Plural gender agreement in Biblical Hebrew weaves together grammar and literary art, with verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and participles adapting to both number and gender. While masculine and feminine distinctions are clear in the imperfect and adjective forms, poetic and later texts blur boundaries—sometimes using masculine plurals for feminine subjects, especially abstract or collective nouns. This flexibility not only reveals the language’s structural nuance but enhances its rhetorical range. Biblical Hebrew’s gender concord isn’t just syntactic—it’s a stylistic device that deepens meaning and signals shifts in tone, genre, and theological focus.
The Architecture of Agreement in Biblical Hebrew
Biblical Hebrew exhibits a robust system of grammatical agreement in number and gender. In the plural, this system becomes particularly rich and at times complex. Verbs and adjectives must align with their subject nouns not only in number (plural vs. singular) but also in gender (masculine vs. feminine). This agreement is most visible in verbal morphology, attributive adjectives, and pronominal suffixes. While the rules are generally consistent, poetry and later Biblical Hebrew reveal occasional variation, which contributes to the expressive power of the language.
Plural Gender in Noun Morphology
Nouns typically mark their plural number with specific suffixes that are also indicative of gender:
- -ִים for masculine plural (e.g., סְפָרִים – books)
- -וֹת for feminine plural (e.g., מְלָכוֹת – kingdoms)
These morphological markers set the expectation for gender agreement across the clause.
Verbal Agreement with Plural Subjects
Verbs in Biblical Hebrew change form to match both the number and gender of their subjects in the perfect (suffix-conjugation) and imperfect (prefix-conjugation) paradigms. Below is a table showing third-person plural agreement:
| Gender | Perfect | Imperfect | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine Plural | כָּתְבוּ | יִכְתְּבוּ | They (m.) wrote / will write |
| Feminine Plural | כָּתְבוּ | תִּכְתֹּבְנָה | They (f.) wrote / will write |
Note the convergence in the perfect form, where both masculine and feminine plural use -וּ. However, in the imperfect, gender distinctions are preserved: masculine takes יִ- -וּ while feminine takes תִּ- -נָה.
Adjective Agreement in Plural Constructions
Adjectives in Biblical Hebrew follow the gender and number of the noun they modify. This agreement applies both in attributive and predicative constructions. The adjective will reflect masculine plural or feminine plural endings:
| Gender | Adjective Form | Example Phrase | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine Plural | טוֹבִים | דְּבָרִים טוֹבִים | Good words |
| Feminine Plural | טוֹבוֹת | מִצְוֺת טוֹבוֹת | Good commandments |
Adjectives are declined for gender in the same way as nouns. This system reinforces gender awareness and provides cohesive structure within the clause.
Plural Concord in Participles and Pronouns
Participles in Biblical Hebrew also agree with their subjects in number and gender, functioning either adjectivally or as verbal nouns. Similarly, independent pronouns and pronominal suffixes exhibit plural gender differentiation.
| Form Type | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Participle | כּוֹתְבִים | כּוֹתְבוֹת |
| Pronoun (Independent) | הֵם | הֵן |
| Pronominal Suffix (to prepositions) | לָהֶם | לָהֶן |
Generic and Mixed-Gender Plural Subjects
When referring to groups of mixed gender or when gender is unknown, Biblical Hebrew defaults to masculine plural agreement. This reflects the language’s androcentric grammatical structure.
Example:
- יָדְעוּ – “They knew” (used even if the group includes both men and women)
- הֵם עָמְדוּ – “They stood” (generic plural subject)
This masculine-default rule helps disambiguate potentially unclear cases but can also obscure the presence of female referents unless clarified contextually.
Variations and Irregularities in Later and Poetic Hebrew
Later biblical books and poetic passages occasionally reveal lapses or deliberate shifts in gender agreement for plural forms. Feminine plural verbs may take masculine agreement, particularly when the subject is collective or abstract. This stylistic flexibility enhances rhetorical range and can mark shifts in genre or tone.
Example:
- נָשִׁים דִּבְּרוּ vs. נָשִׁים דִּבֶּר (expected vs. poetic simplification)
These variations should not be treated as grammatical errors but as literary features of the text.
Plural Gender Agreement as a Window into Syntax and Style
The careful system of plural gender agreement in Biblical Hebrew provides insight into the syntactic structure, stylistic register, and sometimes even the theological worldview of the biblical text. Deviations from expected agreement may signal emphasis, poetic compression, or a broader scope of reference. Understanding these dynamics equips the interpreter to read Hebrew with greater precision and literary sensitivity.
