Psalm 78/Notes/Phrasal.v. 61.788735

v. 61 – Regarding the article on לַשְּׁבִ֣י, see the discussion under v. 52 above. The Masoretes vocalize שְׁבִי as articular if at all possible, even when no anaphora or concrete reference is in view (cf. בַּשֶּֽׁבִי as the first mention of "captivity" in Deut 28:41—in this case, the Samaritan Pentateuch attests an anarthrous pronunciation, afšēbi, according to Ben-Ḥayyim [1977, 547]; see also Isa 46:2, Jer 15:2; 20:6; 22:22; 30:16; 43:11; 48:46; Ezek 12:11; 30:17, 18; Amos 9:4; Nahum 3:10; Lam 1:18; Dan 11:8; Ezra 9:7). Indeed, everywhere a proclitic preposition is present, the word is vocalized as definite (the only apparent exception being the instrumental בְּ in Dan 11:13). Other instances, with the orthographic ה (e.g., מֵהַשְּׁבִ֣י [Ezra 3:8; 8:35]; מִן־הַשֶּׁ֖בִי [Neh 1:2, 3; 8:17]), refer to the Babylonian exile after the fact.