Rabbi Bension Kohen or haKohen (; born in Djerba, Tunisia, died 1999 in Jerusalem) was a writer of literature on Hebrew grammar and literature. He was the author of Sefath Emeth (éäê ÃÂÃÂê/éäêàÃÂÃÂà:ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂéÃÂàÃÂçÃÂÃÂé ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ) a work on the pronunciation of the Hebrew alphabet.
In the introduction to his work, Kohen provides a purported lineage going back over a dozen generations of kohanim born at Djerba (also see History of the Jews in Tunisia.) Among his claimed patrilineal ancestors are Rabbi (d. 1848), 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.
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.
Rabbi Kohen's research led him to produce a table of pronunciation. The table was published (with minor variations from what is listed below) on page 150 of Safath Emeth:
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 (the pronunciation of Tiberian Hebrew is explored in greater depth by researchers such as Geoffrey Khan).