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I have always understood a phrase consisting of two nouns, where the latter alone has ה"א הידיעה, to be in סמיכות. Consequently, דיין האמת ought to be pointed דַּיַּן הָאֱמֶת, given that דַּיַּן (with פתח) is the constructive case of דַּיָּן (with קמץ).

And yet in an old נוסח בלדי siddur I have (תכלאל עץ חיים), the yod there is marked with קמץ and not פתח (I figured this might have been a typographical error, but סידור שיח ירושלים, too, invariably has it with קמץ):

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What is the explanation here for דַּיָּן הָאֱמֶת (which is, presumably, in סמיכות)?

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    Doesn't it mean "the true judge"?
    – shmosel
    Commented Jul 1 at 20:10
  • Welcome to MY! Your reasoning seems to reasonable to me, and indeed, this is how it is in my prayer book.
    – Kazi bácsi
    Commented Jul 1 at 20:12
  • @shmosel Strictly speaking, that should be הַַדַּיָּן הָאֲֲמִיתִּי (using the adjective אֲֲמִיתִּי), in which case דיין would need to be punctuated with קמץ below the yod and have the ה"א הידיעה prefixed to it.
    – 5784
    Commented Jul 1 at 20:52
  • @5784 A long-winded way of getting from דיָּן האמת to the meaning דיַּן האמת: you could compare the lack of ה on דיין to the lack of ה on מלך in מלך אוהב צדקה ומשפט, or on מחיֶה המתים; then you could compare הדיין האמת to המלך המשפט, which some (eg Rashi) understand as meaning the same as מלך המשפט (in סמיכות).
    – magicker72
    Commented Jul 1 at 21:09
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    Kazibácsi @magicker72 Thanks for the replies. After checking ברכות פ"ט מ"ב (punctuated according to מסורת תימן), and looking through סדר צידוק הדין in a few different תכאליל, it appears that in Yemenite Hebrew the yod of דיין is voweled with קמץ regardless of case.
    – 5784
    Commented Jul 2 at 2:53

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