Bension Kohen

Rabbi Bension Kohen or haKohen was a writer of literature on Hebrew grammar and literature. He was the author of Sefath Emeth a work on the pronunciation of the Hebrew alphabet.

Lineage

In the introduction to his work, Kohen provides a purported lineage going back over a dozen generations of kohanim born at Djerba Among his claimed patrilineal ancestors are Rabbi , himself an author of multiple works on Hebrew grammar. Citing a similar lineage table from Heritage of Yehoyada HaKohen, Kohen claims to trace the family back to Yitzchak HaKohen the Elder, who had emigrated from Israel to Djerba at the Second Temple Destruction.

Safath Emeth (שפת אמת/שפתי כהן :מבטא לשון הקודש כהלכה)

Kohen's flagship work, the Safath Emeth, was first printed in Jerusalem in 1987. The work presents evidence for the pronunciation of liturgical Hebrew based on Geonic literature, such as the Saadya Gaon, and the writings of medieval Hebrew scholars and grammarians such as Rabbi Yitzhak ben Shlomo Yisraeli, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, and the Rabbi David Kimchi. Safath Emeth includes lengthy discussions of each individual Hebrew consonant and vowel as well as a treatise on the grammatical principles of vocalic shewa.

Table of pronunciation

Rabbi Kohen's research led him to produce a table of pronunciation. The table was published on page 150 of Safath Emeth:

Hebrew letter	IPA	Similar-sounding Arabic letter	Similar English sound	Jewish community with correct pronunciation	Varying pronunciation error
א - Alef		ا	button	Most Jewish communities	H
בּ - Beth		ب	b	All Jewish communities	none
ב - Veth		Non-existent	v	Ashkenazim, Temanim	בּ and פ
גּ - Gimmel		Non-existent	g	Ashkenazim and Sefardim	ج
ג - Gimmel		غ	Not found in English, but comparable to the uvular pronunciation of French and German	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Gimmel degusha
דּ - Daleth		د	d	All communities	none
ד - Daleth		ذ	like the "th" in that and this	Temanim	Dalet degusha
ה - Hey		ه	like the h in hand	Ashkenazim, Sefardim	Alef
ו - Waw		و	w	Temanim, Iraqi Jews	V
ז - Zayin		ز	z	Most communities
ח - Ḥeth		ح	Non-existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Chof, Hey
ט - Teth		ط	Non-existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Taw degusha
י - Yodh		ي	Y	All Jewish communities	none
כּ - Kaph		ك	K	All Jewish communities	none
כ - Kaph		خ	Non-existent	All communities	none
ל - Lamedh		ل	L	All Jewish communities	none
מ - Mem		م	M	All Jewish communities	none
נ - Nun		ن	N	All Jewish communities	none
ס - Samech		س	S	All Jewish communities	none
ע - Ayin		ع	Non existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Alef, Gimmel non-degusha
פּ - Peh		Non existent	P	Most Jewish communities	Peh, Beth
פ - Peh non-degusha		ف	F	All Jewish communities	none
צ - Ṣade		ص	Non-existent	Jewish communities of Arabic nationality	Samech, "Tz" sound
ק - Kof		ق	Non-existent	Iragi and North-African Jewry	Kafh, Gimmel, Alef, Gimmel
ר Resh		ر	Non-existent	Eastern-European and Asian Jewry	Gimmel,
שׁ Shin		ش	Sh	Most Jewish communities	Samech
שׂ Sin		س	S	Most Jewish communities	Shin
תּ Taw		ت	T	All Jewish communities	-
ת Taw		ث	Th	Iraqi and Yemenite Jewish communities	Samech, Taw

Linguistic and historical research

Rabbi Bentzion-Kohen's monumental work is considered a great work synthesizing the purported pronunciation during the time of the Rishonim and other halachic authorities. However, despite its comprehensive nature, it lacks the detailed and important philological and linguistic research carried out by other academic authorities, and therefore his research is only applicable to the period of the Rishonim and is not congruent with the pronunciation as envisaged of the Masoretes.