Grammar:Exchanged Letters/0

Exchanged Letters

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Reversed Letters

• There are many words which appear identical in meaning, yet contain a reversal in the order of two of the letters:
• שמלה-שלמה – Both words refer to a garment; compare, for example, Bereshit 9:23 with Shemot 22:8. The word שמלה is more common, appearing 30 times, compared to the 14 appearances of שלמה.

• כבש/ה-כשב/ה – Both words refer to a lamb. The form "כבש/ה" is more common appearing 120 times, while "כשב/ה" appears 14 times
• זעוה - זעוה – The two forms are somewhat equally prevalent, with "זעוה" appearing 6 times and "זועה" appearing 7 times.
• אנקה- נאקה – Each appears 4 times, and see Ibn Janach that the two are equivalent with the letters transposed.
• עולה-עלוה – The form עלוה appears only once, in Hoshea 10:9; see Ibn Janach and Radak that it is the same as "עולה" with the letters transposed.
• עלג (Yeshayahu 32:4) vs. נִלְעַג לָשׁוֹן (Yeshayahu 33:19) - See Ibn Janach
• חלש - חשל – The root "חשל" appears only once, in Devarim 25:18 and see Ibn Janach.and Chizkuni that it is a reversal of "חלש".
• דְּאָבָה-דבאה – Each of these words appears only once, but see R"Y Kara on Devarim 33:25 that they are reversals of each other.
• וְיַחְגְּרוּ מִמִּסְגְּרוֹתָם (Shemuel II 22:46) vs. וְיַחְרְגוּ מִמִּסְגְּרוֹתֵיהֶם (Tehillim 18:46) – See R"Y Kara.
• פרח-רחף – Lekach Tov Bereshit 1:2

• Disputed Cases
• כחי-חכי – Tehillim 22: 16 reads "יָבֵשׁ כַּחֶרֶשׂ כֹּחִי וּלְשׁוֹנִי מֻדְבָּק מַלְקוֹחָי". Several commentators suggest that "כֹּחִי" means "my strength", as per its common usage, but see R. Moshe ibn Chiquitilla and Ibn Ezra (citing "one of the geonim") that perhaps this is a case of transposed letters and the word is equivalent to "חכי", my palate. [They support this reading by noting that the word is parallel to "לשוני", my tongue.]
• רזמ-רמז – Iyyov 15:12 reads: "וּמַה יִּרְזְמוּן עֵינֶיךָ". This form appears only here, and many suggest that it is a reversed form of the more common "רמז". Cf. Malbim that it relates to teh word "רז", a secret, and means "to wink". [He thus understands the verse similarly to others, but differs regarding the etymology.¹

Sound Groups

The Hebrew consonants are often divided into different groups based on their place of articulation in the mouth: the lips, tongue, palate, teeth or throat. Many commentators suggest that at times, letters within each group might be exchanged one for another. Ibn Ezra disagrees, claiming that only the letters "" are interchangeable. Examples follow

 אותיות השפתיים (lips)

אותיות הלשון (tongue)

אותיות החיך (palate)

אותיות הגרון (throat)

אותיות השיניים (teeth)

¹ See also Shadal who more controversially suggests that perhaps there is a scribal error and the word should read as if written "ירומון" (with a vav in place of a zayin). According to him, Iyyov is being accused of arrogance, fitting the larger context.