On the Name Tute

Macdonald’s vocalisation of the adverb is wrong. It is usually written without a vowel-letter for the first vowel , but the full spelling does occur (but not in Exodus XV) and is . This is to be pronounced [t.ût.e]. The full spelling is the same as the spelling of the personal name T.ût.e which probably = Titus and the pronunciation is the same. The adverb is thought to be borrowed from the Greek tote, but this is only a guess. This adverb has nearly completely replaced the original Aramaic word written alef-dalet-yod-nun or alef-dalet nun in Samaritan Aramaic. (Look in Jastrow). If you are looking for connotations in Ex XV:1, bear in mind that the verb, the second word in the verse, is in what is misleadingly called the imperfect tense in the grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Remember --- and if you don’t know, memorise the fact --- that the tense systems of Biblical Hebrew and all later Hebrew (except for deliberate archaising in the Yosippon and other narratives) ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Most (not all) of the forms look the same, but their usage is totally different. Oversimplifying. In terms of the grammar of post-Biblical Hebrew, the verse says “Then Moses and all the children of Israel WILL sing. In terms of Biblical Hebrew grammar the meaning of past time here is only given by the context. Strictly speaking, the imperfect in this environment is TIMELESS. If the context allowed, it would refer to FUTURE time even in terms of Bilical Hebrew. In other words, the Torah could be read as hinting at a future time reference behind the obvious past time reference. This double meaning could have been avided by writing a different opening to the verse with the word az meaning “then”replaced by a time phrase, and with the verb first in what is called the narrative past. The Torah does not do this. Therefore the ambiguity is deliberate. The ambiguity of time reference depends on the choice of the word az alef-zayin. This word is translated t.ût.e in Aramaic.