Seventh, from the suppression of the vowel points.
Seventh, from the suppression of the vowel points.
§ 351. (VII) From the suppression of the vowel points. “If the points were known to the ancients, how is it that no mention of these is made among the Hebrews? Why were they not used in the numbers at the beginning of the books and verses?” We respond. (1) There is more in the consequence than the antecedent allows, for this does not follow: “The ancient Hebrews do not use the vowel points in the numbers nor at the beginning of books and verses; therefore these were completely unknown to them.” A consequence from a denied use of a thing to a denial of the thing itself is invalid. (2) Much less can one proceed from a denied particular use of a thing to a denial of the thing itself. Although they did not use vowels in the numbers nor in the frontispieces of books, yet such vowels were necessary for them to read. (3) Bellarmine writes (Institut. gramm., p. 8): “Because the ancient Hebrews had no vowels, they sometimes used in place of them four consonants: 
and 
With 
and 
they expressed a and at times other vowels; with 
, 
and u; and with 
e and i.” In Technolog., p. 16, Petrus Martinius lists only three characters of this kind—
and 
—and he adds: “The author Juthsirah calls those three letters 
, ‘mothers,’ because no one can utter a word or letter without one of them.” But even if they had used those consonants in place of vowels, the actual vowel points would not have been unknown or unfamiliar to them. (4) Elias Levita bitterly contends that the talmudic writers do not mention the vowel points; he can be refuted, however, from the Talmud, tractate Nedarim, c. 4, in which a statement of Rabbi Mai is brought out: that “by pauses for the verses and by accents, taste, so to speak, is given to speech.” (5) The Book of Zoar, which was written before the Talmud in the more secret language of Jerusalem, contains an exposition not only of the Pentateuch but also of the other books of the Old Testament and enjoys great authority among the Jews. It makes clear mention of vowels. (6) The fact that points were not used in the numbering and order of verses is to be attributed either to a weakness of theirs or to the sufficiency of the consonants or to some cause unknown to us. One must not infer from this that the vowel points were completely unknown to the ancients.