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CLUB DE ESTUDIANTES DE HEBREO DE HABLA HISPANA www.CursoDeHebreo.com.ar - Material para uso educativo solamente -
Biblical HebrewAn Illustrated Introduction
Lessons, Appendices, & Glossaries
John A. CookRobert D. Holmstedt
Illustrated by Philip Williams
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (Draft Copy)© 2011 by John A. Cook and Robert D. Holmstedt
All rights reserved.
For more illustrated Bible from Philip Williams, seehttp://www.staircasestudio.com.
Preface
BackgroundAs is the case with most elementary textbooks of Classical or Biblical Hebrew, this textbookwas born out of the authors’ dissatisfaction with the available grammars. Its developmentbegan during our time at the University of Wisconsin as graduate instructors of first-yearbiblical Hebrew courses, from 1996 to 2002. In our years of teaching Hebrew since graduateschool, in a variety of institutional contexts, we have continued to shape and alter thetextbook, refining its focus and distinctives. In this process we have come to realize that ourdissatisfaction is shared by other Hebrew teachers, despite the deluge of new Hebrewtextbooks in recent years, and that a market remains for a textbook with a differentapproach for teaching biblical Hebrew, an approach grounded in modern methods forteaching languages.
DistinctivesThis textbook has seven (often interrelated) distinctives that justify its creation in the midstof the mass of currently available textbooks.
1. Learning an Ancient Language and Second Language AcquisitionWe have sought to incorporate more recent ideas about pedagogy into the shaping of thegrammar explanations and the exercises. The most obvious feature of the textbookrepresents its unique strength: the use of illustrated episodes from Genesis to learn Hebrew.Moreover, all the exercises based on the illustrated Readings use as much Hebrew aspossible. That is, we avoid using the model that dominates in other textbooks: the grammar-translation model. Instead of teaching Hebrew as an object to be decoded and then re-codedinto the students’ native language (e.g., English), the goal of this textbook is to provide thestudent with competency in reading, listening, and even producing Hebrew. In other words,rather than mastering Hebrew for translation, our aim is that students achieve the ability tocomprehend biblical Hebrew texts. At the same time, we admit limits to such second-languageacquisition approaches in the teaching and learning of ancient, textual corpus-boundlanguages. As such, there remains a philological realism to our pedagogy coupled with ouruse of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) techniques. In particular, the exercises included inthe textbook center around self-contained narratives from the Bible, and include visual andaudio aids for vocabulary memorization and narrative comprehension. In addition, we haveprovided audio-visual aids for developing oral fluency. Beyond this, there is the instructor’schoice: he/she may maintain a text-based atmosphere, focusing on the given exercises, orhe/she may establish a “conversation”-based atmosphere, in which the given exercises areused as a platform for extemporaneous modification (and thus greater competency in theproductive aspect of learning Hebrew).
2. Language Pedagogy and Grammar PresentationOne of the points of dissatisfaction with grammars currently on the market is that they havetended to provide too much grammatical information for a first-year textbook. The effect isthat students are overwhelmed and instructors are faced with cutting out the unnecessaryclutter. Rather than produce a textbook that is a stand-in for an intermediate grammar, we
ii
have included a minimal amount of grammar to give students facility in reading actualHebrew texts, and have left to the instructor’s discretion the introduction of more advanceddescriptions. This approach, of course, also aligns with our SLA-influenced goals.Organizationally, the most notable result of this approach is our decision to relegatesummaries of weak verb forms to an appendix along with the customary verb paradigms. Inthis way we aim to give these discussions their proper place in grammar study, asexplanations of forms in the context of reading texts rather than complex morphologicalexplanations abstracted from the practice and skills of reading Hebrew.
3. Organization The organization of the textbook centers around discrete grammatical issues. The lessons donot present the grammar in the traditional sequence of phonology-morphology-syntax, butrecognize that language is learned in small chunks of information that alternate through thevarious aspects of grammar (including a greater focus on syntax and semantics, areasneglected by current introductory textbooks). The material is also organized to maximizethe use of repetition, a key to language acquisition. For example, paradigms are oftenbroken in to halves, so that presentation of the second half reinforces the material alreadylearned.
4. Text-Based Exercises The lessening of the morphology burden in the grammar has allowed us space toincorporate discussions of grammar that are conducive to reading and understandingHebrew literature. In particular, we have several lessons that introduce students toimportant aspects of the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic systems of biblical Hebrew,illustrated with examples from the same texts (Genesis episodes) used for the exercises.
5. Recognition of the Diversity of Hebrew in the BibleOur choice of a particular corpus (discrete episodes from Genesis) to draw examples from forthe discussion of Hebrew syntax, semantics, and pragmatics comes out of a recognition that“Biblical Hebrew” is not a monolithic or uniform language. Rather, preserved in the biblicalcorpus and extra-biblical ancient epigraphs and texts (e.g., Ben Sira, Qumran) is an array ofgrammatical peculiarities and divergences. Rather than fall into the philological trap ofattempting to be exhaustive, we have chosen to focus our analysis and draw our examplesfrom a small, uniform corpus of prose literature appropriate for first-year readings.
6. Modern Linguistic Background Our textbook incorporates more recent linguistic explanations of biblical Hebrew in a waythat is as jargon-free as possible and understandable to beginning students. The currentlyavailable textbooks of biblical Hebrew are astonishingly “behind the times” in theirgrammar descriptions and terminology. Nineteenth-century theories of the Hebrew verbcontinue to be presented not because they are correct, but because they “work.” However,we are convinced that explanations should be presented that are both accurate andunderstandable. Biblical Hebrew grammar instruction has also been plagued withidiosyncratic and archaic vocabulary. In place of outmoded Latinate terms such as status
iii
constructus, we have sought to employ terms native to language itself and/or in current usein Hebrew linguistic studies, such as nismach.
7. Non-Confessional Orientation The textbook is non-confessional. Religious and theological aims for studying biblicalHebrew have shaped the concerns of many textbooks to the point that they sometimes wedtheir grammar lessons to “theological” insights from the text. Such overtly confessionalapproaches unnecessarily preclude other interests in studying Hebrew, such as cultural orlinguistic insights. Although we are not adverse to confessional approaches to the Bible (oneauthor teaches at a theological seminary), we think that a textbook written without aconfessional stance will serve a wider community of language learners and institutions.
John A. Cook Robert D. HolmstedtWilmore Toronto
July 2, 2011
Table of ContentsPreface ..................................................................................................................................................i
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................1
Grammar Lessons1. The Consonants ............................................................................................................................52. The Vowels ..................................................................................................................................113. 15................................................................................................................................ (Sheva) שוא4. 17............................................................................................................................. (Dagesh) דגש5. Subject Pronouns – Singular .....................................................................................................186. Copular Clauses ..........................................................................................................................217. Nouns – Singular.........................................................................................................................238. The Article ה and the Interrogative 26.................................................................................... ה9. of Possession – Singular.........................................................................................................27 ל
READING #1 (“The House”)10. Nouns – Plural and Dual ............................................................................................................3011. Subject Pronouns – Plural .........................................................................................................3312. 35................................................................................................................................. אין and יש13. Conjunction ו and Prepositions ...............................................................................................3714. 42................................................................................................................... (Questions) שאלות
READING #2 (Genesis 3 (א15. The Verb – A Preview ................................................................................................................4416. Perfect Conjugation – Singular ..........................................................................................48 קל17. of Possession – Plural .............................................................................................................52 ל18. Introduction to Syntax and Word Order .................................................................................54
READING #3 (Genesis 22 (א
19. Perfect Conjugation – Plural ..............................................................................................58 קל20. 60............................................................................................................. (Bound Nouns) סמיכות21. The Irreal Use of the Perfect Conjugation ...............................................................................6322. Enclitic Pronouns – Singular .....................................................................................................66
READING #4 (Genesis 37 (א
23. Imperfect Conjugation – Singular .....................................................................................69 קל24. The Infinitive ..............................................................................................................................7125. The Adverbial Infinitive ............................................................................................................7526. Objects .........................................................................................................................................77
READING #5 (Genesis 3 (ב
27. Imperfect Conjugation – Plural ..........................................................................................80 קל
vii
28. 82........................................................................................... היה Imperfect Conjugation of קל29. x ...............................................................................................................84בנינים: פעל והפעיל30. Main and Subordinate Clauses .................................................................................................87
READING #6 (Genesis 22 (ב31. Enclitic Pronouns – Plural .........................................................................................................9232. Adjectives ....................................................................................................................................9533. Demonstrative Pronouns ..........................................................................................................9934. Noun Pattern .................................................................................................................101 סגלת
READING #7 (Genesis 37 (ב35. Past Narrative Conjugation .....................................................................................................10336. 106............................................................................................................................................ ויהי37. 108........................................................................................................... בנינים: נפעל והתפעל38. Dynamic and Stative Verbs .....................................................................................................111
READING #8 (Genesis 3 (ג39. Jussives and Imperatives .........................................................................................................11240. Enclitic Pronouns with Verbs .................................................................................................11641. Word Order and Topic & Focus ...............................................................................................119
READING #9 (Genesis 22 (ג42. Participles .................................................................................................................................12243. The Foreground and Background of Narrative .....................................................................12544. The Verb – A Summary ............................................................................................................127
READING #10 (Genesis 37 (ג45. Numerals ...................................................................................................................................12846. Topic ..........................................................................................................................................130
READING #11 (Genesis 1)47. Masoretic Accents ....................................................................................................................13248. Complements and Adjuncts ....................................................................................................134
READING #12 (Genesis 47)49. Case Relations ...........................................................................................................................13650. Lexical Semantics .....................................................................................................................138
READING #13 (Genesis 50)
viii
Appendices and GlossariesAppendix A: Phonology ...................................................................................................................A1
1. From “Biblical Hebrew” to “Masoretic” Hebrew Vowels ................................................A12. Vowel Changes from Ancient to “Tiberian” Hebrew ......................................................A23. Vowel Letters .......................................................................................................................A44. Syllables, Vowels, and Word Stress ...................................................................................A55. The Definite Article .............................................................................................................A66. Attaching the Clitic Prepositions .......................................................................................A7
Appendix B: Nominal Morphology1a. Noun Inflection .................................................................................................................A101b. Adjective Inflection ..........................................................................................................A102. Frequent Irregular Nouns ................................................................................................A103. Personal Pronouns ............................................................................................................A114. Demonstrative Pronouns .................................................................................................A115a. Enclitic Pronouns with Singular Nouns .........................................................................A125b. Enclitic Pronouns with Plural Nouns .............................................................................A125c. Enclitic Pronouns with מן, כמו/כ ,ל, and the Object Marker -אות/את ..................A13
Appendix C: Verb Morphology......................................................................................................A141a. The ‘Strong’ Verb: פקד ‘attend to’..................................................................................A141b. Recognizing the Derived בנינים .....................................................................................A162. Enclitic Pronouns with Verbs .............................................................................................A193. Introduction to Guttural Verbs ..........................................................................................A193a. I-Guttural Verbs .................................................................................................................A203b. II-Guttural Verbs ...............................................................................................................A223c. III-Guttural Verbs ..............................................................................................................A244. Introduction to Weak Verbs ...............................................................................................A264a. I-א Verbs ............................................................................................................................A274b. III-א Verbs ..........................................................................................................................A284c. I-נ Verb ..............................................................................................................................A314d. I-י/ו Verb ...........................................................................................................................A344e. III-ה Verb ...........................................................................................................................A384f. II-י/ו Verb ...........................................................................................................................A404g. II-III Verb ............................................................................................................................A434h. Doubly-Weak Verbs ...........................................................................................................A45
Appendix D: Using a Lexicon ........................................................................................................A48Appendix E: Terminology .............................................................................................................A55Hebrew-English Glossary ................................................................................................................G1English-Hebrew Glossary ..............................................................................................................G46
Introduction
Hebrew is a Semitic Language
Ancient Hebrew emerged as a distinct dialect sometime in the 2nd millenniumB.C.E. in the region of Canaan—the land between the Jordan River Valley andthe Mediterranean Sea (see the map at right). In fact, one of the earliest refer-ences to Hebrew calls it “the language of Canaan” ( .(Isa 19:18 ;שפת כנען
The language is also referred to in the Bible as ,Judahite” (2 Kgs 18:26“ יהודית28, etc.), but by the Roman period it was known as “Hebrew” (Latin Hebraios, Is-raeli Hebrew עברית). However, in late antiquity, especially in Jewish literature,it frequently was called “the holy language” ( because Scripture (לשון הקדשwas written in the language.
Any notion that Hebrew was somehow special among languages since it was thelanguage of Scripture was dispelled in the 18th c., when philological study wasable to trace Hebrew back to the Semitic language family. It was in that centurythat the name Semitic was coined to refer to languages spoken in those areas ofthe Near East that the Bible purports to have been settled by descendants ofShem:
To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother ofJapheth, children were born. The descendants of Shem: Elam, Asshur,Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. (Genesis 10:21-22)
As one of the oldest and longest-used language families, the Semitic languagefamily is over 5000 years old. Its history can be traced back through writtenevidence to the 3rd millennium B.C.E., although it was likely much older thanthat. Though many branches of the family have fallen into disuse (e.g., Akkadi-an, Phoenician; see diagram), the language family today consists of about 70different languages or dialects spoken by nearly 500 million speakers.
Akkadian
EAST SEMITIC
South ArabianEthiopian
SOUTH SEMITIC
Arabic
PhoenicianHebrew
CanaaniteAramaic
CENTRAL SEMITIC
WEST SEMITIC
SEMITIC
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 2
Several features distinguish Semitic languages from non-Semitic:
• Semitic languages use common distinctive sounds in their alphabet such as the“guttural” consonants (i.e., pharyngeal and laryngeal sounds made in the throat)(see 2.5).
• Semitic languages originally had only three vowels—a, i, u—each of which could bepronounced long or short.
• Semitic languages possess a large shared vocabulary: e.g., ‘father’ ab (Hebrew), abba(Aramaic), abu (Arabic).
• The vocabulary of Semitic languages predominantly has triconsonantal roots.Semitic words are formed from roots of three consonants. Different parts of speech(verbs, adjectives, nouns) are derived by adding prefixes and/or suffixes and changingthe vowels which occur between the consonants. For example, the triconsonantal rootP-Q-D is associated with the following words:
paqad ‘he attended to,’ piqqed ‘he mustered,’ puqqad ‘he was mustered,’ pəquda ‘mustering,’ mipqad ‘appointed place’.
According to the family tree for Semitic (above), Hebrew is classified as a Cent-ral West Semitic language, and more specifically a member of the Canaanitegrouping. Features distinguishing Central West from South West Semitic lan-guages include:
• The development of the Suffix Pattern verbal conjugation
• The change of w to y when the letter begins a word
The most notable distinguishing feature of Canaanite languages is the “Canaan-ite Shift”: sometime in the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. long a vowelschanged to long o vowels in Canaanite languages (e.g., ‘peace’ Hebrew šalōmversus Aramaic šəlām / Arabic salām).
The relative closeness of languages on the family tree is based on the degree ofsimilarity among languages. As a result, those languages most closely related toHebrew (e.g., other Canaanite languages like Phoenician and Moabite, and themajor West Semitic language Aramaic) often provide textual remains that shedlight on ancient Hebrew and ancient Israelite culture.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 3
Hebrew is one of the most significant Semitic languages
Hebrew may be considered one of the most historically and religiously signific-ant of the Semitic languages, both because of the size of its textual remains bycomparison with the other Semitic languages and the enduring religiousnature of the primary text. That is, the Hebrew Bible contains the single largestbody of ancient Semitic literature and has remained a core religious text forJudaism and Christianity for over two thousand years. Indeed, the impact ofHebrew on Western culture can scarcely be overstated.
While knowledge of Hebrew was preserved forcenturies mainly by Jewish scholars, Hebrew in-creasingly gained wider attention during theRenaissance and following. Christian scholars re-vived the use of Hebrew in the study of the Biblein the 15th century and in the 16th century it wasused increasingly for vernacular translations ofthe Bible, such as Martin Luther’s German trans-lation (1534). This increased interest is manifestin cultural artifacts like Rembrandt’s painting ofMoses with the ten commandments, in which thesecond half of the commandments legibly appears (Exodus 20:13–17):
׃ לא תנאף ׃לא תרצח׃ ־ ר לא תחמד בית׃ תענה ברעך עד שק לא תגנב לא׃ תחמד אשת רעך ועבדו ואמתו ושורו וחמרו וכל אשר לרעך־ רעך לאYou shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall nottestify against your neighbor as a false witness. You shall not covet your neighbor’shouse. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his man servant or hismaidservant or his ox or his donkey or anything of your neighbor’s.
Hebrew was especially influential on the English language through the atten-tion to the Hebrew Bible given by the Puritans in England. From 1549 Hebrewwas a required language for an M.A. at Cambridge. The poet John Milton (1608–1674) read and wrote Hebrew fluently, and was appointed “Secretary for For-eign Languages” by Cromwell. The noted legal scholar John Selden (1584–1654)studied biblical and talmudic legal writings in helping to reshape British juris-prudence. Most importantly, the rather literal rendering of the Hebrew Bibleby the translators of the King James Bible (1611) has made numerous Hebrewidioms and proverbial expressions commonplace in modern English.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 4
“to lick the dust” (Ps 72:9)“to fall flat on one’s face” (Num 22:31)“heavy heart” (Prov 25:20)“to pour out one’s heart” (Lam 2:19)“the land of the living” (Job 28:13)“nothing new under the sun” (Eccl 1:9)“sour grapes” (Ezek 18:2)“rise and shine” (variant on “arise,
shine” in Isa 60:1)
“pride goes before a fall” (Prov 16:18)“the skin of my teeth” (Job 19:20)“to put words in one’s mouth” (Exod 4:15)“like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isa 53:7)“a drop in a bucket” (variant on “a drop from
a bucket” in Isa 40:15)“a fly in the ointment” (from Eccl 10:1)“to see the writing on the wall” (from Dan 5:5)“a man after his own heart” (1 Sam 13:14)
In addition, many Hebrew words, like amen, have entered into the English lan-guage. Others include abbot, alphabet (through Greek alpha-beta < alef-bet),Armageddon (from har megiddo ‘mount Megiddo’), behemoth, camel, cherubim, hal-lelujah, hosanna, jubilee (from the 50th year celebration when all slaves were tobe set free), leviathan, mammon, manna, messiah, rabbi, sabbath, sack, satan, seraph-im, shibboleth, sodomy (after city of Sodom), and Torah. The Hebrew Bible is alsothe origin of many proper names in English, such as Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham,Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Rachel, and many more. In fact, the name Michael,which comes from Hebrew מיכאל, “who is like God?,” may be humanity’s old-est continuously used name. It entered English and other European languagesfrom Hebrew, but before Hebrew it existed in Eblaite, a Semitic language fromaround 2300 B.C.E. that is closely related to Akkadian.
The Puritan reverence for Hebrew carried over to the North American schools,beginning with Harvard and Yale. In these early schools, which were influ-enced very much by Cambridge and Oxford, the study of Hebrew sometimesrivaled that of Greek and Latin, to the point that several early commencementaddresses were given in Hebrew. Moreover, the mark of Hebrew’s influence onthese schools endures in one of Harvard’s com-mencement anthems (a metrical rendering ofPsalm 78) and Yale’s coat of arms (right). TheHebrew motto Urim) אורים ותומים and Thum-mim) is accompanied by the Latin rendering luxet veritas (“light and truth”). The Urim andThummim in the Hebrew Bible is a device or pro-cess for divination associated with the priestlybreastplate (Exod 28:30). However, the Hebrewroots are related to the Hebrew word for “light”and “integrity.”
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 5
Ancient Hebrew: a window onto ancient IsraelJust as ancient Hebrew has influenced later culture, the language is itself theproduct of an ancient culture. Studying ancient Hebrew thus provides a win-dow into that culture inasmuch as it provides an entry into a different world-view than our own. Understanding the ancient Israelite worldview throughancient Hebrew helps us appreciate its contribution to our own modern world-view and at the same time may free us to examine issues from a viewpoint dif-ferent from our own. In turn, we may come to understand our own worldviewmore deeply through comparison with that of ancient Israel as manifest in an-cient Hebrew.
1. The ConsonantsThe Hebrew אלף-בית (alphabet) is composed of the following.
● It consists of 23 consonants read right-to-left.
א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ש ת←
● Five letters have alternate final forms that are used when the letter occursat the end of a word.
Regular form: כ מ נ פ צ
Final form: ך ם ן ף ץ e.g., שמים
● Six letters, ב ג ד כ פ ת (mnemonically referred to as the בגד כפת (BeGaDKeFaT), can appear with a “dot” in them called a .(dagesh qal) דגש קל Three of these letters have two pronunciations: one with the דגש קל, andone without it.
like b in Boy ב BUT ב like v in Voice
like k in Keep כ BUT כ like ch in BaCH
like p in Pie פ BUT פ like f in Fish
like g in Give ג AND ג
like d in Dog ד AND ד
like t in Tide ת AND ת
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 6
● Notice that the Hebrew alphabet has several letters which arepronounced the same.
ע and א [silent]
ו and ב like v in Voice
כ and ח like ch in Bach
ת/ת and ט like t in Tide
ק and כ like k in Keep
ש and ס like s in Sit
There are four consonants, each pronounced in the back of the throat, that areoften called “gutturals”: ע ח ה א. Note the following characteristics:
1) Gutturals (and ר) are not lengthened and do not allow דגש חזק (dageshchazaq) (see §4).
2) Gutturals prefer a-class vowels nearby, i.e., before or after.
-ʿ[ya יעמד amod] ‘he will stand’
3) Gutturals ח ,ה, and ע at the end of a word are sometimes preceded by ana-class ‘helping’ vowel called a גנובהפתח (patach genuvah) ‘stolen’ פתח (traditionally called a furtive patach).
’wind, spirit‘ [ruach] רוח
4) Gutturals usually have a שוא חטף (chatef sheva) (see §3).
]ʾ אשר asher] (instead of *אשר)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 7
Name (Final) Form Pronunciation Script Print
ʾálef
bet
gímel
dálet
ʾhe
vav
záyin
chet
tet
yod
kaf
lámed
mem
nun
sámech
ʿáyin
ʾpe
tsáde
qof
resh
sin
shin
tav
אלףבית
גימלדלתהאווזין
חיתטיתיודכף
למדמםנוןסמךעיןפא
צדיקוףריששיןשיןתו
אבבג גד דהוזחטיכ
כ (ך)ל
מ (ם)נ (ן)
סעפ
פ (ף)צ (ץ)
קרששת ת
glottal stop or silent
b in Boy
v in Voice
g in Give
d in Dog
h in Hat
v in Voice
z in Zip
ch in BaCH
t in Tide
y in Yellow
k in Keep
ch in BaCH
l in Letter
m in Mother
n in Noon
s in Sit
pharyngeal or silent
p in Pie
f in Fish
ts in caTS
k in Keep
r in Race
s in Sit
sh in SHin
t in Tide
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 8
(’Write‘)א. תכתב
Write out a full line of each consonant of the Hebrew alphabet (use the alphabet chart on p.7 as a guide).
המקום ־ (’Fill in the Blank‘)ב. תמלא את
1. Fill in the blank with the missing consonant according to the order of the alphabet(ignore the absence/presence of דגש), e.g., דגא ב .
_ י) ר ת_
_ כ) מ נ_
_ _ ל) ח_
) ח ט י _ ז
ח) פ צ ק _
ט) ג ד ו_
ד) צ ק ש_
ה) ל נ ס_
ו) ד ה ז_
א) כ ל נ_
ב) ק ר ש_
_ _ ג) א _
2. Fill in the blank with an English word which has the sound of the Hebrew letter in it (donot use the words given in the chart above): e.g., ב as in b oat .
פ) ______ as in י
צ) ______ as in כ
ק) _____ as in כ
ר) _____ as in ל
ט) _____ as in ר
י) _____ as in ש
כ) _____ as in ב
ל) _____ as in ב
א) _____ as in ד
ב) _____ as in ה
ג) ______ as in ו
ד) _____ as in ס
ש) _____ as in ש
ת) _____ as in ת
אא) ____ as in מ
בב) _____ as in נ
מ) _____ as in פ
נ) ______ as in פ
ס) ______ as in צ
ע) _____ as in ק
ה) _____ as in ג
ו) ______ as in ז
ז) _____ as in ח
ע) _____ as in ט
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 9
־ הדברים ־ האותות / את (’Match the letters/words‘)ג. תתאים את
1. Draw lines to connect each letter with its corresponding final form:
כ פ נ צ מ
ץ ם ך ף ן
2. Draw a line from the Hebrew proper name to the English equivalent.
Judah
Jacob
Levi
Israel
Philistine
Shadrach
Abraham
Adam
Moses
Pharaoh
ישראל
משה
יהודה
אדם
יעקב
לוי
פלשתי
פרעה
אברהם
שדרך
Tamar
Esau
Rachel
Hezekiah
Joseph
Canaan
Solomon
Nebuchadnezzar
Leah
Sarah
יוסף
כנען
חזקיה
שרה
נבוכדנאצר
תמר
עשו
רחל
שלמה
לאה
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 10
הדברים ־ (’Find the words‘)ד. תמצא את
Find the names of the letters of the alphabet in the puzzle (no left-to-right or otherwisebackwards ones).
שין
שין
תו
פא
צדי
קוף
ריש
מם
נון
סמך
עין
טית
יוד
כף
למד
הא
וו
זין
חית
אלף
בית
גימל
דלת
ןיעטכגןטןטגל
עאבממןיףוקטו
מיבהלתאזרדזו
תןונמטוםרךמס
סנגשימגירכוצ
נתןםגאשבןיזכ
כלהיםאידצגםד
גדפןשדאאדדוי
צןםמדלשודמלח
גתיחףךמצהאעל
טלבשךותלאפמך
סאהיסןףכקהומ
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 11
(’Verses‘)ה) הפסוקים
1. Say aloud the names of the letters in the following verse.
כה אמר יהוה עשו משפט וצדקה והצילו גזול מיד עשוק וגר יתום ואלמנה אל־
־ תשפכו במקום הזה ־ תחמסו ודם נקי אל תנו אל
‘Thus says YHWH: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of theoppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien,the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.’ (Jer 22:3)
2. Circle the letters which are final form.
־ עם מאסף מגוים עשה־ חרבות נושבת ואל לשלל שלל ולבז בז להשיב ידך על
טבור הארץ־ מקנה וקנין ישבי על
‘. . . to seize spoil and carry off plunder; to assail the waste places that are nowinhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who are acquiringcattle and goods, who live at the center of the earth.’ (Ezek 38:12)
2. The VowelsThe Tiberian system of Hebrew vowels has the following characteristics:
● The vowels appear under, over, or following the consonant they are pro-nounced after.
’is pronounced [yad] ‘hand יד
● The sign represents both a-class קמץ (qamets) and u-class חטוףקמץ(qamets-chatuf ). Distinguishing which vowel it represents in a given worddepends on knowing in what type of syllable it occurs.
● Certain vowels are sometimes written as a vowel point and a consonant(see chart below; shureq always appears with the שורק .(vowel letter ו When הו, or י are used in this way they are called vowel letters. They arenot consonants in these cases.
AppendixA.3
AppendixA.4
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 12
● The chart below presents the Tiberian vowels by class (a-class, i-class, or u-class). The X is simply to show the position of the vowel.
Name Form Pronunciation Class
pátach פתח X
qamets(-he) (הא)־ קמץ X/ה Xa in Father a-class
segol סגול X e in Met
tsére(-yod) ־ יוד) צרי( X/י X ey in They
chíreq(-yod) (יוד)־חירק X/י X ee in Seen
i-class
qamets-chatuf חטוף־ קמץ X
chólem(-vav) ־ (וו) חולם X/וXo in Go
qibbuts קבוץ X
shúreq שורק Xו u in Rude
u-class
(’Write‘)א. תכתב
1. a) Write each of the Tiberian Hebrew vowels with each of the consonants; b) Pronouncealoud the combination of consonant and vowel as you write them, e.g., א א אה א א אי א אי א א או א או.
2. Without looking at the chart above, read aloud the name of each vowel and write the◻correct sign under, over, or following the .
◻ חירקא) ־ יוד ◻ ב) צרי◻ ג) שורק
◻ קמץד)
◻ פתחה) ◻ קבוץו) ◻ חולםז) ◻ סגולח)
חטוף־ט) ◻ קמץ ◻ צריי)
־ וו ◻ כ) חולם־ יוד ◻ ל) חירק
AppendixA.1–2
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 13
הדברים ־ (’Find the words‘)ב. תמצא את
Find the names of the Hebrew vowels in the puzzle (no left-to-right or otherwise backwardsones).
חטוף־ קמץ
קבוץ
־ וו חולם
צרי־ יוד חירק
סגול
פתחקמץ
־ יוד צרי
שורקחולםחירק
נזעדחחםלדלרד
חאעאושתדגקגס
שודגצימעאאאל
ירצומאקדףסאך
צץצקףטחרגטקי
ץאלוגסזציךחצ
וקאווםלוחחךל
בםנבץפדויירצ
קומעמףוטחץמק
מרקלקריחגשנצ
ולוססףטחוחתפ
חקרשטזאלםלוח
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 14
המקום ־ (’Fill in the Blank‘)ג. תמלא את
1. Identify a close sounding English word for each Hebrew word, e.g., כר = car.
______ פ) לין =______ צ) לא =______ ק) פן =
______ ר) אור =______ ש) היא =______ ט) אם =
_____ אא) רוץ =_____ בב) שיר =
ט) דין = ______
י) עיר = ______
כ) הוא = ______
ל) שים = ______
______ מ) עת = נ) רום = ______
ס) רק = ______
_____ ע) שור =
_____ א) פוש = ב) בין = ______
______ ג) רד = ______ ד) מי = ______ ה) כן =
ו) בור = ______
ז) פן = _______
ח) פור =______
2. Spell how these English words sound with Hebrew letters, e.g., bed = בד.
a. shed =
b. sheet =
c. see =
d. said =
e. road =
f. ooze =
g. root =
h. soul =
i. hot =
j. near =
k. say =
l. peat =
m. key =
n. ray =
o. vote =
p. coal =
q. tar =
r. sew =
s. name =
t. cave =
u. cots =
v. red =
w. doze =
x. go =
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 15
3. (Sheva) שואThe vowel system created by the Tiberian Masoretes (6th c. C.E.) required thatevery consonant have some sort of vowel sign, except at the end of a word.
The שוא (sheva, ‘nothingness’), was used to fill in the places where a regularvowel did not belong. At the end of a syllable, it is a silent place marker, show-ing that the syllable is closed:
[mid-bar] מדבר
However, at the beginning of syllables (whether at the beginning or in themiddle of a word), the שוא is pronounced like the “hurried” a as in above andtransliterated with ǝ:
● at the beginning of a word: ש-מו [shə-mo]
● in the middle of a word: מ in רו- [yish-mə-ru] יש-מ
Note: If two שואים are adjacent in a word, the first is silent and the second is vocal.
Under the guttural consonants the is often modified so that it has a bit שוא more sound.
אשר* instead of אשר
This type of שוא is called חטף שוא (‘abbreviated’ שוא) and is a combination ofthe שוא and one of the three basic vowel classes:
Sign Name Pronunciation Class
X chatef-pátach פתח־ חטף a in Aríse a class
X chatef-segól סגול־ חטף e in Excúse i class
X chatef-qamets קמץ־ חטף o in Omít u class
AppendixA.1
AppendixA.4
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 16
‘)New Words(’ דברים חדשים
*YHWH (unpronounceable)
master, lord; Lord (of God)
God, gods
יהוה
אדון; אדני
אלהים
*Note: The pronunciation of the divine name of Israel’s God, יהוה, has been lostbecause early in Jewish reading tradition out of divine reverence the title אדוני waspronounced in its place (as indicated by the vowels; see Jer 22:3 below), or אלהיםwhen it appeared in conjunction with אדוני (e.g., Ezek 17:9 above §3). Later traditionalso used השם ha-shem ‘the name’ in place of יהוה. Scholars think the name mighthave been originally pronounced as yah-weh. The form Jehovah derives from amisapplication of the vowels of אדני to the consonants of the divine name יהוה.
א. תכתבWrite each חטף שוא with each of the guttural consonants, pronouncing aloud the
combination of consonant and vowel as you write them, e.g., א א א.
(’Read‘)ב. תקרא
Identify each שוא as silent or vocal and then practice reading the following verses until youcan do so smoothly.
־ פריה יקוסס ויבש־ שרשיה ינתק ואת אמר כה אמר אדני יה וה תצלח הלוא את
־ ־ רב למשאות אותה משרשיה־ בזרע גדולה ובעם טרפי צמחה תיבש ולא כל
‘Say: Thus says the Lord YHWH: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots, cause itsfruit to rot so that it withers; so that its fresh sprouting leaves fade? No strong arm ormighty army will be needed to pull it from its roots.’ (Ezek 17:9)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 17
4. (Dagesh) דגשIn §1 you learned about the six consonants (ב ג ד כ פ ת) called בגד כפת (BeGaD KeFaT) letters. Only these six consonants can have a dot called a דגש .in them (dagesh qal) קל
A דגש קל in כ ,ב, and פ marks their pronunciation as a stop (i.e., [b], [k], [p],in which the air flowing through the mouth is stopped) instead of the corres-ponding continuant (i.e., [v], [ch], [f], in which the air flows through the mouthcontinuously).
A דגש קל appears in a בגד כפת letter wherever there is not a vowel (or vocal:preceding it (שוא
● at the beginning of a word:
’word‘ [da-var] דבר
● at the beginning of a syllable following a closed syllable
’wilderness‘ [mid-bar] מדבר
The same dot can represent another type of דגש called the דגש חזק (dageshchazaq, “strong” דגש). A דגש חזק can occur in any consonant (except guttur-als and ר) and lengthens it.
בקש = בק-קש [biq-qesh] ‘he sought’
The בגד כפת letters can also have a דגש חזק. In addition to lengthening theconsonant, this also makes the pronunciation of דגש and ,כ ,ב a פ stop justlike the דגש קל.
’the son/child‘ [hab-ben] הב-בן = הבן
AppendixA.4
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 18
(’Read‘)א. תקרא
Practice reading the following verses until you can do so smoothly and then identify each.דגש חזק or דגש קל as a דגש
־ העיר הזאת באש ושרפוה־ העיר הזאת והציתו את ובאו הכשדים הנלחמים על
גגותיהם לבעל והסכו נסכים לאלהים אחרים למען־ על ואת הבתים אשר קטרו
הכעסני׃
‘The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come, and kindle this city withfire and burn it, along with the houses upon whose roofs they burned incense to Baaland poured libations to other gods so as to anger me.’ (Jer 32:29)
ב. תכתבPlace a דגש קל in each letter requiring it in the following verse; be able to explain why.
כה אמר יהוה עשו משפט וצדקה והצילו גזול מיד עשוק וגר יתום ואלמנה
׃ ־ ־ תשפכו במקום הזה־ תחמסו ודם נקי אל תנו אל אל
‘Thus says YHWH: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of theoppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien,the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.’ (Jer 22:3)
5. Subject Pronouns – SingularHebrew has a set of pronouns that are used as subjects of clauses. These cor-respond to English I, you, he/she, we, they.
I (am) Joseph’ (Gen 45:3)‘ אני יוסף
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 19
The following chart lists the singular subject pronouns.
Plural
§11
‘he’ הוא 3MS
‘she’ היא 3FS
‘you’ אתה 2MS
‘you’ את 2FS
‘I’ אני 1S
Notice that Hebrew distinguishes masculine from feminine in the third person(he vs. she) and the second person (you [masculine] vs. you [feminine]), but notin the first person.
‘)New Words(’ דברים חדשים
peace (greeting) M
word, thing M
שלום
דבר (דברים)
yes*
no
כן
לא
*Note: The word כן, while frequent in Biblical Hebrew, usually means ‘thus, so’ andnot ‘yes’. Affirmative responses are more frequently expressed by repeating thequestion in statement form. The latter meaning ‘yes’ is found in Modern Hebrew andis included here because it is useful for constructing dialogue.
רעהו ־א. איש Each to his neighbor = ‘Dialogue)(’אל
1. Break into groups of 2 and introduce yourselves to each other (the brackets indicate thatyou must make the proper choice between the two given options):
#2 #1
א) שלום. א) שלום.
אתה ? ב)
את
. ב) אני
AppendixB.3
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 20
. ג) אני אתה כן
. ? ג) , אני
את לא
כן . ד) , אני
לא
אתה ? ד)
את
2. Now form new groups of 3 people and take turns introducing the other people in thegroup to each other using the second- and third-person (i.e., הוא and היא).
Translate‘)(’ב. תתרגם
Translate these simple sentences (the names are from characters in the book of Genesis).
. .יהוהא) אני . .יצחקו) הוא
. .חוהב) היא . .יוסףז) אני
. .יהודהג) אתה . .שרהח) את
. .אברהםד) הוא . .ישראלט) אתה
.יעקב.ה) אתה . .אדםי) אני
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 21
6. Copular ClausesAs you have already seen with the example in the previous section, אני יוסף ‘I(am) Joseph’ (Gen 45:3), Hebrew does not always use a copular (i.e, “linking”)verb ‘to be’.
In fact, there are four ways to indicate the ‘to be’ copula. Below are three meth-ods, while the fourth is presented in §12.
● Two nominal items, such as two nouns or a pronoun and noun, may belinked by means of the verbal copula היה ‘to be’.
the snake was crafty’ (Gen 3:1)‘ הנחש היה ערום
● In addition to the verb ,היה Hebrew occasionally uses the third-personsubject pronouns as non-verbal copulas.
Ham is the father of Canaan’ (Gen 9:18)‘ אבי כנעןהואחם
● However, more often than not the copula is omitted, especially in presenttense contexts.
אניעירם ‘naked (am) I’ or ‘I (am) naked’ (Gen 3:10)
This last type of copular clauses does not have an overt verb, but a covert or“null” copula. The tense of the null copula clauses is often present, but may bepast or future depending on the context.
דברים חדשים
is/was (3MS)
is/was (3FS)
who?
name M
היה
היתה
מי
שם (שמות)
man M
woman F
young man M
young woman F
איש (אנשים)
אשה (נשים)
נער (נערים)
נערה (נערות)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 22
(’Names‘)א. שמות
Break into groups of 2 and quiz one another on your names and the names of your otherclassmates; be sure to intermix the different types of copular expressions:
#2 #1
הוא/היא הוא/היא
. אתה/את היה/היתה
) verbless( אני שם
הוא/היא הוא/היא
מי היה/היתה אתה/את ?
)verbless (אני
תתרגםב. Translate these copular sentences.
א) היא היתה נערה. .
. .אלהים הוא יהוה ב)
איש אתה. .ג)
לא אשה את. .ד)
מי הוא אלהים? .ה)
נער היה הוא. .ו)
את היא נערה. .ז)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 23
ג. תכתבWrite one example of each type of copular clause from your vocabulary.
.
.
.
7. Nouns - SingularThe lexicon (i.e., vocabulary) of a language may be divided into grammaticalwords and lexical words. Grammatical words signal relationships betweenwords. Examples include conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns and articles (see§13).
Nouns are lexical words. That is, nouns have semantic content—they refer toan entity in the external world. Thus, the noun book refers to a concrete object(a group of pages bound between a cover), whether real or hypothetical.
Hebrew nouns, most of which are formed from a triconsonantal root ( ,(שרשare inflected for gender and number. That is, endings added to the שרש tellyou if it is masculine or feminine and singular or plural.
Note: Though the “natural gender” of animate objects often corresponds to theirgrammatical gender, (e.g., איש ‘man’ is masculine, whereas אשה ‘woman’ isfeminine), grammatical gender is essentially a syntactic agreement property oflanguage (e.g., verb inflection must reflect the gender of the subject noun).
Nouns that are masculine do not have an explicit singular inflectional ending:
’young man‘ נער ;’brother‘ אח
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 24
Most nouns that are feminine have an explicit singular inflectional suffix:
● Many end with ה - , that is ה XXX.
’teaching‘ תורה ;’cattle‘ בהמה ;’ground‘ אדמה
● Some nouns end with ת-, that is, תXXX.
’sin‘ חטאת ;’kingdom‘ מלכות ;’covenant‘ ברית
● However, nouns referring to paired body parts are feminine, but do nothave an overt grammatical gender inflection.
’foot‘ רגל ;’eye‘ עין ;’hand‘ יד
Note: Some nouns, like אם ‘mother,’ or body parts (above), are grammaticallyfeminine even though they do not have a morphologically feminine gender marking(e.g., ה - ). However, only in cases where the shape of a noun does not indicate itsgender do we include the abbreviations m. or f. in the vocabulary lists.
Dual Plural Singular
§10 §10 ‘stallion’ סוס Masculine
‘mare’ סוסה Feminine
דברים חדשים
ground F
covenant F
אדמה (אדמות)
ברית (בריתות)
son M
daughter F
בן (בנים)
בת (בנות)
father M
mother F
אב (אבות)
אם (אמות)
AppendixB.1a
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 25
(’Masculine and feminine‘)א. זכר ונקבה
Circle the correct pronoun for each noun and translate.
את ה) נערה.
אתה
הוא א) אב.
היא
את ו) אם.
אתה
הוא ב) נער.
היא
את ז) בת.
אתה
הוא ג) בן.
היא
הוא ח) ברית.
היא
הוא ד) אדמה.
היא
המקום ו־ (’Fill in the Blank and translate‘) תתרגםב. תמלא את
Choose the correct gender copula to fill in the blank and translate.
. אב. הואא)
. אם? ב) מי
היתה/היה
היא/הוא
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 26
. . אתה בן ג)
. ברית. היא ד)
8. The Article ה and the Interrogative הSeveral grammatical words are clitics. Clitics are words that cannot stand ontheir own; they only appear attached to another word.
More specifically, the article •ה, the interrogative ,ה several frequently usedprepositions and the conjunction are (see §13) ו proclitics, i.e., clitics that areattached to the front of their host words.
The article •ה indicates that a noun is definite (Hebrew has no indefinite art-icle like English a/an). The form of the article is ה attached to the front of theword it modifies and a דגש חזק in the first letter of the host word.
’the wilderness‘ + מדבר = המדבר•ה
The interrogative ה marks a clause as yes-no question (like the English punc-tuation “?” does). It is very similar in form to the article •ה.
Is there peace to him?’ (i.e., ‘Is he well?’) (Gen 29:6)‘ השלום לו
Note: The vowel with the article ה and the interrogative ה may be identical in somecases; a practical way of telling them apart in some cases is that the article attachesto nouns whereas the interrogative, since it must be attached to the first word of aclause, is most often attached to a verb (e.g., הידעתם), negative (e.g., הלא), or evenpreposition (e.g., המן).
AppendixA.5
היא/הוא
היתה/היה
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 27
דברים חדשים
what? מה house M בית (בתים)
(’?What is it‘)א. מה הוא/היא
You and a partner take turns drawing a vocabulary item from §§6-7 while the other oneguesses what it is using the following expressions; if you are unable to guess what it is, askfor the answer with the expression .(’?What is it‘) מה הוא/היא?
#2 #1
הוא לא .
היא כן
הוא ? ה-
היא
תכתבב.Add the definite article to six vocabulary items from §§5-7 and translate.
. .
. .
. .
9. of Possession – Singular לThe clitic preposition ל ‘to, for’ can express possession in copular clauses.
ובקר ואהלים־ ללוט היה צאן‘Lot had sheep, cattle, and tents’ (Gen 13:5)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 28
Note: When ל (or other clitic prepositions; see §13) is attached to a noun with thearticle, the vocalization of the article is retained but the ה is replaced by the ל (orother clitic preposition). E.g., לילד היה בית ‘the child had a house’.
When enclitic pronouns (see also §22) are attached to ל they may function aspossessive pronouns similar to English mine, yours, his, hers.
־ לו־ אשר all that (belonged) to him’ or ‘all that (was) his’ (Gen 13:1)‘ כל
The singular forms are listed below.
Plural
§17
‘he has’/‘his’ לו 3MS
‘she has’/‘hers’ לה 3FS
‘you have’/‘yours’ לך 2MS
‘you have’/‘yours’ לך 2FS
‘I have’/‘mine’ לי 1S
דברים חדשים
land, earth F
king M
ארץ (ארצות)
מלך (מלכים)
(’?What do you have‘)א. מה לך/לך
1. Break into groups of 2 and take turns asking each other about your possessions using thevocabulary from §§6–7; try to vary the copula construction you use.
#2 #1
הוא .
היא
לך מה ?
לך
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 29
2. Now form new groups of 3 people and ask one another about the other person’spossessions, replacing the first- and second- person expressions with third person.
תרגםב. תTranslate the following possessive copula sentences.
א) בית הוא לו. .
ב) לא אשה לאיש. .
ג) נערה היתה לה. .
ד) הלא ברית לי. .
.ה) ארץ היא למלך.
ו) למי אתה. .
.ז) בת היתה לאם.
.ח) היא אשה לך.
ט) למי האדמה. .
י) בן הוא לאב. .
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 30
(’Write‘) תכתב ג.
Write five possessive copula sentences using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
GO TO READING #1
10. Nouns – Plural and DualSingular nouns were introduced in §6. Here the plural and dual (= two) nounforms are introduced.
Dual Plural Singular
סוסים סוסים ’stallion‘סוס Masculine
סוסתים סוסות ’mare‘סוסה Feminine
● There are some frequently occurring irregular nouns that do not followthis paradigm. These irregular forms must be memorized (paradigms ofthe most common irregular nouns are in Appendix B.2).
AppendixB.1a
AppendixB.2
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 31
‘father(s)’ אבות אב
‘woman/women’ נשים אשה
‘man’/‘men’ אנשים איש
● The use of the dual is largely confined to things that occur naturally inpairs (eyes, feet, hands, etc.). Remember that paired body parts are femin-ine (see §7).
‘hand(s)’ ידים יד
‘ear(s)’ אזנים אזן‘foot/feet’ רגלים רגל‘eye(s)’ עינים עין‘sandal(s)’ נעלים נעל
דברים חדשים
brother(s) M
sister(s) F
head(s) M
foot/feet F
אח (אחים)
אחות (אחיות)
ראש (ראשים)
רגל (רגלים)
hand(s) F
ear(s) F
eye(s) F
יד (ידים)
אזן (אזנים)
עין (עינים)
Change to‘)(’ . . . א. תחלף ל–
⇐Make the indicated change to each sentence as indicated by the arrow ( ) and translate (seeAppendix B.2 for irregular noun forms and above list for frequently occurring dual nouns).
. .אברם יד לdual sing⇐ א)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 32
. .יוסף ל האחותpl sing⇐ב)
. .ישראלמלכים ל sing pl⇐ג)
. . לסוסהאזנים sing dual⇐ד)
לבהמה. . ראשpl sing⇐ה)
ב. תתרגםTranslate these simple sentences.
. .יעקבא) בנים ל
. .רגלים לא לנחשב)
. . לנשיםעיניםג)
. .אחיםהאנשים ד)
. .פרעהה) אדמות ל
תכתבג.Write five sentences with plural nouns using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 33
.
.
.
.
11. Subject Pronouns – PluralBelow is the full set of independent personal pronouns, including the singularpronouns, which you already learned in §6.
‘they’ הם 3MP ‘he’ הוא 3MS
‘they’ הן 3FP ‘she’ היא 3FS
‘you’ אתם 2MP ‘you’ אתה 2MS
‘you’ אתן 2FP ‘you’ את 2FS
‘we’ אנחנו 1P ‘I’ אני 1S
דברים חדשים
are/were (3M/FP)
servant(s) M
היו
עבד (עבדים)
city/cities F
all, every
עיר (ערים)
ל/כל־ כ
AppendixB.3
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 34
המקום ו־ (’Fill in the Blank and translate‘) תתרגםא. תמלא את
Choose the correct gender and number third-person pronominal copula to fill in the blankand translate.
אבות. . כל האנשיםא)
? . לך ב) הלא האדמות
. . הארץ ליהוה ג)
לי. . הבת ד)
א. תתרגםTranslate these sentences.
א) כל הערים למלך. .
ב) אחים אנחנו. .
הוא/היא/הם/הן
הוא/היא/הם/הן
הוא/היא/הם/הן
הוא/היא/הם/הן
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 35
ג) אתם עבדים. .
ד) הנשים היו בנות. .
ה) אתן נערות. .
תכתבג.Write five sentences with plural nouns using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
אין and יש .12Two grammatical words, יש and אין, indicate existence and non-existence, re-spectively. They are used as ‘dummy’ subjects in existential null-copula clauses.
לי רב־ there is much to me’ (= ‘I have much’) (Gen 33:9)‘ יש
there was no water in it’ (Gen 37:24)‘ אין בו מים
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 36
Both function words are also used as copulas, linking a subject and a predicatein a copular clause.
surely, YHWH is in this place’ (Gen 28:16)‘ אכן יש יהוה במקום הזה
יוסף בבור־ and look – Joseph was not in the pit’ (Gen 37:29)‘ והנה אין
דברים חדשים
there ADV שם place M מקום (מקומות)
א. תתרגםTranslate these sentences.
בן. .שרהא) אין ל
ב) היש מקום לי. .
־ כל. .־ לי ג) יש
ד) אין איש שם. .
לך אב. .־ ה) היש
תכתב ב.Write five sentences with a יש or אין copula using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 37
.
.
.
.
13. Conjunction ו and Prepositions ל ,כ ,ב, and מןConjunctions are grammatical words that serve to connect words, phrases,clauses, and sentences to each other syntactically, e.g., and, or, but. (Cf. lexicalwords, discussed in §7.)
The basic Hebrew conjunction (and the most frequent word in the HebrewBible) is the proclitic conjunction: -Clitics” are phrase-level morph“ .ו– or ו– emes or words that are phonologically attached to the preceding (“proclitics”)or following (“enclitics”) word.
days and years’ (Gen 1:14)‘ ימים ושנים
The ו conjunction has two functions:
1) It connects words and phrases together , signaling a coordinating relation-ship (it may be translated with ‘and’, ‘or’, or ‘but’).
’the people and the king‘ העם והמלך
2) It marks the beginning of a new clause and is untranslatable (the type ofclause and the context determine the type of connection required for Eng-lish translation).
God said, “Let there be light!” (Gen 1:3) (and)‘ ויאמר אלהים יהי אור
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 38
Prepositions are another type of grammatical word; they relate a noun, nounphrase, or clause syntactically to other words in the sentence.
For example, the English preposition into in the following clause relates thenoun phrase the store to the verb phrase they ran:
They ran into the store.
Thus, prepositional phrases serve to specify the location, direction, manner,means, time, possession, etc., for other constituents such as verb phrases, nounphrases, and clauses.
The most common prepositions in Hebrew are the four proclitic prepositions:
– ’in, at‘ ב
– ’like, as‘ כ
– ’to, for‘ ל
from, out of, more than’ (in comparisons)‘ מן
These proclitic prepositions attach to the following word, or they may havepronouns attached, just as you have already seen with ל (see §9). However, מןdiffers from the other three proclitic prepositions in that it is usually writtenas a separate word; in such cases it is connected to the noun with a מקף (maqqef), a graphic sign ( ־ ) which indicates that the two words are stressed asa single unit. This is its usual form before a noun with the article.
המלך־ ’from the king‘ מן
Attached to the following word, מן takes the form • (before gutturals) מ or מ
’from there‘ משם←מן + שם
’from a man‘ מאיש←מן + איש
AppendixA.6
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 39
Other prepositions are not directly attached to the following word, but may becliticized with מקף. The diagram below illustrates how the most common pre-positions work to relate nouns temporally or spatially.
The circle represents an activity. Those prepositions to the left of the circle re-late nouns ‘before’ temporally or ‘behind’ spatially. Those to the right relate‘after’ temporally or ‘in front of’ spatially. Prepositions indicating ‘above’ and‘below’ as well as ‘within’ are also clearly situated.
The vertical line to the right represents a static entity, such as a person orhouse. The prepositions relating to ‘towards,’ ‘with,’ or ‘alongside’ are thussituated appropriately to the line.
‘)New Words(’ דברים חדשים
heavens M (ONLY PL)
upon, over PREP
before PREP
שמיםעל
לפני
waters M (ONLY PL)
sea M
with PREP
מיםים (ימים)
עם
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 40
המקום ו־א. תתרגםתמלא אתChoose the most appropriate preposition to fill in the blank and translate (if more than onemakes sense, translate both).
ו מים. . א) אין
. .אלהים ב) והיו
. .אב כבןג)
. .יעקב היה אלהיםד)
. .יהוה אברהם וה)
ל/כ/ב
/מן עם/ל
מן/לפני/כ
לפני/ב/כ
ל/כ/ב
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 41
ב. תתרגםTranslate these sentences.
במקום. .יהוהא) יש
. .פרעה לפני יוסףב)
־ בור. . ג) המים מן
ד) יש מים בימים. .
הארץ. .־ ה) הנחש היה על
תכתבג.Write five sentences with a proclitic preposition and/or ו conjunction using your vocabularyor glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 42
(’Questions‘) שאלות .14While a “yes-no” question in Hebrew is indicated by the proclitic ה at the be-ginning of the clause, questions that expect an answer relating to circum-stances (e.g., who? what? why?) are introduced by a small set of grammaticalwords.
(‘Question Words’) ברי שאלה ד
Who? (see §8)
What? (see §8)
Why?
How?
How much, how many?
When?
Where?
From where?
To where?
מי
מה
למה, מדוע
במה/במה, איך
כמה/כמ ה
מתי
אי, איה, איפה
מאיןאן, אנה
דברים חדשים
sacrifice that is wholly burnt F עולה (עולות)
א. תתרגםTranslate these sentences.
א) מי אתה? ?
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 43
ב) איפה הם? ?
ג) למי הבהמות? ?
ד) למה אין לי בנים? ?
ה) ואיה השה לעלה? ?
תכתבב.Write five interrogative sentences using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
GO TO READING #2
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 44
15. Verbs – A PreviewLike most lexical words in Hebrew, verbs can be derived from a triconsonantalVowel patterns and affixes (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, or infixes) are .(see §7) שרש
applied to a שרש to derive a verb in a certain בנין (binyan) and to indicate theverb’s conjugation and person, gender, and number. This information iscalled a verb’s “parsing.”
● are the patterns by which verbs are formed. The (’constructions‘) בנינים-indicate a verb’s voice—whether active, passive, reflexive, or caus בניניםative. Each בנין has a distinctive pattern of vowels and affixes. There areseven primary -whose traditional names derive from the 3MS Per ,בנינים fect form of the root פ–ע–ל ‘to do’.
Note: The form by which Hebrew verbs are listed in a lexicon or dictionary is the 3MS
.’he guarded‘ שמר ,.of the Perfect conjugation, e.g קל
Name Example Meaning
פעל orקל שמר ‘he guarded’
– basic active conjugation ( קל means ‘light,easy’)
נפעל נשמר ‘he was guarded’
– originally reflexive, often passive in meaning
פעלקבץ
‘he gathered(someone/thing)’
– active conjugation with lengthened middleconsonant
פעל קבץ ‘he/it was gathered’
– passive conjugation associated with פעל
התפעל התקבץ‘he/it gathered together’
– reflexive conjugation associated with פעל
הפעיל השליך ‘he/it threw (something)’
– causative, active conjugation
הפעל השלך ‘he/it was thrown’
– causative, passive conjugation, associatedwith הפעיל
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 45
The meanings supplied above are a guide for each בנין but are not accurate forevery שרש, because the בנינים inconsistently derive verbs from other verbs orfrom .שרשים The limits of their consistency is outlined in the followingguidelines, which are helpful to understanding the syntax of verbal sentences:
● .respectively ,הפעיל and פעל derive passive verbs from הפעל and פעל
● -derive intransitive verbs, and sometimes derive pass התפעל and נפעלive verbs from קל and פעל, respectively.
● .שרשים derive verbs from הפעיל and ,פעל, קל
Because this inconsistency of verb derivation, the meaning of a verb is not pre-dictable from the meaning of its שרש. The meaning of each verb (consistingof a שרש in a בנין) must be memorized individually.
● Conjugation in ancient Hebrew denotes the aspect, or view of a verb’sevent: the Perfect/קטל conjugation views an event as a whole(perfective); the יקטל /Imperfect conjugation views only part of an eventor an event in progress (imperfective).
The conjugations do not signify tense, like English conjugations do (e.g., SimplePast). However, the perfective and imperfective aspects constrain the tempor-al interpretation of events so that -Perfect is predominantly used to de/קטל scribe past time events, whereas the יקטל/Imperfect is predominantly used todescribe non-past time events (i.e., present or future).
Perfect/קטלConjugation
‘whole’ view aspect(perfective)
usually past timereference
Imperfect/יקטלConjugation
‘partial/in progress’ viewaspect (imperfective)
usually non-pasttime reference
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 46
● Inflectional affixes mark the agreement features of a verb:
person (1, 2, or 3)
gender (M or F; no distinction made in 1st person forms)
number (S or P)
All of the inflected verb conjugations are based on two morphological pat-terns:
The Suffix Pattern, which uses inflectional suffixes:
תשמר– second person, masculine, singular (2MS)
שמר–תם second person, masculine, plural (2MP)
The Prefix Pattern, which uses primarily prefixes, sometimes alongwith suffixes:
שמר–י third person, masculine, singular (3MS)
ושמר––י third person, masculine, plural (3MP)
דברים חדשים
throw HI (HO)
do/make (something) Q (NI)
guard Q (NI)
direct object marker
voice, sound M
השליך (השלך)
עשה (נעשה)
שמר (נשמר)
את ,את־
קול (קולות)
speak PI
gather PI (PU)
send Q (NI)
people M
דבר
קבץ (קבץ)
שלח (נשלח)
עם (עמים)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 47
Change to‘)(’ . . . א. תחליף ל–
Change the following verbs from passive to active or active to passive as indicated by the⇐arrow ( ) and translate (all the verbs are 3MS).
. שמר. pass⇐ act א)
. . השלך act⇐ passב)
. . קבץ pass⇐ actג)
. . נשמר act pass⇐ד)
. . שלחpass⇐ actה)
ב. תתרגםTranslate these sentences.
. .אברהם דבר אל־יהוהא)
העמים. .־ישראלב) קבץ מכל
האדם. .־יהוה אלהיםג) עשה את
. .שרה שמע אל־אלהיםד)
ה) והקול נשמע בבית. .
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 48
תכתבג.Write five verbal (3MS) sentences using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
Perfect Conjugation – Singular קל .16The Perfect is the only conjugation built on the Suffix Pattern. (Conjugationsbuilt on the Prefix Pattern are introduced in §23.) The Perfect does not signifytense (i.e., past, present, or future), but perfective aspect: it views an action orevent as a whole, whether that event is set in the past, present, or future.
Note: The nature of the “whole view” of the perfective aspect means that it is mostoften used with past temporal reference, which is why we use the English Simple Pastor variety of Perfect (has/have/had) in the illustrations.
The chart on the next page presents the singular inflection of the קל Perfectconjugation. The suffixes attached to the verb are also listed separately.
AppendixC.1a
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 49
Plural§19
‘he guarded’ — שמר 3MS
‘she guarded’ — ה שמרה 3FS
‘you guarded’ —ת שמרת 2MS
‘you guarded’ —ת שמרת 2FS
‘I guarded’ —תי שמרתי 1S
The verb היה (‘be’) is both frequent and irregular. Here is the singular inflec-tion of the קל Perfect conjugation.
Plural§19
‘he was’ היה 3MS
‘she was’ היתה 3FS
‘you were’ היית 2MS
‘you were’ היית 2FS
‘I was’ הייתי 1S
דברים חדשים
hear, listen Q
take, receive Q
שמע
לקח
sit, inhabit Q
way, road M/F
ישב
דרךcall Q
walk, go Q
קרא
הלך
המקום ו־א. תתרגםתמלא אתChoose the correct verb form to fill in the blank and translate.
הדבר־ א) את . . את
שמר
Appendix C.4e
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 50
.יצחק. רבקה וב)
."אלהים לך ל "אברהם אמר אל־יהוהג)
.
־ אתה ד) . .כנען בדרך אל
." .חרן מ " רבקה וה)
ב. תתרגםTranslate these sentences.
האדם לאשה. ־יהוה אלהיםא) לקח צלע* מן
.
ב) המים הוא קרא ימים. .
היה
היה אמר
הלך
שמע
*‘rib’
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 51
־ הדרך. . ג) שמרת את
. .יצחק הלך אל אבימלךד) ו
. .גשןה) ישבת ב
הקול שמעתי בגן. .־ ו) את
.יעקב. שלחה וקראה לרבקהז)
.ישראל.ח) והארץ היתה ל
תכתבג.Write five verbal sentences using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 52
of Possession – Plural ל .17Singular pronominal possession (‘I have’, ‘You have’, ‘He has’, ‘She has’) was in-troduced in §9 above as a copular expression that uses the enclitic pronounswith the proclitic preposition to, for’. Below both the plural and singular‘ ל forms are given.
‘they have’/‘theirs’ להם 3MP ‘he has’/‘his’ לו 3MS
‘they have’/‘theirs’ להן 3FP ‘she has’/‘hers’ לה 3FS
‘you have’/‘yours’ לכם 2MP ‘you have’/‘yours’ לך 2MS
‘you have’/‘yours’ לכן 2FP ‘you have’/‘yours’ לך 2FS
‘we have’/‘ours’ לנו 1P ‘I have’/‘mine’ לי 1S
The combination of enclitic pronouns with the other proclitic prepositions, ,ב.ל is similar to their combination with proclitic (see §13) מן and ,כ
מלאכתו־ כי בו שבת מכל‘Because in it he rested from all his work.’ (Gen 2:3)
נבון וחכם כמוך־ אין‘No one is discerning and wise like you.’ (Gen 41:39)
שלחו מכם אחד‘Send one from you (P).’ (Gen 35:11)
Note: The proclitics כ and מן use different forms with some enclitic pronouns: כuses -כמו and מן uses a reduplicative form (i.e., מן + מן) with some pronouns.
In addition to the possessive copular use of the proclitic with ל encliticpronouns, in non-copular clauses the construction is a prepositional phrase.
לי לחם־ נתן‘He gave (to) me bread.’ (Gen 28:20)
לי אחתי הוא־ הלא הוא אמר‘Did he not said to me, “She is my sister.”’ (Gen 20:5)
AppendixB.5
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 53
דברים חדשים
give, place, set Q נתן bread M לחם
א. תתרגםTranslate these sentences.
?הלוא לנו הם?א)
ב) היש לכם אח? ?
ג) בנים להן. .
ארץ להם. .־ ד) כל
לנו אב. .־ ה) יש
נתן להם לחם. .יוסףו)
תכתבב.Write five verbal (3MS) sentences using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 54
.
.
.
18. Introduction to Syntax and Word OrderSyntax is the system of relationships among constituents.
Constituent is the label used for the individual words or phrases (e.g., nouns/noun phrases, verbs/ verb phrases, prepositions/ prepositional phrases) thatrelate to each other to form a larger, more complex unit called a clause.
A basic definition of a clause is that it is the combination of at least two con-stituents: a subject and a predicate.
קצף פרעהwas angry Pharaoh (Gen 41:10) predicate subject
Subjects are usually nouns, noun phrases, or some other nominal constituent(such as a substantive adjective).
Note, however, that an overt subject—one you can actually “see”—is often notpresent, because Hebrew allows the subject to be “null.” In the same way that a“null copula” (see §6) is not explicitly there, and we must assume some form of“be” for the clause to make sense, so too a subject may not be explicit but wehave to assume it is there since a clause without a subject makes no sense.
ולחשך קרא לילה‘and the darkness (he) called “night”’ (Gen 1:5)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 55
In Gen 1:5 there is no overt subject. The “he” is assumed (both because it makessense in the context and it is suggested by the 3ms verb So, be on the .(קרא lookout for null subjects -- you will find many!
Predicates may be verbal (e.g., a Perfect, Imperfect, or Past Narrative conjuga-tion) or nominal (e.g., an adjective, Participle, or a prepositional phrase).
Verbal Predicate:האדם־ ויקרא יהוה אלהים אל
‘and YHWH God called to the man’ (Gen 3:9)
Nominal Predicate (in a Null Copula Clause):־ פני תהום חשך על
‘darkness (was) upon the surface of the deep’ (Gen 1:2)
Like English, Hebrew is primarily a Subject-Predicate word order language.This means that in normal (“without emphasis”) indicative clauses, the subjectprecedes the predicate (regardless of whether the predicate is a verb, adjective,etc.). For instance:
והנחש היה ערום מכל חית השדה אשר עשה יהוה אלהים‘Now the serpent was craftier than any wild animal that YHWH God hadcreated’ (Gen 3:1)
However, you will have noticed by now that many clauses in ancient Hebreware not Subject-Predicate in order.
־ אחיו־ בא יוסף אל ויהי כאשר‘So when Joseph came to his brothers’ (Gen 37:23)
As illustrated in Gen. 37:23, whenever a grammatical word or phrase, likeאשרכ ‘when’, stands at the front of the clause, the word order of the remain-
ing clause is inverted, i.e., it becomes verb-subject. (Note that this inversiondoes not happen with participial or null copula clauses.)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 56
The words, like כי, that trigger this inversion include the relatives אשר and ש,the interrogatives ,למה ,מהה , etc., negatives -and most other gram ,אל ,לא matical words, e.g., למען, אז, אם, and פן.
There are only a few grammatical words that do not generally trigger Predic-ate-Subject word order—notably the ו conjunction, הנה, and עתה.
דברים חדשים
eat Q אכל
Find‘)(’א. תמצא
Find and circle the subject noun and predicate verb in each example (if the subject is null,then insert a Ø where you think it ought to be) and translate.
והנחש היה חיה בגן. . א)
. . . . ולאדם אמרב)
. . היה נעריוסףג)
הדבר.־רחלוד) . שמרה את
. . הלך בדרךיעקבוה)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 57
Add and change‘)(’ תוסיף ותחליףב.
Add the given words to the front of each “normal” subject-verb example and then changethe word order accordingly; then translate.
.כי + האשה אכלה הפריא)
לו .־האלהים(המקום) אשר + ב) אמר
ג) יוסף .למה + יעקב עשה כתנת ל
. שמרה הדבררחללא + ד)
הלך בדרך .יעקבאז + ה)
תכתבג.Write two Subject-Verb sentences and two Verb-Subject sentences using your vocabulary orglossary.
.
.
.
.
GO TO READING #3
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 58
Perfect Conjugation - Plural קל .19In §16 the singular inflectional suffixes of the קל Perfect were introduced. Herethe plural inflectional suffixes are added.
‘they guarded’ —ו שמרו 3P‘he guarded’ — שמר 3MS
‘she guarded’ — ה שמרה 3FS
‘you guarded’ —תם שמרתם 2MP ‘you guarded’ —ת שמרת 2MS
‘you guarded’ —תן שמרתן 2FP ‘you guarded’ —ת שמרת 2FS
‘we guarded’ —נו שמרנו 1P ‘I guarded’ —תי שמרתי 1S
For comparison, here is the קל Perfect paradigm (singular and plural) of היה.
‘they were’ היו 3P‘he was’ היה 3MS
‘she was’ היתה 3FS
‘you were’ הייתם 2MP ‘you were’ היית 2MS
‘you were’ הייתן 2FP ‘you were’ היית 2FS
‘we were’ היינו 1P ‘I was’ הייתי 1S
דברים חדשים
stand Q עמד know Q ידע
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the person, gender, and number of these קל Perfect verbs and translate.
. א) שמרתן . ב) שלח
Appendix C.4e
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 59
. ד) היינו
. ו) הלכתם
. ח) עמדת
. י) ידעו
. ג) אכלנו
. ה) אמרו
. ז) שמעת
. ט) לקחה
המקום ו־ ב. תתרגםתמלא אתFill in the blank with the correct form of the provided verb and translate.
הדבר. ־ א) אתן . את
ב) האיש והאשה הלחם. ־ . את
. שם. אשר כנען אל־ אנחנו ג)
־ אני ד) . מצרים. את האחים אל־
.פרעה. אל־ ה) אתם
שמר
אכל
ישב הלך
שלח
אמר
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 60
תכתבג.Write five sentences with a קל Perfect verb in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
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.
.
.
.
(Bound Nouns) סמיכות .20Hebrew does not have any equivalent to the English preposition ‘of’. Instead,similar “of-relationships” are expressed by using the “bound-form” of a word.
The relationship between the bound word and the following non-bound form iscalled סמיכות: it consists of two elements: the bound word, or נסמך (‘suppor-ted’), followed by the host, or סומך (‘supporting’), for the bound word.
’the word of the king‘ דבר המלך־ the king (the) word ofסומך נסמך
Below is a chart summarizing the noun both in and not in סמיכות form:
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 61
Dual Plural Singular
דברים דברים דבר סומך
דברי דברי דבר נסמךMasculine
אדמתים אדמות אדמה סומך
אדמתי אדמות אדמת נסמךFeminine
Meaning of the סמיכות:
● Two nouns in סמיכות are treated as a compound: the נסמך is “bound” tothe סומך noun so that the two words are stressed as one. This phenomen-on is similar to the stress change in English compounds: a whíte hoúseversus the Whítehouse.
סומך דבר ‘word’
נסמך יהוה־ דבר ‘the word of YHWH’ (Ezek 1:3)
Note: Because nouns in סמיכות are treated as a compound they are often attachedwith a מקף (see §13).
● A נסמך noun cannot have a definite article. However, if the סומך noun isdefinite (e.g., it is a proper noun or has the article), then the נסמך “in-herits” this definiteness.
יהוה־ the prophets of YHWH’ (proper noun) (1 Kgs 18:4)‘ נביאי
הארץ־ the gold of the land’ (article) (Gen 2:12)‘ זהב
דברים חדשים
tent M אהל
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 62
תתרגם א. Translate the following sentences and סמיכות phrases.
חיה ומיד האדם.־ . א) מיד כל
. שם. ישב באהלי־יפתב)
־יהוה קרא בשם אברםג) .. כנען בארץ
. אברם. אשת שרי לקחו את־מצריםד)
שמע ־ אלהיםה) כי קול הנער. ־ . אל
תכתבב.Write five סמיכות phrases using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 63
21. The Irreal Use of the Perfect ConjugationBiblical Hebrew verbs are associated with two distinct moods: real orindicative mood verbs are used to make statements; verbs associated withirreal or non-indicative mood express events that are removed from, but insome way related to, the “reality” of the speaker’s situation (e.g., a conditionalevent, an event as an outcome of another, a commanded event, an instructedevent, etc.).
You studied for Hebrew class. (real)
Study for Hebrew class! (irreal)
If we go to class we will study Hebrew. (irreal)
Several verb conjugations only express one or the other of these moods: thePast Narrative conjugation (§35) expresses real mood while the Jussive andImperative system (§39) express irreal mood. However, the Perfect andImperfect (§23) may both express either real or irreal mood.
The real and irreal moods are distinguished throughout the verb conjugationsby word order: clauses with real mood have Subject-Verb word order; irrealmood clauses have inverted Verb-Subject word order. This word order distinc-tion is particularly important for distinguishing when the Perfect (or Imper-fect) expresses real or irreal mood:
הדבר־ (subject-verb) ואביו שמר את‘(and) his father kept the word’ (Gen 37:11)
־ הברית (verb-subject) ושמר יהוה אלהיך לך את‘(so) YHWH your God shall keep for you the covenant’ (Deut 7:12)
Note: Often the subject in Hebrew is not explicit; in such cases, it is impossible toidentify whether a Perfect expresses real or irreal mood based on the word order.However, because most Irreal Perfects are prefixed with the ו conjunction (whichserves in this case to mark the beginning of the clause, see §13), the presence of theconjunction is a good introductory way to distinguish the irreal from the real use ofthe verb.
● The most common function of the Irreal Perfect is to mark (semantically)subordinate clauses. These are equivalent to English clauses beginningwith if/when/so that/in order that/because (i.e., conditional, purpose, result,
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 64
or causal clauses), in which irreal events are related to the reality of thespeaker’s situation.
‘For I have chosen him so that he might command his sons and his
household after him so that they might keep the way of YHWH (ושמרו
to practice righteousness and justice so that YHWH might (דרך יהוה
bring about for Abraham that which he promised.’ (Gen 18:19)
‘If he leaves his father then he shall die.’ ( אביו ומת־ (ועזב את
(Gen 44:22)
Note: The Perfect may appear in both the subordinate clause and the governingclause in constructions like the conditional clause above.
● Another common function of the Irreal Perfect is to mark instructions andcommands (i.e., events imposed on a listener by the speaker).
‘(And) he should stand and say (ועמד ואמר) “I do not wish to marry
her.”’ (Deut 25:8)
־ המצוה ’.you must keep the commandment (And)‘ ושמרת את
(Deut 7:11)
דברים חדשים
day M
forget Q
יום (ימים)
שכח
rest Q
seventh
שבת
שביעי
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 65
תתרגם א. Translate the following sentences.
־ . יהוה.א) ושמרו דרך
. יצחק.ולקחת אשה לב)
.. ושלחתי לך משםעשוושכח ג)
־ד) . גשן.וישבת בארץ
־ הדברים. .ה) ושמעת את כל
.ו) ושבתו ביום השביעי.
תכתבב.Write five sentences with an Irreal Perfect verb in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 66
22. Enclitic Pronouns - SingularEnglish uses different pronominal forms based on the pronoun’s role in a sen-tence: e.g., he/she for subject (Nominative case), his/hers for possession (Genit-ive case), and him/her for object (Accusative case).
In Hebrew only the subject (nominative) pronouns are independent (§§5 and10). A set of enclitic pronouns fills the roles of possession/genitive and object/accusative.
● Enclitic pronouns express posse ssion on nouns.
דברי ← י + דבר ‘my word’←‘my word’ me + word of
תורתו ← ו + תורת ‘his teaching’←‘his teaching’ him + teaching of
Note: When enclitic pronouns are added to feminine singular nouns, the נסמך form(i.e., the form ending with a ת) is used.
● Enclitic pronouns make a noun definite; nouns with enclitic pronounscannot also have the article.
Either תורתו ‘his teaching’ or התורה ‘the teaching’, BUT NOT BOTH
Below are the basic forms of singular enclitic pronouns with nouns (see Ap-pendix B.5 for a full paradigm of examples):
Plural
§31
‘his’ 3MS יו* - -ו ,
‘hers’ 3FS יה* -ה ,-
‘your’ -ך 2MS
‘your’ -ך 2FS
‘mine’ -י 1S
Note: The asterisked forms (*) are used when attached to plural nouns.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 67
First, note how similar these pronouns look—you already know them from thepossessive ל (see §§9, 17)! In fact, just as with ל, these pronouns can be addedalso to ב and כ.
בך ← ך + ב ‘in/at/against you’ (MS)←‘in you’ you + in/at
עמה ← ה + עם ‘with her’←‘with her’ her + with
Second, the forms may be slightly different depending on whether the noun towhich they are added is singular or plural:
דברו ← ו + דבר ‘his word’←‘his word’ him + word of
דבריו ← יו + דבר ‘his words’←‘his words’ him + words of
דברים חדשים
deed, work M
behold, see! INTJ
מעשה (מעשים)
הנה
find Q
go forth Q
מצא
יצא
תתרגם א. Translate the following sentences.
א) . מצאתי חן* בעיניך.
. לאשתו. רבקה לקח את יצחקב)
קרא לכם ־ג) פרעהכי מעשיך־ ואמר מה ..
*‘favor’
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 68
. והנה יצאו אחיו.ד)
לוט אשתו ואת־שרי לקח את־אברםה) ־ ארץ ־ אחיו והלכו אל .כנען בן
.
?ו) למה אמרת "אחתי היא"?
אביו ־פרעהז) " אמר אל מעשיך?־ ?" מה
תכתבב.Write five sentences with a Perfect or Irreal Perfect verb and an enclitic pronoun in each
using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
GO TO READING #4
Appendix B.2
Appendix B.2
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 69
Imperfect Conjugation – Singular קל .23The Perfect and Imperfect were introduced in §15 as the main conjugations.The Perfect was described as expressing perfective aspect, and a paradigm wasgiven in §§16 and 19. The Imperfect Conjugation was described as expressingimperfective aspect: it has a partial view of an action or event, whether thatevent is set in the past, present, or future.
Note: The nature of the “partial view” of the perfective aspect means that it is mostoften used in a non-past (present or future) temporal setting, which is why we usethe English Future tense (will do) in our illustrations.
The Imperfect is the main conjugation built on the Prefix Pattern. However,other conjugations, such the Imperative and the Jussive, are also based on thePrefix Pattern (see §39). The singular paradigm for the קל Imperfect is givenbelow.
Plural
§27
‘he will guard’ ישמר 3MS
‘she will guard’ תשמר 3FS
‘you will guard’ תשמר 2MS
‘you will guard’ תשמרי 2FS
‘I will guard’ אשמר 1S
The Imperfect can express both real and irreal mood like the Perfect conjuga-tion (§21), and is distinguished from indicative uses of the Imperfect in thesame way—by Verb-Subject word order. The Irreal Imperfect can express thesame range of irreal modality as the Irreal Perfect, though most frequently itexpresses categorical negative prohibitions (with לא).
לא תרצח לא תנאף לא תגנב‘Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal.’ (Exod 20:13-15)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 70
דברים חדשים
reign, become king Q מלך blood M
seek Q
דם (דמים)
דרש
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the person, gender, and number of these קל Imperfect verbs and translate.
ג) ימלך
ד) תשמעי
א) תמשל
ב) אשלח
תרגםתב. Translate the following sentences.
דמיך מיד האדם. ־ את .א) אדרש
ב) הוא ישלח מלאכו לפניך ולקחת אשה לבני משם.
.
העיר־"ג) אמר . ".אשמר את
" כי אמרה "כל אשר שמע יצחק* לי.יצחק קראה שמו שרהד)
.
*‘laugh’
Appendix C.4e
Appendix C.3c
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 71
. "אשמר צאנך." לבן אמר ליעקבה)
תכתבג.Write five sentences with a קל Imperfect verb in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
24. The InfinitiveInfinitives, in contrast to the finite conjugations (e.g., Perfect and Imperfect),are not inflected for person, gender, or number. Below is the Infinitive form inall seven primary בנינים.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 72
Example בנין
שמר קל
השמר נפעל
קבץ פעל
קבץ פעל
התקבץ התפעל
השליך הפעיל
השלך הפעל
Form: The Infinitive may have enclitic pronouns attached that express the sub-ject or object of the infinitive.
your saying’ (Jer 2:35)‘ אמרך
to keep you’ (Ps 91:11)‘ לשמרך
The Infinitive functions as follows:
● It can serve as the subject of another verb.
טוב היות האדם לבדו־ לא‘the man being alone is not good’ (Gen 2:18)
● It can serve as the object of another verb.
ידעתי דבר־ הנה לא‘Behold, I do not know (how) to speak’ (Jer 1:6)
● It can express purpose/result, usually with a ל preposition.
־ נפשו־ יצא שאול לבקש את כי‘that Saul had gone out to seek his life’ (1 Sam 23:15)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 73
● It can be explanatory after the main verb (i.e., ‘by -ing’).
יום השבת לקדשו־ שמור את‘Keep (ADV INF) the sabbath day by sanctifying it’ (Deut 5:12)
● It can express a temporal meaning with the ב or כ prepositions.
שלשים שנה דוד במלכו־ בן‘David was thirty years old when he became king’ (2 Sam 5:4)
־ בית ירבעם־ כל כמלכו הכה את‘When he became king he struck down the whole house of Jeroboam’ (1 Kgs 15:29)
דברים חדשים
create Q ברא light M
night M
אור (אורים)
לילה
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the בנין of these Infinitives.
.ד) לשמר
.ה) הברא
.ו) להתהלך
.א) משל
.ב) המליך
.ג) דבר
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 74
תרגםתב. Translate the following sentences.
ברא האורים למשל ביום ובלילה.אלהיםא)
.
־יהוה אלהיםב) האדמה.־ עדן לעבד את שלח האיש מגן
.
. אברהם הלך לדבר אל־אלהיםג)
.
.יצחק עשה משתה* ביום הגמל** את־אברהםד)
.
־אברהםה) בנו.־ מזבח לשחט את בנה את
.
תכתבג.Write three sentences with an Infinitive form in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
*‘feast’
**‘beweaned’ N
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 75
.
.
25. The Adverbial InfinitiveThe Adverbial Infinitive is neither a noun nor verb (and perhaps is not reallyan infinitive). It has no inflectional affixes and does not specify a time or aspectof the action or event. The forms for all seven primary בנינים are provided inthe chart below.
Example בנין
שמור קל
נשמר, השמר נפעל
קבץ פעל
קבץ פעל
התקבץ התפעל
השלך הפעיל
השלך הפעל
The Adverbial Infinitive functions as follows: ● It is an adverb when it is used with a finite verb of the same root and בנין
—it expresses a modal nuance (e.g., doubt, necessity, possibility) as thecontext dictates.
מצות יהוה אלהיכם־ שמור תשמרו את‘carefully keep the commandments of YHWH your God’ (Deut 6:17*)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 76
will you really reign over us?’ (Gen 37:8)‘ המלך תמלך עלינו
● It is occasionally used to replace finite verb forms, especially Imperatives.
יום השבת לקדשו־ שמור את‘keep the sabbath day by sanctifying it’ (Deut 5:12)
דברים חדשים
visit, attend Q פקד
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the בנין of these Adverbial Infinitives.
.ג) דבר
.ד) הלך
.א) המלך
.ב) נשמר
תרגםתב. Translate the following sentences.
.. ישראל פקד יפקד את־אלהיםא)
הגן אכל תאכל. ־ .ב) מכל עץ
משול תמשל בי?־ג) המלך תמלך עלי אם
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 77
תכתבג.Write three sentences with an Adverbial Infinitive in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
26. ObjectsObject is the grammatical function of a noun or pronoun that is the “receiver”or “goal” of the action of a verb. Syntactically, an object noun phrase functionsas the complement of a transitive verb; the presence of an object is necessary fora transitive verb to be “completed” (see §29).
For example, in Moses struck the rock, the noun phrase ‘the rock’ is the object inthat it is affected by the action of the verb ‘struck’. The noun phrase ‘the rock’is also the complement in that without it the clause ‘Moses struck’ would beungrammatical (i.e., the transitive verb would not be “completed”).
To understand Hebrew syntax, it is useful to distinguish between two types ofobjects: objects that are simply nouns or noun phrases and objects that are pre-positional phrases. Which of these two types of objects is used is dependentupon the verb—some verbs select nouns as their objects, while others select aprepositional phrase. Which preposition is used also depends on the verb beingmodified.
Nouns that are the objects of verbs are either preceded by the untranslatablefunction word את or nothing at all. In contrast, prepositional phrases that areobjects are never preceded by את.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 78
For instance, the verb touch’, often takes as its object a‘ ,נגע prepositional ב phrase:
הגן אמר אלהים לא תאכלו ממנו ־ ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך
תמתון־עו בותג ולא פן‘“and from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of thegarden,” God said, “you shall not eat from it and you shall nottouch it, lest you die.”’ (Gen 3:3)
Object nouns that are preceded by the function word את are individuated (i.e.,they are strongly characterized as distinct entities or individuals), whichmeans that they are also often marked with the article.
העם את פקד ‘He visited the people’the people [object he visited
marker]
Object nouns preceded by את are usually the semantic patients of their verbs,i.e., they are effected (caused) or affected (changed) by the verbal action.
Note: The object marker את is sometimes attached to the noun with a מקף (see §13within the discussion of מן); in this case, the vowel is a סגול.
ישראל־ שפט את ‘He judged Israel’Israel [object he judged
marker]
דברים חדשים
between PREP
righteousness F
בין
צדקה
come, enter Q
judgment, justice; custom M
judge, govern Q
בוא
משפט
שפט
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 79
תרגםת א. Translate the following sentences.
. ביני וביניך.יהוהא) ישפט
. ב. והיית לאב גוים.
־ בן ל . אשתךשרהג) שוב אשוב אליך והנה
.
. צדקה ומשפט לעשות יהוהד) ושמרו דרך
.
..באר שבעה) קרא למקום ההוא
תכתבב.Write five transitive (with an object) sentences using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
Appendix C.4f
Appendix C.4g
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 80
.
.
GO TO READING #5
Imperfect Conjugation – Plural קל .27In the chart below the plural forms of the קל Imperfect Verb are included withthe previously learned singular forms (see §23).
‘they will guard’ ישמרו 3MP ‘he will guard’ ישמר 3MS
‘they will guard’ תשמרנה 3FP ‘she will guard’ תשמר 3FS
‘you will guard’ תשמרו 2MP ‘you will guard’ תשמר 2MS
‘you will guard’ תשמרנה 2FP ‘you will guard’ תשמרי 2FS
‘we will guard’ נשמר 1P ‘I will guard’ אשמר 1S
דברים חדשים
gather Q קבץ kill Q
thus, so ADV
הרג
כה
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 81
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the person, gender, and number of these קל Imperfect verbs and translate.
ו) ישלח
ז) נקרא
ח) תעמדנה
ט) תדרשי
י) ימצאו
א) תשמרו
ב) נמלך
ג) ישמעו
ד) תפקד
ה) ימשל
המקום ו־ ב. תתרגםתמלא אתFill in the blank with the correct Imperfect form of the provided verb and translate.
אלי. . א) אתם
ב) האנשים הלחם. ־ . כל
האח. ־ אנחנו ג) . את
שמע
קבץ
הרג
AppendixC.3a
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 82
.. יוסףל כהד)
. . ה) הם לא
תכתבג.Write five sentences with a קל Imperfect verb in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
היה Imperfect Conjugation of קל .28The verb היה (‘be’) is both frequent and irregular. Here is the paradigm of the.Imperfect Conjugation of the verb (for the Perfect form, see §§16 and 19) קל
אמר
2ms
שבת
Appendix C.4a
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 83
‘they will be’ יהיו 3MP ‘he will be’ יהיה 3MS
‘they will be’ תהיינה 3FP ‘she will be’ תהיה 3FS
‘you will be’ תהיו 2MP ‘you will be’ תהיה 2MS
‘you will be’ תהיינה 2FP ‘you will be’ תהיי 2FS
‘we will be’ נהיה 1P ‘I will be’ אהיה 1S
דברים חדשים
also ADV
famine M
גם
רעב
year F שנה (שנים)
תרגםת א.Translate the following sentences.
א) . .מצריםשני הרעב תהיינה בארץ
־ לעם. . ב) ידעתי הוא יהיה
אנחנו נהיה לאדני לעבדים. ־ .ג) וגם
יהיו חלמתיו. ־ .ד) ונראה מה
.ה) תהיו כמוני להמל* האיש. *‘circum-cise’ Q/N מול
Appendix C.4e
Appendix B.5c
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 84
תכתבב.Write three sentences with an Imperfect form of היה in each using your vocabulary or
glossary.
.
.
.
בנינים: פעל והפעיל .29The פעל and הפעיל are the other two active בנינים (versus passive or reflex-ive) alongside of ,קל and they are the most frequent of the seven primary.קל after בנינים
Note: In characterizing the patterns of the בנינים, R indicates a verbal rootconsonant, and the subscripts 1 2 3 indicate the position of the consonant within thetriconsonantal שרש.
The בנין פעל is characterized by a lengthened R2 where possible (i.e., gutturalsand ר can’t be lengthened) and by:
● an i - class vowel under R 1 in the Suffix Pattern
’he gathered‘ קבץ
● an a - class vowel under R 1 in the Prefix Pattern
’he will gather‘ יקבץ
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 85
The בנין הפעיל is characterized by a i -class theme vowel (i.e., the vowelbetween R2 and R3) and by:
● an -ה prefix (or ה with an i-class vowel) in the Suffix Pattern
’he threw X‘ השליך
● an a - class prefix vowel in the Prefix Pattern
’he will throw X‘ ישליך
throw X!’ (MS Imperative)‘ השלך
Note: The Imperative has a ה prefix instead of a א ,ת ,י, or נ.
See Appendix C for a full paradigm of the פעל והפעיל בנינים.
Some פעל and הפעיל verbs display a uniform valency-increasing relationship(factitive and causative voice, respectively) with the קל verb of the same שרש:
’he was king‘ מלך
’he made (someone) king‘ המליך
’he was heavy, honored‘ כבד
’he considered [someone] honored‘ כבד
’he made [someone] honored, heavy‘ הכביד
However, in many other cases, these בנינים derive verbs directly from שרשים,and therefore they have no systematic syntactic or semantic relationship withother בנינים; often the שרש does not occur in the other active בנינים:
(קל not used in) ’he spoke‘ דבר
(קל not used in) ’he commanded‘ צוה
(פעל or קל not used in) ’to rose early [in the morning]‘ השכים
(פעל or קל not used in) he threw [something]‘ השליך
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 86
דברים חדשים
complete, finish PI
spoil, destroy HI
ten M/F
make heavy, honor PI
כלה
השחית
עשר/עשרה
כבד
bless PI
make successful, show
experience HI
cause to swear an oath HI
make someone king HI
ברך/ברך
הצליח
השביע
המליך
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify conjugation, person, gender, and number of these פעל and הפעיל verbs andtranslate.
ו) המליכו
ז) כבדה
ח) תקבצנה
ט) תדברי
י) תשליך
א) נקבץ
ב) תדברנה
ג) השכמת
ד) המלכת
ה) תכבד
תרגםת ב. Translate the following sentences.
. . בכלאברהם ברך את־יהוהא) ו
.. ב) הוא כלה לדבר
Appendix C.3b
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 87
.. ג) והצליח דרכך ולקחת אשה לבני
.. השמיםאלהי יהוהאשביע אותך בד)
־ אמצא שם העשרה.־ העיר אם ה) לא אשחית את
.
תכתבג.Write five sentences with a פעל or הפעיל verb in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
30. Main and Subordinate ClausesOne way to classify clauses is by how they relate to each other. There are twobasic types: main clauses and subordinate clauses. A main clause is one thatcan stand on its own; that is, it is not grammatically controlled by another
Appendix B.5c
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 88
clause. In contrast, a subordinate clause is one that is grammatical controlledby another clause.
Related to this classification is the distinction between the two ways thatclauses relate to each other: coordination and subordination.
Coordination is the linking of two or more clauses that are of equal syntacticstatus; i.e., there is no syntactic hierarchical relationship between the two ormore clauses.
׃ לאישה עמה ויאכל־ ותקח מפריו ותאכל ותתן גם‘and she took some of its fruit and she ate (it) and she gave (it)also to her husband beside her and he ate’ (Gen. 3:6)
Coordination is most often marked with coordinating conjunctions: ו ‘and’, או‘or’, אבל ‘but’, אולם ‘but’. (See §13 for a discussion of ו and why it is not al-ways appropriate to translate it when it links clauses.)
However, it is not uncommon for the coordinating conjunction to be absent,resulting in asyndesis, or unmarked coordination. Compare these two clauses:the first (Gen. 37:13) has two verbs that are coordinated by the conjunction ו,the second has two verbs without explicit coordination.
יוסף ... לכה ואשלחך אליהם־ ויאמר ישראל אל‘Israel said to Joseph: ... come and I shall send you to them’(Gen. 37:13)
־ שלום אחיך־ נא ראה את ויאמר לו לך‘He said to him: Go, please, see about the welfare of yourbrothers’ (Gen. 37:14)
Subordination is the linking of two or more clauses so that they have differentsyntactic status, i.e. one clause is syntactically dependent on the other.
כי ידע אלהים כי ביום אכלכם ממנו ונפקחו עיניכם‘because God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyesshall be opened’ (Gen. 3:5)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 89
The first in Gen. 3:5 indicates that this clause provides the reason for the כי serpent’s previous statement (that the humans would not die from eating theforbidden fruit). The second כי indicates that what follows is the complementof the verb ידע.
Traditionally, clauses in coordinate relationship are said to form a compoundsentence, whereas those in subordinate relationship form a complex sentence.Subordination in English is usually marked with a subordinating conjunction:when, if, although, since, because, while, after, before, etc. Hebrew also has subor-dinating conjunctions (besides ו); the most commonly used ones are listed here:
before
because, when, if, that, though
just as, when
if not
while, until
in order to, so that
לפני
כי
כאשר
לולי
עד
למען
after
if, though
who/which, that
if
therefore
lest, so that not
אחרי
אם
אשר
לו
לכן
פן
Ancient Hebrew, in contrast to Indo-European languages (such as English), hasvery few subordinating conjunctions, and (perhaps relatedly) the coordinatingconjunction ו came to be employed not just to mark coordination, but to markthe beginning of any type of clause (see §13). This explains why often timesclauses which are syntactically coordinate in Biblical Hebrew may in fact be se-mantically subordinate. Consider the following segments from parallel materialin Kings and Chronicles.
עלה ונתתים בידך‘Go up and (= so that, or because) I will place them in yourhand’ (1 Chr. 14:10)
נתן אתן א־ הפלשתים בידך־עלה כי ת‘Go up because I will surely place the Philistines in your hand’(2 Sam. 5:19)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 90
דברים חדשים
open Q
afraid ADJ
test PI
פקח
ירא
נסה
now ADV
anything PRON
die Q
עתה
מאומהמות
Find and translate‘)(’א. תמצא ותתרגם
Find the subordinating conjunction(s) in each of the following examples from Readings 5and 6 and translate them.
. יהוההנחש היה ערום מכל חיה אשר עשה א)
.
כי ביום אשר תאכל מות תמותאלהיםכי ידע ב.
.
.החיים מעץ גםפן ישלח ידו ולקח ג)
.
האלהיםהלך אל המקום אשר אמר לו ד)
.
Appendix C.4a & 4f
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 91
ה) . אתהאלהים לא תעשה לו מאומה כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא
.
תתרגםב)Based on the context, provide a translation of the ו between the following clause pairs — atranslation that is not simply “and” but interprets the contextual relationship.
עינים.ונפקחוביום אשר תאכל ממנו א.
.
.הנחש אמר לי ואני אכלתי.ב)
ואמר אליו . . .אברהם נסה את האלהיםג)
.
הנה האש והעצים ואיה השה לעלה?ד)
.
לא תשלח ידך אל הנער ולא תעשה לו מאומה.ה)
.
Appendix C.4e
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 92
תכתבג.Write two sentences with subordinate clauses using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
GO TO READING #6
31. Enclitic PronounsIn §22 you learned the singular enclitic pronouns. Here is the full paradigm,adding the plural forms. (Again see Appendix B.5 for a full set of examples):
‘their’ -ם ,-הם 3MP ‘his’ 3MS יו* - -ו ,
‘their’ -ן ,-הן 3FP ‘hers’ 3FS -יה* -ה ,
‘your’ -כם 2MP ‘your’ -ך 2MS
‘your’ -כן 2FP ‘your’ -ך 2FS
‘our’ -נו 1P ‘mine’ -י 1S
Note: The asterisked forms (*) are used when attached to plural nouns.
You also learned that enclitic pronouns can combine with prepositions. This istrue for the direct object marker את as well:
לי ← י + ל ‘to/for me’ or ‘mine’←‘to me’ me + to/for
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 93
אתו ו + את ‘him’ (as object of a verb)
Note: The object marker takes the form את/אות with enclitic pronouns, versus.without את/את־
עלינו ← נו + על ‘to/for me’ or ‘mine’←‘upon us’ us + upon
Note: Some prepositions with enclitic pronouns follow the pattern of singular nouns(e.g., ל, ב) while others follow the pattern of plural nouns (e.g., על, אל, עד). Stillother prepositions have different forms with versus without enclitic pronouns (e.g., -.(see Appendix B.5c for details ;מן versus ממנ- and כ versus כמו
דברים חדשים
two M (F) שנים (שתים) strength, power M
cut Q
כח
כרת
Change to‘)(’ . . . א. תחלף ל–
⇐Change the following enclitic pronouns as indicated by the arrow ( ) and translate.
. בנו. pl⇐ sg א)
. . דברו 2nd⇐ 3rdב)
. . ביתי pl sg⇐ג)
. . חלומותיו pl sg⇐ד)
. . להןmasc⇐ femה)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 94
ב. תתרגם Translate these sentences.
.. אתם ברךאלהים א)
־ אביכן.־ כחי עבדתי את ב) ואתן ידעתן כי בכל
.
.ג) שניהם כרתו ברית.
.. והארץ תהיה לפניכםד)
־ אבינו. . ה) והנה הנער את
תכתבג.Write five sentences with an enclitic pronoun in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
Appendix C.3b
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 95
32. AdjectivesAdjectives modify nouns by specifying attributes of the noun.
a nation (that is) righteous’ (= ‘a righteous nation’ (Isa 26:2)‘ גוי צדיק
Biblical Hebrew has relatively few pure adjectives; more frequently the סמיכותrelationship is used to modify nouns.
’in the place of holiness‘ במקום הקדש= ‘the holy place’ (סמיכות) (Lev 10:17)
’in a place (that is) holy‘ במקום קדוש= ‘in a holy place’ (adjective) (Lev 7:6)
Adjectives have the following characteristics:
● Adjectives are declined with the same endings as nouns, except that theydo not have dual endings and do not have restricted gender (see nextpoint).
Plural Singular
גדולים גדול סומך
גדולי גדול נסמךMasculine
גדולות גדולה סומך
גדולות גדולת נסמךFeminine
● Adjectives must agree with the modified noun in both gender and number(dual nouns are modified by plural adjectives).
a man (who is) righteous’ (= ‘a righteous man’) (Gen 6:9)‘ איש צדיק
men (who are) evil’ (= ‘evil men’) (2 Sam 4:11)‘ אנשים רשעים
hands (that are) weak’ (= ‘weak hands’) (Job 4:3)‘ ידים רפות
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 96
Adjectives may be used predicatively, substantivally, and comparatively:
● Predicatively: the Adjective may describe a quality of a noun as part ofthe predicate; when it it used this way, the verb .is often omitted היה (When the verb היה is omitted, the tense of the clause must be determ-ined by context.)
the word (is) good’ (Deut 1:14)‘ טוב הדבר
the land (is) good’ (Deut 1:25)‘ טובה הארץ
The verb היה is not always omitted, though.
the serpent was crafty’ (Gen 3:1)‘ הנחש היה ערום
תאר־ Rachel was beautiful of form’ (Gen 29:17)‘ רחל היתה יפת
● Adjectives that specify attributes of nouns also function predicatively in arelative clause. Such adjectives are often introduced by the relative ה marker (morphologically identical with the article ה).
the city that (is) great ’ (Gen 10:12)‘ העיר הגדולה
The use of the ה to introduce a relative clause is clear in cases where thenoun is not definite but the adjective has the ה.
דרך הטובה והישרה‘a path that (is) good and that (is) right’ (1 Sam 12:23)
As with the more common relative marker, אשר, the relative ה is not al-ways present to introduce the relative (such relatives are called ‘un-marked’ and are quite common in English, too):
a city (that is) great’ (Josh 10:3)‘ עיר גדולה
● Substantivally: Adjectives can serve as nouns within the syntax of clause;this often occurs with a common noun, such as ‘man’, is simply assumed.(Note that this does not mean that such adjectives are nouns or have be-come nouns; they simply stand in place of an assumed noun.)
so that the righteous are as the wicked’ (Gen 18:25)‘ והיה כצדיק כרשע
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 97
● Comparative and superlative use of adjectives: Hebrew has no comparat-ive or superlative noun-endings like English -er (e.g., bigger) or -est (e.g.,biggest). Instead, the simple adjective is often used and the comparativeor superlative meaning must be discerned from the larger context.
his brother who (was) young er ’ (Gen 48:19)‘ אחיו הקטן
Note: comparison is often expressed with the preposition מן.
better than her’ (Judg 15:2) (she is)‘ טובה ממנה
my daughter who (is) old est ’ (1 Sam 18:17)‘ בתי הגדולה
Note: superlative is also expressed by a סמיכות phrase in which both נסמך and.use the same noun סומך
holy of holies’ = ‘most holy’ (Exod 29:37)‘ קדש קדשים
דברים חדשים
together, altogether ADV
many, much ADJ
nation M
יחדו
רב (רבים)
גוי (גוים)
righteous ADJ
lift up, carry Q
great ADJ
small ADJ
צדיק
נשא
גדול
קטן
תרגםת א.Translate the following sentences.
.. היה איש צדיקנחא)
־ היה צאנם רב.־ נשא אתם הארץ לשבת יחדו כי ב) ולא
.
Appendix C.4d
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 98
שרי אמר אל־אברםג) לה הטוב בעיניך.־ תעשי
.
היו יהיה לגוי גדול ועצום*. אברהםד) ו
.
רחל ושם הקטנה לאה שתי בנות שם הגדלה לבןה) ול
.
תכתבב.Write five sentences with an adjective in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
Appendix C.4e
Appendix C.4e
*‘mighty’ ADJ
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 99
33. Demonstrative PronounsDemonstrative pronouns are deictic (pointing) words (e.g., this, that, those inEnglish). They are similar to adjectives in that they either modify a noun (pre-dicatively in a relative clause) or stand in place (substantivally) of a noun. How-ever, the demonstratives cannot be the נסמך form (whereas adjectives can bebound)—that is, the substantival use of demonstratives is limited to the subjector complement positions.
this nation’ (noun modifier)‘ הגוי הזה
this (is) the word’ (noun substitute)‘ זה הדבר
הדברים האלה־ all these words’ (Gen 29:13) (noun modifier)‘ כל
זאת־ send this one (F) away ’ (2 Sam 13.17) (noun substitute)‘ שלחו את
Demonstrative pronouns are classified as “near” or “far” based on their deicticmeaning. The far demonstratives are identical with the third-person personalpronouns.
Plural Singular
these אלה thisזה Masculine
זאת FeminineNear
thoseהמההנה
thatהוא Masculine
היא FeminineFar
דברים חדשים
behind, after PREP, ADV, CONJ אחר, אחרי
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 100
תרגםת א.Translate the following sentences.
הברית־נח אמר אל־אלהיםא) . זאת אות*
.
־ .אברם אל־יהוהב) אחר הדברים האלה היה דבר
.
־רבקהג) קראו ל האיש הזה?" ואמרו אליה "התלכי עם
.
ברית. אברם את־יהוהד) ביום ההוא כרת
.
. ישב בארץ ההיא.ישראלה)
תכתבב.Write five sentences with a demonstrative in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
Appendix C.4d
*‘sign’ F
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 101
.
.
.
Noun Pattern סגלת .34Nouns that follow the -pattern were originally monosyllabic (i.e., one-syl סגלתlable) nouns in the masculine singular and exhibit a distinct noun pattern.
● גולס nouns originated as single-syllable nouns to which a סגלת ‘ helping
vowel’ was added; the result was the creation of a new, second syllable.The original vowel in the first syllable is regularly altered.
מלך* מלך← ‘king’
Note: A guttural second or third root consonant can affect the vowels.
נער ← נער* ( instead of ) ‘young man’(gutturals prefer a-class vowels)
● Masculine nouns are stressed on the סגלת initial syllable (originally theonly syllable) in the singular form.
’servant‘ עבד
● Feminine סגלת nouns come in two forms: those with feminine gender in-flection (e.g., ,.and those without (e.g (נערה .(נפש Those with femininegender inflection (ה - ) are stressed on the final syllable.
נערה ← ה + נער* ‘young woman’; P נערות
נפש ← נפש* ‘life’; P ות נפש
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 102
● .nouns exhibit their original vowel with some suffixes סגלת
ארצי ← י + ארץ* ‘my land’
● .nouns use a two-syllable base pattern in the plural סגלת
SINGULAR *מלך ← מלךPLURAL *מלכים ← מלך (like דבר)
דברים חדשים
seed M זרע (זרעים) life, self F נפש (נפשות)
תרגםת א.Translate the following sentences.
אלהיםבראשית* ברא א) . את השמים ואת הארץ
.
־יעקבב) ־ ־ ־ נפשות ביתו־ כל בנתיו ואת בניו ואת נשיו ואת . לקח את
.
הלך לדרכו. .יעקבג) ו
אדוםד) ואלה המלכים אשר מלכו בארץ מלך לבני ־ . ישראל לפני מלך
.
*‘in thebeginning’
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 103
־ זרעכם אחריכם־ בריתי אתכם ואת נפש החיה אשר־ה) אכרת את ואת כל
..אתכם
תכתבב.Write five sentences with a סגלת noun in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
GO TO READING #7
35. Past Narrative ConjugationLanguages typically use a past tense or perfective aspect verb form to narratepast events (e.g., English Simple Past). Some languages, however, may devote aparticular verb form entirely to literary narrative (e.g., French Passé Simple).Ancient Hebrew has an archaic past tense verb that is mostly restricted to liter-ary Past Narrative passages.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 104
ויאכל וישת ויקם וילך‘He ate, he drank, he rose, he went.’ (Gen 25:34)
The Past Narrative conjugation, like the Imperfect, is built on the Prefix Pat-tern. In the most cases the only distinguishing feature between these two con-jugations is that the Past Narrative form is prefixed with a ו conjunction withthe distinct vowel pattern •ו.
he will guard’ (Imperfect)‘ ישמר
he guarded’ (Past)‘ וישמר
Note: The distinct vocalization of the Past Narrative conjunction (•ו) is regularlyobscured in the first-person singular form, because the א cannot be lengthened. The.inflectional prefix י forms with a פעל is also regularly dropped from the דגש
I guarded’ (Past)‘ ואשמר
he gathered’ (Past)‘ ויקבץ
Similar to the case of other grammatical words (see §18), the distinct vocaliza-tion on the Past Narrative triggers Verb-Subject word order, so that this mostcommon type of clause in the Hebrew Bible is always Verb-Subject. For in-stance, in Gen. 22:3 the Past Narrative form precedes וישכם the subject.אברהם
וישכם אברהם בבקר‘Abraham rose early in the morning.’ (Gen 22:3)
דברים חדשים
garment M בגד (בגדים) clothe HI
command PI
הלביש
צוה
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 105
תרגםת א.Translate the following sentences.
אלהיםויקרא א) . לאור יום ולחשך קרא לילה
.
־לוט אשתו ואת־שרי את־אברםויקח ב) ־ רכושם*־ כל אחיו ואת . בן
.
." שרה "למה זה צחקה* אברהם אל־יהוהג) ויאמר
.
בגדי ־רבקהותקח ד) את . בנה הקטןיעקב בנה הגדל ותלבש את־עשו
.
־יעקב אל־יצחקויקרא ה) תקח אשה ויברך אתו ויצו אתו ויאמר לו "לא
." . כנעןמבנות
תכתבב.Write a brief narrative (of 3-5 sentences) using your vocabulary or glossary.
Appendix C.4c
*‘laugh’
AppendixC.3b; 4b, c, e
Appendix C.4b
Appendix C.4a
*‘their pos-sessions’
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 106
.
ויהי .36היוי , the 3MS Past Narrative form of היה, is extremely frequent. There are two
distinct functions of this form in narrative.
Note: The same phonological principle accounts for the lack of the דגש in היוי as inthe פעל forms with a י inflectional prefix—namely, that certain consonants drop the a שוא when vocalized with (ס, צ, ש, ש :and sibilants ו, י, ל, מ, נ, ק)lengthening דגש. This principle is sometimes referred to mnemonically as s’וילמנק or סקינומלוי.
● Often it functions just like other Past Narrative forms with the meaning of‘was’, ‘became’, or ‘came’.
יוסף ויהי איש מצליח־ ויהי יהוה את‘YHWH was with Joseph and he became a successful man’ (Gen 39:2)
־ שמואל־ יהוה אל ויהי דבר‘The word of YHWH came (lit. was) to Samuel’ (1 Sam 15:10)
● Just as frequently, however, the form introduces a circumstantial clausein a narrative; often such a clause opens or (less often) closes a narrativeepisode.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 107
ויהי בעת ההוא ויאמר אבימלך‘and then at about that time (lit. and it was at that time and) Abimeleksaid . . .’ (Gen 21:22)
ויהי אחר הדברים האלה‘It was after these things . . .’ (Gen. 22:1)
יצחק בנו־ ויהי אחרי מות אברהם ויברך אלהים את
באר לחי ראי־ וישב יצחק עם‘After the death of Abraham God blessed Isaac his son. Isaac settlednear Beer-lahai-roi.’ (Gen 25:11)Note: Genesis 25:11 concludes the narrative of Abram’s death and Isaac’s burial ofhim before beginning the geneaology of Ishmael (Gen 25:12–18).
דברים חדשים
burn, be kindled Q
nose, face, anger M
run Q
חרה
אף (אפים)
רוץ
gift, grain offering F
bring, make enter HI
not translated; introduces direct
speech COMP
מנחההביא
לאמר
תרגםת א.Translate the following sentences.
א) דברי אשתו אשר דברה אליו לאמר "כדברים האלה ־ ויהי כשמע אדניו את
.עשה לי עבדך." ויחר אפו
.
Appendix C.4b
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 108
־ב) היא ־לאהויהי בבקר והנה לבן ויאמר אל זאת עשית לי הלא ב־ רחל "מהעבדתי עמך?"
.
.יהוה מפרי האדמה מנחה לקיןויהי אחרי ימים ויבא ג)
.
לבןד) ויהי כשמע שמע* ־ את אחתו וירץ לו.־יעקב בן
.
תכתבב.Write three sentences containing ויהי using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
בנינים: נפעל והתפעל .37The and נפעל are התפעל the primary passive/reflexive בנינים. The נפעל more frequently derives a passive of a קל verb than it derives a reflexive mean-
Appendix C.4e
Appendix C.4f
*‘news, report’
Appendix C.4f
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 109
ing of a שרש, whereas the התפעל derives reflexive verbs from שרשים. In allcases, both בנינים focus on the recipient of the action.
The בנין נפעל is characterized:
● an נ prefix in the Suffix Pattern
’he/it was guarded‘ נשמר
● a lengthened R1 with (a-class קמץ), and a i -class prefix vowel in the Pre-fix Pattern
’he/it will be guarded‘ ישמר
be guarded!’ (MS Imperative)‘ השמר
Note: The נפעל Imperative has the expected Prefix Pattern vowels, but has a הprefix consonant (cf. the Imperfect נ ,א ,ת ,י inflectional prefixes).
The בנין התפעל is characterized by a lengthened R2 and an a -class vowel under R1, as well as by:
● a הת prefix in the Suffix Pattern
’he gathered together [with others]‘ התקבץ
● a ת following the inflectional prefix in the Prefix Pattern
תקבץי ‘he will gather together [with others]’
gather together [with others]’ (MS Imperative)‘ התקבץ
Note: One can think of the ה of the charcteristic הת prefix being replaced by theinflectional prefix in the Prefix Pattern. However, the ה prefix reappears in theImperative (cf. the ה prefix in the נפעל Imperative), making the התפעלMS Imperative and 3MS Perfect forms (as well as the Infinitives §§24–25) identical.
See Appendix C for a full paradigm of the פעל והפעיל בנינים.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 110
Ancient Hebrew had a Qal Passive בנין that fell into disuse and was replaced by,may derive reflexive verbs from roots (below) נפעל Therefore, although .נפעלvery frequently, if a שרש appears in both קל and נפעל, the grammatical rela-tionship between the בנינים is one of active-passive voice:
’he guarded‘ שמר
’he/it was guarded‘ נשמר
,with reflexive-voice, that is שרשים both derive verbs from התפעל and נפעלan activity that in some way reflects upon or affects the subject of the action(much like middle voice in some European languages). In such cases, the mean-ing cannot be systematically derived from the same שרש in the active בנינים.
כנטותו נהלכתי־ כצל‘As a shadow when it declines, I am gone away/vanished’ (Ps 109:23)
האלהים־ ויתהלך חנוך את‘Enoch walked/conducted himself in accordance with God’ (Gen 5:22)
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the conjugation, person, gender, and number of these נפעל and התפעל verbs andtranslate.
. ד) יקרא
. ה) ואתקבץ
. ו) תמצאנה
. א) יתקבץ
. ב) נשמרו
. ג) ותתהלכי
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 111
תכתבב.Write 3 sentences with a נפעל or התפעל verb in each using your vocabulary or glossary.
.
.
.
38. Dynamic and Stative VerbsA basic division among verbs is that between dynamic and stative. Dynamicverbs refer to events or movements. Stative verbs refer to states or qualities.
In English, stative verbs are distinguished from dynamic verbs not only bytheir basic meaning (i.e., state versus event), but in their semantic limitations:stative verbs do not usually appear in progressive conjugations (*He was know-ing) or as imperatives (*Know!).
In Biblical Hebrew, stative verbs not only have semantic limitations (they arefrequently used intransitively, i.e., without an object), but are also distin-guished from dynamic verbs morphologically in the קל.
● The vowel patterns in dynamic and stative verbs usually contrast witheach other in both the Suffix Pattern and Prefix Pattern.
Dynamic Suffix Pattern ’he guarded‘ שמר =
Stative Suffix Pattern ’he is/was heavy‘ כבד =
’he is/was small‘ קטן
Dynamic Prefix Pattern ’he will guard‘ ישמר =
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 112
Stative Prefix Pattern ’he will be heavy‘ יכבד =
’he will be small‘ יקטן
Note: All III-Guttural verbs follow the Prefix Pattern of the stative verbs, whetherthey are semantically dynamic or stative: ישלח.
● Stative verbs do not have an active Participle form (see §42), but oftenhave an adjective form equivalent to the 3MS Perfect form.
3MS Perfect = כבד ‘he is/was heavy’
MSA Adjective = כבד ‘heavy’
● Stative verbs in the Perfect conjugation may express a present state or apast state.
וחטאתם כי כבדה מאד‘(and) their sin, indeed, is very heavy (= serious)’ (Gen 18:20)
ועיני ישראל כבדו מזקן‘(and) Israel’s eyes were heavy (= dim) from age’ (Gen 48:10)
● Stative verbs may express either a state or the inception of or entranceinto a state (i.e., ‘became’).
־ פני יהוה־ גדלה צעקתם את כי‘for their outcry has become great before the YHWH’ (Gen 19:13)
GO TO READING #8
39. Jussives and ImperativesBiblical Hebrew has two distinct moods: the real and irreal (§21). There are twoirreal verb conjugations in Biblical Hebrew: Jussives and Imperatives. (In con-
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 113
trast, the Imperfect and Perfect conjugations may express real or irreal moodas indicated by their word order; see §§21, 23.)
● The Jussive conjugation occurs in all three persons and expresses bothpositive and negative commands or wishes. When expressing a negativecommand or wish, the Jussive is preceded by אל (never לא).
ישפט יהוה ביני וביניך‘May YHWH judge between me and between you’ (Gen. 16:5)
תסתר פניך ממני־ do not hide your face from me’ (Ps 102:3)‘ אל
The Jussive forms follow the Prefix Pattern and are identical to the Imper-fect forms with two exceptions:
The first-person Jussive forms (sometimes referred to as Cohortatives) of-ten end with ה - in all בנינים.
קל
‘let me/I shall guard’ אשמרה 1S
‘let us/we shall guard’ נשמרה 1P
The ה termination probably originally expressed action to/toward thespeaker or on behalf of the speaker, and it periodically occurs on the Im-perative and Past Narrative forms with this meaning. However, it has be-come conventionalized (i.e., it regularly appears) on the first-personJussive forms so that its original sense is not always evident.
The second- and third-person Jussive forms are “shortened” versus theImperfect. In the they have a הפעיל בנין theme vowel instead of צרי יוד־ .חירק
let him make (someone) king’ (Jussive)‘ ימלך
versus
he will make (someone) king’ (Imperfect)‘ ימליך
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 114
With some weak verb שרשים, a shift of the stress to מלעל (i.e., the frontof the word) results in a vowel change in the post-stress syllable (see Ap-pendix C.4 for the weak verbs).
(קום Jussive of קל) ’let him stand up‘ יקם
versus
he will stand up’ (Imperfect)‘ יקום
● The Imperative verb occurs only in the 2 nd person . It expresses positivecommands and wishes (it cannot be negated).
Guard your life very much’ (Deut 4:9)‘ שמר נפשך מאד
The form of the Imperative is identical to the Jussive minus the prefix.
קל נפעל פעל התפעל הפעיל
שמר 2MS השמר 2MS קבץ 2MS התקבץ 2MS המלך 2MS
שמרי 2FS השמרי 2FS קבצי 2FS התקבצי 2FS המליכי 2FS
שמרו 2MP השמרו 2MP קבצו 2MP התקבצו 2MP המליכו 2MP
שמרנה 2FP השמרנה 2FP קבצנה 2FP התקבצנה 2FP המלכנה 2FP
‘guard’ ‘gather’ ‘reign’
The forms of the irreal conjugations are sometimes followed by נא־ . This wordmost often signals a polite request or command (e.g., English please), though itis not always necessary (or easy) to translate.
־ המלך־ נא אל ועתה דבר‘now, speak, please, to the king’ (2 Sam 13:13)
דברים חדשים
pour out, shed (blood) Q שפך flee Q ברח
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 115
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the בנינים, conjugation, person, gender, and number of these Imperative andJussive verbs and translate.
. ד) המליכו
. ה) יכבד
. ו) שמרי
. א) דבר
. ב) דברנה
. ג) ישכם
תרגםת ב. Translate the following sentences.
־ לך אל־ ה.חרנ אחי לבןא) ועתה בני שמע בקלי וקום ברח
.
־ נא עיניך וראה ." .ב) ויאמר "שא
" יעקב אל־יהוהג) ויאמר ארץ אבותיך־ ."שוב אל
.
רע־יעקבאמר אלי לאמר "השמר לך מדבר עם־ד) ." מטוב עד
.
Appendix C.4f & 3c
Appendix C.4c
Appendix C.4d
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 116
־ראובןה) ויאמר אלהם ־ הבור הזה אשר־ דם השליכו אתו אל תשפכו "אל
במדבר."
.
תכתבג.Write five sentences with Jussive or Imperative verb in each using your vocabulary or
glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
40. Enclitic Pronouns with VerbsIn §31 we discussed enclitic pronouns expressing possession with nouns andobjects when following prepositions or the object marker (את/את־). Encliticobject pronouns can also directly follow verbs. When the verb is finite (versusthe Infinitive) these pronouns express the object of the verb (equivalent to en-clitic pronouns with the object marker).
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 117
’He guarded him‘ שמרו = שמר אותו
Below is a summary of the enclitic pronouns on verbs (see Appendix C.2 for afull paradigm with examples).
‘them’ -ם 3MP ‘him’ -ו / -הו 3MS
‘them’ -ן 3FP ‘her’ - ה, -ה 3FS
‘you’ -כם 2MP ‘you’ -ך 2MS
‘you’ -כן 2FP ‘you’ -ך 2FS
‘us’ -נו 1P ‘me’ -ני 1S
Note: Sometimes there is an “extra” נ between the enclitic pronoun and an Imperfectverb. (Usually the נ is assimilated.)
Note: Generally, Suffix Pattern/Perfect verbs use an a-class vowel (usually ) beforeenclitic pronouns, while Prefix Pattern verbs use an i-class vowel (usually ).
דברים חדשים
eye, spring F NISעיןעין, messenger, angel M מלאך
Parse the words‘)(’א. תנתח הדברים
Identify the conjugation, person, gender, and number of these verbs and the person, gender,number of the enclitic pronoun and translate.
. ב) שמעוכם
. ד) לקחני
. א) בהבראם
. ג) הרגוני
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 118
. ו) אעבדך
. ח) וימצאם
. ה) ברכתנו
. ז) והזכרתן
תרגםת ב. Translate the following sentences.
. ויאמר "לא מצאתיה." יהודהא) וישב אל־
ב) ויאמר אליו "אתה ידעת את אשר עבדתיך."
.
־לבן אל־יעקב ויאמרג) מקומי ולארצי . שלחני ואלכה אל
.
־עשוויאמר ד) אני אבי־ אביו "ברכני גם ." אל
.
עין המים במדבר.־יהוהה) וימצאה מלאך על
.
Appendix C.3b
Appendix C.4f
Appendix C.4d
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 119
תכתבג.Write five sentences with a verb with enclitic pronoun in each using your vocabulary or
glossary.
.
.
.
.
.
41. Word Order and Topic and FocusIn §18 Ancient Hebrew was described as a language with Subject-Verb basicword order, but in which this order is often inverted due to some sort of trig-ger at the front of the clause (e.g., כי). In addition to inversion to Verb-Subjectorder triggered by grammatical words, word order changes can also betriggered by a Topic or Focus constituent.
Topic and Focus constituents are usually placed at the front of the clause(this is sometimes referred to as “fronting”). The fronting of a Topic or Focusconstituent almost always results in Verb-Subject order.
Topic constituents are used to direct the reader very specifically to what theclause is about, as in Now let’s talk about grammar—what fun it is! Focus constitu-ents present contrasts (or in fuzzy terms, “emphasis”) and often follow a Topic,as with the word fun in Now let’s talk about grammar—what fun it is!
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 120
There are many, many examples in the Hebrew Bible for which the Predicate-Subject (where the predicate is a verb, null-copula, or participle) order hasbeen triggered by a fronted Topic or Focus constituent. We will return to issueof Topic in §46; for now, let us consider a few examples of Focus.
אחיו ־אתוויראו אחיו כי־ אהב אביהם מכל‘His brothers saw that him [Joseph] their father loved morethan any of his brothers’ (Gen 37:4)
At the front of Gen 37:4 is the Focus object phrase: אתו. The fronting of this Fo-cus phrase also results in the inversion of the word order for the rest of theclause: Verb-Subject (אהב אביהם).
בו אחיו ־ הדבר־אביווויקנאו שמר את‘His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept thematter (in mind)’ (Gen 37:11).
In Gen 37:11 what looks like a basic Subject-Verb clause in the second half hasactually been set up by the context, that is, by the contrast with Joseph’s broth-er, to be a Focus.
Gen 22:12 illustrates Predicate-Subject inversion in a verbless clause. (Remem-ber that null-copula and participial clauses are not inverted by grammaticalwords [see §18]; when they are inverted it is always due to Topic or Focus.)
אתה ירא אלהיםעתה ידעתי כי־‘Now I know that a God-fearer (are) you’ (Gen 22:12)
The (Focus) predicate is ירא אלהים before the subject because אתה God(speaking through his messenger) is telling the Abraham that he has recog-nized exactly what kind of loyal follower Abraham is.
Gen 3:5 illustrates Predicate-Subject inversion with the participle ידע (the par-ticiple is not triggered by grammatical words like כי):
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 121
אלהים כי ביום אכלכם ממנו ונפקחו עיניכם והייתםידעכי
כאלהים ידעי טוב ורע‘because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyeswill be opened and you will become like gods . . .’ (Gen 3:5)
In this case, the serpent in Genesis 3 wants Eve to believe that God is well awareof the effects of eating the forbidden fruit and that He is trying to keep Eve andAdam from something desirable.
When we turn our attention to irreal clauses (in which the normal word orderis Verb-Subject), it makes sense that the focusing and fronting of a subject trig-gers inversion back to Subject-Verb order. In Gen 44:33, the subject noun הנערis focused and thus fronted.
נא עבדך תחת הנער עבד לאדני ־ אחיו־הנערוועתה ישב יעל עם‘Now, please let your servant stay instead of the boy as aservant to my lord; and let the boy go up with his brothers’(Gen 44:33)
The result of the focusing and fronting of the subject noun, is that it now pre-cedes the irreal verb ,יעל producing Subject-Verb order in a irreal clause(which is normally Verb-Subject order).
Parse the words‘)(’תנתח הדברים
Identify the word order in the clauses below from Readings 8-9 (some are given with a bit ofcontext, in gray) and offer an explanation using the concepts of Topic, Focus, and triggeredinversion.
הנחש־א) ־ ותאמר האשה אל הגן־ הגן נאכל, ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך "מפרי עץ
אמר אלהים 'לא תאכלו ממנו'."
.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 122
כי עירמם הםוידעוב)
.
־ויאמרג) עירם אנכי ואחבא."־ קלך שמעתי בגן ואירא כי "את
.
המקום ההוא "יהוה יראה," אשר יאמר היום־ד) "בהר ויקרא אברהם שם
יהוה יראה."
.
GO TO READING #9
42. ParticiplesParticiples are adjectives that have distinctions (like verbs). Unlike the בנינם finite conjugations (i.e., the Perfect, Past Narrative, and Imperfect), Participlesare only marked for gender and number (not person).
Participles are declined like adjectives, illustrated below with the Active קל Participle:
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 123
Plural Singular
אמרים אמר סומך
אמרי אמר נסמךMasculine
אמרות אמרת / אמרה סומך
אמרות אמרת / אמרת נסמךFeminine
The pattern of the קל Active Participle pattern is distinct from both the Suffixand Prefix Patterns. In contrast, the Participle forms of the other are בנינם closely related to the two basic patterns:
● The נפעל Participle is similar to the Suffix Pattern Perfect conjugation,except that it has a קמץ-theme vowel instead of a פתח.
(the 3MS Perfect) נשמר versus (MS Participle) נשמר
● The, התפעל ,פעל and הפעיל Participles are based on the Prefix Patternwith a prefixed מ:
(יקבץ MS Participle; cf. 3MS Imperfect) מקבץ
(יתקבץ MS Participle; cf. 3MS Imperfect) מתקבץ
(ימליך MS Participle; cf. 3MS Imperfect) ממליך
Like Adjectives (see §32), Participles may be used substantivally, or predicatively:
● Substantivally: Some participles are regularly used as “agentive” nouns;their meaning is derived from the action or function that the agents regu-larly perform/fulfill.
the judges of Israel’ (Num 25:5)‘ שפטי ישראל
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 124
● Predicatively: The Participle may describe an action or event in a clause;when it used this way, the main verb היה is often omitted and the predic-ate expresses progressive aspect (the temporal location [tense] of theevent is derived from the context).
צאן יתרו־ משה היה רעה את‘Moses was shepherding the sheep of Jethro’ (Exod 3:1)
שמואל שכב בהיכל יהוה‘Samuel (was) lying in the temple of YHWH’ (1 Sam 3:3)
● Participles are often introduced by a -ה prefix. In these cases, the ה func-tions as a relative marker (as opposed to the definite article), and theparticiple functions predicatively within a relative clause that modifies anoun.
האשה־ האיש השכב עם‘the man who lies with the woman’ (Deut 22:22)
The use of the to introduce a relative clause (as opposed to being the ה article) is clear in cases where the noun is not definite but the participlehas the ה.
אל שכמה־ מסלה העלה מבית‘a highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem’ (Judg 21:19)
As with the more common relative marker, אשר, the relative ה is not al-ways present to introduce the relative (such relatives are called “un-marked” and are quite common in English, too):
הוי גוי חטא עם כבד עון זרע מרעים בנים משחיתים‘Alas, nation (that is) sinning, people (that is) heavy of iniquity, seed(that is) doing evil, sons (that are) acting corruptly’ (Isa 1:4)
The קל בנין, in addition to the Active Participle (above), has a Passive Parti-ciple with a ו theme vowel; it is also declined as an adjective.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 125
Plural Singular
ארורים ארור סומך
ארורי ארור נסמךMasculine
ארורות ארורה סומך
ארורות ארורת נסמךFeminine
Most occurrences of the קל Passive Participle are predicative. The Passive Par-ticiple functions as the main verb in a clause with a sense similar to the EnglishPast Participle in similar passive constructions, such as you are blessed. Thetemporal location (tense) is derived from the context.
כי עשית זאת ארור אתה‘because you have done this, you (are) cursed’ (Gen 3:14)
Like the Active Participle, the Passive Participle may be the main verb within arelative clause, with or without a ה:
־ הארץ ב זרועי הנטויה אנכי עשיתי את‘I made the earth with my arm that (was) stretched out’ (Jer 27:5)
43. The Foreground and Background of NarrativeThe majority of the Hebrew Bible is narrative. Because Hebrew has a Past Nar-rative verb form, this discourse type is readily identifiable. The main thread orforeground of narrative discourse features the Past Narrative verb.
ויהי אחר הדברים האלה‘It was after these things’ (Gen 22:1a)
The Past Narrative clause in Gen 22:1 indicates that the reader is supposed tounderstand that this story is picking up with events that happened after thelast story (Genesis 21). But when something is included that is not part of the
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 126
development or progression of the plot action, the narrator avoids using thePast Narrative verb.
והנחש היה ערום מכל חית השדה אשר עשה יהוה אלהים‘Now the serpent was craftier than any wild animal that YHWH God hadcreated’ (Gen 3:1)
In Gen 3:1, the serpent’s relevant qualities are mentioned as scene-setting in-formation that is not part of the plot action.
In addition to communicating background information, the narrator alsoavoids using the Past Narrative verb to portray events in an order other thantheir occurrence in the narrative.
־ איל אחר נאחז בסבך בקרניו־ עיניו וירא והנה וישא אברהם את‘Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and—look!—a ram behind (him)had been caught in the thicket by its horns’ (Gen 22:13)
In Gen 22:13, the ram as not caught in the thicket right as Abraham looked orafter he looked, but obviously before he looked up. Thus, the Past Narrativeverb is avoided and this preceding event is described with the Perfect verb.נאחז
Similarly, in Gen 2:6, the narrator uses the Imperfect and Irreal Perfect verbs toreport events that contribute to the setting (the state of creation) rather thanthe main plot line of the narrative, which begins with God creating man inverse 7.
־ ־ ־ האדמה־ פני כל הארץ והשקה את ואד יעלה מן‘(and) mist would come up from the earth and would water the entiresurface of the ground’ (Gen 2:6)
Summary:
Discourse material that is presented with the Past Narrative verb is called fore-ground material. Foreground events are the most salient or important for thedevelopment of the plot line and very frequently occur in succession (i.e., thishappened, then this happened, etc.).
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 127
Discourse material that is presented with other predicates (e.g., null copulaclause, Perfect, Imperfect) is generally background material. Background ma-terial describes the narrative setting or reports simultaneous events that areout-of-sequence relative to the narrative plot.
44. The Verbal System – A SummaryThe Ancient Hebrew verbal system is summarized in the following chart. Itconsists of verbs that express real mood (Past Narrative), verbs that express ir-real mood (Jussive and Imperative), and forms that may express both real andirreal mood, as indicated by word order (Perfect, Imperfect).
Real
Mood
SUFF שמר Perfect: perfective (whole view of situation)
PREF
ישמר(ו) Past Narrative (Preterite): past event in narrative (or poetry)ישמר Imperfect: imperfective (partial/in-progress view of situation)
Irreal
Mood
SUFF שמר(ו) Irreal Perfect: contingent modality/command
PREF ישמר Irreal Imperfect: command or wish (it is negated with לא)
PREF
ישמר Jussive: command or wish (any person; it is negated with אל)שמר Imperative: command or wish (2nd person only; not negated)
Because the Perfect and Imperfect form the central opposition (perfective : im-perfective aspect) in the real mood system of Ancient Hebrew, it is best to clas-sify them as real mood verbs that may nevertheless be used to express irrealmood as well. This sort of cross-over of forms is found in many other languagesas well.
For example, in English the Past Perfect verb is regularly used to express con-trary-to-fact modality, as in the statement Had he known, he would have beenthere, in which the use of the Past Perfect indicates that he did not know.
GO TO READING #10
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 128
45. NumeralsNumerals in Hebrew fall into two categories, just as they do in English: cardin-als (the basic forms) and ordinals (the forms used to order items, e.g., in a list).
Both cardinals and ordinals have masculine and feminine forms and the car-dinal numerals also have a non-bound (סומך) and bound (נסמך) form.
OrdinalsFeminine Masculine
CardinalsMasculine Feminine
נסמך סומך נסמך סומך
ראשונה
שנית
שלישית
רביעית
חמישית
ששית
שביעית
שמינית
תשיעית
עשירית
ראשון
שני
שלישי
רביעי
חמישי
ששי
שביעי
שמיני
תשיעי
עשירי
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
אחת
שתי
שלש
ארבע
חמש
שש
שבע
שמנה
תשע
עשר
אחת
שתיםשלש
ארבע
חמש
שש
שבעשמנה
תשעעשר
אחד
שני
שלשתארבעתחמשתששת
שבעת
שמנת
תשעת
עשרת
אחד
שניםשלשה
ארבעה
חמשה
ששה
שבעה
שמנה
תשעה
עשרה
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
The following principles describe how the numerals work:
● 1 is an adjective; it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
● 2-10 are nouns that may be in apposition (any order) or with a סמיכות noun.
~־ אנשים שנים אנשים אנשים שנים~ ’two men‘ שני
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 129
● 3-10 (cf. 1 and 2) take the opposite gender form to the noun they modify.
’three daughters‘ שלוש בנות three sons’ and‘ שלושה בנים
(contrast בן אחד ‘one son’ and בת אחת ‘one daughter’)
● 11-19 are constructed of the numerals 1-9 followed by 10 (M עשר; F עשרה).They agree in gender with the noun they modify (like 1 and 2).
Note: there are alternate forms for 11 and 12
’11‘ עשתי עשר אחד עשר~
’12‘ שני עשר שנים עשר~
● 20-90 are the plural forms of 2-9; single integers are conjoined with ו.
’20‘ עשרים
’31‘ שלושים ואחד
’45‘ ארבעים וחמש
● 100s are based on ‘100’ (FS מאה; FS NIS מאת; P מאות)
’200‘ (DU) מאתים
מאות־ .etc ,’300‘ שלש
● Certain nouns appear in the singular even with numerically plural modifi-ers:
’year(s) 11‘ אחד עשר שנה
’day(s) 11‘ אחד עשר יום
שאחד עשר אי ‘11 man (men)’
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46. TopicIn §18 when we examined Biblical Hebrew word order, we discussed the factthat the basic word order in Biblical Hebrew is Subject-Verb. In §41 the nu-ances of Hebrew word order were expanded by an introduction to Topic andFocus, with examples of Focus constituents. In this lesson, the notion of Topicwill be considered further.
In §41, Topic was defined as “what a clause is about,” but this definition is toonarrow, since Topic can applied to three different levels:
1) Syntactic Topic, the constituent that sits in a special ‘Topic’ position at thefront of a clause;
2) Clause Topic, the constituent in a clause that the rest of the clause is about;
3) Discourse Topic, the constituent in a discourse (which may be as small as asingle clause or as large as a multi-part story) that the rest of the dis-course is about.
One constituent may function as all three types of Topics in the same text;however, it is also possible that three different constituents serve as each typewithin the same text. Thus, while the term Topic is very useful in understand-ing how the Hebrew authors were manipulating their language to structuretheir texts, we should use the term with care and clarity.
Genesis 1 contains all three types of Topics and will serve as a good exampletext.
Genesis 1 and Discourse Topic
Consider first the chapter as a whole (including the first three-and-a-halfverses of chapter 2): the repetition of as the subject in almost every אלהים verse (it is missing only in vv. 13, 15, 19, 23, 30) is a strong signal that אלהים is,minimally, part of a complex Discourse Topic, which is succintly summarized inthe first verse:
בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ‘in the beginning (that) God created the heavens and the earth’ (Gen 1:1)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 131
Gen 1:1 includes three constituents, the verb ברא, the subject אלהים, and theobject which the rest of the ,(a merism for the world) את השמים ואת הארץcreation story is ‘about’.
Genesis 1 and Clausal Topic
Genesis 1 appears, by the repetition of words and overall content, to be ‘about’,אלהים who is involved in ing the world. And yet, there are numerous-ברא clauses in which one of these constituents does not appear to be the Topic.
אור־ויאמר אלהים יהי אור ויהי‘(and) God said, “Let light be.” And light existed.’ (Gen 1:3)
While the first clause in the verse (in gray) exhibits the typical pattern in thestory, [Past Narrative verb + אלהים], the subsequent two clauses make no men-tion of God or the verb ברא. Instead, the subject in each is אור and the verb isa form of היה ‘to be, exist’. Thus, the clausal topic is and the verb in each אורclause describes something about the Topic -- its coming into existence.
Genesis 1 and Syntactic Topic
The use of the Syntactic Topic position most often lines up with either a Dis-course or Clausal Topic. However, in rarer cases the Syntactic Topic does notline up with the other types.
האדם בצלמו־ ברא אתו בצלם אלהיםויברא אלהים את‘(and) God created the man in his image; in the image of God he createdhim’ (Gen 1:27)
In Gen 1:27 the prepositional phrase בצלם אלהים is fronted in the special Top-ic position (before the null subject, verb ברא, and object phrase אתו). The Top-ic-fronting indicates that it is the information “in the image of God” that therest of the clause is really about.
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 132
This serves as an interesting counterpart to the first clause in the verse (ויבראהאדם בצלמו־ ,(אלהים את which exhibits the pattern [Past Narrative verb +
that is so common in Genesis 1 (see above on [אלהים as a Discourse אלהים Topic). Whereas the first half of the verse reinforces the Discourse Topic, thesecond half uses the Syntactic Topic position to highlight a Clausal Topic otherthan אלהים.
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47. Masoretic Accents,or accents, were added to the Bible by the Masoretes (ca. 500-1000 C.E.) ,טעמיםa group of scholars responsible for the preservation of the Hebrew Bible as wellas the addition of accents and vowels.
The accents serve to break up the text into “sense” units so that when the textis read or chanted, a pause (or breath) is taken in a logical place. Knowing theaccents, therefore, informs the reader both where to place word stress and howto phrase groups of words.
In addition, accents can also be of consequence for interpretation, as illustratedby Isaiah 40:3. If the division of the verse by the accents are observed, the pre-positional phrase is part of the crier‘s statement, but the Septuagint, followedby the New Testament, treats the prepositional phrase as indicating the loca-tion of the crier.
׃ קול קורא במדבר פנו דרך יהוה ישרו בערבה מסלה לאלהינוA voice cries out: In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, makestraight in the desert a highway for our God.“ (Isa 40:3, NRSV)
Compare
This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “Thevoice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,make his paths straight.’” (Matt 3:3, NRSV)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 133
There are 27 accents used by twenty-one books of the Hebrew Bible as well as a variant 21 accents used exclusively in Psalms, Job, and Proverbs. The accents are categorized as disjunctive—those which make a sense break with what follows—and conjunctive—those that make a sense connection with what follows. In addition, the disjunctive accents are of different “levels” depending on the “strength” of their disjunction. Level 1 accents make the greatest disjunction.
Listed below are the accents of the first three disjunctive levels as well as the two most common conjunctive accents which function as servi (“servants”), immediately preceding certain disjunctive accents.
LEVEL ONESilluq � ק׃ ילו� ס� (always with sof pasuq סוק׃ (סוף פ
Atnah � א�ת�נ�ח
LEVEL TWO Segolta � ס�ג�ל�תא� (postpositive)
Zaqef Qatan � ן�זק�ף קטZaqef Gadol � ל �דו ף ג ק� ז (variant of zaqef qatan)
Tifha א ח פ� ט�
LEVEL THREE Revia " יע� ב�" ר�Pashta & פ�ש�טא' (postpositive)
Tevir ) ר י( ב� ת�Note: If two of the same disjunctive accents appear within one clause, most often the first of the two will mark the more disjunctive “sense” break.
MAJOR CONJUNCTIVEMunah + מונ+ח (servi for atnah, segolta, zaqef, revia, and pashta)
Merka . א . כ ר� מ� (servi for silluq, tifha, and tevir)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 134
Verse divisions by the accents can be understood as operating on a continuous dichotomy: the strongest disjunctive divides the verse in half, the next strongest divides each half in half again, etc.
In the following verses the strength of each disjunction is represented by vertical lines between the words: one vertical line (|) represents a level one disjunction, two vertical lines (||) a level two disjunction, and three vertical lines (|||) a level three disjunction.
Genesis 1:1-2
ץ׃1:1 ר1 � א ת ה . א� ם ׀׀ ו� י� מ� ש ת ה� . ים ׀ א� � לה� א א8 + ר ית ׀׀ ב אש� ר� ב�ום ׀1:2 ה� +י ת� נ� ל־פ� ך ׀׀ ע� ש1 � ח הו ׀׀ ו� ב�� הו& ׀׀׀ ו ה ת�' . ת י� ץ ׀׀׀ ה ר1 "א ה ו�
ם׃ י� � מ .י ה� נ� ל־פ� ת ׀׀ ע� פ1 ח1 ר� ים ׀׀ מ� לה�� וח� א8 ר+ ו�
48. Complements and AdjunctsTo understand the relationship between a verb and the constituents that modify it (referred to as a verb’s valency), it is helpful to make a distinction between complements and adjuncts.
Complements are constituents limited (in number) and required by the verb, both syntactically and semantically: syntactically they are required for grammaticality; semantically they complete the meaning of the predication. The underlined elements in the following clauses are complements.
יו ב� ק�ב א ע= ת־י� ף א1 א יוס� ב� י ו�‘(and) Joseph brought in Jacob, his father’ (Gen 47:7)
ן ש1 ?� ץ ג ר1 א1? בו ב� ש� י�‘let them live in the land of Goshen’ (Gen 47:6)
ם ים ה� מ� יר@ י ע� עו כ� ד� י� ו�‘(and) they knew that they were naked’ (Gen 3:7)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 135
וימאן להתנחם‘He refused to be comforted’ (Gen 37:35)
Note: Valency is a broader concept than transitivity, though often the two coincide:the direct object of a transitive verb is always a complement, but a complement maybe something other than a direct object, such as the locative prepositional phrasewith intransitive ישב in Gen 47:6 above.
Despite the fact that complements are “required,” they may not always appearwith a verb for one of several reasons:
● The verb may exhibit different senses with different sets of complements,such as קרא in the following examples: with the sense ‘call’ (Gen 3:9) קראhas one prepositional complement; with the sense of ‘name’ (Gen 1:5) ithas a prepositional and a accusative complement.
האדם־ ויקרא יהוה אלהים אל‘Yhwh God called to Adam’ (Gen 3:9)
ויקרא אלהים לאור יום‘God called the light day ’ (Gen 1:5)
● The verb may be capable of expressing both a general and more specificmeaning depending on whether it has a complement, as in שיר in the fol-lowing examples (cf. English ‘He read’ versus ‘He read a book’):
השירה הזאת־ אז ישיר ישראל את‘Then Israel sang this song’ (Num 21:17)
אשירה ואזמרה‘I will sing and I will praise!’ (Ps 57:8)
● The complement may be null, supplied by the context (similar to null sub-jects; see §18). Compare the following:
דן־ וישמע אברם כי נשבה אחיו . . . וירדף עד‘Abram heard that his brother had been taken captive . . . and hepursued (them) as far as Dan.’ (Gen 14:14)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 136
חובה־ ויכם וירדפם עד‘He struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah.’ (Gen 14:15)
In contrast to complements, adjuncts are limitless and optional: adjuncts maybe added or omitted without affecting the basic grammaticality (syntax) orsense (semantics) of the clause. They add information that the narrator or au-thor considers important. The underlined elements in the following clauses areadjuncts.
ויבאו אליו בשנה השנית‘(and) they came to him in the second year’ (Gen 47:18)
־ ־ מכרו מצרים איש שדהו־ אדמת מצרים לפרעה כי כל ויקן יוסף את‘(and) Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because theEgyptians, each one, sold his field’ (Gen 47:20)
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49. Case RelationsCase involves morphology, syntax, and semantics. Traditionally, case isthought of in terms of morphological inflectional form of nouns, pronouns, andadjectives (e.g., Latin, German). However, more crucially, cases indicate theparticular syntactic role or relationship between words in an expression. Eachcase is typically used to express multiple semantic relationships among thewords they relate in an expression.
Note: Although case is related to the valency distinctions of complement and adjunct(§48), it is more narrowly concerned with transitivity and more intricately related totraditional inflectional case marking.
Languages show different types and degrees of morphological case marking. InEnglish, morphological case marking is preserved only in the personal pro-nouns.
Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
I
me
my
he
him
his
she
her
her
we
us
our
they
them
their
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 137
Although Hebrew at one time morvphologically distinguished these threecases, by the period of Biblical Hebrew cases relations are indicated by othermeans, including syntax, morpho-syntax, and lexical.
The Nominative case indicates the subject of a verb: the agent of an active verband the patient of a passive one. An agent performs an action or brings about achange of state. A patient experiences a state or undergoes a change. Nominat-ive case relations are normally indicated syntactically by its nearness to theverb (immediately before or after).
ויבא יוסף‘Joseph came’ (Gen 47:1)
צבאם־ ויכלו השמים והארץ וכל‘the heavens and the earth and all their host were finished’ (Gen 2:1)
The Accusative case indicates the direct object of a transitive verb. Often thereis no special marking for this relationship (especially if no confusion betweenaccusative and nominative is likely). However, frequently Hebrew lexicallyindicates the accusative relation by את/את־.
יעקב אביו־ ויבא יוסף את‘(and) Joseph brought in Jacob, his father’ (Gen 47:7)
Note: But because the direct object of an active (transitive) verb is identical with thesubject of a passive (intransitive) verb—both are patient, sometimes the latter ismarked by את/את־.
־ שמך אברם־ יקרא עוד את ולא‘And your name will no longer be called Abram . . . (Gen 17:5)
Some verbs show variation between an unmarked accusative (direct object)and a prepositionally marked one, as in the following examples.
יהוה־ אודה את‘I will praise Yhwh.’ (Gen 29:35)
הודו ליהוה‘Praise (to) Yhwh!’ (Is 12:4)
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 138
Genitive case relations are indicated morphosyntactically (vowel reductionand word order) by the bound noun/סמיכות construction. The semanticrelationship of the סומך to the cliticized נסמך may be that of subject, object,or possessor of an activity implied by the נסמך noun, or else it may adjectivallymodify the נסמך noun.
־ פרעה ימי שני מגורי שלשים ומאת שנה ויאמר יעקב אל‘(and) Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourn havebeen 130 years”’ (Gen 47:9)
בארץ מצרים במיטב הארץ בארץ רעמסס‘. . . in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ramses (=Ramses’ land)’ (Gen 47:11)
Other case relations, corresponding to semantic relationships such as recipi-ent/indirect object, location, manner, etc. are usually marked lexically by pre-positions or treated syntactically in a similar manner to accusatives.Sometimes a verb may exhibit both strategies for marking its complement,such as with the locative complement of ישב in the following.
ישבו בארץ גשן‘Let them live in the land of Goshen’ (Gen 47:6)
ותלך תמר ותשב בית אביה‘Tamar went and lived (in) her father’s house.’ (Gen 38:11)
50. Lexical SemanticsSemantics is concerned with meaning in language at every level of expression.Meaning is compositional; that is, the meaning of a text or utterance is “com-posed” of its constituent parts. One of the most central constituents are words,whose meaning is the focus of lexical semantics.
A lexical semantic distinction already introduced is that between grammaticalwords and lexical words (§7). Grammatical words are more context dependentfor their meaning, whereas lexical words have more context-independent con-
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 139
tent. This is why it is easier to define lexical words out of context (e.g., nouns,verb, adjectives) than grammatical words (e.g., pronouns, prepositions, con-junctions).
Dictionaries or lexica contain “decontextualized” senses of words, derived frommultiple instances of their use in expressions. The challenge in learning a newlanguage is to assign the correct decontextualized sense from the dictionary orlexicon to each reading or speaking situation. It can be a temptation either torely too heavily on the context and so deny that meaning is compositional, orto apply all the senses into each and every instance and so forget the contribu-tion of the context. A balanced approach will view the decontextualized dic-tionary sense(s) as providing guidance for integrating a word into a expressivecontext.
As an example, consider the verb .(Qal) קרא To begin with, we need todistinguish two homonyms of this verb: ,’I ‘call קרא and ;’II ‘meet קרא thelatter is a by-form of קרה. If we examine HALOT, we find a number of senseslisted for קרא (Qal) I, including the following:
1) call (to someone)2) name (someone/something)3) call, summon, or invite (someone)4) proclaim or announce (something)5) call or cry aloud (generally or to a deity)6) read or recite (aloud)
On the one hand, it is easy enough to see meaning shared among these senses:(Qal) קרא I involves making audible, coherent sounds directed towardsomeone or something. In a given expression we will then examine the detailsof the context to determine precisely which of these senses is most suitable.
In many cases recognizing valency patterns (i.e., patterns of complements andadjuncts) and case (i.e., accusative or prepositional objects of the verb) be-comes crucial for making such judgments. For example, sense (2) and (3) tendto have two complements (besides the subject): the name given and the personor thing named; the person summoned and the event or person they aresummoned to (the complements are underlined).
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 140
ויקרא אלהים לאור יום ולחשך קרא לילה‘God named the light day and the darkness he named night.’ (Gen 1:5)
לחם־ ויזבח יעקב זבח בהר ויקרא לאחיו לאכל‘Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and summoned his relatives(lit., brothers) to eat food (lit., bread).’ (Gen 31:54)
By contrast, the other senses frequently have just one object: the thing an-nounced or read or the person (deity) cried out to.
לו ויקראו לפניו אברך־ וירכב אתו במרכבת המשנה אשר‘And he rode him in his second chariot and they shouted in front ofhim “Kneel!”’ (Gen 41:43)
Note: The prepositional phrase לפניו is an adjunct; it does not “complete” the senseof the verb in any way, but modifies it by specifying the location of the proclamation.
ויקח ספר הברית ויקרא באזני העם‘He took the book of the covenant and read (it) in the hearing (lit.,ears) of the people.’ (Exod 24:7)
־ אלהי אקרא־ לי אקרא יהוה ואל בצר‘In my distress I called Yhwh and to my God I cried.’ (2 Sam 22:7)
In each of these patterns, lexical clues help further distinguish among senses ofthe verb: one ‘reads’ a book (Exod 24:7) but ‘shouts’ an exclamatory word (Gen41:43).
Lexical semantics concerned not only with the different senses of a single wordbut also sense relations between similar (synonymous) words. Such sense rela-tions are understood as forming intricate semantic structures in languages.The more the related senses of similar words can be distinguished, the morefully the senses of each individual word is understood and vice-versa.
For example, קרא (Qal) I, glossed above as involving making audible, coherentsounds directed toward someone or something, is related to צעק (Qal) and itsby-form זעק (Qal). An examination of the various instances of these verbs
Biblical Hebrew: An Illustrated Introduction (2011 draft) 141
shows both overlap and distinction in their senses. For example, צעק/זעק nev-er express naming or reading, in contrast to קרא. In addition, they usually in-volve making audiable sounds in a distressing or alarming situation (Exod 2:23below), while קרא only sometimes has a similar sense (e.g., 2 Sam 22:7, above).
־ העבדה ויזעקו־ ישראל מן ויאנחו בני‘(and) the children of Israel groaned from the (forced) labor and theycried out (in distress).’ (Exod 2:23)
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Appendix APhonology
1. From “Biblical” Hebrew to “Masoretic” HebrewVowels
Based on comparative evidence from languages related to Hebrew, likeAkkadian and Arabic, grammarians believe that the vowels of ancient Hebrewchanged between the biblical period and the period in which the vowel pointswere added in the Masoretic Text. Ancient Hebrew distinguished vowelsprimarily based on quality (timbre) and quantity (length; macrons indicate“long”), as in the diagram below. (The traditional phonetic “trapezoid” chartdistinguishes vowels based on the vertical and horizontal position of thehighest point of the tongue in the production of the sound.)
Front
Backness
Central Back Height
Close
i/ī u/ū
a/ā
Mid
Open
Reconstructed Ancient Hebrew vowels: 3 phonemes
Scholars reconstruct a vowel inventory for ancient Hebrew that is essentiallyidentical to that of reconstructed proto-Semitic. One difference betweenancient Hebrew and proto-Semitic is that at some point in the late secondmillennium, all Hebrew long a vowels, i.e., /ā/, underwent what isaffectionately called “the Canaanite Shift” and became /ō/.
In contrast to the ancient Hebrew, the Masoretic system we know from theTiberian tradition of Masoretes (which gave us the Leningrad Codex that we useas the basis for most of our Hebrew Bibles) makes the most sense as a system ofvowel timbre, without any distinction of length, as shown in the following dia-gram (i as in machine; e as in they; ɛ as in bɛt; a as father; ɔ as in bought; o as ingo; u as in rude).
Appendices A2
Front
Backness
Central Back Height
Close
= i u = ו/
= e o = ו
= ɛ ɔ =
= a
Examplesi as in machinee as in theyɛ as in bɛta as fatherɔ as in boughto as in gou as in rude
Mid
Open
Masoretic (Tiberian) Hebrew vowels: 7 phonemes
While some students are taught to pronounce ancient Hebrew with the recon-structed vowels, most courses use a mixture that derives from the pronunci-ation of Hebrew in the modern state of Israel. Consider the below chart inorder to appreciate fully the complexities of working with a language that hasa 3,000-year history.
Front
Backness
Central Back Height
Close
i u
o
ɛ
a
Mid
Open
Israeli (Ashkenazic) Hebrew vowels: 5 phonemes
2. Vowel Changes from Ancient to “Tiberian” HebrewThere is a pattern to the numerous vowel changes that occur when nouns aremade plural, dual, and construct. However, this pattern is obscured by the Mas-oretic vowel system in the Hebrew Bible. Analyzed from a historical perspect-ive (i.e., looking at the changes in the language over time), though, the changesare regular and predictable.
The key to understanding the how the Tiberian Hebrew vowel system relates tothe probable Ancient Hebrew vowel system is to assume that the Tiberianvowel points preserve for the most part the older system of long and short
Appendices A3vowels. If this is so, then we can classify the vowels in terms of their historicalstatus as pure long, short, lengthened short, or reduced short. The following tablepresents this classification (note that we simplify the issue of the vowel mark-ers; not all pure long vowels are marked with a ו or י).
PureLong
LengthenedShort
Short Reduced Short
a-class a (ה) ← → ← → or
i-classe
i
י
י ←
→ ←
→ or
u-classo
u
ו
ו ←
→ ←
→ or
Based on this chart, the following principles emerge:
● Pure Long vowels are stable and do not change.
’horse‘ סוס
המלך־ ’the horses of the king‘ סוסי
’righteous ones‘ צדיקים
Note: The doubled ד prevents the vowel under the צ from reducing (see below).
● Short vowels lengthen a) in a stressed syllable; and b) immediately beforea stressed syllable (i.e., lengthened short).
word’ (both vowels are lengthened short a-class vowels)‘ דבר
● Short vowels reduce two syllables or further before the stressed syllable(i.e., reduced short).
דבר המלך־ ‘the word of the king’
Note: The short a-class vowel under ד has become a reduced short; the a-classvowel under ב stays short instead of becoming a lengthened short as in theabsolute form, above.
Appendices A4
3. Vowel LettersOriginally the Hebrew language, like other Semitic alphabetic languages (e.g.,Phoenician, Aramaic), was written with consonants only. Vowels were simplyunderstood by the literate, such as scribes.
However, even educated scribes must have had a few problems with a whollyconsonantal system, because by the 8th century, texts exhibit the use of threeconsonants, ה ,ו, and י to mark certain vowels (historically long or lengthenedvowels) at the ends of words. These “vowel markers” (their Hebrew name ismothers of reading’; the common Latin translation of this is‘ אמות הקריאהmatres lectionis), were first used in Aramaic by the 10th century B.C.E. before be-ing adopted later by Hebrew writers.
Over time the ancient Hebrew system of vowel markers was expanded so thatthey stood for long/lengthened vowels not just at the end of words (i.e., word-final vowel markers), but anywhere in the word (i.e., word-medial or word-in-ternal vowel markers).
In particular ו and י marked vowels that resulted from the contraction of vow-els with a following consonantal ו or י: aw became ô (often written as וו־ ,(חולםuw became û (often written as שורק), ay became ê (often written as יוד־ ,(צריand iy became î (often written as יוד־ :The full system looked like this .(חירק
,stood for long/lengthened a, e or o vowels at the end of a word הe.g., השלמה ,שדה ,מלכ .
,stood for long/lengthened or contracted u and o vowels וe.g., ידו ,יום ,שובו.
,stood for long/lengthened or contracted i and e vowels יe.g., עיני ,אישי.
So, where do the vowel “points” that you have learned come from? Althoughthe pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible was preserved for centuries by an oral“reading tradition,” around the 6th century C.E. scholars called Masoretes, whowere responsible for preserving the text of the Hebrew Bible, became con-cerned about the long-term preservation of their reading tradition. They de-veloped “points” to represent the Hebrew vowels. It was the responsibility of
Appendices A5specialists called נקדנים (‘pointers’) to add these נקודות (‘points’) to the exist-ing consonantal text.
Since the text of the Hebrew Bible had become sacred, the points were super-imposed upon the existing text, which itself was a product from many differenthands and stages, dialects, and idiolects of ancient Hebrew. This is why onlysome of the vowels in Hebrew use a with a vowel point. When a vowel י or ו marker (י, ו, or is present in the text of the Hebrew Bible, the spelling is (ה called scriptio plene (‘full writing’); when a vowel letter is absent the spelling iscalled scriptio defectiva (‘defective writing’). More simply the two modes arecalled full and defective spelling.
4. Syllables, Vowels, and Word StressA syllable begins with a consonant (C) and ends with either a vowel (CV =open), or a consonant (CVC = closed).
Note: The vocalic ו form of the ו conjunction before certain consonant-vowelcombinations (see A.6 below) is the only exception to consonant-first syllables.
– has two syllables: an open דבר (CV) דanda closed בר– (CVC).
Note: The vowel letters (י ,ו ,ה) and א do not close syllables! However, ה at theend of a word does close a syllable. The dot, called a mappiq, indicates that the ה isa consonant and not a vowel letter.
● Open syllables usually have (historically) long/lengthened vowels (as – דin דבר) unless stressed— then they may have short vowels (as – .(מלך in מ
Note: A syllable is either stressed or unstressed: in most words the last syllable isstressed. Words that are not stressed on the last syllable in the lessons andexercises have an accent mark over the stressed syllable, written as .
● Closed syllables usually have (historically) short vowels (as לך- in מלך)unless stressed—then they may have long vowels (as בר- in דבר).
Note: The vowel sign represents the short u-class קמץ חטוף in a closed, unstres - sed syllable, and elsewhere the lengthened a-class קמץ. E.g., מה- .[chochma] = חכ
Appendices A6● Open syllables that are unstressed may have a reduced (from a historically
short), vocal שוא vowel (as - רים-ב-ד in ד ).
5. The Article ה and the Interrogative הThe form of the article is ה attached to the front of the word it modifies and a.in the first letter of the host word דגש חזק
’the wilderness‘ + מדבר = המדבר•ה
However, this basic form may be modified as follows:
#1 ’the horse‘ הסוס :before non-guttural consonants ה •
#2 ’the head‘ הראש :ר or ,ע ,א usually before ה
#3 ’the temple‘ ההיכל :ח or ה usually before ה
#4 ’the mountains‘ ההרים :(!unstressed) ע or ,ח ,ה before ה
#5 ’the mountain‘ ההר :(!stressed) ע or ה before ה
BUT before ח (stressed!) it is החיל :ה ‘the valor’
Summary of the article before gutturals:
ר
stressed qamets unstressed qamets א
העז העפר ← ע
ה
הראשהאב
העיר
ההר ההרים ← ה
החיל החכם ← חה
ההיכלהחדש
Note: There are a few nouns whose first vowel changes when the article is added:
הארץ ← ’the earth‘ + ארץ•ה
הגן ← ’the garden‘ + גן•ה
העם ← ’the people‘ + עם•ה
Appendices A7The basic form of the interrogative ה may also be modified as follows:
#1 Is he a‘ ההוא אב :vowel שוא before a guttural or any consonant with הfather?’
#2 ’?Are you wise‘ החכם אתה :vowel קמץ before a guttural with ה
6. Attaching the Clitic PrepositionsThe vocalization of the ו conjunction:
● normally ו
’and David‘ ודויד
Note: The definite article remains when the conjunction is added.
’and the man‘ והאיש
● י before ו
ויהודה ← יהודה + ו ‘and Judah’
● with the corresponding full vowel before a חטף שוא
’and I‘ ואני ’and Edom‘ ואדום
● This may be mnemonically .(י other than) שוא or simple ,פ ,מ ,ב before וreferred to as the BuMP-Sheva Rule.
ובית ← בית + ו ‘and a house’
ופנים ← פנים + ו ‘and a face’
ומיהודה ← מיהודה + ו ‘and from Judah’
וגדולים ← גדולים + ו ‘and great (things)’
Note: This is the only case in which a vowel begins a syllable!
Appendices A8● Some special cases:
Quiescent א:
’and the Lord‘ ואדני ’and God‘ ואלהים
:occasionally before a stressed syllable ו
’and emptiness‘ ובהו
The principles of vocalization for the clitic prepositions are:
● before a consonant with a full vowel ל ,כ ,ב
’to/for a king‘ למלך
’in/at a house‘ בבית
● שוא before a consonant with a simple ל ,כ ,ב
’according to a covenant‘ בברית
BUT before י the vowel becomes י
ליהודה ← יהודה + ל ‘to/for Judah’
● The corresponding full vowel before a compound שוא
כאשר ← אשר + כ ‘like that which’
לאדום ← אדום + ל ‘to/for Edom’
● The article vocalization before a noun with the article (i.e., the article’sconsonant ה is replaced by the clitic preposition)
למלך ← המלך + ל ‘to/for the king ’
● Some special cases:Quiescent א:
’to/for the Lord‘ לאדני ’to/for God‘ לאלהים
:before a stressed syllable in some words ל ,כ ,ב
’in this‘ בזה
Appendices A9The preposition מן may also be proclitic. In this case, the vocalization is:
● into the following consonant ן before non-gutturals (the assimilation of מis marked by a דגש חזק)
משם ← שם + מן ‘from there’
BUT before י the vowel becomes a י
מיהודה ← יהודה + מן ‘from Judah’
● before gutturals (the vowel lengthens because the guttural cannot be מlengthened, i.e., they do not allow דגש חזק)
’from a man‘ מאיש ← איש + מן
Appendix BNominal Morphology
1a. Noun Inflection (§§6, 10, 20)
Dual Plural Singular
דברים דברים דבר סומך
דברי דברי דבר נסמךMasculine
אדמתים אדמות אדמה סומך
אדמתי אדמות אדמת נסמךFeminine
1b. Adjective Inflection (§32)
Plural Singular
גדולים גדול סומך
גדולי גדול נסמךMasculine
גדולות גדולה סומך
גדולות גדולת נסמךFeminine
2. Frequent Irregular NounsSingular
Somech
NismachPlural
Somech Nismach‘father’ M אב אב ,אבי אבות אבות‘brother’ M אח אחי אחים אחי‘sister’ F אחות אחות אחיות אחיות‘man’ M איש איש אנשים אנשי
Appendices A11Singular
Somech
NismachPlural
Somech Nismach‘woman’ F אשה אשת נשים נשי
‘house’ M בית בית בתים בתי‘son’ M בן בן בנים בני‘daughter’ F בת בת בנות בנות‘day’ M יום יום ימים ימי‘city’ F עיר עיר ערים ערי‘head’ M ראש ראש ראשים ראשי
3. Personal Pronouns (§§5, 10)
‘they’ הם / המה 3MS ‘he’ הוא 3MS
‘they’ הן / הנה 3FS ‘she’ היא 3FS
‘you’ אתם 2MS ‘you’ אתה 2MS
‘you’ אתן 2FS ‘you’ את 2FS
‘we’ אנחנו 1S ‘I’ אני 1S
4. Demonstrative Pronouns (§33)
Plural Singular
‘these’ אלה ‘this’זה Masculine
זאת FeminineNear
‘those’המההנה
‘that’הוא Masculine
היא FeminineFar
Appendices A12
5a. Enclitic Pronouns with Singular Nouns (§§9, 20)With Feminine With Masculine
his law
her law
your law
your law
my law
their law
their law
your law
your law
our law
תורתו
תורתה
תורתךתורתך
תורתי
תורתם
תורתן
תורתכם
תורתכן
תורתנו
his word
her word
your word
your word
my word
their word
their word
your word
your word
our word
דברו
דברה
דברךדברך
דברי
דברם
דברן
דברכם
דברכן
דברנו
3MS ו
3FS ה
2MS ך
2FS ך
1CS י
3MP ם
3FP ן
2MP כם
2FP כן
1CP נו5b. Enclitic Pronouns with Plural Nouns (§§17, 31)
With Feminine With Masculine
his laws
her laws
your laws
your laws
my laws
their laws
their laws
your laws
your laws
our laws
תורותיו
תורותיהתורותיךתורותיךתורותי
תורותיהם
תורותיהן
תורותיכם
תורותיכןתורותינו
his words
her words
your words
your words
my words
their words
their words
your words
your words
our words
דבריו
דבריהדבריךדבריך
דברי
דבריהם
דבריהן
דבריכם
דבריכן
דברינו
3MSיו
3FSיה 2MS יך 2FSיך 1CSי
3MP יהם
3FPיהן
2MP יכם
2FP יכן
1CP ינו
Appendices A13
5c. Enclitic Pronouns with מן, כמו/כ ,ל, and the ObjectMarker -אות/את
him
her
you
you
me
them
them
you
you
us
אותו
אותה
אותך
אותך
אותי
אותם
אתהן
אתכם
אתכן
אותנו
from him
from her
from you
from you
from me
from them
from them
from you
from you
from us
ממנוממנהממך
ממך
ממנימהם
מהן
מכם
מכן
ממנו
like him
like her
like you
like you
like me
like them
like them
like you
like you
like us
כמהוכמוהכמוךכמוך
כמוניכהם
כהן
ככם
ככן
כמונו
for him
for her
for you
for you
for me
for them
for them
for you
for you
for us
לו
לה
לך
לך
לי
להם
להן
לכם
לכן
לנו
3MS ו
3FS ה
2MS ך
2FS ך
1CS י
3MP הם/ ם
3FP הן
2MP כם
2FP כן
1CP נו
Appendix CVerb Morphology
Strong Verb Quick Reference Chart: Representative Forms
QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PERF 3MS שמר נשמר קבץ קבץ התקבץ השליך השלךIMPF 3MS ישמר ישמר יקבץ יקבץ יתקבץ ישליך ישלךPAST 3MS וישמר וישמר ויקבץ ויקבץ ויתקבץ וישלך וישלך
IMV MS שמר השמר קבץ התקבץ השלךINF שמר השמר קבץ קבץ התקבץ השליך השלך
INF ADV שמורהשמרנשמר
קבץ קבץ התקבץ השלך השלך
PTCP MS שמר נשמר מקבץ מקבץ מתקבץ משליך משלך
’guard‘ שמר ’gather‘ קבץ ’throw‘ שלך
1a. The “Strong” VerbQAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PERF 3MS שמר נשמר קבץ קבץ התקבץ השליך השלך3FS שמרה נשמרה קבצה קבצה התקבצה השליכה השלכה2MS שמרת נשמרת קבצת קבצת התקבצת השלכת השלכת2FS שמרת נשמרת קבצת קבצת התקבצת השלכת השלכת1CS שמרתי נשמרתי קבצתי קבצתי התקבצתי השלכתי השלכתי3CP שמרו נשמרו קבצו קבצו התקבצו השליכו השלכו2MP שמרתם נשמרתם קבצתם קבצתם התקבצתם השלכתם השלכתם2FP שמרתן נשמרתן קבצתן קבצתן התקבצתן השלכתן השלכתן1CP שמרנו נשמרנו קבצנו קבצנו התקבצנו המלכנו השלכנו
Appendices A15
IMPF 3MS ישמר ישמר יקבץ יקבץ יתקבץ ישליך ישלך3FS/2MS תשמר תשמר תקבץ תקבץ תתקבץ תשליך תשלך
2FS תשמרי תשמרי תקבצי תקבצי תתקבצי תשליכי תשלכי1CS אשמר אשמר אקבץ אקבץ אתקבץ אשליך אשלך3MP ישמרו ישמרו יקבצו יקבצו יתקבצו ישליכו ישלכו3FP תשמרנה תשמרנה תקבצנה תקבצנה תתקבצנה תשלכנה תשלכנה2MP תשמרו תשמרו תקבצו תקבצו תתקבצו תשליכו תשלכו2FP תשמרנה תשמרנה תקבצנה תקבצנה תתקבצנה תשלכנה תשלכנה1CP נשמר נשמר נקבץ נקבץ נתקבץ נשליך נשלך
QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PAST 3MS וישמר וישמר ויקבץ ויקבץ ויתקבץ וישלך וישלךJUSS 3MS ישמר תשמר תקבץ יקבץ יתקבץ ישלך ישלך
1CS אשמרה אשמרה אקבצה אקבצה אתקבצה אשליכהIMV MS שמר השמר קבץ התקבץ השלך
FS שמרי השמרי קבצי התקבצי השליכיMP שמרו השמרו קבצו התקבצו השליכוFP שמרנה השמרנה קבצנה התקבצנה השלכנה
INF שמר השמר קבץ קבץ התקבץ השליך השלךADV INF שמר נשמר
השמרקבץ קבץ התקבץ השלך השלך
PTCP MSA שמר נשמר מקבץ מקבץ מתקבץ משליך משלךFSA שמרה נשמרה מקבצה מקבצה מתקבצה משליכה משלכה
שמרת נשמרת מקבצת מקבצת מתקבצת מולכת משלכתMPA שמרים נשמרים מקבצים מקבצים מתקבצים משליכים משלכיםFPA שמרות נשמרות מקבצות מפקדות מתקבצות משליכות משלכות
Appendices A16
1b. Recognizing the Derived בניניםNote: R indicates a verbal root consonant, and the subscripts 1 2 3 indicate theposition of the consonant within the triconsonantal root.
Nifal/נפעל
● Perfect is characterized by a נ prefix and (פתח) under R2.
● Imperfect is characterized by a lengthened R1 (indicated by דגש חזק)with (a-class קמץ)
● Imperative is characterized by a ה prefix and lengthened R1 with (a-class קמץ).
The Nifal Imperative generally occurs with the Nifal’s reflexive sense (as opposedto its passive sense).
● Adverbial Infinitive has two forms: נפקד and הפקד
● Participle is characterized by a נ prefix and (a-class קמץ) under R2.
Piel/פעל
● Perfect conjugation is characterized by i-class vowel under R1 andlengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
● Imperfect conjugation is characterized by under the prefix consonant,a-class vowel under R1, and lengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
● Past Narrative exhibits a peculiarity with the 3MS and 3MP forms: the דגש“falls out” of the י prefix. This phenomenon is part of a general tendencyof the consonants ש ,צ ,ס ,ק ,נ ,מ ,ל , י ,ו and ש to drop a דגש whenthey have a vocal שוא.
This phenomenon is often referred to as vilminqs (= וילמנק + sibilants) orsqinmlevi (i.e., “skin ‘em Levi”).
משה־ YHWH spoke to Moses’ (Num 1:1)‘ וידבר יהוה אל
Appendices A17● Participle is characterized by a מ inflectional prefix and the vowel
pattern of the masculine singular is the same as that of the Prefix patternin the respective בנינים.
Piel Imperfect יפקד and Participle מפקד
Pual/פעל
● Perfect is characterized by a u-class ( or ) vowel under R1 and alengthened R2.
● Imperfect is characterized by a under the prefix, a u-class ( or )vowel under R1, and lengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
● Imperative and 1st Person Jussive do not occur in the Pual.
● Infinitive and Adverbial Infinitive each occur only once: ענותו (Ps 132:1)and גנב (Gen 40:15), respectively.
● Participle is characterized by מ prefix, a u-class vowel under R1 ( or ), and a lengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
Hitpael/התפעל
● Perfect is characterized by a הת prefix, an a-class vowel under R1, and alengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
● Imperfect is characterized by a ת after the prefix, an a-class vowel underR1, and a lengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
● Imperative is characterized by a הת prefix, an a-class vowel under R1, anda lengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
● Infinitive and Adverbial Infinitive are identical in form to the 3msPerfect and 2ms Imperative.
● Participle is characterized by מת prefix, an a-class vowel under R1, and alengthened R2 (indicated by דגש חזק).
Appendices A18Hifil/הפעיל
● Perfect conjugation is characterized by a ה (or ה with an i-class vowel)prefix and an i-class theme vowel (i.e., between R2 and R3).
● Imperfect conjugation is characterized by an a-class vowel under theprefix and an i-class theme vowel (i.e., between R2 and R3).
Note: the i-class theme vowel is often spelled defectively (without י).
they destroyed’ (2 Sam 11:1)‘ וישחתו
● Past Narrative conjugation shows a slightly altered Prefix pattern. Thetheme vowel in the Past Narrative verb form is instead of י .
הבעל־ Jehu destroyed the Baal’ (2 Kgs 10:28)‘ וישמד יהוא את
● Participle is characterized by a מ inflectional prefix throughout. Also, thevowel pattern of the masculine singular is the same as that of the Prefixpattern in the respective בנינים.
Hifil Imperfect יפקיד and Participle מפקיד
Hofal/הפעל
● Perfect is characterized by a u-class vowel under the prefix (ה or ה).
● Imperfect is characterized by a u-class vowel under the prefix ( or ).
● Imperative and 1st Person Jussive do not occur in the Hofal.
● Infinitives are rare.
● Participle is characterized by a u-class vowel under the prefix (מ or מ)
Appendices A19
2. Enclitic Pronouns with Verbs (§40)FOLLOWING CONSONANT
WITH
ENERGIC NUN
PREFIX VERB SUFFIX VERB FOLLOWING VOWEL
נו ← נהו** נה ← נה
ך ← נך*ני ← נני*
נו ← ננו*
הו ה ך
ך
ני ם
ן
כם
כן
נו
ו
ה
ך
ך / ך
ני ם
ן
כם
כן
נו
-ו / -הו
-ה
-ך
-ך
-ני
-ם
-ן
-כם
-כן
-נו
3MS
3FS
2MS
2FS
1CS
3MP
3FP
2MP
2FP
1CP
Note: Suffix Pattern (Perfect) verbs have an a-class linking vowel (i.e., the vowelbetween the verb form and the suffixed pronoun). Prefix Pattern (Imperfect, PastNarrative, and Imperative) have an i-class linking vowel.
3. Introduction to Guttural VerbsGuttural consonants (ח ,ה ,א, and ע) have four main characteristics.
● Characteristic #1: Gutturals (and ר) cannot be lengthened (i.e., theycannot have a דגש חזק).
● Characteristic #2: Gutturals prefer a-class vowels (both before and after).
● Characteristic #3: Gutturals ח ,ה, and ע at the end of a word may bepreceded by a גנובהפתח (‘stolen’ patach) (traditionally furtive patach).
● Characteristic #4: Gutturals usually have a חטף שוא instead of שוא.
These characteristics result in predictable changes in verbal roots containing aguttural consonant.
Appendices A20
3a. I-Guttural Verbs#1 Nifal Imperfect has a (צרי) prefix vowel instead of the normal
to “compensate” for the fact that the guttural consonant cannot (חירק) be lengthed (i.e., take a דגש חזק).
(יפקד compare to) יעמד* instead of יעמד
#2 Qal Imperfect Dynamic verbs have a (פתח) prefix vowel instead of prefix vowel instead (סגול) Qal Imperfect Stative verbs have a .(חירק)of (חירק).
(יפקד compare) יעמד* instead of יעמד
(יכבד compare) יחזק* instead of יחזק
Note: Both dynamic and stative 1CS Qal Imperfect have (סגול) as the prefixvowel: אעמד and אחזק
I-Guttural Paradigm: עמד ‘stand’
QAL (DYNAMIC) QAL (STATIVE) NIFAL PI/PU/HIT HIFIL HOFAL
PERF 3MS עמד חזק נעמד העמיד העמד3FS עמדה חזקה נעמדה העמידה העמדה2MS עמדת חזקת נעמדת העמדת העמדת2FS עמדת חזקת נעמדת R העמדת העמדת1CS עמדתי חזקתי נעמדתי העמדתי העמדתי3CP עמדו חזקו נעמדו E העמידו העמדו2MP עמדתם חזקתם נעמדתם העמדתם העמדתם2FP עמדתן חזקתן נעמדתן G העמדתן העמדתן1CP עמדנו חזקנו נעמדנו העמדנו העמדנו
Appendices A21IMPF 3MS יעמד יחזק יעמד U יעמיד יעמד
3FS/2MS תעמד תחזק תעמד תעמיד תעמד2FS תעמדי תחזקי תעמדי L תעמידי תעמדי1CS אעמד אחזק אעמד אעמיד אעמד3MP יעמדו יחזקו יעמדו A יעמידו יעמדו3FP תעמדנה תחזקנה תעמדנה תעמדנה תעמדנה2MP תעמדו תחזקו תעמדו R תעמידו תעמדו2FP תעמדנה תחזקנה תעמדנה תעמדנה תעמדנה1CP נעמד נחזק נעמד נעמיד נעמד
#3 Qal Imperative and Infinitive have (חטף פתח) under the first radical.
(פקד compare) עמד* instead of עמד
Note: A חטף vowel will always be the same class as that of the preceding vowel.
(Hifil 3MS Perfect and Imperfect) יעמיד העמיד
Note: The חטף vowel may change to a full vowel if the vowel in the followingsyllable is reduced to a שוא.
(Qal 3MS Imperfect) יעמד BUT יעמדו (Qal 3MP Imperfect)
I-Guttural: Representative FormsQAL (DYNAMIC) QAL (STATIVE) NIFAL PI/PU/HIT HIFIL HOFAL
PAST 3MS ויעמד ויחזק ויעמד R ויעמד ויעמדJUSS 3MS יעמד יחזק יעמד יעמד יעמד
1CS אעמדה אחזקה אעמדה E אעמידהIMV MS עמד חזק העמד העמד
FS עמדי חזקי העמדי G העמידיMP עמדו חזקו העמדו העמידוFP עמדנה חזקנה העמדנה U העמדנה
Appendices A22 INF עמד חזק העמד העמיד העמד ADV INF עמוד חזוק העמד
נעמדL
העמד העמד
PTCP MS עמד חזק נעמד מעמיד מעמדFS עמדה חזקה נעמדה A מעמידה מעמדה
עמדת נעמדת מעמדת מעמדתMP עמדים חזקים נעמדים R מעמידים מעמדיםFP עמדות חזקות נעמדות מעמידות מעמדות
3b. II-Guttural Verbs#1 The Piel, Pual, and Hitpael do not have their characteristic lengthening
of R2 (i.e., no דגש חזק). The preceding vowel may lengthen.
Before ר the vowel always lengthens:(פקד compare) ברך* instead of ברך
Before א the vowel usually lengthens:באר* instead of באר
Before ח ,ה, or ע the vowel usually does not lengthen:נחם* instead of נחם
#2 Qal Imperfect and Imperative have an a-class theme vowel with bothstative and dynamic roots.
Stative: יאהב (expected)
Dynamic: ישחט instead of *ישחט (compare יפקד)
#3 R2 has a חטף שוא instead of a simple שוא when the verb ends in a vocalicinflectional suffix in all בנינים except for the Hifil.
(פקדה compare) בחרה* instead of בחרה
Appendices A23(פקדו compare) בחרו* instead of בחרו
Note: ר does not always require a חטף שוא, as in ברכו
Paradigm: שחט ‘slaughter’ and ברך ‘bless’
QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL/HOFAL
PERF 3MS שחט נשחט ברך ברך התברך3FS שחטה נשחטה ברכה ברכה התברכה2MS שחטת נשחטת ברכת ברכת התברכת2FS שחטת נשחטת ברכת ברכת התברכת R1CS שחטתי נשחטתי ברכתי ברכתי התברכתי3CP שחטו נשחטו ברכו ברכו התברכו E2MP שחטתם נשחטתם ברכתם ברכתם התברכתם2FP שחטתן נשחטתן ברכתן ברכתן התברכתן G1CP שחטנו נשחטנו ברכנו ברכנו התברכנו
UIMPF 3MS ישחט ישחט יברך יברך יתברך
3FS/2MS תשחט תשחט תברך תברך תתברך L2FS תשחטי תשחטי תברכי תברכי תתברכי1CS אשחט אשחט אברך אברך אתברך A3MP ישחטו ישחטו יברכו יברכו יתברכו3FP תשחטנה תשחטנה תברכנה תברכנה ת תברכנה R2MP תשחטו תשחטו תברכו תברכו תתברכו2FP תשחטנה תשחטנה תברכנה תברכנה ת תברכנה1CP נשחט נשחט נברך נברך נתברך
Appendices A24II-Guttural: Representative Forms
QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL/HOFAL
PAST 3MS וישחט וישחט ויברך ויברך ויתברך RJUSS 3MS ישחט ישחט יברך יברך יתברך
1CS אשחטה אשחטה אברכה אברכה אתברכה EIMV MS שחט השחט ברך התברך
FS שחטי השחטי ברכי התברכי GMP שחטו השחטו ברכו התברכוFP שחטנה השחטנה ברכנה התברכנה U
INF שחט השחט ברך התברך ADV INF שחוט נשחט ברך/ברך התברך L
PTCP MS שחט נשחט מברך מברך מתברךFS שחטה נשחטה מברכה מברכה מתברכה A
שחטת נשחטת מברכת מברכת מתברכתMP שחטים נשחטים מברכים מברכים מתברכים RFP שחטות נשחטות מברכות מברכות מתברכות
3c. III-Guttural VerbsThese verbs may take an a-class theme vowel; if there are not changes, a פתח.appears before R3 גנובה
Paradigm: שלח ‘send’QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PERF
3MS שלח נשלח שלח שלח השתלח השליח השלח3FS שלחה נשלחה שלחה שלחה השתלחה השליחה השלהה2MS שלחת נשלחת שלחת שלחת השתלחת השלחת השלחת2FS שלחת נשלחת שלחת שלחת השתלחת השלחת השלחת1CS שלחתי נשלחתי שלחתי שלחתי השתלחתי השלחתי השלחתי
Appendices A253CP שלחו נשלחו שלחו שלחו השתלחו השליחו השלחו2MP שלחתם נשלחתם שלחתם שלחתם השתלחתם השלחתם השלחתם2FP שלחתן נשלחתן שלחתן שלחתן השתלחתן השלחתן השלחתן1CP שלחנו נשלחנו שלחנו שלחנו השתלחנו השלחנו השלחנו
IMPF
3MS ישלח ישלח ישלח ישלח ישתלח ישליח ישלח3FS/2MS תשלח תשלח תשלח תשלח תשתלח תשליח תשלח2FS תשלחי תשלחי תשלחי תשלחי תשתלחי תשליחי תשלחי1CS אשלח אשלח אשלח אשלח אשתלח אשליח אשלח3MP ישלחו ישלחו ישלחו ישלחו ישתלחו ישליחו ישלחו3FP תשלחנה תשלחנה תשלחנה תשלחנה תשתלחנה תשלחנה תשלחנה2MP תשלחו תשלחו תשלחו תשלחו תשתלחו תשליחו תשלחו2FP תשלחנה תשלחנה תשלחנה תשלחנה תשתלחנה תשלחנה תשלחנה1CP נשלח נשלח נשלח נשלח נשתלח נשליח נשלח
III-Guttural: Representative FormsQAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PAST
3MS וישלח וישלח וישלח וישלח וישתלח וישלח וישלחJUSS
3MS ישלח ישלח ישלח ישלח ישתלח ישלח ישלח1CS אשלחה אשלחה אשלחה אשלחה אשתלחה אשליחה אשלחהIMV
MS שלח השלח שלח השתלח השלחFS שלחי השלחי שלחי השתלחי השליחי
MP שלחו השלחו שלחו השתלחו השליחוFP שלחנה השלחנה שלחנה השתלחנה השלחנה
INF שלח השלח שלח השתלח השליח ADV
INF שלוח נשלח שלח השתלח השלח השלח
Appendices A26PTCP
MS שלח נשלח משלח משלח משתלח משליח משלחFS שלחה נשלחה משלחה משלחה משתלחה משליחה משלחה
שלחת נשלחת משלחת משלחת משתלחת משלחת משלחתMP שלחים נשלחים משלחים משלחים משתלחים משליחים משלחיםFP שלחות נשלחות משלחות משלחות משתלחות משליחות משלחות
4. Introduction to Weak VerbsThe paradigms in lessons of this book use שרשים that have three regular con-sonants (i.e., no gutturals or glides). These are referred to as strong verbs.Hebrew, however, contains many more weak verbs than strong. Weak verbshave one or more “weak” (e.g., glide) consonants in the שרש that may affectthe form’s vowel pattern.
Weak verbs fall into one of four main classes (Roman numerals are used torefer to the position of the weak letter in the שרש):
● A שרש that begins or end with א: I-א, III-א
● A שרש that begins with נ: I-נ
● A שרש with ו or י (i.e., glides): I-י/ו, II-י/ו, III-ה (originally III-י/ו)
● A שרש with an identical consonant in second and third positions: II-III
This chart lists all the classes of weak verbs:Class Traditional Name Examples
I-א ʾPe Alef אמר
III-א ʾLamed Alef מצא
I-נ Pe Nun נפל
I-י/ו Pe Vav/Yod ישב ירש
III-ה ʾLamed He גלה
II-י/ו ʿAyin Vav/Yod קום שים
II-III ʿ ʿAyin Ayin סבב
Appendices A27
Weak Verbs Quick Reference Chart: Representative FormsSTRONG I-א III-א I-נ I-ו /י III-ה II-ו /י II-III
PERF 3MS שמר אמר מצא נגש ישב גלה קם סב
IMPF 3MS ישמר יאמר ימצא ויגש ישב יגלה יקום יסב
PAST 3MS וישמר ויאמר וימצא ויגש וישב ויגל ויקם ויסבIMV MS שמר אמר מצא גש שב גלה קום סב
INF שמר אמר מצא גשת שבת גלות קום סב
ADV INF שמור אמור מצוא נגוש ישוב גלה קום סבוב
PTCP MS שמר אמר מצא נגש ישב גלה קם סבב
4a. I-א VerbsThe majority of verbs that begin with א are classified as I-Guttural verbs andfollow that pattern.
Qal 3MS Imperfect (dynamic) אזר is יאזר
Qal 3MS Imperfect (stative) אהב is יאהב
However, five verbs are classified as I-א weak verbs because they have a uniquevocalization in the Qal Imperfect and Past Narrative conjugations. In all theother conjugations and בנינים these roots behave exactly as I-Gutturals.
The five שרשים that are I-א can be learned by a traditional mnemonic device:
’he said‘ אמר
’he was willing‘ אבה
’he ate‘ אכל
’he baked‘ אפה
’he perished‘ אבד
‘He said:
I am willing
to eat
what I bake
even if I perish!’
Appendices A28In the Qal Imperfect and Past Narrative conjugations the initial א in these fivebecomes quiescent; in other words, it loses its consonantal status. The שרשיםfollowing changes take place in these verb forms:
● An R2 בגד כפת lacks a דגש קל.
(יכתב compare) יאכל
● The prefix vowel becomes a (חולם).
(יאהב compare) יאכל
● The theme vowel (the vowel between R2 and R3) becomes (פתח)
(יאזר compare) יאכל
Note: The theme vowel also appears as (צרי) in pausal forms, as in יאכל, and as (סגול) in the Past Narrative of אמר as ויאמר.
● Often the R1 א is not written in the 1CS form.
אאכל* instead of אכל
Paradigm: אמר ‘say’ (also אבד ‘perish’ אבה ‘be willing’, אכל ‘eat’, and אפה ‘bake’)
IMPF 3MS IMPF 1CS PAST
QAL יאמר אמר ויאמר*These five behave שרשים differently only in the קל
Imperfect and Past Narrative; they conform toI-Guttural in other conjugations and בנינים.
4b. III-א VerbsA similar phenomenon takes place in III-א verbs as in I-א: the א becomes quies-cent. When the א becomes quiescent it cannot close a syllable.
* instead of מצאת מצאת
● The quiescent א cannot be vocalized with a שוא.
Appendices A29● A בגד כפת letter following the quiescent א never has a דגש קל.
● The vowel preceding the quiescent א lengthens.
Here are the other characteristics to note about the III-א verbs.
● .בנינים in the 3FP/2FP Imperfect in all א appears before (סגול)
Qal תמצאנה Nifal תמצאנה Piel תמצאנה Pual תמצאנה Hitpael תתמצאנהHifil תמצאנה Hofal תמצאנה
● Only Qal Perfect shows a distinction in vowel pattern between dynamicand stative.
Perfect מצא (dynamic) versus מלא (stative)
Imperfect ימצא (dynamic) like ימלא (stative)
● Nifal, Piel, and Hifil Perfect have a (צרי) theme vowel instead of a.before consonantal inflectional suffixes (פתח)
Nifal Piel Hifil2MS נמצאת מצאת המצאת2FS נמצאת מצאת המצאת1CS נמצאתי מצאתי המצאת2MP נמצאתם מצאתם המצאתם2FP נמצאתן מצאתן המצאתן1CP נמצאנו מצאנו המצאנו
● Hofal has a (קבוץ) instead of (קמץ חטוף) under the prefix.
המצא* instead of המצא
ימצא* instead of ימצא
Appendices A30Paradigm: מצא ‘find’
QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PERF
3MS מצא נמצא מצא מצא התמצא המציא המצא3FS מצאה נמצאה מצאה מצאה התמצאה המציאה המצאה2MS מצאת נמצאת מצאת מצאת התמצאת המצאת המצאת2FS מצאת נמצאת מצאת מצאת התמצאת המצאת המצאת1CS מצאתי נמצאתי מצאתי מצאתי התמצאתי המצאתי המצאתי3CP מצאו נמצאו מצאו מצאו התמצאו המצאו המצאו2MP מצאתם נמצאתם מצאתם מצאתם התמצאתם המצאתם המצאתם2FP מצאתן נמצאתן מצאתן מצאתן התמצאתן המצאתן המצאתן1CP מצאנו נמצאנו מצאנו מצאנו התמצאנו המצאנו המצאנו
IMPF
3MS ימצא ימצא ימצא ימצא יתמצא ימציא ימצא3FS/2MS תמצא תמצא תמצא ת מצא תתמצא תמציא תמצא2FS ת מצאי תמצאי תמצאי תמצאי תתמצאי תמציאי תמצאי1CS אמצא אמצא אמצא אמצא אתמצא אמציא אמצא3MP ימצאו ימצאו ימצאו ימצאו יתמצאו ימציאו ימצאו3FP/2FP ת מצאנה תמצאנה תמצאנה תמצאנה ת תמצאנה תמצאנה ת מצאנה2MP ת מצאו תמצאו תמצאו תמצאו ת תמצאו תמציאו תמצאו1CP נמצא נמצא נמצא נמצא נתמצא נמציא נמצא
III-א: Representative FormsQAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PAST 3MS וימצא וימצא וימצא וימצא ויתמצא וימצא וימצאJUSS 3MS ימצא ימצא ימצא ימצא יתמצא ימצא ימצא
1CS אמצאה אמצאה אמצאה אתמצאה אמציאה
Appendices A31IMV MS מצא המצא מצא התמצא המצא
FS מצאי המצאי מצאי התמצאי המציאיMP מצאו המצאו מצאו התמצאו המציאוFP מצאנה המצאנה מצאנה התמצאנה המצאנה
INF מצא המצא מצא מצא התמצא המציא המצא ADV INF מצוא נמצא מצא התמצא המצא
PTCP MS מצא נמצא ממצא ממצא מתמצא ממציא ממצאFS מצאה נמצאה ממצאה ממצאה מתמצאה ממציאה ממצאה
מצאת נמצאת ממצאת ממצאת מתמצאת ממצאת ממצאתMP מצאים נמצאים ממצאים ממצאים מתמצאים ממציאים ממצאיםFP מצאות נמצאות ממצאות ממצאות מתמצאות ממציאות ממצאות
4c. I-נ VerbI-נ weak verbs undergo two changes that make them weak:
#1 When the נ closes a syllable (i.e., it does not have a vowel and is precededby a verbal prefix), it assimilates to the following consonant, lengtheningit (i.e., the following consonant will have a דגש חזק).
Qal 3MS Imperfect יפל (instead of *ינפל)
Nifal 3MS Perfect נגש (instead of *ננגש)
Hifil MS Participle מגיש (instead of *מנגיש)
BUT, נ does not assimilate to gutturals ינהג
#2 When the נ occurs at the beginning of a form and it does not have avowel, it may undergo aphaeresis (i.e., the initial נ drops out). Aphaeresisonly occurs in the Qal Imperative and Infinitive.
Qal 2MS Imperative גש (instead of *נגש)
Appendices A32Qal Infinitive גשת, from * (נגש* instead of) ,גשת
Note: The דגש in the ג is a דגש קל, because the ג now stands at the beginning ofthe word. The Infinitive forms that undergo aphaeresis also add a ת to the end ofthe form.
BUT, the נ remains with a few שרשים:
Qal Infinitive/2MS Imperative נפל
נתן and לקח
The verb לקח follows the I-נ pattern:
#1 The ל assimilates (just like a נ would) to the ק.
Qal 3MS Imperfect יקח
Qal 3FS Imperfect תקח
#2 The ל undergoes aphaeresis in the imperative and infinitive forms.
Qal 2MS Imperative קח
Qal Infinitive קחתHowever, the ל does not assimilate in the Nifal.
Nifal 3MS Perfect נלקח
The verb נתן is not only a I-נ verb, it also has a נ as the final consonant of thedoes not have נתן in נ When inflectional endings are added and the final .שרש
a full vowel, it assimilates to the following consonant (just like the initial נ inthe same environment). This does not happen in other שרשים that end in נ.
Qal 2MS Perfect נתת (from * (נתנתQal 2FS Perfect נתת (from * (נתנתQal 1CS Perfect נתתי (from *נתנתי)Qal Infinitive תת (with suffixes, -ת (תנת* from ,ת
Appendices A33Paradigm: נפל ‘fall’, נגש ‘draw near’
QAL NIFAL PI/PU/HIT HIFIL HOFAL
PERF 3MS נפל נגש נגש הגיש הגש3FS נפלה נגשה נגשה הגישה הגשה2MS נפלת נגשת נגשת הגשת הגשת2FS נפלת נגשת נגשת R הגשת הגשת1CS נפלתי נגשתי נגשתי הגשתי הגשתי3CP נפלו נגשו נגשו E הגישו הגשו2MP נפלתם נגשתם נגשתם הגשתם הגשתם2FP נפלתן נגשתן נגשתן G הגשתן הגשתן1CP נפלנו נגשנו נגשנו הגשנו הגשנו
UIMPF 3MS יפל יגש ינגש יגיש יגש
3FS/2MS תפל תגש תנגש L תגיש תגש2FS תפלי תגשי תנגשי תגישי תגשי1CS אפל אגש אנגש A אגיש אגש3MP יפלו יגשו ינגשו יגישו יגשו3FP תפלנה תגשנה תנגשנה R תגשנה תגשנה2MP תפלו תגשו תנגשו תגישו תגשו2FP תפלנה תגשנה תנגשנה תגשנה תגשנה1CP נפל נגש ננגש נגיש נגש
I-נ: Representative FormsQAL NIFAL PI/PU/HIT HIFIL HOFAL
PAST 3MS ויפל ויגש וינגש R ויגש ויגשJUSS 3MS יפל יגש ינגש יגש יגש
1CS אפלה אגשה אנגשה E אגישה
Appendices A34IMV MS נפל גש הנגש הגש
FS נפלי גשי הנגשי G הגישיMP נפלו גשו הנגשו הגישוFP נפלנה גשנה הנגשנה U הגשנה
INF נפל גשת הנגש הגיש הגש ADV INF נפול נגוש הנגש L הגש הגש
PTCP MS נפל נגש נגש מגיש מגשFS נפלה נגשה נגשה A מגישה מגשה
נפלת נגשת נגשת מגשת מגשתMP נפלים נגשים נגשים R מגישים מגשיםFP נפלות נגשות נגשות מגישות מגשות
4d. I-י/ו VerbI-י/ו weak verbs undergo two changes:
#1 The ו or י contracts with the preceding vowel.
Qal 3MS Imperfect ישב (from *יישב)Qal 3MS Imperfect יירש (from *יירש)Hifil 3MS Perfect הושיב (from *הושיב)
Hofal 3MS Perfect הושב (from *הושב)
#2 The ו or י undergoes aphaeresis when it lacks a full vowel at thebeginning of the word (only in Qal Imperative and Infinitive of some.weak verbs נ-This is similar to the form of I .( ו-that are I שרשים
2MS Imperative שב, instead of *ישב
Infinitive שבת (from * ישב* instead of ,(שבת(Morphologically, the ת is a feminine ending—with no semantic value—that was added after the י underwent aphaeresis.)
Appendices A35BUT, ירא is an example of a שרש that retains the initial י in theImperative (ירא) and Infinitive (ירא).
There are three different types of I-י/ו weak verbs:
#1 Original I-ו verbs – these verbs originally began with ו.
The ו is replaced with a י in Qal, Piel, Pual, and Hitpael.
Qal 3MS Perfect ישב and Imperfect ישב
The original ו appears (as consonant or vowel marker) in Nifal, Hifil, andHofal.
Nifal 3MS Perfect נושב and Imperfect יושב
Hifil 3MS Perfect הושיב and Imperfect יושיב
Qal Prefix verbs of dynamic I-י/ו roots have an a-i pattern.
Dynamic (a-i) ישב from *יישב
Qal Prefix verbs of stative I-י/ו roots have an i-a pattern.
Stative (i-a) יירש from *יירש
#2 Original I-י verbs – these verbs originally began with י. The י appears inall forms (as a consonant or a vowel marker).
Qal 3MS Imperfect ייבש and Infinitive יבש
Hifil 3MS Perfect היטיב and 3MS Imperfect ייטיב
There are only seven I-י type שרשים (all have stative i-a Prefix pattern).
’HI ‘he chose/used the right arm ימן ’Q ‘it was dry יבש
’Q ‘he suckled ינק ’Q ‘he was good יטב
’Q ‘he awoke יקץ* ’HI ‘he howled ילל
’Q ‘it was straight, upright ישר
Appendices A36#3 I-צ-י verbs – these roots begin with –יצ and undergo changes like I-נ
weak verbs. The י assimilates into the צ when it closes a syllable (this issimilar to the assimilation of the נ in I-נ verbs).
Hifil 3MS Perfect הציב (from *היציב)
There are only six I-צ-י roots (all with stative i-a in the Prefix pattern).
’HIT ‘he stationed himself יצב ’Q ‘he poured יצק
’HI ‘he set, placed יצג ’Q ‘he formed, fashioned יצר
’HI ‘he spread, lay יצע Q ‘it kindled, burned יצת
The Verb הלךThe verb הלך follows the original I-ו pattern:
Qal 3MS Perfect הלך Hifil 3MS Perfect הוליךQal 3MS Imperfect ילך Hifil 3MS Imperfect יוליךQal 3MS Past Narrative וילךQal 2MS Imperative לךQal Infinitive לכת
Paradigm: ישב ‘sit’, ירש ‘possess’; יטב ‘be good’
QAL NIFAL
PI/PU/HIT HIFIL HOFAL QAL HIFIL
PERF 3MS ישב ירש נושב הושיב הושב יטב היטיב3FS ישבה ירשה נושבה הושיבה הושבה יטבה היטיבה2MS ישבת ירשת נושבת הושבת הושבת יטבת היטבת2FS ישבת ירשת נושבת R הושבת הושבת יטבת היטבת1CS ישבתי ירשתי נושבתי הושבתי הושבתי יטבתי היטבתי3CP ישבו ירשו נושבו E הושיבו הושבו יטבו היטיבו2MP ישבתם ירשתם נושבתם הושבתם הושבתם יטבתם היטבתם2FP ישבתן ירשתן נושבתן G הושבתן הושבתן יטבתן היטבתן1CP ישבנו ירשנו נושבנו הושבנו הושבנו יטבנו היטבנו
Appendices A37IMPF 3MS ישב יירש יושב U יושיב יושב ייטב ייטיב
3FS/2MS תשב תירש תושב תושיב תושב תיטב תיטיב2FS תשבי תירשי תושבי L תושיבי תושבי תיטבי תיטיבי1CS אשב אירש אושב אושיב אושב איטב איטיב3MP ישבו יירשו יושבו A יושיבו יושבו ייטבו ייטיבו3FP תשבנה תירשנה תושבנה תושבנה תושבנה תיטבנה תיטבנה2MP תשבו תירשו תושבו R תושיבו תושבו תיטבו תיטיבו2FP תשבנה תירשנה תושבנה תושבנה תושבנה תיטבנה תיטבנה1CP נשב נירש נושב נושיב נושב ניטב ניטיב
I-י/ו: Representative FormsQAL NIFAL PI/PU/HIT HIFIL HOFAL QAL HIFIL
PAST 3MS וישב וירש ויושב R וישב ויושב וייטב ויטבJUSS 3MS ישב יירש יושב יושב ייטב ייטב
1CS אשבה אירשה אושבה E אושיבה איטבה איטיבהIMV MS שב רש הושב הושב יטב היטב
FS שבי רשי הושבי G הושיבי יטבי היטיביMP שבו רשו הושבו הושיבו יטבו היטיבוFP שבנה רשנה הושבנה U הושבנה יטבנה היטבנה
INF שבת רשת הושב הושיב הושב יטב היטיב ADV INF ישוב ירוש הושב L הושב הושב יטוב היטב
PTCP MS ישב ירש נושב מושיב מושב יטב מיטיבFS ישבה ירשה נושבה A מושיבה מושבה יטבה מיטיבה
ישבת ירשת נושבת מושבת מושבת יטבת מיטבתMP ישבים ירשים נושבים R מושבים מושבים יטבים מיטיביםFP ישבות ירשות נושבות מושבות מושבות יטבות מיטיבות
Appendices A38
4e. III-ה VerbMost III-ה weak verbs originally ended with י (or ו). The ה in the 3MS Perfectform is only a vowel letter marking the long final vowel. This vowel letter wasadded after the final י or ו was lost. The original R3 י or ו shows up only rarely.
Qal Passive Participle (פקוד) exhibits the original י :
’uncovered‘ גלוי
Qal 3MS Perfect of some verbs shows the original ו :
’he was at ease‘ שלו
Note: the few שרשים that actually have a ה as their original R3 have a מפיק inthe ה, i.e., ה. This signifies that the ה is a consonant rather than a vowel letter:
’it was high/lofty/tall‘ גבה
● All forms without an inflectional suffix end in ה (except the Infinitive,which has ות-):
Perfect – 3MS גלה Infinitive – גלותImperfect – 3MS יגלה Adverbial Infinitive – גלהImperative – 2MS גלה Participle – MS גלה; MS נסמך FORM גלה
● Forms with a vocalic inflectional suffix or a enclitic pronouns with alinking vowel drop the R3 ה:
Qal Perfect 3CP גלוQal Perfect 3MS + 1CS suffix גלני
● In all forms with a consonantal suffix, the R3 contracts:
1) into י in the active בנינים (Qal, Piel, Hitpael, and Hifil).
Qal Perfect 2MS גלית2) into י in the passive בנינים (Nifal, Pual, and Hofal).
Nifal Perfect 2MS נגלית
Appendices A393) into י in Prefix verb 3FP/2FP in all בנינים.
Qal Imperfect 3FP/2FP תגלינה● In Past and Jussive forms without an inflectional suffix, the R3 ה drops.
’he uncovered‘ ויגל let him uncover’ and‘ יגל
Paradigm: גלה ‘reveal’QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PERF 3MS גלה נגלה גלה גלה התגלה הגלה הגלה3FS גלתה נגלתה גלתה גלתה התגלתה הגלתה הגלתה2MS גלית נגלית גלית גלית התגלית הגלית הגלית2FS גלית נגלית גל ית גלית התגלית הגלית הגלית1CS גליתי נגליתי גליתי גליתי התגליתי הגליתי הגליתי3CP גלו נגלו גלו גלו התגלו הגלו הגלו2MP גליתם נגליתם גל יתם גליתם התגליתם הגליתם הגליתם2FP גליתן נגליתן גליתן גליתן התגליתן הגליתן הגליתן1CP גלינו נגלינו גלינו גלינו התגלינו הגלינו הגלינו
IMPF 3MS יגלה יגלה יגלה יגלה יתגלה יגלה יגלה3FS/2MS תגלה תגלה תגלה תגלה תתגלה תגלה תגלה
2FS תגלי תגלי תגלי תגלי תתג ל י תגלי תגלי1CS אגלה אגלה אגלה אגלה אתגלה אגלה אגלה3MP יגלו יגלו יגלו יגלו יתגלו יגלו יגלו3FP תגלינה תגלינה תגלינה תגלינה תתגל ינה תגלינה תגלינה2MP תגלו תגלו תגלו תגלו תתגלו תגלו תגלו2FP תגלינה תגלינה תגלינה תגלינה תתגל ינה תגלינה תגלינה1CP נגלה נגלה נגלה נגלה נתגלה נגלה נגלה
Appendices A40III-ה: Representative Forms
QAL NIFAL PIEL PUAL HITPAEL HIFIL HOFAL
PAST 3MS ויגל ויגל ויגל ויתגל ויגלJUSS 3MS יגל יגל יגל יתגל יגל
1CSNO DISTINCT 1CS JUSSIVE FORM – IDENTICAL WITH 1CS IMPERFECT
IMV MS גלה הגלה גל ה התגלה הגלהFS גלי הגלי גלי התגלי הגלי
MP גלו הגלו גלו התגלו הגלוFP גלינה הגלינה גלינה התגלינה הגלינה
INF גלות הגלות גלות גלות התגלות הגלות הגלות ADV INF גלה נגלה גלה גלה התגלה הגלה הגלה
PTCP MSA גלה נגלה מגלה מגלה מתגלה מגלה מגלהFSA גלה נגלה מגלה מגלה מתגלה מגלה מגלה
MPA גלים נגלים מגלים מגלים מתגלים מגלים מגליםFPA גלות נגלות מגלות מגלות מתגלות מגלות מגלות
4f. II-י/ו VerbII-י/ו weak verbs have a ו or י as R2. They are classified as weak verbs becausethe ו or י undergoes one of two changes:
#1 elides (i.e., drops out)
Qal 3MS Perfect/MS Participle קם בא שם
#2 contracts with a preceding or following vowel—the ו or י in these forms ismerely a vowel letter, not a remnant of the original ו orי consonant.
Qal 3MS Imperfect יקום יבוא ישים
Note: several common שרשים retain their R2 ו or י as a consonant (and thus the וor י does not disappear or contract).
Appendices A41’he waited‘ קוה ;’he is alive‘ חיה ;’he is‘ היה
L exicon Tip #1: The II-י/ו weak verbs are listed in your lexicons by theirInfinite form because this form (unlike the 3MS Perfect as in other verbs) betterreflects the three consonants of these weak שרשים.
Lexicon Tip #2: A few שרשים are listed as both II-ו and II-י because they ex-hibit two infinitive forms: an R2 ו and an R2 י.
שים and שום
לין and לון
Though theseשרשים should be classified as II-י forms, some older lexicons listthem as II-ו.
● Some שרשים exhibit a distinction between dynamic and stative patternsin the Qal.
(stative) מת versus (dynamic) קם
● Instead of Piel, Pual, and Hitpael, most שרשים that are II-י/ו roots havePolel, Polal, and Hitpolel בנינים.
קומם קומם התקומם but Piel צוה and Pual צוה
● Linking vowels often connect the שרש to the consonantal inflectionalsuffixes: ו in Nifal and Hifil Perfect, י in Qal and Hifil Imperfect.
Nifal 2MS Perfect נקומותHifil 2MS Perfect הקימותQal 3FP/2FP Imperfect תקומינהHifil 3fp/2fp Imperfect תקימינה (sometimes תקמנה)
Appendices A42Paradigm: קום ‘arise’, מות ‘die’, שים ‘set’
QAL II-ו QAL STATIVE QAL II-י NIFAL POLEL HIFIL HOFAL
PERF 3MS קם מת שם נקום קומם הקים הוקם3FS קמה מתה שמה נקומה קוממה הקימה הוקמה2MS קמת מתה שמת נקומות קוממת הקימות הוקמת2FS קמת מת שמת נקומות קוממת הקימות הוקמת1CS קמתי מתי שמתי נקומותי קוממתי הקימותי הוקמת י3CP קמו מתו שמו נקומו קוממו הקימו הוקמו2MP קמתם מתם שמתם נקומותם קוממתם הקימותם הוקמתם2FP קמתן מתן שמתן נקומותן קוממתן הקימותן הוקמתן1CP קמנו מתנו שמנו נקומונו קוממנו הקימונו הוקמנו
IMPF 3MS יקום ימות ישים יקום יקומם יקים יוקם3FS/2MS תקום תמות תשים תקום תקומם תקים תוקם
2FS תקומי תמותי תשימי תקומי תקוממי תקימי תוקמי1CS אקום אמות אשים אקום אקומם אקים אוקם3MP יקומו ימותו ישימו יקומו יקוממו יקימו יוקמו
3FP תקומינה תמותינה תשימינה תקומנה תקוממנהתקמנהתקימנה תוקמנה
2MP תקומו תמותו תשימו תקומו תקוממו תקימו תוקמו
2FP תקומינה תמותינה תשימינה תקומנה תקוממנהתקמנהתקימנה תוקמנה
1CP נקום נמות נשים נקום נקומם נקים נוקם
Appendices A43II-י/ו: Representative Forms
QAL II-ו QAL STATIVE QAL II-י NIFAL POLEL HIFIL HOFAL
PAST 3MS ויקם וימת וישם ויקום ויקומם ויקם ויוקםJUSS 3MS יקם ימת ישם יקום יקומם יקם
1CS אקומה אמותה אשימה אקומה אקוממה אקימהIMV MS קום מות שים הקום קומם הקם
FS קומי מותי שימי הקומי קוממי הקימיMP קומו מותו שימו הקומו קוממו הקימוFP קמנה מתנה שמנה הקומנה קוממנה הקמנה
INF קום מות שים הקום קומם הקים הוקם ADV INF קום מות שום הקום קומם הקם הוקם
PTCP MS קם מת שם נקום מקומם מקים מוקםFS קמה מתה שמה נקומה מקוממה מקימה מוקמה
MP קמים מתים שמים נקומים מקוממים מקימים מוקמיםFP קמות מתות שמות נקומות מקוממות מקימות מוקמות
4g. II-III VerbII-III weak verbs are roots with identical second (R2) and third (R3) root letters.They have the following characteristics:
● The identical root letters may assimilate.
Qal 3CP Perfect סבו or סבבוNote: When the lengthened (from assimilation) consonant is at the end of theword, the דגש חזק drops out.
Qal 3MS Perfect סב (from *סב)
Sometimes instead of R2 assimilating forward into R3, it assimilatesback to R1.
Qal 3MP Imperfect יסבו but also יסבו
Appendices A44● Instead of Piel, Pual, and Hitpael, most II-III weak verbs have Po‘el, Po‘al,
and Hitpo‘el.
Po‘el סובב BUT Piel קלל
● Linking vowels often appear before consonantal inflectional suffixes insome forms: Qal, Nifal, Hifil, and Hofal Suffix patterns have ו, and Qal,Nifal, Hifil, and Hofal Prefix patterns have י .
2MS PERF: Q סבות NI נסבות HI הסבות2/3FP IMPF: Q תסבינה NI תסבינה HI תסבינהFP IMV: Q סבינה NI הסבינה HI הסבינה
Paradigm: סבב ‘surround’, קל ‘be slight’QAL DYNAMIC QAL STATIVE NIFAL POEL HIFIL HOFAL
PERF
3MS סבב / סב קל נסב סובב הסב הוסב3FS סבה / סבבה קלה נסבה סובבה הסבה הוסבה2MS סבות קלות נסבות סובבת הסבות הוסבות2FS סבות קלות נסבות סובבת הסבות הוסבות1CS סבותי קלותי נסבותי סובבתי הסבותי הוסבותי3CP סבו / סבבו קלו נסבו סובבו הסבו הוסבו2MP סבותם קלותם נסבותם סובבתם הסבותם הוסבותם2FP סבותן קלותן נסבותן סובבתן הסבותן הוסבותן1CP סבונו קלונו נסבונו סובבנו הסבונו הוסבונו
IMPF
3MS יסב/ יסב יקל יסב יסובב יסב יוסב / יסב3FS/2MS תסב / תסב תקל תסב תסובב תסב תוסב
2FS תסבי / תסבי תקלי תסבי תסובבי תסבי תוסבי1CS אסב / אסב אקל אסב אסובב אסב אוסב
Appendices A453MP יסבו / יסבו יקלו יסבו יסובבו יסבו יוסבו3FP תסבנה / תסבינה תקלינה תסבינה תסובבנה תסבינה תוסבינה2MP תסבו/ תסבו תקלו תסבו תסובבו תסבו תוסבו2FP תסבנה / תסבינה תקלינה תסבינה תסובבנה תסבינה תוסבינה1CP נסב / נסב נקל נסב נסובב נסב נוסב
II-III: Representative FormsQAL DYNAMIC QAL STATIVE NIFAL POEL HIFIL HOFAL
PAST 3MS ויסב ויקל ויסב ויסובב ויסב ויוסבJUSS 3MS יסב יקל יסב יסובב יסב יוסב
1CS אסבה אקלה אסבה אסובבה אסבהIMV MS סב הסב סובב הסב
FS סבי הסבי סובבי הסביMP סבו הסבו סובבו הסבוFP סבינה הסבינה סובבנה הסיבנה
INF סב קל הסב סובב הסב הוסב ADV INF סבוב קלול הסוב סובב הסב הוסב
PTCP MS סבב קל נסב מסובב מסב מוסבFS סבבה קלה נסבה מסובבה מסבה מוסבה
MP סבבים קלים נסבים מסובבים מסבים מוסביםFP סבבות קלות נסבות מסובבות מסבות מוסבות
4h. Doubly-Weak VerbsAt this point, you have studied all of the major categories of weak שרשים inBiblical Hebrew. However, many verb contain more than one weak שרשים consonant. Thus, such שרשים are referred to as “doubly-weak.” This is the fi-nal category of weak שרשים that you will study. Below are listed some com-mon doubly-weak שרשים:
Appendices A46אבה I-א, III-הירה I-י/ו, III-ה יצא I-י/ו, III-א נשא I-נ, III-א
ה-III ,נ-I נטהא-III ,י/ו-II בואה-III ,י/ו-II היה
Although most of these are still שרשים relatively simple to identify, otherbecome more difficult to identify since it is possible that up to two of שרשיםtheir three שרשים consonants may not be apparent, as in the verb ויך.
The key to correctly identifying and parsing these doubly weak verbs is to use athree step process of elimination.
STEP 1 : Identify what parts of the verb form are inflectional affixes andwhat parts are remnants of the שרש.
are clearly inflectional affixes for the Past Narrative י and ו the :ויךconjugation; thus ך is the only remaining consonant from the שרש ofthis verb.
STEP 2 : Rule out which weak consonants cannot be part of the verbal שרש,or vice versa, and identify which weak consonants can account for what isleft of the verbal שרש in the verb form.
left, the other two שרש Since we have only one consonant of the :ךconsonants must be ones that disappear in some way.
• Of the weak consonants (the gutturals, נ ,ו, and י), only ה ,ו, and י elide, and נassimilates. Hence, the remaining consonants of this verb’s cannot be שרש .ר or ,א , ח ,ע
• so we can rule ,(נתן except in) שרש only assimilates at the beginning of a נout a שרש that ends in נ.
• .ה beginning with שרש so we rule out a ,שרש only elides at the end of a ה
• and ו verbs; however, these weak verbs never have a י/ו-often elide in II י final which elides or an initial ה which assimilates. Thus we can conclude נ that this verb is not a II-י/ו.
Appendices A47For the verb ויך we are left with two logical possibilities after the first twosteps: the שרש is either נכה or יכה.
STEP 3 : Use your lexicon to identify which of your logical שרשים actuallyexists in the Hebrew Bible. If both exist, then scan through the existingforms in each שרש to aid you in identifying which is your verb’s שרש.
In the case of ויך the the lexicon should tell you that יכה as a שרש does notexist. Therefore, the שרש for this verb is נכה HI ‘smite, strike’.
(וינכה* from) נכה√ Hifil 3MS Past :ויך
Appendix DUsing a Lexicon
At this point in your study of Herew, you should begin to transition from usingour glossary to using a full-scale lexicon (pl. lexica).
Unlike dictionaries, which provide definitions of words and rules of usage, lex-ica provide glosses from one language to another. In addition, lexica for ancientlanguages often provide attested forms of words as well as examples takenfrom ancient texts.
In this section, you will first be introduced to the basic steps for using thedated but affordable and still standard lexicon for Biblical Hebrew, A Hebrewand English Lexicon of the Old Testament, edited by Brown, Driver, and Briggs(BDB). Following this discussion are sample pages from this lexicon with side-bar notes explaining the layout of the entries.
Following the introduction to BDB is a discussion of two newer lexica: The Con-cise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, edited by Clines (CDCH), and The Hebrew andAramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, edited by Koehler, Baumgartner, andRichardson (HALOT).
Basic Principles for using BDB:Step 1: Identify the three-letter שרש and look it up in the lexicon.
Step 2a: If the word is a verb, identify the בנין (see the Parsing Flow Chart inthe Appendix F for help).
Step 2b: If multiple meanings are listed for the ,בנין determine whichmeaning best fits the context for your passage. The lexicon may referencethe verse on which you are working; this is the editors’ opinion of whichmeaning best suits the passage.
Step 3a: If the word is a noun, look for its entry after the entry for theverbal שרש.
Step 3b: Same as Step 2b.
Appendices A49How to Read a BDB Entry, Part 1: Verbs1. Running headers provide the first and last words included on each page.
2. Verbs are listed in 3MS Perfect form.
3. The most common meanings are given in bold.
4. In parentheses are attestations and basic meanings of the root in other Semitic languages.
5. Entries are arranged by בנין as follows: Qal, Niph., Pi., Pu., Hithp., Hiph., Hoph.
6. A partial listing of conjugated forms is provided for each בנין.
7. Multiple meanings are given in outline form–I.1.a.–with italicized glosses.
Appendices A50How to Read a BDB Entry, Part 2: Nouns1. Running headers provide
the first and last wordsincluded on each page.
2. Nouns are listed after therelated verbal root, evenif they do not begin withthe first consonant of theNote .מזבח like ,שרש
that such nouns are alsoconveniently listedalphabetically withdirection to go to the שרשentry for the meaning.
3. Identification as noun(n.) and gender (m. or f.)follow the form.
4. Then the most commonmeanings are listed inbold.
5. In parentheses areattestations and basicmeanings of the root inother Semitic languages.
6. A partial listing ofdeclined forms is given.
7. Multiple meanings arearranged in outline form—2.a.—with italicizedglosses.
While BDB remains a standard lexicon, especially for students, because of thepedagogical value of its root-based layout and extensive citation and transla-tion of biblical forms and verses, two new lexica are increasingly preferred bymany students and teachers: The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, edited byClines (CDCH), and The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, edited byKoehler, Baumgartner, and Richardson (HALOT). These two lexica not only
Appendices A51represent the latest scholarship in Hebrew lexicography (‘dictionary writing’),they have both been is-sued in reasonably af-fordable studenteditions.
CDCH and HALOT differfrom BDB in importantways. HALOT and CDCHinclude much of thesame information(glossed meanings, list-ing of representative in-flected forms), but bothadd information fromnon-biblical Hebrewtexts, from early in-scriptions to the DeadSea Scrolls, that themuch older BDB did nothave access to. Interest-ingly, HALOT includesreference to the non-biblical texts only whenthe is שרש biblical—itdoes not list non-biblic-al words when they donot also occur in theBible. CDCH, in contrast,adds entries for wordsfound in non-biblicaltexts but not in biblicaltexts.
Another difference between the two is that while HALOT follows BDB by includ-ing attested cognates from other Semitic languages (including Ugaritic, whichhad not been discovered when BDB was written) as well as speculations aboutmany words’ etymologies, CDCH lacks cognate and etymological information.
Appendices A52For the student, perhaps the most noticeable difference between BDB, on theone hand, and HALOT and CDCH, on the other hand, is layout. While BDB listsall the forms of a word under the שרש, as the entries above illustrate, HALOTand CDCH list words alphabetically. For example, you can see in the CDCH entryfor זבח and מזבח below, the noun מזבח is listed with other מ words (insteadof in the ז entry, as it in BDB).
Basic Principles for using HALOT and CDCH:Step 1a: If the word is a verb, identify its שרש, look it up in the lexicon.
Step 1b: Then identify the בנין (see the Parsing Flow Chart in the Appendix Ffor help). If multiple meanings are listed for the ,בנין determine whichmeaning best fits the context for your passage. The lexicon may referencethe verse on which you are working; this is the editors’ opinion of whichmeaning best suits the passage.
Step 2a: If the word is a noun, look for its entry alphabetically.
Step 2b: If multiple meanings are listed for the word, determine whichmeaning best fits the context for your passage. The lexicon may referencethe verse on which you are working; this is the editors’ opinion of whichmeaning best suits the passage.
Appendices A53How to Read a CDCH Entry, Part 1: Verbs -- זבח1. A single running header
identifies the first wordincluded on each page.
2. Verbs are listed byconsonants only, novowels (in contrast toBDB, which lists verbsby the 3ms Perfectform).
3. Entries are arranged by,as follows: Qal בניןNi., Pi., Pu., Hi., Ho.,Htp.
4. Representative inflectedforms follow each בניןlabel.
5. Multiple meanings aregiven in outline form—1a.—with bold glosses.
Appendices A54How to Read a CDCH Entry, Part 2: Nouns -- מזבח 1. A single running header
identifies the first wordincluded on each page.
2. Nouns are listed withtheir singular, non-bound (סומך) formalphabetically (incontrast to BDB, whichlists all nouns,regardless of spelling,with their שרש).
3. Identification as noun(n.) and gender (m. orf.) follow the form.
4. A partial listing ofdeclined forms is given.
5. Meanings are given inoutline form—1a. (ifmultiple meaningsexist) —with boldglosses for primarymeanings and italicizedcontextually nuancedmeanings.
Appendices A55
Appendix ETerminology
Many reference works on Hebrew (lexica and grammars) employ the tradition-al Latin-based grammatical terms to describe Hebrew. In order to facilitate us-ing such resources, the following list provides equivalencies between theterminology of this grammar and the traditional Latin-based terminology.
Term in this grammar Traditional term
Vowel letterדגש קלדגש חזק
גנובהפתח סמיכותנסמךסומך
InfinitiveAdverbial InfinitiveEnclitic pronounsProclitic PrepositionsPast NarrativeIrreal Perfect
שרשSubject Pronounsבנין/בניניםFirst-person Jussive
Mater lectionis (‘mother of reading’)Dagesh leneDagesh forteFurtive patachConstruct relationshipConstruct formAbsolute formInfinitive ConstructInfinitive AbsoluteSuffixed pronounsInseparable PrepositionsWaw-Consecutive ImperfectWaw-Consecutive Perfect(Triconsonantal) rootIndependent PronounsStem(s)Cohortative
Hebrew-English GlossaryConventionsVerbs are listed alphabetically by the Perfect 3MS forms for each בנינים in which they occur.In addition, a list of all the בנינים for each verb appears for the קל Perfect 3MS form, or theunvocalized שרש if it does not occur in קל. The L and R numbers after the gloss refer to thelesson and reading number, respectively, in which the word appears as a vocabulary item.
AbbreviationsADJ adjectiveADV adverbC common (gender)COLL collectiveCOMP complementizerCOND conditionalCONJ conjunctionDEM demonstrative pronounDET determiner/articleDU dualENCL encliticEXST existential
F feminineHI HifilHIT HitpaelHO HofalIMPV imperativeINF infinitiveINTJ interjectionINTER interrogativeLOC locativeM masculineNI NifalNIS bound/clitic form/נסמך
NOUN nounNUM numeralPASS passivePI PielP pluralPN proper nounPREP prepositionPRON independent pronounPTCP participlePU PualQ QalS singularVB verb
א
PNOUN M father L7, R1אבות אב ;
VB Q perish; PI, HI destroy אבד
VB PI destroy אבד
VB Q be willing, consent אבה
PN Abimelech אבימלך
PN Abelאבל
CONJ but אבל
VB Q, HIT mourn אבל
NOUN M mourning R13 אבל
ADJ M mourning R10 אבל
P NISNOUN F stoneאבני ,Pאבנים אבן ;
Hebrew-English Glossary G2
PN Abraham אברהם
PN Abram אברם
PN Absalom אבשלום
PN Edom אדום
NOUN M man, humankind; PN Adam R1, 8 אדם
PNOUN F ground, land L7, R8אדמות ;NISאדמת אדמה,
P NISNOUN M master, lord L4אדני ; P; אדנים NISאדון אדון,
PN (EPITHET) the Lord L4 אדני
PN Adonijah אדניהו
VB Q love R4 אהב, אהב
P NIS NOUN M tent L20, אהלי Pאהלים אהל;
PN Aaron אהרון
CONJ or או
CONJ but אולם
P NIS NOUN M treasure, store; treasury, storehouse, אצרות P ; אוצרות NIS אוצר אוצר;
PNOUN M light L24 אוריםאור;
VB Q be(come) light; H give light, shine, make shine אור
PNOUN M/F sign R11אותות אות;
VB NI consent, agree [אות]
NISNOUN F ear L10, אזני DU אזנים אזן;
VB Q gird, equip אזר
P NIS NOUN M brother L10, R4אחי , P ;אחים NIS אחיאח,
FNUM one, each one R5אחת ,אחד
NISNOUN F landed property R12אחזה, אחזת
VB Q seize, grasp, hold on to אחז
Hebrew-English Glossary G3
NOUN F sister L10 [אחיות]P אחת; NIS, אחות
PREP, ADV, CONJ behind, after L30, 32 אחר, אחרי
FADJ another אחרת אחר,
מזה־ INTE where?; from where? L14 אי; אי
NOUN M (= Q PTCP) enemy אויב
NOUN F enmity, personal hostility איבה
INTER where?איה
ADV how; INTJ How? L14 איך
P NISNOUN M ram R1אילי , P אילים ;NISאיל , איל
EXST ADV there is/are not L12 אין ,אין־
INTER where? L14אין
INTER where? L14איפה
P NISNOUN M man L6, R1אנשי ,Pאיש ;אנשים
ADV only, surely אך
VB Q eat L18, R5 אכל
NOUN F food, eating R11 אכלה
PREP to, towards אל־
ADV not (with commands) R6 אל
NOUN M god, God, mighty one אל
CP DEM these אלה
NOUN M God; gods L4 אלהים
PN Elimelech אלימלך
VB PI bind (a sheaf) R10אלם
P NISNOUN F sheaf אלמות;NISאלמת , אלמה
P NISNOUN M (only P) thousand, clan; cattle, אלפי P; אלפים אלף
Hebrew-English Glossary G4
COND if; also marks alternative condition, i.e., or אם
PNOUN F mother L7, R1אם; אמות
P NISNOUN F maid, handmaid, אמהותP; אמהות NIS, אמת אמה
P NISNOUN F cubit; אמותNIS, אמת אמה
VB Q support; HI believe אמן
VB Q be strong, bold; PI strengthen (something); HIT make oneself bold, obstinate אמץ
VB PI strengthen (something(אמץ
VB Q say אמר
P NIS NOUN M speech, word, אמרי P; אמרים אמר
NOUN F truth, faithfulness אמת
?INTER where?, to whereאנה
!INTJ ah!, nowאנה ,אנא
PRON 1CP we אנחנו ,נחנו
PRON 1CS I אני ,אנכי
PN Asa אסא
VB Q gather, remove אסף
ADV also, even, moreover אף
P NISNOUN M nose, face, anger, אפי P; אפים אף
!CONJ furthermore; how much moreאף כי
VB Q bake אפה
VB Q be at an end, be no moreאפס
PN Ephraimאפרים
NOUN M proximity; PREP beside אצל
PNUM four; P forty; ארבעים Fארבע; ארבעה
ADJ/SUBST four-fold ארבעתים
Hebrew-English Glossary G5
NOUN M chest, ark ארון
Q PASS PTC cursed R8 ארור
P NISNOUN M way, path, ארחות P; ארחות ארח
NOUN M length ארך
VB Q be long; HI prolong, lengthenארך
PN Aramארם
P NISNOUN F earth, land L9, R6, ארצות P; ארצות ארץ
VB Q, PI curse ארר
VB PI curse ארר
PN Ararat אררט
NOUN M, F fire R3 אש
P NISNOUN F woman, wife L6, R1, נשי Pנשים ;NIS, אשת אשה
PN Assyria אשור
NOUN M guilt (offering)אשם
CONJ that, which, who; COMP that L30, R3 אשר
W. ENCL PRONdirect object marker L15את ,את; אתי ־
W. ENCL PRONPREP with אתיאת ,את; ־
PRON 2MS you L5 אתה
PRON 2FS you L5 את
PRON 2MP you L11 אתם
PRON 2FP you L11אתן ,אתנה
ב
PREP in, at, with, by L13 ב
NOUN M well, cistern, pit באר
PN Beershebaבאר שבע
Hebrew-English Glossary G6
PN Babylon בבל
P NISNOUN M garment L35, R10 בגדי ,Pבגדים ,בגד
NOUN M solitude (with ,לseeלבד(בד
VB HI divide, separate [בדל]
NOUN M emptiness R11בהו
P NISNOUN F cattle R1, בהמות P; בהמות NIS, בהמת בהמה
VB Q come, enter; HI bring, make enter L26, R6 בוא
PNOUN M well, cistern, pit r1; בארות בור
VB Q be ashamed בוש
VB Q choose בחר
VB Q trust בטח
PREP not yet, before ב + טרם)( בטרם
PREP (only NIS) between L26 בין
VB Q perceive, observe, have insight; HI understand, give understanding, teach בין
PNOUN F understanding ; בינותNIS, בינת בינה
P NISNOUN M house L8, R1 בתי, Pבתים ;NIS, בית בית
אל־ PN Bethel בית
לחם־ PN Bethlehem בית
VB Q weep, bewail; PI lament R10 בכה
VB PI lament בכה
NOUN M first-bornבכור
NOUN F formal weeping R13בכית
PN Bilhah בלהה
NOUN M secrecy ב + לאט)(לט בלאט ,ב
PN Balak בלק
Hebrew-English Glossary G7
ADV not, except בלתי, לבלתי
P NOUN F high-placeבמות במה;
INTER how? L14במה, במה
P NISNOUN M son L7, R1בני , Pבנים ; NIS, בן ־בן
שנה־ IDIOM. X years old בן
VB Q build R3 בנה
PN Benjamin בנימין
PREP, CONJ for the sake of, on account of, in order that(ב + עבור) R8בעבור
NISPREP behind, on behalf of, away fromבעד בעד;
PN Boaz בעז
P NISNOUN M owner, lord, husband; Baal R7, בעלי P; בעלים בעל
NOUN M (unlawful) profit, gain R10בצע
NOUN M dough בצק
VB Q split, cleave בקע
VB PI split, cleave בקע
PNOUN F valley, plain; בקעות NIS, בקעת בקעה
PNOUN M cattle, herd, ox R12 בקרים ;NIS, בקר בקר
PNOUN M morning R6, בקרים בקר
VB PI seek R10 בקש
NOUN M corn בר
VB Q create L24 ברא
VB Q flee L39 ברח
NOUN F covenant L7 ברית
VB PI bless; PU, NI be blessed L29, R9 ברך
DU NISNOUN M knee R13 ברכי; DUברך; ברכים
Hebrew-English Glossary G8
P NISNOUN F blessing R13, ברכות P; ברכות NISברכה, ברכת
PNOUN M flesh R10; בשרים NIS, בשר בשר
VB PI boil בשל
PNOUN F daughter L7, R1בת, בנות
שבע־ PN Bathsheba בת
PREP M (only NIS) in the middle of ב + תוך)( בתוך
ג
VB Q redeem, act as a kinsman גאל
NOUN M (= Q PTCP) kinsman-redeemer, close relative גאל
VB Q be high, lofty, tall; HI make high גבה
NOUN M border, territory גבול
MP NISADJ great L32; גדלי FP, גדולות MP; גדולים Fגדול, גדולה
VB Q be great; PI make great, grow גדל ,גדל
NOUN M greatness, magnificence גדל
PN Gideon גדעון
P NISNOUN M nation, people L32, גויי Pגיים גוי;
PNOUN F body, corpse R12; גויות NISגויה, גוית
VB Q pass away, perish R13גוע
VB Q to sojourn, abide R12 גור
NOUN M belly (of reptiles)גחון
VB Q uncover, reveal גלה
PN Gileadגלעד
ADV also, even L28 גם
VB Q to wean; to do or show R13גמל
P NISNOUN M camel R1, גמלי P; גמלים NIS, גמל גמל
Hebrew-English Glossary G9
PNOUN M garden R2, גנים גן
VB Q steal; NI be stolen; PI steal away; PU be stolen away; HIT go by stealth גנב
NOUN F stolen item גנבה
VB Q rebuke, speak insultingly to someone R7 גער
NOUN M resident alien, stranger גר
NOUN FP neck גרגרות
NOUN M threshing floor R13 גרן
PN Gerar גרר
VB Q cast out, thrust out; PI drive out, away גרש
PN Goshenגשן
ד
VB Q be anxious, worry דאג
NOUN F report, rumor דבה
VB Q cling, cleave, keep close דבק
P NISNOUN M word, thing L5, R4, דברי P; דברים NISדבר דבר,
VB PI speak L15, R7 דבר
NOUN M pestilence, plague דבר
NOUN M honey דבש
FNOUN M fish R11דג, דגה
PN Davidדוד
NOUN M generation דור
VB Q draw (water(דלה
P NISNOUN F door R1 דלתות , Pדלתות ; דלת
P NISNOUN M blood, P bloodguilt L23, R10, דמי P; דמים NIS, דם דם
VB Q be like, resemble דמה
Hebrew-English Glossary G10
NOUN F likeness R11 דמות
PN Dan דן
NOUN F/M knowledge R8 דעת
NOUN M thistles דרדר
P NISNOUN M/F way, road L16, R5, דרכי P; דרכים דרך
VB Q tread, march, walk דרך
VB Q seek L23 דרש
VB Q be green; H cause to sprout דשא
NOUN M grass R11 דשא
PN Dothan דתן
ה
DET the L8 •ה
INTER marker for “yes” and “no” question L8 ה
ADV to, toward (attached to nouns) R7 ה
INTJ behold, see! R12הא
VB HI destroy(אבד) האביד
PN Atadהאטד
VB HI give light, shine, make shine )אור (R11 האיר
VB HI believe) אמן (האמין
VB HI prolong, lengthen )ארך ( האריך
VB HI bring, make enter) בוא( L36, R7 הביא
VB HI divide, separate (בדל) R11הבדיל
VB HI understand, give understanding, teach (בין) הבין
VB HI look, gaze הביט
PN Abel הבל
Hebrew-English Glossary G11
VB HI declare(נגד) R5 הגיד
PN Hagar הגר
VB H cause to sprout(דשא) R11 הדשיא
MS PRON he; DEM that L5 הוא
HI multiply, do again, continue(יסף) R7 הוסיף
VB H bring forth(יצא) R11 הוציא
VB H bring down, cause to descend(ירד) R7 הוריד
VB H settle, set, cause to sit, inhabit(ישב) R12 הושיב
VB HI produce seed(זרע) R11 הזריע
H keep alive, let live, revive(חיה) R12 החיה
VB HI turn, incline (something((נכה) הטה
FS PRON she; DEM that L5 היא
VB Q become, be L6 היה
VB HI smite, strike(נכה) R10הכה
VB HI recognize, regardנכר) ( R10 הכיר
P NISNOUN M palace, temple, היכלי P, היכלות NISהיכל היכל,
VB HI clothe(לבש) L35, R10 לבישה
VB Q walk, go L16, R3הלך
VB PI praise הלל
MP PRON they; DEM those L11 הם ,המה
NOUN M multitude, crowd המון
VB H kill) מות( R7 המית
INTJ behold, see! R8הן
FP PRON they; DEM those L11 הן ,הנה
ADV here הנה
Hebrew-English Glossary G12
INTJ behold, see! L22, R3 הנה
VB HI cause to rest, make quiet; set down; let remain, leave הניח/הניח
VB HI cause to depart, removeהסיר
VB HI conceal(סתר) הסתיר
VB H allow to pass over R12 העביר
VB HI cause to rise up, lead up) עלה( R6 העלה
VB H set up, cause to stand(עמד) R12העמיד
VB Q overturn, destroy הפך
NOUN F overthrow, destruction הפכה
VB HI do an extraordinary thing(פלא) הפליא
VB HI divide, separate (something (פרד) (הפריד
VB HI break, frustrate (פרר)הפר
VB HI strip off, remove(פשט) R4 הפשיט
VB HI set, place, establish(יצג) R12הציג
VB HI justify(צדק/צדק) הצדיק
VB HI snatch away, deliver )נצל( R7 הציל
/צלח) L29הצליח VB HI make successful, show experience(צלח
VB HI cause to sprout, grow (צמח)הצמיח
VB HI congregate קהל)(הקהיל
VB HI make sacrifices smoke(קטר) הקטיר
VB HI raise, erect(קום) הקים
VB HO be avenged (נקם) הקם
VB HI shorten (קצר/קצר)הקציר
VB HIT conspire(קשר) התקשר
W. DETNOUN M mountain, hill country R3ההרים ההר, ; Pהר; הרים
Hebrew-English Glossary G13
VB HI show, exhibit(ראה) הראה
VB HI make much/many, make multiply(רבה) R9 הרבה
VB Q kill, slay L27, R7 הרג
VB HI chase(רדף) הרדיף
VB Q conceive, become pregnant הרה
VB HI cause to be distant, far away; remove(רחק) הרחיק
NOUN M conception, pregnancy הריון, הרון
VB HI cause to skip(רקד) הרקיד
VB HI condemn(רשע) הרשיע
VB HI utterly mock(שחק) השחיק
VB HI deceive(נשא) R8 השיא
VB HI collect, reach(נשג) R12השיג
VB HI look at, ponder; give insight, teach (שכל) R5 השכיל
VB HI leave over, behind(שאר) השאיר
VB HI cause to swear (an oath((שבע) L29, R10השביע
VB HI sell grain(שבר) R12 השביר
VB HI put an end to, destroy(שבת) השבית
VB HI spoil, destroy(שחת) L29השחית
VB HI return (something)g(שוב) R7השיב
VB HI wake early(שכם) R6 השכים
VB HI settle (someone), cause to dwell(שכן) R5 השכין
VB HI throw (שלך) L15, R7השליך
VB HI annihilate(שמד) השמיד
VB HI make fat(שמן) השמין
VB HI blind(שעע) השע
Hebrew-English Glossary G14
VB HI water, give drink(שקה) השקה
VB HI show/cause quietness(שקט) השקיט
VB HISHTAFEL bow down, prostrate oneself) חוה( R6 השתחוה
VB HIT mourn) אבל( R10 התאבל
VB HIT make oneself bold, obstinate )אמץ ( התאמץ
VB HIT hide (oneself(חבא) ( R5 התחבא
VB HIT prophesy התנבא
VB HIT be grieved, allow oneself to be comforted R10 התנחם
VB HIT behave cunningly R10 התנכל
VB HIT be difficult, extraordinary(פלא) התפלא
VB HIT pray(פלל) התפלל
VB HIT gather (intransitive)(קבץ) התקבץ
ו
CONJ and ו
VB Q 3MS PAST he saidאמר) (ויאמר
ז
FS DEM this זאת
VB Q, PI slaughter, sacrifice זבח
MS DEM this זה
NISNOUN M goldזהב, זהב
VB Q remember זכר
PNOUN M male R11זכרים זכר;
PN Zilpah זלפה
NOUN M appointed time, time זמן
Hebrew-English Glossary G15
NISNOUN F sweat R8זעת זעה,
NOUN MP old age R7 זקנים
MP NISADJ old R13זקני ; FPזקנות ,MPזקנים ; MS NISזקן, ;FSזקנה זקן,
VB Q be old זקן
VB Q rise, come forth, appear זרח
VB Q sow seed; HI produce seed R11 זרע
P NISNOUN M seed L34, זרעי Pזרעים זרע;
ח
VB NI, HIT hide (oneself); HI hide (something([חבא]
VB Q bind, pledge; NI be pledged; PI writhe, twist חבל
NOUN M (= Q PTCP) mariner, sailorחבל
VB Q, PI embrace חבק
PN Hebronחברון
VB Q bind, bind on, bind up; PI bind, restrain; PU be bound up R3 חבש
VB PI bind, restrain חבש
VB PU be bound up חבש
PN Haggit חגית
NOUN M belt, girdle R5 חגור
VB Q cease, come to an end חדל
FPADJ new, חדשות MP; חדשים F חדשה ,חדש
P NISNOUN M new moon, month, חדשי Pחדש; חדשים
VB HISHTAFEL bow down, prostrate oneself [חוה]
PN Eve חוה
NOUN M mud, sand R9חול
PNOUN F wall חומות, NISחומת חומה,
Hebrew-English Glossary G16
VB Q be strong; HI strengthen, seize R12 חזק
VB Q sin חטא
P NISNOUN M sin, חטאי Pחטא, חטאים
NOUN F sin חטאה
P NISNOUN F sin, sin-offering, חטאת P; חטאות NISחטאת, חטאת
FPADJ alive, living, חיות F; חיה MP חיים ,NIS חי ,Mחי
VB Q live, be alive; H keep alive, let live, revive חיה
PNOUN F animal R1, 11; חיות NIS, חית חיה
PNOUN M strength, wealth, valor; army R12; חילים NISחיל, חיל
NOUN MP life R5 חיים
NOUN M bosom, lap חיק
FP NISADJ wise, חכמות P, חכמות F חכמה ;NISחכם , Mחכם
VB Q be wise חכם
NOUN M dream R4 חלומותP; חלום
VB Q dream R4 חלם
VB NI be defiled; PI he polluted, defiled; HI begin[חלל]
VB Q, PI divide, distribute; NI divide oneself חלק
ADJ smooth, slippery חלק
NOUN M portion, share, territory חלק
NOUN F portion חלקה
VB Q desire, take pleasure in חמד
NOUN M donkey R1 חמוריםP; חמור
NOUN F mother-in-law חמות
NOUN M violence חמס
NOUN M cement, mortar, clay חמר
Hebrew-English Glossary G17
NUM five; P fifty R12 חמשיםP חמשה; F חמש,
NOUN M fifth part R12חמש
NUM fifth R11, 12 חמישיתFחמישי,
NOUN M favor, grace R12 חן
VB Q incline, bend down, campחנה
PN Hannah חנה
PN Enoch חנוך
VB Q embalm R13חנט
NOUN M (always PL) embalming R13חנטים
VB Q show favor, be gracious חנן
VB Q be polluted, profane; HI pollute, make profane חנף
NOUN M kindness, goodness R12 חסד
VB Q keep back, withhold חשך
VB Q seek refuge חסה
NOUN M delight, pleasure חפץ
W. ENCL PRON NOUN M statute R12חק ,חק; חקי ,חקך ־
NISNOUN F sword R5 חרבות ,Pחרבות ;חרב
PN Horeb חרב
VB Q burn, be kindled L36 חרה
VB Q keep back, withhold R9חשך
VB Q think, devise; NI be reckoned R113 חשב
VB Q be silent; HI exhibit silence, make still/quiet חשה
NOUN M darkness R11 חשך
PN Heth; Hittitesחתים; Hittite חתיחת
VB Q be shattered, dismayed חתת
Hebrew-English Glossary G18
ט
NOUN M bodyguard R10טבח
VB Q dip something (into) R10 טבל
FPADJ good, pleasant R5טובות , NIS, טובת F, טובה MP NIS,טובי P טובים טוב,
ADJ clean, pure טהור
HI cast, hurl, throw; HO be hurled, cast, throw [טול]
ADJ unclean טמא
NOUN M children R12 טף
ADV not yet, before (with ב( טרם
VB Q tear, rend, pluck R10 טרף
י
NISNOUN M stream; PN Nile, יארי P; יארים יאר
NISNOUN F sister-in-lawיבמה; יבמת
VB Q be(come) dry; HI cause to be dry יבש
NOUN F dry land R11 יבשה
NISNOUN F hand L10, R2 ידות ,P; ידות NIS, ידי DUיד; ידים
VB HI give thanks, praise, confess [ידה]
VB Q know L19, R4 ידע
VB Q give; (always IMPV; frequently functions as INTJ come!) R12יהב
PN Jehu יהוא
PN Judah יהודה
PN Jonathan יהונתן
PN Joshua יהושע
PN YHWH (personal name of Hebrew God) L2יהוה
PN Joab יואב
Hebrew-English Glossary G19
PN Joash יואש
NOUN M day; W. ART todayהיום ;daily יוםיוםP NIS L21, R5, ימי P; ימים יום
NOUN F dove יונה
PN Jonah יונה
PN Joseph יוסף
ADV together, altogether L36, R6 יחדו
ADJ, SUBST only, only one, solitary R6 יחיד
VB Q be good, pleasing; HI do (something) well, deal well with יטב
NOUN M wine יין
VB Q be able, have power R7 יכל
Q PASS PTC born (ילד)ילוד
VB Q beget, bear (children) R8ילד
VB PU be born R13ילד
FNOUN M boy ;F girl R1ילדה; ילד
VB HI howl [ילל]
PNOUN M sea L13, R9ים; ימים
סוף־ PN Sea of Reeds (“Red Sea”)ים
VB HI go right, choose the right, use the right hand [ימן]
NOUN F right side, right hand ימין
VB Q suck; HI suckle, nurse ינק
VB Q add; HI multiply, do again, continue יסף
CONJ because R9יען
PN Jacob יעקב
VB Q be fair, beautiful; PI beautify יפה
PN Japhet יפת
Hebrew-English Glossary G20
VB Q go forth; HI bring forth L22 יצא
VB HIT station oneself, take one's stand [יצב]
VB HI set, place, establish; HO be stayed, stopped, detained [יצג]
PN Isaac יצחק
VB HI lay, spread; HO be laid, spread יצע
VB Q pour, pour out; HI pour (oil); HO be poured, cast, molten, firmly established יצק
VB Q form, fashion, shape יצר
VB Q kindle, burn; NI be kindled; HI kindle, set on fire יצת
VB Q awake יקץ
VB Q fear ירא
ADJ afraid L30, R5 ירא
NISNOUN F fear, terror, reverenceיראה, יראת
VB Q go down, descend ירד
VB HI bring down, cause to descend [ירד]
PN Jordan (River) ירדן
VB Q, HI throw, cast, shoot (arrows(ירה
NOUN M moon R7 ירח
PN Jerusalem ירושלם
PN Jericho יריחו
NISNOUN M upper thigh, side R12ירך, ירך
PN Jeremiah ירמיהו ,ירמיה
NISNOUN M green (thing), greenness R11ירק, ירק
VB Q take possession, inherit ירש
P PN Ishmaeliteישמעאלים ;ישמעאלי
PN Israel ישראל
Hebrew-English Glossary G21
EXST there is L12 יש
VB Q sit, dwell (Q PTCP inhabitant, dweller); HI set, cause to sit, inhabit, settle L16, R6ישב
PN Jesse ישי
PN Ishmael ישמעאל
VB NI be saved; HI save, deliver ישע
NOUN M deliverance, rescue, salvation ישע
VB Q be smooth, right; PI make even, smooth ישר
VB NI be left over, remain over; HI leave over, leave a remnant [יתר]
כ
PREP like, as L13 כ
CONJ as, just as, when L30 כאשר
MP NISADJ heavy R12, כבדי MP; כבדים M NISכבד, כבד
VB Q be heavy; PI, HI make heavy, honor L29 כבד ,כבד
NOUN M glory, honor, wealth כבוד
PNOUN M lambכבש; כבשים
VB Q subdue, dominate כבש
ADV thus, so L27, R13 כה
P NISNOUN M priest R12, כהני Pכהן; כהנים
P NISNOUN M star R7, כוכבי P; כוכבים NISכוכב, כוכב
VB PILPAL contain, sustain, keep [כול]
VB NI be set up, established, fixed; HI establish, set up, make firm [כון]
NOUN M strength, power L31 כח
V PI hide, conceal[כחד]
V PI hide, conceal (כחד) R12 כחד
CONJ because, when, if, though, but; COMP that L30, R4 כי
Hebrew-English Glossary G22
CONJ but כי אם
P NISNOUN F round district, loaf, weight, ככרי P; ככרים NISככר, ככר
ל ,כל, כלך ־ W. ENCL PRON ADJ all, every; NOUN M everything L11, R4כ
VB Q be complete, PI complete, finish, PU be completed, finished כלה
VB PI complete, finish L29 כלה
VB PU be completed, finished R11 כלה
NOUN F daughter-in-law, bride כלה
VB PILPAL contain, sustain, keep (כול) R12 כלכל
PNOUN M vessel, utensilכלי, כלים
PN Kilyon כליון
ADV so, thus, yes כן
VB Q gather, collect; PI gather together; HIT gather oneself together כנס
PN Canaan, Canaanite כנען ,כנעני
DU NISNOUN F wing, extremity R11, כנפי DUכנפות ; NISכנף, כנף
NOUN M seat, throne R1 כסא
VB PI cover, conceal R10כסה
P NISNOUN M silver, money R10, 12, כספי Pכסף; כספים
PNOUN M vexation, angerכעס, כעסים
VB PI appease, atone כפר
NOUN M saddlebag כר
VB Q hollow out, digכרה
PNOUN M cherub – type of subordinate divine being R5כרוב; כרובים
P NISNOUN M/F vineyard, כרמי Pכרם; כרמים
VB Q bend one’s knee, bow down, kneel כרע
VB Q cut, cut off, cut down L31, R13 כרת
Hebrew-English Glossary G23
VB Q write כתב
כתנות NISכתנת ,כתנת ;P NISNOUN F tunic R4
ל
PREP to, for L13 ל
ADV no, not L5 לא
PN Leah לאה
not translated (= Q INFאמר ;( COMP used to introduce direct speechלאמר
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M heart, mind R13לב ,לבב; לבך, לבבך
ADV alone, only(ל+בד) R12 בדל
ADV not, except (ל+בלתי) לבלתי
PN Laban לבן
PL NOUN F sun-baked brick;לבנים NIS, לבנתלבנה
PN Lebanon לבנון
VB Q wear; HI clothe לבש,לבש
VB Q languish R12להה
NOUN M flame R8להט
COND would that, if (irreal) L30לו
COND if not (irreal, negative) L30לולי
P NOUN M tablet, board, plank, plateלוח; לחות
PN Lot לוט
PN Levi לוי
NOUN M bread, food L17, R7 לחם
NOUN M secrecy (always with ב(לטלאט ,
NOUN M gum R10לט
NOUN M night L24 לילה
Hebrew-English Glossary G24
VB Q capture לכד
CONJ therefore L30 לכן
VB Q learn; PI teach למד
INTER why? L14 למה ,למה
PN Lamech למך
PREP for the sake of; CONJ in order that (purpose), so that (result) L30, R7xלמען
NOUN M W. PREP forever, long (seeעולם(לעולם
PREP according toל+פה) (R12 לפי
PREP, CONJ before R13 לפני
ADV formerly, previously לפנים
VB Q take, receive L16, R3 לקח
VB Q glean, pick up, gather לקט
VB PI gather, collect(לקט) R12 לקט
P NOUN M tongue, languageלשנות לשון;
מ
NOUN M strength; ADV exceedingly מאד
NISNOUN F hundred R12מאה, מאת
PRON anything L30, R6 מאומה
P NOUN M luminary, light, lamp R11מאור; מאורות
NOUN M food R2 מאכל
PNOUN F knife R3מאכלות מאכלת;
VB PI refuse R10מאן
PNOUN M temporary abode, place of sojourning R10, 12מגור; מגורים
NOUN M wilderness R7 מדבר
PNOUN M strife, contentionמדון; מדונים, מדנים, מדונים
Hebrew-English Glossary G25
INTER why? L14מדוע
PN Midian מדין
INTER what? how? L8מה
NISNOUN F tumult, confusionמהומה, מהומת
F PN Moab; Moabiteמואב; מואבי ,מואביה
P NISNOUN M meeting, appointed time R11מועד; מועדי
PNOUN M wonder, sign, portentמופת; מופתים
VB Q die; HI kill L30, R5 מות
NOUN M death מות
PNOUN M altar R3מזבח; מזבחות
VB Q blot out, wipe away מחה
PN Machlon מחלון
PNOUN M encampment, camp R13מחנים/מחנות מחנה;
PNOUN M staff, rod, branch, tribeמטות מטה;
PNOUN F bed, couch R12; מטות NISמטה, מטת
INTER who? L6 מי
NISNOUN M best, best part R12מיטב, מיטב
NOUN F midwife (= PI PTC ילד(Pמילדות מילדת;
NISNOUN M water L13, R4מים; מי/מימי
NOUN M kind, species R11 מין
PNOUN F blow, woundמכה; מכות
PN Machirמכיר
PN Machpelahמכפלה
VB Q sell R10 מכר
FPADJ full R7 מלאות ,MP; מלאים MS NIS; מלא FSמלא, מלאה
Hebrew-English Glossary G26
VB Q be full, fill; PI fill R11 מלא
VB PI fill(מלא) מלא
P NISNOUN M messenger, angel L40, R6, מלאכי Pמלאך, מלאכים
P NISNOUN F work R11; מלאכותNISמלאכה, מלאכת
NOUN M salt מלח
P NISNOUN F war, battle, מלחמות Pמלחמה; מלחמות
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M king L9; מלכי P NIS, מלכי Pמלך; מלכים
VB Q reign, be(come) king L23, R10 מלך
PN Milcah מלכה
NOUN F royalty, royal power, reign, kingdom מלכות
P NOUN F kingdom, rule; ממלכות NISממלכה, ממלכת
PN Mamreממרא
NISNOUN F rule, dominion R11ממשלה, ממשלת
PREP from; more than L13 • מandמן ־
VB Q count, number, assign; PI appoint, ordain מנה
VB PI appoint, ordainמנה
NISNOUN F gift, grain offering L36מנחה, מנחת
PN Manassehמנשה
PNOUN M forced labor, conscriptionמסים מס;
NISNOUN M funeral ceremony, mourning rites R13מספד מספד,
PADV little, few R12מעט, מעטים
W. LOCNOUN M higher part, above; W. LOC upwardמעלה ממעל, מעל/
P NISNOUN M deed, practice; מעללי Pמעלל, מעללים
P NISNOUN F cave R13, מערות P; מערות NISמערת מערה,
PREP, CONJ from before R8 מפני (מן + פני)
Hebrew-English Glossary G27
P NISNOUN M deed, work L22, מעשי Pמעשים מעשה;
VB Q find L22, R4 מצא
PNOUN F commandmentמצות מצוה;
PN Egypt מצרים
NOUN M W. PREP (from the) east (see(קדם R8 מקדם
NISNOUN M collection, collected mass R11מקוה, מקוה
PNOUN M place L12, R3מקמות ; NISמקום, מקום
P NISNOUN M property (land or livestock) R12; מקני NISמקנה מקנה,
PN Mara (‘bitterness’)מרא
NISNOUN M appearance, visionמראה, מראה
NOUN FP place of feet; ADV at [his] feet מרגלות
NOUN M at a distance (seeרחוק ( R3 מרחוק
PN Moriah מריה
NOUN F chariot מרכבה
VB Q be bitter; PI HI make bitter מרר
P NISNOUN M pasture R12; מרעי NISמרעה מרעה,
NOUN F wages משכרת
PN Moses משה
VB Q pull, drag, carry off R10משך
P NISNOUN M couch, place of lyingמשכב; משכבי
NOUN M dwelling, tabernacle משכן
VB Q rule R4, 8 משל
NOUN F guard, watch; charge, function משמרת
P NISNOUN F family, clan R1, משפחות P; משפחות NISמשפחה, משפחת
P NISNOUN M judgment, justice; custom L26, משפטי P; משפטים NISמשפט, משפט
Hebrew-English Glossary G28
ADJ M dead (= Q PTC מות( מת
INTER when? L14מתי
NISNOUN DU hips, loins R10מתני מתנים,
נ
Illocutionary signal equivalent to I tell you, or a marker of politeness please R6 נא
VB NI consent, agree) אות (נאות
VB NI grasped, held fast(אחז) R6נאחז
NOUN M utterance (always NIS) R9נאם
VB NI be gathered, assembled) אסף (נאסף
VB Q, PI commit adultery [נאף]
VB PI commit adultery נאף
NISNOUN F groan, groaningנאקת נאקה,
VB NI, HIT prophesy [נבא]
VB NI prophesy נבא
VB PI, HI look, gaze [נבט]
VB PI look, gaze נבט
NOUN M prophet , נביאיPנביאים ; NISנביא נביא,
VB NI be blessed, bless oneselfברך) (נברך
W. LOCNOUN M southנגבה נגב,
PN Negeb נגב
VB HI declare [נגד]
ADV, PREP in front of, in sight of, opposite to R12 נגד
VB Q touch, reach, strike R8 נגע
VB Q draw near, approach נגש
VB PI escort, transport, supply) (נהל[נהל]
Hebrew-English Glossary G29
VB PI escort, transport, supply) (נהלנהל
PN Nod נוד
VB Q rest; HI cause to rest, make quiet; set down; let remain, leave נוח
PN Noah נח
VB NI hide (oneself)xחבא) (R8נחבא
PN Nahor נחור
NOUN M torrent (valley)/run-off ravine, wadi נחל
NISNOUN F possession, property, inheritanceנחלת נחלה,
VB NI be sorry/regret, comforted; PI comfort, console[נחם]
VB NI be sorry/regret, comforted נחם
VB PI comfort, console R10נחם
ADJ desirable (= NI PTC (חמד R8 נחמד
PN Nahash נחש
PNOUN M serpent R1נחשים נחש,
VB NI be reckoned (חשב)נחשב
VB Q stretch out, extend; HI turn (something(נטה
VB Q plant נטע
VB HI smite, strike [נכה]
NOUN F resin R10נכאת
VB NI be recognized; HI recognize, regard [נכר]
VB NI be recognized נכר)(נכר
NOUN M foreign thing נכר
FPADJ foreign, alien, נכריות MP; נכרים Fנכרי, נכריה
VB NI be found, be discovered, be caught) (מצא R12נמצא
VB PI test [נסה]
Hebrew-English Glossary G30
VB PI test (נסה) L30, R6נסה
VB Q pull up (tent pegs), set out, journey R10 נסע
VB NI be bewailed (ספד) נספד
VB NI hide (oneself)Xסתר)(נסתר
DUNOUN F sandal, shoeנעל, נעלים
PN Naomi (‘my pleasantness’)נעמי
P NISNOUN M lad, young boy L6, R3, נערי Pנער; נערים
P NISNOUN F maiden, young girl L6, נערות Pנערה; נערות
VB Q fall R13 נפל
VB NI be difficult, extraordinary(פלא) נפלא
”NOUN MP giants, “fallen onesנפלים
VB NI be opened(פקח) R5 נפקח
VB NI spread(פרץ) נפרץ
P NISNOUN F life, self L34, R10, נפשות Pנפש; נפשות
VB NI take one’s stand, station oneself; be stationed, appointed R10 [נצב]
VB NI take one’s stand, station oneself; be stationed, appointed(נצב) נצב
VB NI be delivered, deliver oneself; HI snatch away, deliver [נצל]
VB NI be delivered, deliver oneself (נצל) נצל
VB Q watch, guard, keep נצר
NOUN F female R11נקבה
VB NI be collected קוה)( R11 נקוה
MPADJ clean, innocent, exempt; נקיים MS NISנקי, נקי
VB Q avenge, take vengeance; NI avenge oneself; HO be avenged נקם
VB NI avenge oneself (נקם) נקם
VB NI be rent, split asunder(קרע) נקרע
Hebrew-English Glossary G31
VB NI was bound, joined together(קשר) נקשר
VB NI show oneself, appear(ראה) נראה
VB NI are pursued(רדף) נרדף
VB Q lift up, carry; NI be deceived; HI deceive L32, R6 נשא
VB HI collect, reach [נשג]
VB NI be deceived; HI deceive נשא
VB NI be deceived(נשא) נשא
VB NI be left over/behind, remain over, behind(שאר) R12 נשאר
VB NI swear (an oath((שבע) R9 נשבע
NOUN FP women; seeאשה נשים
VB NI lean, support oneself(שען) נשען
VB Q, PI kiss R13 נשק
VB Q kiss נשק
P NISNOUN M vulture, eagle, נשרי Pנשר; נשרים
VB Q give, place, set L17, R5 נתן
PN Nathan נתן
ס
VB Q turn about, go around, surround R10 סבב
ADV/PREP around, about סביב
P NISNOUN M thicket R9סבכי סבך;
PN Sodom סדם
P NISNOUN M horse, stallion R1, סוסי Pסוס; סוסים
NOUN F mare R1 סוסה
סוף ־סוף NOUN M reeds, rushes; see ים
VB Q turn aside, depart; HI cause to depart, remove סור
Hebrew-English Glossary G32
PN Sinai סיני
Q PTCP trader R10סחר
VB Q forgive סלח
PN Sennacherib סנחריב
VB Q storm [סער]
VB Q wail, lament; NI be bewailed R13 ספד
VB Q count, number; PI recount, declare ספר
VB PI recount, declare (ספר) R7ספר
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M scroll, document, book; ספרי Pספר; ספרים
NOUN M high official R10סריס
VB NI hide (oneself); HI conceal ]סתר[
NOUN M hiding-place, secrecy סתר
ע
P NISNOUN M servant L11, עבדי Pעבד; עבדים
VB Q serve, work R8 עבד
only asPREP, CONJ for the sake of, on account of, in order that R8עבור, בעבור
VB Q pass over; H allow to pass over R10 עבר
NOUN M side, edge R13עבר
PPN Hebrewעברי; עברים
PREP unto, as far as; CONJ while, until L30 עד
P NISNOUN M witness, עדי Pעד; עדים
NISNOUN F congregationעדה, עדת
PN Adah עדה
NOUN F testimony עדות
PN Eden עדן
Hebrew-English Glossary G33
PN Obed עובד
ADV still, yet, again R7 עוד
P NISNOUN M forever, long duration, antiquity R8, עולמי Pעולם; עולמים
PNOUN M transgression, iniquityעון, עונות
VB Q fly; POLEL fly about עוף
NOUN M flying creatures, fowl, insects R11 עוף
VB POLEL fly about R11 עופף
NOUN M skin, (animal) hide R8 עור
PNOUN F goat R1עזים עז;
VB Q abandon, forsake R13 עזב
DU NISNOUN F eye, spring L10, 40, R2, עיני DUעינים עין;
P NISNOUN F city L11, ערי Pעיר; ערים
ADJ naked עירם
PREP upon, over L13 על
VB Q go up R3 עלה
PNOUN F burnt offering L14, R3; עולות NISעלה, עלת
NISNOUN M leaf, leafage R2עלה, עלה
W. ENCL PRONPREP with; with me, at my side L13, R8עם; עמי/עמדי
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M people L15; עמי P NIS, עמי Pעם; עמים
VB Q stand; HI set up, cause to stand L19 עמד
NOUN M valley, plain R10עמק
PN Gomorrah עמרה
VB Q answer, respond ענה
PPN Anak, Anakiteענק, ענקים
NISNOUN M dust, dirt, dry earth R8עפר, עפר
Hebrew-English Glossary G34
PN Ephronעפרון
P NISNOUN M tree; P wood R1, עצי Pעץ; עצים
NOUN M idol (always P(אPעצב, עצבים
PNOUN M pain, hurt, toil R8עצב, עצבים
NOUN M pain, toil עצבון
PNOUN F bone R13עצם; עצמים/עצמות
NISNOUN M heel, footprint, hinderpart R8עקב, עקב
VB Q bind together (legs of an animal for sacrifice) R3x עקד
VB Q pluck, root up עקר
PN Er ער
DUNOUN M evening, sunset R11ערב; הערבים
NOUN M swarm (of flies), mixture ערב
NOUN F desert-plain, steppe; Jordan valley ערבה
ADJ naked ערום
ADJ crafty, shrewd, sensible R5 ערום
VB Q set out, lay in rows R6 ערך
PNOUN F heap; ערמות NISערמה, ערמת
PN Orpah ערפה
PNOUN M herb, herbage R11עשב, עש בות
VB Q do, make, act L15, R4 עשה
PN Esauעשו
PNUM S ten; P twenty R4, 10; עשרים FSעשר, עשרה
NUM M tenthעשירי
PNOUN F timeעת; עתות/עתים
ADV now L30, R6 עתה
Hebrew-English Glossary G35
פ
NOUN M mouth (with ,לseeלפי(NISפה, פי
DEM here R6 פה
PN Potiphar פוטיפר
VB NI, HIT be difficult, extraordinary; HI do an extraordinary thing [פלא]
P NISNOUN F concubine, פלגשי Pפילגש, פילגשים
VB HIT pray [פלל]
PPN Philistine; Philistinesפלשתי, פלשתים
CONJ lest, so that not (negative purpose) L30, R5פן
PNOUN M (always P) face R11פנה; פנים
NOUN M palm (of hand) (PL meaning uncertain in reference to Joseph’s tunic)פס
NOUN M idol, image פסל
NOUN M doing, deed, work פעל
P NISNOUN M step, time, פעמי Pפעם; פעמים
VB Q attend to, visit, appoint L25 פקד
VB Q open eyes, ears; NI be opened L30 פקח
NOUN M commissioner, deputy, overseer פקיד
NOUN M young bull, steer R1פר
VB Q separate; HI divide, separate (something(פרד
NOUN F heifer, cow R1פרה
VB Q bear fruit, be fruitful פרה
NOUN M fruit R2 פרי
PN Pharaoh פרעה
VB Q break through/open/out; NI spread; PU broken down פרץ
VB PU broken down פרץ
Hebrew-English Glossary G36
VB HI break, frustrate [פרר]
PNOUN M horseman R13פרש; פרשים
VB Q spread out, take off clothes; HI strip off, remove פשט
P NISNOUN M offense, crime, wrongdoing R13 פשעי ,Pפשע; פשעים
P NISNOUN M opening, פתחי Pפתח; פתחים
VB Q open פתח
VB Q interpretפתר
צ
NOUN M/F sheep, flock R4 צאן
P NISNOUN M host, army; hard service R11, צבאות P; צבאות NISצבא, צבא
PNOUN M gazelleצבים צבי;
VB Q be righteous; HI justify צדק/צדק
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M righteousnessצדק; צדקי
P NIS NOUN F righteousness L26, צדקות P; צדקות NISצדקה, צדקת
MPADJ righteous L32צדיק; צדיקים
VB PI command(צוה) L35, R8 צוה
VB Q laugh; PI jest צחק
VB PI jest(צחק) צחק
NOUN M laughter, laughing-stock צחק
PN Zion ציון
PN Silah צלה
/צלח VB Q prosper, be successful; HI make successful, show experience צלח
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M image, likeness R11צלם; צלמו
VB Q be thirsty צמא
VB Q sprout, spring up; HI cause to sprout, grow צמח
Hebrew-English Glossary G37
MPADJ small, youngצעיר; צעירים
NISNOUN F cry, outcryצעקה, צעקת
NOUN M fragrant resinצרי, צרי
VB Q show hostility צרר
ק
PNOUN F burial, grave; קבורות NISקברת קבורה,
VB Q gather (intransitive) L27קבץ
VB PI gather (transitive) L15קבץ
VB Q, PI bury קבר
VB PI bury (קבר) R12קבר
P NISNOUN M grave, sepulchre R13, קברי Pקבר; קברים
PADJ sacred, holy; קדושים NISקדוש, קדוש
NOUN M front, east, aforetime; ADV anciently R8 קדם
VB Q be holy; PI consecrate קדש/קדש
VB PI consecrate(קדש/קדש) R11 קדש
P NISNOUN M holiness, apartness, sacredness, קדשי Pקדש; קדשים
VB HI congregate ]קהל[
NISNOUN M assembly, congregationקהל, קהל
VB NI be collected ]קוה[
PNOUN M voice, sound L15, R5קול; קולות
VB Q rise, stand up; PI confirm, establish; HI raise, erect R6 קום
VB PI confirm, establish(קום) קים
NOUN M thorns, thorn-bush קוץ
ADJ MS small; F, P supplied byקטן קטן
MP NISADJ small; קטני FP, קטנות MP; קטנים Fקטן, קטנה
Hebrew-English Glossary G38
VB Q be small, insignificant L32 קטן
VB PI, HI make sacrifices smoke [קטר]
VB PI make sacrifices smoke(קטר) קטר
PN Cain קין
VB Q be slight, trifling; be quick קלל
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M nest; קני P; קנים NISקן, קן
VB PI envy R7קנא
ADJ jealous קנא
VB Q buy, acquire R12 קנה
NISNOUN M end, extremity R12קצה, קצה
VB Q be short, impatient; PI HI shorten קצר/קצר
VB PI shorten (קצר/קצר)קצר
VB Q reap, harvest קצר
VB Q call, proclaim, read aloud L16, R6 קרא
FPADJ near, קרובות MP; קרובים Fקרוב, קרובה
VB Q draw near, approach R7 קרב/קרב
DUNOUN M inward part, midst, DU entrailsקרב, קרבים
NOUN F proclamation קריאה
P NIS NOUN F horn R6, קרנותP, קרנותDUקרנים קרן,
VB Q tear, rend; NI be rent, split asunder R10 קרע
VB Q bind, conspire together; NI was bound, joined together; PI bind on; HIT conspire קשר
VB PI bind on(קשר) קשר
W. ENCL PRONNOUN F bow; קשתי Pקשת; קשתות
ר
VB Q see, look; NI show oneself, appear; HI show, exhibit R3 ראה
Hebrew-English Glossary G39
PN Reuben ראובן
P NISNOUN M head L10, R2, ראשי Pראש; ראשים
FPADJ first , ראשנות MP; ריאשניםFראשון, ריאשנה
NOUN F beginning or chief (part) R11 ראשית
FPADJ many, much L32, רבות MP; רבים F NIS, רבת Fרב, רבה
NOUN M multitude, greatness, abundance רב
VB Q be(come) many, much רבב
VB Q be(come) many, multiply; HI make much/ many, make multiply R11 רבה
.NUM fourth (those belonging to) the fourth generation (cf ארבע( R11 רביעי; רביעים
MPADJ/SUBST M (those belonging to) the fourth generationרבע ,רבעים
PN Rebekah רבקה
DU NISNOUN F foot L10, R2, רגלי DUרגל; רגלים
VB Q have dominion, rule R11 רדה
VB Q pursue, chase, persecute; NI are pursued; PI pursue ardently; PU be chased away; HI chaseרדף
VB PI pursue ardently(רדף) רדף
VB PU be chased away(רדף) רדף
PNOUN M water-troughרהט; רהטים
; PNOUN F spirit, wind R5רוחות רוח
VB Q run L36רוץ
PN Ruth רות
FS NISADJ wide, broad, רחבת FS; רחבה MS NISרחב, רחב
PN Rehoboam רחבעם
ADJ far, distant; NOUN M distance, at a distance(רחוק) MPרחוק; רחוקים
PN Rachel רחל
VB PI have compassion on רחם
Hebrew-English Glossary G40
VB PI hover R11רחף
VB Q be far, distant; PI send far away, distance; HI cause to be distant, far away; remove רחק
VB PI send far away, distance(רחק) רחק
ADV emptily, vainly ריקם
NOUN M (COLL) chariot, war chariot(s) R13רכב
VB Q creep (on the ground), move lightly R11 רמש
NOUN M creeping things, moving things R11 רמש
VB Q, PI give a ringing cry רנן
VB PI give a ringing cry (רנן)רנן
FPADJ bad, evil R5; רעות MP NIS, רעי MP; רעים Fרעה רע,
NOUN M friend רע
NOUN M famine, hunger L28, R12 רעב
VB Q shepherd, tend, pasture R4 רעה
NOUN M shepherd (= Q PTCP) R4 רעה
PN Ramesesרעמסס
VB Q heal R13 רפא
ADV only, still, but, however, nevertheless R12רק
FP ADJ empty R7, רקות MP; ריקים Fריקה רק,
VB Q skip about; PI dance, leap; HI cause to skip רקד
VB PI dance, leap(רקד) רקד
NOUN M extended surface, expanse, firmament R11 רקיע
MP NISADJ wicked, רשעי MP; רשעים Fרשע, רשעה
VB Q be wicked; HI condemn רשע
ש
P NISNOUN M field R8, שדי Pשדה; שדות
Hebrew-English Glossary G41
NISNOUN M sheep or goat R1שה, שה
VB Q put, place, set R6 שום שים
VB Q laugh, play; PI make sport, jest; HI utterly mockשחק
VB PI make sport, jest(שחק) שחק
VB Q be at enmity with, be hostile towards R13שטם
VB Q be prudent; HI look at, ponder; give insight, teach שכל
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M prudence, insightשכל, שכלו
NOUN M left side, left hand שמאל
P NIS NOUN F outer garment, cloak, mantle R10, שמלות P; שמלות NISשמלת שמלה,
VB Q rejoice, be glad; PI make rejoice, gladשמח/שמח
VB PI make rejoice, glad(שמח/שמח) שמח
VB Q hate R4 שנא
ADJ hairy, goat R10 שעיר
DU NISNOUN F lip, shore R9, שפתי DU; שפתים NISשפה, שפת
NOUN M sack(cloth) R10 א P NIS, שקי Pשקים שק;
P NISNOUN M official, captain, prince R10, שרי Pשרים שר;
PN Sarah שרה
PN Sarai שרי
P NISNOUN M survivor, שרידי Pשריד; שרידים
ש
CONJ that, which, who •ש-
PN Saul שאול
NOUN F underworld, Sheol R10 שאול
VB Q inquire, ask R10 שאל
VB NI be left over/behind, remain; HI leave over, behind [שאר]
Hebrew-English Glossary G42
P NISNOUN M rod; tribe R13, שבטי Pשבט; שבטים
P NISNOUN F ear of grain, שבלי Pשבלת; שבלים
VB NI swear (an oath); HI cause to swear (an oath) [שבע]
P NUM seven; P seventy R4, 13; שבעים F NIS, שבעת F, שבעה NISשבע,שבע
FNUM seventh L21שביעית שביעי,
NOUN DU seven-fold שבעתים
PN Sheba שבע
VB Q break; PI shatter, break שבר
VB PI shatter, break(שבר) שבר
VB Q buy grain; HI sell grain R12 שבר
W. ENCL PRONNOUN M grain R12שבר; שברו
VB Q cease, desist, rest; HI put an end to, destroy L21 שבת
PNOUN F sabbath, rest; שבתות NISשבת, שבת
PN Shaddai, Almighty שדי
VB Q turn back, return; HI return (something) R6שוב
NOUN M fox R1 שעליםשועל;
VB Q bruise R8 שוף
VB Q slaughter R3 שחט
VB PI, HI spoil, destroy [שחת]
VB PI spoil, destroy (שחת)שחת
PNOUN F song; שירות NISשירה, שירת
VB Q put, set שית
VB Q lie (down) R12שכב
VB Q forget L21 שכח
VB Q be bereaved, childless; PI make childless שכל
Hebrew-English Glossary G43
VB PI make childless(שכל) שכל
VB HI wake early [שכם]
PN Shechem שכם
VB Q settle, dwell שכן
NISNOUN M inhabitant, neighborשכן, שכן
PN Shiloh שלה
VB Q be at ease, prosper שלו
PNOUN M peace, well-being L5, R4; שלומים NISשלום, שלום
VB Q send L15, R4 שלח
P NISNOUN M table R1שלחנות ,P; שלחנות NISשלחן שלחן,
VB HI throw, cast L15 לך][ש
VB Q be whole; PI reward, pay back שלם
VB PI reward, pay back(שלם) שלם
PN Solomon שלמה
VB Q draw out, off שלף
PNUM three; P thirty R12שלשים ; Fשלש, שלשה
P NUM a third, third; P thirtieth R6; שלישים Fשלישיה שלישי,
ADJ/SUBST (those belonging to) the third generation R13 שלשים
ADV there L12, R6 שם
PNOUN M name L6, R8שם; שמות
PN Shem שם
VB HI annihilate [שמד]
PN Samuel שמואל
NISNOUN M heavens L13, R6שמי שמים,
VB Q be uninhabited, be deserted; be appalled R12שמם
Hebrew-English Glossary G44
VB Q grow fat; HI make fat שמן
PNUM eight; P eight; שמנים Fשמנה, שמנה
NUM eighth שמיני
VB Q hear, listen; obey Wבקול . L16, R3 שמע
NOUN M report, news, hearsayשמע
VB Q keep, guard L15, R5 שמר
NOUN M/F sun R7 שמש
P NISNOUN F year L28, R4, שני P; שנים NISשנה, שנת
NUM two; second L31, R6, 8, 11, 12; שניFשתים , Mשנים
PN Shinar (Babylonia (שנער
VB NI lean, support oneself [שען]
VB Q be blinded; HI blind שעע
P NISNOUN M gate, שערי Pשער; שערים
PNOUN F maidservant שפחות; NISשפחה, שפחת
VB Q judge, govern L26 שפט
VB Q pour out, shed (blood) L39, R10שפך
VB HI water, give drink [שקה]
VB Q be quiet, undisturbed, inactive; HI show/cause quietness שקט
VB Q swarm, teem R11 שרץ
NOUN M swarmers, swarming things R11 שרץ
PNUM six, sixty; ששים Fשש, ששה
NUM sixth R11ששי
VB Q drink שתה
NISNUM F twoשתי שתים,
VB Q be quiet שתק
Hebrew-English Glossary G45
ת
NISNOUN F desire R8תאוה, תאות
P NISNOUN F fig-tree; fig R5, תאני Pתאנה; תאנים
NOUN F ark תבה
PNOUN F produce, yield R12; תבואות NISתבואה, תבואת
NOUN M emptiness, formlessness R11 תהו
PNOUN M/F deep, sea, abyssתהום; תהומות
NOUN M midst (often in compound PREPבתוך in the midst of( תוך
NOUN F descendantsתולדות
P NISNOUN F abominationת עבו, תוPת עבו; תוNISתועבה, תועבת
PNOUN F direction, instruction, law; תורות NISתורה, תורת
W. ENCL PRONPREP under, beneath R6תחת, תחתי
VB Q hang תלה
NISNOUN F likeness, formתמונה, תמונת
FPADJ complete, sound, תמימת MP; תמימים Fתמים, תמימה
VB Q be complete, finished R12 תמם
PNOUN M serpent, dragon, sea-monster R11תנין, תנינים
VB Q wander about R10תעה
VB Q sew together R5 תפר
VB Q lay hold of, wield תפש
NISNOUN F hopeתקוה, תקות
NOUN M P teraphim (a kind of idol, a means of divination)x תרפים
PN Tarshish תרשיש
NOUN F longing R8 תשוקה
PNUM nine; P ninety; תשעים Fתשעה תשע,
NUM ninth תשיעי
ENGLISH–HEBREW GLOSSARY
[direct object marker (mostly for definite nouns)] את ,את־ , with suffix אתי , etc.[illocutionary signal equivalent to “I tell you”] נא[marker of politeness, such as “please”] נא[question marker for “yes” & “no” questions] ה
A
Aaron אהרון
abandon Q עזב
Abel הבלabide Q גור
Abimelech אבימלךabomination תועבה
about סביב
above מעל only ממעלAbraham אברהם
Abram אברם
Absalom אבשלום
abundance רב
abyss תהום
according to (לפיל+פה )
acquire Q קנה
act Q עשה
act as a kinsman Q גאל
Adah עדה
Adam אדם
add Q יסף
Adonijah אדניהוaforetime קדםafter אחר ,אחרי
again עוד
agree NI אות
ah!, now! אנא ,אנה
alien נכרי F נכריה
alive חי
all כל ,כל־ (with suffix, כלך , etc.)
allow to pass over העביר (HI עבר)
Almighty שדי
alone (ל+בד) לבד
also אף ;גם
altar מזבח P מזבחות
Anak ענק
Anakites ענקים
anciently קדםand ו
angel מלאך
anger אף ;כעס
animal חיה
English-Hebrew Glossary G47
annihilate HI שמד
another אחר
answer Q ענה
antiquity עולם
apartness קדשappear Q זרח; NI ראה
appearance מראה
appease PI כפר
appoint Q פקד; PI מנה
appointed time זמן ;מועד
approach Q קרב ,קרב ; Q נגש
Aram ארם
Ararat אררט
ark ארון ;תבה
army צבא ;חיל
around סביב
as כ ; כאשר
as far as עד
Asa אסא
ask Q שאל
assembly קהל
assign Q מנה
Assyria אשור
at ב
at one’s feet מרגלות
at a distance מרחוק
at my side עמדי
Atad האטד
atone PI כפר
attend to Q פקד
avenge Q נקם
avenge oneself NI נקם
awake Q יקץ
away from בעד CST בעד
B
Baal בעלBabylon בבל
bad רע F רעה
bake Q אפה
Balak לק ב
Bathsheba שבע־ בת
battle מלחמה
be Q היה
be able Q יכל
be alive Q חיה
be appointed N פקד
be ashamed Q בוש
be at an end Q אפס
be at ease Q שלו
English-Hebrew Glossary G48
be at enmity with, be hostile towards Q שטם
be avenged HO נקם
be beautiful Q יפה
be bereaved Q שכל
be bewailed NI ספד
be bitter Q מרד
be blinded Q שעע
be born PU ילד
be bound NI קשר
be bound up PU חבש
be cast HO טול
be chased away PU רדף
be childless Q שכל
be collected NI קוה
be comforted NI נחם
be complete Q תמם; Q כלה; PU כלה
be deceived NI נשא
be defiled NI חלל
be delivered NI נצל
be detained HO יצג
be difficult NI hit פלא
be dismayed Q חתת
be distant Q רחק
be dry, become dry Q יבש
be established NI כון
be fair Q יפה
be far Q רחק
be finished Q תמם
be fixed NI כון
be found נמצא (NI מצא)
be fruitful Q פרה
be full Q מלא
be gathered, be assembled נאסף (NI אסף)
be glad Q שמח ,שמח
be good Q יטב
be gracious Q חנן
be great Q גדל
be green Q דשא
be grieved HIT נחם
be heavy Q כבד
be high Q גבה
be holy Q קדש
be hurled HO טול
be impatient Q קצר
be inactive Q שקט
be insignificant Q קטן
be joined together NI קשר
be kindled Q חרה; NI יצת
be king Q מלך
be laid HO יצע
English-Hebrew Glossary G49
be left behind NI שאר
be left over NI שאר; NI יתר
be light, become light Q אור
be like Q דמה
be lofty Q גבה
be long Q ארך
be many Q רבה; Q רבב
be much Q רבב
be old Q זקן
be opened NI פקח
be pleasing Q יטב
be pledged NI חבל
be polluted Q חנף
be poured HO יצק
be profane Q חנף
be prudent Q שכל
be pursued NI רדף
be quick קלל
be quiet Q שתק; Q שקט
be reckoned NI חשב
be recognized NI נכר
be rent NI קרע
be right Q ישר
be righteous Q צדק
be saved NI ישע
be set up NI כון
be shattered Q חתת
be short Q קצר
be silent Q חשה
be slight Q קלל
be small Q קטן
be smooth Q ישר
be sorry NI נחם
be split asunder NI קרע
be spread HO יצע
be stationed נצב
be stayed HO יצג
be stolen NI גנב
be stolen away PU גנב
be stopped HO יצג
be strong Q חזק; Q אמץ
be successful Q צלח
be tall Q גבה
be thirsty Q צמא
be thrown HO טול
be trifling Q קלל
be undisturbed Q שקט
be whole Q שלם
be wicked Q רשע
be willing Q אבה
English-Hebrew Glossary G50
be wise Q חכם
bear (children) Q ילד
bear fruit Q פרה
beautify PI יפה
because יען, כי
become Q היה
become king Q מלך
become many Q רבה; Q רבב
become much Q רבב
become pregnant Q הרה
Beer-Sheva באר שבע
before טרם ; לפני
beget Q ילד
begin HI חלל
beginning (part) ראשית
behave cunningly HIT נכל
behind בעד CST אחר ,אחרי ;בעד
behold! ; הן ;הנההא
behold, see האהן; ;הנה
believe HI אמן
belly (of reptiles) גחון
belt חגור
bend down Q חנה
beneath תחתBenjamin בנימין
beside אצלbest, best part מיטב
Bethel אל־ ביתBethlehem לחם־ בית
between בין only in CST בין
bewail Q בכה
Bilhah בלהה
bind Q קשר; Q חבל; PI חבש
bind on PI קשר
bind, bind on, bind up Q חבש
bind (sheaves) PI אלם
bless PI ברך
blessing ברכה
blind HI שעע
blood דם
bloodguilt דם
blot out Q מחה
blow מכה
board לוח P לחות
Boaz בעזbody, corpse גויה
body guard טבח
boil PI בשל
bold Q אמץ
bone עצם
English-Hebrew Glossary G51
book ספרborder גבול
bosom חיק
bow קשתbow down HISHTAFEL חוה
branch מטה P מטות
bread לחםbreak Q שבר ; PI שבר ; HI פרר
break through/open/out Q פרץ
bride כלה
bring HI בוא
bring down HI ירד
bring forth HI יצא
broad רחב
broken down PU פרץ
brother אח P אחים
bruise Q שוף
build Q בנה
burial, grave קבורה
burn Q חרה; Q יצת
burnt offering עלה
bury Q, PI קבר
but אבל ;אולם ;כי ;כי אם
buy Q קנה
buy grain Q שבר
by ב
C
Cain קיןcall Q קרא
camel גמל
camp NOUN מחנה P מחנים ,מחנות
camp VB Q חנה
Canaan, Canaanite כנעני ,כנען
captain שר P שרים
capture Q לכד
cast Q, HI ירה; HO PTCP מוצק; HI שלך; HI טול
cast out Q גרש
cattle אלף ;בהמה ;בקרcause quietness HI שקט
cause to be distant HI רחק
cause to be dry HI יבש
cause to be far away HI רחק
cause to depart HI סור
cause to dwell HI שכן
cause to grow HI צמח
cause to rest HI נוח
cause to skip HI רקד
cause to sprout HI צמח; HI דשא
cause to swear (an oath) HI שבע
English-Hebrew Glossary G52
cave מערה
cease Q חדל ; Q שבת
cement חמרcharge משמרתchariot מרכבה
chariot, war chariot (COLL) רכבchase HI רדף
chase Q רדף
cherub כרוב
chest ארון
chief (part) ראשית
children טף
choose Q בחר
choose the right HI ימן
cistern באר ;בור
city עיר P ערים
clan אלף ;משפחהclay חמרclean טהור ;נקי
cleave Q דבק
cling Q דבק
close relative Q גאל
clothe HI לבש
collect Q כנס
collect, reach השיג (HI נשג)
collected mass מקוה
collection מקוה
come Q בוא
come forth Q זרח
come to an end Q חדל
comfort PI נחם
command PI צוה
commandment מצוה P מצות
commissioner פקיד
commit adultery Q, PI נאף
complete תמים ; PI כלה
conceal HI סתר
conceive Q הרה
conception הריון (also הרון)
concubine פילגשcondemn HI רשע
confess HI ידה
confirm PI קום
confusion מהומה
congregate HI קהל
congregation עדה ;קהל
consecrate PI קדש
consent Q אבה; NI אות
console PI נחם
conspire HIT קשר
English-Hebrew Glossary G53
conspire together Q קשר
contain, sustain, keep כלכל (PILPEL כול)
contention מדון; P מדונים, מדנים/מדונים
continue HI יסף
corn בר
couch משכב
count Q ספר ; Q מנה
covenant ברית
cover, conceal PI כסה
cow פרה
crafty ערום
create Q ברא
creep (on the ground) Q רמש
creeping things רמשcrowd המון
cry צעקה
cubit אמה
curse Q, PI ארר
custom משפט
cut, cut off, cut down Q כרת
D
daily יום יום
Dan דן
dance PI רקד
darkness חשךdaughter בת P בנות
daughter-in-law כלה
David דוד
day יום P ימים
deal well with HI יטב
death מותdeceive HI נשא
declare PI ספר; HI נגד
deed מעשה ;מעלל ;פעל
deep תהום
defile PI חלל
delight חפץdeliver HI נצל; HI ישע
deliver oneself NI נצל
deliverance ישעdepart Q סור
deputy פקיד
descend Q ירד
desert-plain ערבה
desire NOUN תאוה
desire VB Q חמד
desist Q שבת
destroy Q הפך; PI, HI שחט; PI, HI אבד; HI שבת
destruction הפכה
English-Hebrew Glossary G54
devise Q חשב
die Q מות
direction תורה
dirt עפר
distance רחוק
distant רחוק
distribute Q, PI חלק
divide Q, PI חלק; HI בדל
divide (something) HI פרד
divide oneself NI חלק
do Q עשה
do again HI יסף
do an extraordinary thing HI פלא
do (something) well HI יטב
do, show Q גמל
document ספרdoing פעלdominate Q כבש
dominion ממשלה
donkey חמור
Dothan דתן
dough צק ב
dove יונה
dragon תנין
draw (water) Q דלה
draw near Q קרב ,קרב ; Q נגש
draw out/off Q שלף
drink Q שתה
drive away PI גרש
drive out PI גרש
dry earth עפר
dry land יבשה
dust עפר
dwell Q שכן; Q ישב
dweller Q PTCP יושב
dwelling משכן
each (one) אחד
E
eagle נשרear אזן DU אזניםear of grain שבלת P שבלים
earth ארץ
east קדםeat Q אכל
eating אכלה
Eden עדןEdom אדום
Egypt מצריםeight שמנה F שמנה
English-Hebrew Glossary G55
eighth שמיני
eighty שמנים
Elimelech אלימלךembalm Q חנט
embalming (always P) חנטים
embrace Q, PI חבק
emptily ריקם
emptiness בהו ;תהוencampment מחנה P מחנים ,מחנות
end קצה
enemy (Q PTCP) אויב
enmity איבה
Enoch חנוך
enraged NI סער
enter Q בוא
envy PI קנא
Ephraim אפריםEphron עפרון
equip Q אזר
Er ער
erect HI קום
Esau עשו
escort, transport, supply נהל (PI נהל)
establish PI קום; HI כון; HI יצג
Eve חוה
even אף ;גם
evening ערבevery כל ,כל־ (with suffix, כלך , etc.)
everything כל ,כל־ (with suffix, כלך , etc.)
evil רע F רעה
exceedingly מאד
except בלתי
exempt נקי
exhibit HI ראה
exhibit silence HI חשה
expanse רקיע
extend Q נטה
extended surface רקיע
extraordinary NI hit פלא
extremity כנף כנפים כנפות ;קצה
eye עין עינים
F
face פנה ;אף
faithfulness אמת
fall Q נפל
fallen ones נפלים (literal meaning)
family משפחה
famine רעב
far רחוק
English-Hebrew Glossary G56
fashion Q יצר
father אב P אבות
favor חן
fear NOUN יראה
fear VB Q ירא
female נקבה
few מעט
field שדה P שדות
fifth חמשי
fifth part חמשfifty חמשים
fig תאנה
fig-tree תאנה
fill Q מלא; PI מלא
find Q מצא
finish PI כלה
firmament רקיע
firmly established HO מוצק
first ראשון
first-born בכור
fish דג F דגה
five חמש F חמשה
flame להטflee Q ברח
flesh בשר
flock צאן
fly Q עוף
fly about POLEL עוף
flying creatures עוף
food אכלה ;לחם ;מאכל
foot רגלfootprint עקב
for ל
for the sake of עבור (only as למען ;בעבור )
foreign נכרי F נכריה
foreign thing נכר
forever עולם
forget Q שכח
forgive Q סלח
form NOUN תמונה
form VB Q יצר
formal weeping בכית
formerly לפנים
formlessness תהוforsake Q עזב
forty ארבעים
four ארבע F ארבעה
four-fold ארבעתיםfourth רביעי (those belonging to) the fourth
generation רביעי ; רבעים
English-Hebrew Glossary G57
fourth generation (those belonging to)
רבע ,רבעים
fowl עוף
fragrant resin צרי, צרי
friend רע
from מן־ and •מ
from before מפני
from where? מזה־ אי
front קדםfruit פרי
frustrate HI פרר
full מלא
function משמרתfunerary ceremony, mourning rites מספד
furthermore אף כי
G
garden גן
garment בגדgate שערgather Q כנס; Q אסף; Q/PI לקט; Q/PI קבץ
gather oneself together HIT כנס
gather together PI כנס
gaze PI, HI נבט
generation דור
Gerar גרר
giants נפלים
Gideon גדעון
gift מנחה
Gilead גלעד
gird Q אזר
girdle חגור
give Q ,נתןיהב
give a ringing cry Q, PI רנן
give drink HI שקה
give insight שכל
give light HI אור
give thanks HI ידה
give understanding HI בין
glean Q לקט
glory כבוד
go, walk Q הלך
go around Q סבב
go by stealth HIT גנב
go down Q ירד
go forth Q יצא
go right HI ימן
go up Q עלה
God אל ;אלהים
gods אלהים
English-Hebrew Glossary G58
gold זהב
Gomorrah עמרה
good טוב
goodness חסדGoshen גשןgovern Q שפט
grace חן
grain offering מנחה
grasped, held fast NI אחז
grass דשאgrave קברgreat גדול
greatness גדל ;רבgreen (thing), greenness ירקgroan נאקה
groaning נאקה
ground אדמה
grow PI גדל
grow fat Q שמן
guard NOUN משמרתguard VB Q שמר; Q נצר
guilt (offering) אשם
gum לט
H
Hagar הגר
Haggit חגית
hairy שעיר
hand יד DU ידים P ידות
handmaid אמה
hang Q תלה
Hannah חנה
hard service צבא
harvest Q קצר
hate Q שנא
have compassion on PI רחם
have dominion Q רדה
have insight Q בין
have power Q יכל
he הוא
head ראש P ראשים
heal Q רפא
heap ערמה
hear, listen Q שמע
heart לבב ,לב
heavens שמיםheavy כבד
Hebrew עברי P עברים
Hebron חברון
English-Hebrew Glossary G59
heel עקב
heifer פרה
herb, herbage עשבherd בקר
here הנהHeth חת
hide (of an animal) עור
hide (oneself) NI, HIT חבא; NI סתר
hide (something) HI חבא; PI כחד
hiding-place סתרhigh official סריס
high-place במה
higher part מעל (only ממעל ‘above’ and
(’upwards‘ מעלה
hill country הר, P הרים w/art ההר ,ההרים
hinderpart עקב
Hittite חתי
Hittites חתים
holiness קדשhollow out, dig Q כרה
holy קדוש
honey דבש
honor NOUN כבוד
honor VB PI, HI כבד
hope תקוה
Horeb חרב
horse סוס
horseman פרש
host צבא
hostility (personal) איבה
house בית, Pבתים
hover PI רחף
how איך
how much more! אף כי
How! איך
how? מה
howl HI ילל
humankind אדם
hundred מאה
hunger רעב
hurl HI טול
hurt עצב
I
I אנכי ,אני
idol עצב ;פסל
if אם ;כי
if (irreal) לו
if not (irreal, negative) לולי
image סל ;פצלם
English-Hebrew Glossary G60
in ב
in front of נגדin order that עבור (only as בעבור)
in order that (purpose) למעןin sight of נגדin the middle of תוך תוך (only in CST) see בincline Q חנה
incline (something) HI נטה
inhabitant שכן; Q PTCP יושב
inherit Q ירש
inheritance נחלה
iniquity עון
innocent נקי
inquire Q שאל
insects עוף
insight שכלinstruction תורה
interpret Q פתר
inward part קרבIsaac יצחק
Ishmael ישמעאל
Israel ישראל
J
Jacob יעקב
Japhet יפת
jealous קנא
Jehu יהוא
Jeremiah ירמיה ,ירמיהו
Jericho יריחו
Jerusalem ירושלםJesse ישי
jest PI צחק
jest PI שחק
Joab יואב
Joash יואש
Jonah יונה
Jonathan יהונתן
Jordan (River) ירדן
Jordan valley ערבה
Joseph יוסף
Joshua יהושע
journey Q נסע
Judah יהודה
judge Q שפט
judgment משפט
just as כאשר
justice משפט
justify HI צדק
English-Hebrew Glossary G61
K
keep Q שמר; Q נצר
keep alive החיה (HI חיה)
keep back, withhold Q חשך
keep close Q דבק
kill Q הרג; HI מות
Kilyon כליון
kind מין
kindle Q יצת; HI יצת
kindness חסדking מלךkingdom מלכות ;ממלכה
kinsman-redeemer Q גאל
kiss Q, PI נשק
knee ברךknow Q ידע
knowledge דעת
L
Laban לבן
lad נערlamb כבשLamech למךlament Q ספד; PI בכה
lamp מאור P מאורות
land אדמה ;ארץ
landed property אחזה
language לשון P נותלש
lap חיק
laugh Q שחק; Q צחק
laughing-stock צחק
laughter צחק
law תורה
lay HI יצע
lay hold of Q תפש
leaf עלה
leafage עלה
Leah לאה
lean NI שען
leap PI רקד
learn Q למד
leave נוח
leave a remnant HI יתר
leave behind HI שאר
leave over HI שאר; HI יתר
Lebanon לבנון
left hand שמאל
left side שמאל
length ארךlengthen HI ארך
English-Hebrew Glossary G62
lest פן
let remain נוח
Levi לוי
lie (down) Q שכב
life חיים ;נפש
lift up Q נשא
light מאור P אור ;מאורות
like כ
likeness דמות ;צלם ;תמונה
lip שפה
little מעט
live Q חיה
living חי
loaf ככר
long duration עולם
longing תשוקה
look Q ראה; PI, HI נבט
look at HI שכל
lord אדון ;בעל
Lord, the (epithet) אדני
Lot לוט
love Q אהב
luminary מאור P מאורות
M
Machir מכיר
Machlon מחלון
Machpelah מכפלה
magnificence גדלmaid אמה
maiden נערה
maidservant שפחה
make Q עשה
make bitter PI, HI מרד
make childless PI שכל
make enter HI בוא
make even PI ישר
make fat HI שמן
make firm HI כון
make glad PI שמח ,שמח
make great PI גדל
make heavy PI, HI כבד
make high HI גבה
make many HI רבה
make much HI רבה
make multiply HI רבה
make oneself bold HIT אמץ
make oneself obstinate HIT אמץ
make profane HI חנף
English-Hebrew Glossary G63
make quiet HI נוח; HI חשה
make rejoice PI שמח ,שמח
make a sacrifice smoke PI, HI קטר
make shine HI אור
make smooth PI ישר
make sport PI שחק
make still HI חשה
make successful HI צלח
male זכר
Mamre ממרא
man איש P אדם ;אנשים
Manasseh מנשה
many רב P רבים
Mara (‘bitterness’) מרא
march Q דרך
mare סוסה
mariner Q PTCP חבל
master אדון
meeting מועד
messenger מלאך
Midian מדין
midst among תוך (in compound בתוך ‘in
the midst of’); קרבmidwife מילדה
mighty one אל
Milcah מלכה
mind לבב ,לב
mixture ערב
Moab מואב
Moabite מואבי P מואביה
molten HO מוצק
money כסףmonth חדשmore than מן־ and •מ
moreover אף
Moriah מריה
morning בקרmortar חמרMoses משה
mother אם P אמות
mother-in-law חמות
mountain הר P הרים W. DET ההר ,ההרים
mourning NOUN אבלmourning ADJ אבל
mouth פה CST פי
move lightly Q רמש
moving things רמשmuch רב P רבים
multiply Q רבה; HI יסף
multitude המון ;רב
English-Hebrew Glossary G64
N
Nahash נחש
Nahor נחור
naked עירם ;ערום
name שם P תשמו
Naomi (‘pleasant one’) נעמי
Nathan נתן
nation גוי
near קרוב
neck גרגרות
Negeb נגבneighbor שכן
nest קן
new moon חדשnight לילהnine תשע F תשעה
ninety תשעים
ninth תשיעי
no לא
Noah נח
Nod נוד
nose אף
not בלתי, בלתי ;ללא
not (with commands) אל
not yet טרם
now עתה
number Q ספר; Q מנה
nurse HI ינק
O
Obed עובד
obey בקול שמע
observe Q בין
offense, crime, wrongdoing פשעofficial שר P שרים
old זקן
on account of עבור (only as בעבור)
on behalf of בעד CST בעד
one אחד F אחת
only ; אך ;יחידרק
only one יחיד
open Q פתח
open ears Q פקח
open eyes Q פקח
opening פתחopposite to נגדor או
ordain PI מנה
Orpah ערפה
outcry צעקה
English-Hebrew Glossary G65
over על
overseer פקיד
overthrow הפכה
overturn Q הפך
owner בעלox בקר
P
pain עצב ;עצבוןpalace היכל
pass away, perish אבד, גוע
pass over Q עבר
pasture Q רעה
pasture מרעה
path ארחpay back PI שלם
peace (greeting) שלום
people גוי ;עם
perceive Q בין
perish Q גוע, אבד
persecute Q רדף
pestilence דברPharaoh פרעה
Philistine פלשתי
Philistines פלשתים
pick up Q לקט
pit באר ; בור
place NOUN מקום P מקמות
place VB Q נתן; Q שים ,שום ; HI יצג
place of feet מרגלות
place of lying (down) משכב
plague דברplain בקעה
plank לוח P לחות
plant Q נטע
plate לוח P לחות
play Q שחק
pleasant טוב
pleasure חפץpledge Q חבל
pluck Q עקר; Q טרף
pollute PI חלל; HI חנף
ponder HI שכל
portent מופת
portion חלק ;חלקהpossession נחלה
Potiphar פוטיפר
pour (oil) HI יצק
pour out (blood) Q שפך
pour, pour out Q יצק
English-Hebrew Glossary G66
power כח
practice מעלל
praise PI הלל; HI ידה
pray HIT פלל
pregnancy הריון (also הרון)
previously לפנים
priest כהן
prince שר P שרים
proclaim Q קרא
proclamation קריאה
produce, yield תבואה
produce seed HI זרע
(unlawful) profit, gain בצעprolong HI ארך
property ,נחלהמקנה
prophesy NI, HIT נבא
prophet נביא
prosper Q שלו; Q צלח
prostrate oneself HISHTAFEL חוה
proximity אצלprudence שכלpull, drag, carry off Q משך
pull up (tent pegs) Q נסע
pure טהור
pursue Q רדף
pursue ardently PI רדף
put Q שית; Q שים ,שום
put an end to HI שבת
R
Rachel רחל
raise HI קום
Ramses רעמסס
reach Q נגע
read aloud Q קרא
reap Q קצר
Rebekah רבקה
rebuke, insult Q גער
receive Q לקח
recognize HI נכר
redeem Q גאל
reeds סוף
refuse PI מאן
regard HI נכר
regret NI נחם
Rehoboam רחבעם
reign NOUN מלכות
reign VB Q מלך
rejoice Q שמח ,שמח
remain NI שאר
English-Hebrew Glossary G67
remain over NI יתר
remember Q זכר
remove רחק
remove Q אסף; HI סור
rend Q קרע ; Q טרף
report, rumor דבה
rescue ישעresemble Q דמה
resident alien גר
resin נכאת
respond Q ענה
rest NOUN שבת
rest VB Q נוח; Q שבת
restrain PI חבש
return Q שוב
return (something) HI שוב
Reuben ראובן
reverence יראה
reward PI שלם
right hand ימין
right side ימין
righteous צדיק
righteousness צדק ;צדקהrise Q קום; Q זרח
road דרך
rod ; מטהשבט
root up Q עקר
round district ככר
royal power מלכות
royalty מלכות
rule NOUN ממשלה ;ממלכה
rule VB Q רדה; Q משל
run Q רוץ
run-off ravine נחלrushes סוף
Ruth רות
S
sabbath שבת
sacred קדוש
sacredness קדשsacrifice Q, PI זבח
saddlebag כר
sailor Q ptcp חבל
salt מלחsalvation ישעSamuel שמואל
sand חול
sandal נעל, DU נעליםSarah שרה
English-Hebrew Glossary G68
Sarai שרי
Saul שאול
save HI ישע
say Q אמר
scroll ספרsea ים ;תהום
Sea of Reeds (‘Red Sea’) סוף־ יםsea-monster תנין
second שני
secrecy לט ,לאט ;סתר
see Q ראה
see! הן ;הנה
seed זרעseek Q דרש; PI בקש
seek refuge Q חסה
seize HI חזק
self נפשsell Q מכר
sell grain HI שבר
send Q שלח
send far away PI רחק
Sennacherib סנחריב
sensible ערום
separate Q פרד; HI בדל
separate (something) HI פרד
sepulchre קברserpent נחש ;תנין
servant עבדserve Q עבד
set Q נתן; Q שית; Q שים ,שום ; HI יצג
set down נוח
set on fire HI יצת
set out Q נסע
set up HI כון
set up, cause to stand העמיד (HI עמד)
set, place, establish הציג (HI יצג)
settle Q שכן
settle (tr.), set, cause to kesit הושיב (HI ישב)
seven שבע F שבעה
seven-fold שבעתיםseventh שביעי
seventy שבעים
sew together Q תפר
Shaddai שדי
shape Q יצר
share חלקshatter PI שבר
she היא
sheaf אלמה
Sheba שבע
English-Hebrew Glossary G69
Shechem שכם
shed (blood) Q שפך
sheep צאן
Shem שם
Sheol שאול
shepherd NOUN Q PTCP רעה
shepherd VB Q רעה
Shiloh שלה
Shinar (Babylonia) שנער
shine HI אור
shoe נעל נעלים
shoot (arrows) Q, HI ירה
shore שפה
shorten PI, HI קצר
show HI ראה
show experience HI צלח
show favor Q חנן
show hostility Q צרר
show oneself NI ראה
show quietness HI שקט
shrewd ערום
side, edge עברsign אות ;מופת
Silah צלה
silver כסף
sin NOUN חטא ;חטאה ; חטאת
sin VB Q חטא
Sinai סיני
sin-offering חטאת
sister אחות P אחיות
sister-in-law יבמה, NIS יבמתsit Q ישב
six שש F ששה
sixth ששי
sixty ששים
skin עור
skip about Q רקד
slaughter Q, PI זבח; Q שחט
slay Q הרג
slippery חלק
small ; קטן; קטנהקטן ,צעיר
smite HI נכה
smooth חלק
snake נחש
snatch away HI נצל
so כה ; כן
so that (result) למעןso that not (negative purpose) פן
Sodom סדם
sojourn Q גור
English-Hebrew Glossary G70
solitary יחיד
solitude בד (see לבד)
Solomon שלמה
son בן P בנים
song שירה
sound קול ;תמים
south נגבsow seed Q זרע
speak PI דבר
species מין
speech אמרspirit, wind רוח
spoil PI, HI שחט
spread NI פרץ ; HI יצע
spring up Q צמח
sprout Q צמח
staff מטה P מטות
stallion סוס
stand Q עמד
stand up Q קום
star כוכב
station oneself NI נצב; HIT יצב
statute חק ,חק־ (with suffix, חקך ,חקי )
steal Q גנב
steal away PI גנב
steer פר
step פעםsteppe ערבה
still עוד
stolen item גנבה
stone אבן P אבנים
store אוצר
storehouse אוצר
storm Q סער; PI סער
stranger גר
strength חיל ;כח ;מאדstrengthen HI חזק
strengthen (something) PI אמץ
stretch out Q נטה
strife מדון P מדונים ,מדנים , and מדונים
strike Q נגע; HI נכה
subdue Q כבש
suck Q ינק
suckle HI ינק
sun שמשsunset ערבsupplied by קטן
support Q אמן
support oneself NI שען
surely אך
English-Hebrew Glossary G71
surround Q סבב
survivor שריד
swarm Q שרץ
swarm (of flies) ערב
swarmers שרץswarming things שרץswear (an oath) NI שבע
sweat זעה
sword חרב, חרבות
T
tabernacle משכן
tablet לוח P לחות
take Q לקח
take one's stand HIT יצב
take one's stand NI נצב
take pleasure in Q חמד
take possession Q ירש
take vengeance Q נקם
Tarshish תרשיש
teach שכל; PI למד; HI בין
tear Q קרע; Q טרף
teem Q שרץ
tell PI ספר
temple היכל
temporary abode, place of sojourning מגור
ten עשר F עשרה
tend Q רעה
tent אהלtenth עשירי
teraphim (a kind of idol, a means of
divination) P תרפים
territory גבול ;חלק
terror יראה
testimony עדות
that אשר ;הוא ;היא ;כי
the • ה
there שם
there are not אין ,אין־there is יש
there is not אין ,אין־therefore לכן
these אלהthey הם/המה ;הן/הנהthing דבר
think Q חשב
third generation, the (those belonging to)
שלשים
thirty, thirtieth שלשים
this זאת
English-Hebrew Glossary G72
this זה
thistles דרדר
thorn-bush קוץ
thorns קוץ
those הם/המה ;הן/הנהthough כי
thousand אלףthree שלש F שלשה
threshing floor גרןthrone כסא
throw Q, HI ירה; HI שלך ; HI טול
thrust out Q גרש
thus כה ;כן
time זמן ;עת ;פעםto אל־;ל ; ה (suffixed on nouns)
to where? אנהtoday היום
towards ה (suffixed on nouns)
toil עצב ;עצבוןtongue לשון P נותלש
torrent (valley) נחלtouch Q נגע
towards אל־trader Q PTCP סחר
transgression עון
tread Q דרך
treasure אוצר
treasury אוצר
tree עץ
tribe ; מטהשבט
trust Q בטח
truth אמת
tumult מהומה
tunic תנת ,כתנת כturn HI נטה
turn about Q סבב
turn aside Q סור
turn back Q שוב
twenty עשרים
twist PI חבל
two שתים cst שנים ; שתי
U
unclean טמא
uncover, reveal Q גלה
under תחתunderstand HI בין
understanding בינה
underworld שאול
until עד
English-Hebrew Glossary G73
unto עד
upon על
upper thigh, side ירך
upwards מעל (only מעלה)
use the right hand HI ימן
used to introduce direct speech לאמר
utensil כלי P כלים
utterance (always CST) נאם
utterly mock HI שחק
V
vainly ריקם
valley , בקעהעמק
valor חילvessel כלי P כלים
vexation כעסvineyard כרםviolence חמס
vision מראה
visit Q פקד
voice קול
vulture נשר
W X Y Z
wadi נחל
wages משכרתwail Q ספד
wake early HI שכם
walk Q הלך; Q דרך
wall חומה
wander Q תעה
war מלחמה
watch NOUN משמרתwatch VB Q נצר
water NOUN מיםwater VB HI שקה
water-trough רהטway ארח ;דרךwe נחנו ,אנחנוwealth חיל ;כבודwean Q גמל
wear Q לבש
weep Q בכה
weight ככר
well באר ; בור
well-being שלום
what? מה
when כאשר ;כי
when? מתי
where? אי ;איה ;אנה
English-Hebrew Glossary G74
which • ש ;אשר
while עד
who • ש ;אשר
who? מי
why? ה ;מדוע למה ,למ
wicked רשע
wide רחב
wield Q תפש
wife אשה P נשים
wilderness מדבר
wine ייןwing כנף כנפים כנפות
wipe away Q מחה
wise חכם F חכמה
with עם (W. ENCL. PRN. עמי, etc.); את את־;ב
with me עמדי
witness עד
woman אשה, P נשים
women נשים; see אשה
wonder מופת
wood עצים
word אמר ;דברwork NOUN מלאכה ;מעשה ;פעל
work VB Q עבד
would that לו
wound מכה
write Q כתב
writhe PI חבל
year שנה P שנים
years old (idiom. for X years old) שנה־ בן
yes כן
yet עוד
Yhwh (personal name of God of Israel) יהוה
you MS אתה; MP אתם; FS את; FP אתן ,אתנה
young צעיר
young boy נערyoung bull פר
young girl נערה
Zilpah זלפה
Zion ציון