Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 43/1 (2017), pp. 35-49 Arthur Keefer (University of Cambridge) SOUND PATTERNS AS MOTIVATION FOR RARE WORDS IN PROVERBS 1-9 ABSTRACT Some rare lexemes and word forms in Prov 1-9 may have been chosen because of the way they sound. These words contribute to discernable phonic schemes of consonants and vowels in the Masoretic Text. I identified roots, lexemes, and word forms within Prov 1-9 that occur five times or less throughout the Hebrew Bible. Some of these represent unusual forms of common words, such as מוֹתְ כָ חrather than הָ מְ כָ ח(1:20; 9:1), while most stand as rare words, regardless of form. I present eleven of the strongest examples from Prov 1-9 (1:33; 2:18; 3:27; 4:26; 5:3; 7:6, 20; 8:6, 12, 22, 30), examining how the rare term contributes to the phonic and conceptual contexts of the passage. 1. INTRODUCTION Sound patterns have been offered to explain rare lexemes and word forms in the Hebrew Bible. Casanowicz (1894:27) claimed that rare Hebrew words indicate deliberate patterns of sound such as assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. 1 Watson (1984:228) later remarks that “Consonantal patterns tend to force a poet’s hand, leading to the selection of particular words or word-forms which best fit the alliterative scheme. They dictate the choice between synonyms, tip the scales in favour of rare words and word-forms and can also lead to the avoidance of certain words as non-alliterative”. For portions of Exodus, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Isaiah, it has been suggested that the biblical authors selected rare lexemes and word forms in order to create sound patterns (e.g. Noegel 2005; Rendsburg 2008; Goswell 2013:107-108). 2 Sound also explains some of the rare words in the book of Proverbs. 1 For the difference between sound patterns that concern this study and techniques related to sound that incorporate the meanings of words, such as paronomasia and wordplay, see Kabergs & Ausloos (2012). 2 Noegel (2015) examines cases of “geminate ballast and clustering” outside of Ecclesiastes, some of which account for rare terms as well as rare verbal formations (esp. 430 n. 32).