikduk expert and he addresses many questions regarding dikduk and "trop" in the Torah.
Avromi said...
Reb Yaakov says that it is because then people might make a mistake and think that he is saying "taven" with a "vav" instead of a "veis."
yasherkoach on the mareh makom
yasherkoach on the mareh makom
