Steven Ortlepp

Two momentous happenings in the history of Israel would affect pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton: 1)The 9th century division of the Israelite kingdom: Henceforth the ten-tribe kingdom would look northwards to expand cultural and commercial interests. This would cause northern Jews to rub shoulders with Phoenicians, causing the highly developed Phoenician tongue to make inroads in the North Israelite dialect. 2)The Babylonian exile: In time Babylonians would overrun the two-tribe kingdom of Judah-Benjamin. This would cause remnants of Aramaic pronunciation to become firmly entrenched in the South Israelite (Judahite) dialect. The proposed Albright-Reisel Hypothesis of North and South Israelite Pronunciation not only provides a framework for classifying all known vocalizations of the Tetragrammaton but goes a long way to explain most forms and irregularities.

When translating the Hebrew verb in English, should one emphasize Aspect or Tense? Granted, aspect would form an integral part of Early Hebrew. Nevertheless, tense would become a dominant factor in Late Hebrew (i.e. Mishnaic and Modern Hebrew). From the foregoing it is clear that both aspect as well as tense should be involved in the transitional phase, i.e. Biblical Hebrew.

The interlinear is closely connected to translation work in general. Where translation occurs, there one will find an interlinear in one form or another. What is meant by "interlinear"? An interlinear consists of two parts, the original language text, accompanied by its translated text, above or below the line. Where the "interlinear" text is found next to the original language text (in brackets), the translation could be classified as an interlinear, although strictly speaking, it should be called an "intertext" translation. This Introduction examines the history and development of the interlinear Bible.

As always the Craftsmen of Destruction strive for perfection, although their goals seem questionable. This last book in the series deals with the moral dilemma in which the merchants of death and their offspring find themselves. Where will it end? This book will take you there and beyond...