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What rule governs the nekuda under the words אֶת and אֵת in Megillas Ester? In Ashkenazi pronunciation this makes a difference because the first is read as "Es" and the second is read as "Eys."

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If the word את has its own Taam (trop) then it will be אֵת - with צירי- But if it has no taam of its own, and is connected to the following word with a makaf (hyphen) then it will be אֶת - with a סגול.

Joel K
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RibbisRabbiAndMore
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    +1 Although this does invite the logical follow-up question. In which cases does the את get its own ta’am, and when does it not? – Joel K Jun 03 '18 at 18:41
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    How do you know it's not the reverse? – Alex Jun 03 '18 at 19:29
  • @Alex look through the Torah and you will see so: בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ as opposed to: וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֔ים בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ - and so on for the rest of Tanach. – RibbisRabbiAndMore Jun 04 '18 at 03:52
  • @RibbisRabbiAndMore That's not what I meant by reverse. I meant how do you know the ta'am causes the pronunciation and not the pronunciation causes the ta'am? – Alex Jun 04 '18 at 04:39
  • @Alex In the laws of dikduk the nikud is often affected by the taam. Taamim have to do with the context and are not governed by pronunciation. – RibbisRabbiAndMore Jun 04 '18 at 07:31
  • @RibbisRabbiAndMore If that's a premise of your answer it should be included in the post. – Alex Jun 04 '18 at 07:44
  • @Alex I do not see a need to include in my answer explanations why something else which was not part of the question is NOT true. It is enough that I say what is true to answer the question. The question is what governs the pronounciation, and I answered that. If you want to open a question asking "do pronunciations govern taamim thats up to you. – RibbisRabbiAndMore Jun 04 '18 at 08:40
  • @RibbisRabbiAndMore It's not an explanation of something else. Your answer as it stands now is simply an assertion with nothing to back it up, and it is an assertion wherein the opposite is equally reasonable to someone reading the post. Valuable answers usually cite evidence, or at least explain why the answer is what it is. – Alex Jun 04 '18 at 09:16