Gender & Number Agreement in Biblical Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew enforces gender and number agreement across verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and participles, requiring morphological alignment with the grammatical identity of the noun—be it masculine, feminine, singular, plural, or dual. Verb forms like אָמַר (he said) versus אָמְרָה (she said), and adjective pairs such as טוֹב vs. טוֹבָה reflect this coordination. Special cases, such as feminine inanimates taking masculine verbs or God’s plural form אֱלֹהִים paired with singular verbs, underscore theological or poetic emphasis. Collective and mixed-gender nouns typically default to masculine plural, while participles mirror their subject’s features. These agreement patterns ensure syntactic harmony and deepen interpretive clarity in Biblical narrative and poetry.

Introduction

Biblical Hebrew is a language that requires close grammatical coordination between elements of a sentence, especially in the areas of gender and number agreement. This agreement manifests primarily in verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and participles, all of which must match the grammatical gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun they modify or reference. This article explores the grammatical principles of gender and number agreement in Biblical Hebrew, supported by examples and syntactic observations across prose, poetry, and legal texts.

Gender in Biblical Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew distinguishes two grammatical genders:

• Masculine – the default or unmarked gender, often used for mixed-gender or general references.
• Feminine – marked typically with suffixes such as -ָה (e.g., מִצְוָה, “commandment”) or -ת in nouns.

Some nouns are inherently masculine or feminine, while others follow grammatical rather than natural gender. For example:

• יֶלֶד (“boy”) – masculine
• יַלְדָּה (“girl”) – feminine
• אֶרֶץ (“land”) – feminine, though it lacks a feminine ending

Number in Biblical Hebrew

Hebrew uses three grammatical numbers:

• Singular – one item or subject
• Plural – more than one
• Dual – a special form used for natural pairs (e.g., יָדַיִם “hands”, רַגְלַיִם “feet”)

Plural forms are typically marked by:

• -ִים for masculine nouns (e.g., מְלָכִים, “kings”)
• -וֹת for feminine nouns (e.g., מִצְוֹת, “commandments”)

Agreement Rules Across Grammatical Categories

1. Verb-Subject Agreement

Verbs in Hebrew agree with their subjects in gender and number, especially in the perfect and imperfect conjugations.

2. Adjective-Noun Agreement

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify.

Examples:

• אִישׁ טוֹב – “a good man” (masc. sing.)
• אִשָּׁה טוֹבָה – “a good woman” (fem. sing.)
• אֲנָשִׁים טוֹבִים – “good men” (masc. pl.)
• נָשִׁים טוֹבוֹת – “good women” (fem. pl.)

3. Pronoun Agreement

Pronouns also follow gender and number, and they govern the form of attached suffixes.

4. Participle Agreement

Participles function as verbal adjectives and agree with the subject in gender and number.

Examples:

• הָאִישׁ הַהוֹלֵךְ – “the man who is going”
• הָאִשָּׁה הַהֹלֶכֶת – “the woman who is going”
• הַיְלָדִים הַהֹלְכִים – “the boys who are going”

Special Cases and Exceptions

1. Inanimate Feminines with Masculine Verbs

Sometimes in poetry or elevated prose, feminine plural inanimates take masculine plural verbs.

Example:
הָרִים נָשְׂאוּ קוֹלָם – “The mountains lifted up their voice”
(Mountains = masculine plural verb, despite being inanimate.)

2. Collective Nouns

Words like עָם (people) or צָבָא (host) are grammatically singular but semantically plural. Verbs and adjectives may agree grammatically or semantically, depending on context.

3. Mixed-Gender Groups

When referencing groups with both males and females, Hebrew uses masculine plural as the default grammatical form.

Example:
הֵם בָּאוּ – “They came” (about a mixed group)

Theological and Literary Implications

1. Emphasis Through Agreement

Shifts in gender or number agreement can highlight contrast, emphasis, or even irony. For instance, assigning feminine verbs to a masculine noun may poetically personify it.

2. Divine Grammar

In some texts, the name of God (אֱלֹהִים) is plural in form but takes singular verbs, reinforcing monotheism through grammatical structure.

Example:
אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא – “God created” (Genesis 1:1)

Harmony in Grammatical Structure

Gender and number agreement in Biblical Hebrew is not a mere formality—it is a system that ensures grammatical harmony and contributes to literary precision and theological clarity. Mastery of these agreement patterns allows interpreters to detect nuances, poetic shifts, and deeper meanings woven into the fabric of the Hebrew Scriptures. Whether aligning a verb with its subject or ensuring a pronoun fits its antecedent, gender and number agreement reflects the disciplined elegance of the language of the Bible.