Not to mention shinayim...
I got a little confused here:
1) I didn't see any inconsistency in Klein's statement. It seems to me to say that he is of the opinion that shtayim derives from ashtei (which we see in Hebrew as 'ashtei asar most often).
2) Please explain firstly how exactly the word is vocalised. Is the sheva under the shin na' or nach? How do we know? Is the dagesh in the tav kal or chazak? How do we know?
3) Many words in Hebrew have a dagesh kal after sheva nach. The word "hitpael" has a sheva nach on the tav, and a dagesh kal in the peh.
Joel,
According to Klein, שן tooth, comes from שננ - to sharpen.
1) It's hard to put my finger on it. He says "if it were really so" - as if it maybe isn't. But maybe I'm reading too much into it.
2) The shva is nach, the dagesh is kal. I don't know much about these things, but that what all the sources I've read said. However, I know that some regular readers of this blog understand this much more - perhaps they'll post a comment explaining how we know.
3) What's unique about שתים is that it's the only word where the first letter has a shva nach and then a dagesh kal.
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