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- A Call to Listen: A Beginner’s Guide to Hebrew Grammar in Jeremiah 10:1
- “Even If I Wash with Snow”: Job’s Cry of Purity and Futility in Hebrew
- Your People and Your Inheritance: Strength and Arm Between Hebrew and Greek
- Who is Abimelek? Political Defiance in Hebrew Speech
- May God Enlarge Japheth: Syntax, Blessing, and Subordination in Genesis 9:27
- The Plea of the Prophet: Syntax, Intercession, and Covenant Echoes in Deuteronomy 9:26
- The Swift Flight of Life: Syntax and Poetic Motion in Job 9:25
- Fear and Syntax in Giveʿon: Nested Clauses and Theological Strategy in Joshua 9:24
- Wayyiqtol Verbs, Ruach Imagery, and Political Betrayal in Judges 9:23
- Imperatives, Prophetic Syntax, and Stark Imagery in Jeremiah 9:22
- From Ashes to Dust: The Golden Calf in Hebrew Fire and Greek Fragmentation
- Fear and Obedience: How Hebrew “הֵנִיס” Becomes Greek “συνήγαγεν”
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Author Archives: Biblical Hebrew
Commanded to Teach: Exploring Binyanim in Deuteronomy 6:1
וְזֹ֣את הַמִּצְוָ֗ה הַֽחֻקִּים֙ וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֛ה יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם לְלַמֵּ֣ד אֶתְכֶ֑ם לַעֲשֹׂ֣ות בָּאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֛ם עֹבְרִ֥ים שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ (Deuteronomy 6:1)
Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the judgments—that YHWH your God commanded to teach you, to do in the land into which you are passing over, to possess it.
Overview: Structuring Covenant through Verbal Stems
Deuteronomy 6:1 introduces the core framework of covenantal obedience by summarizing divine directives—commandments, statutes, and judgments. Three significant verbs drive the theological and grammatical energy of this verse, each from a distinct binyan.… Learn Hebrew
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The Hinge Between Promise and Exile
Opening: Context and Verse
This is the opening line of Sefer Shemot — Exodus — a threshold verse that ushers us into a new era in Israel’s story. It begins with a deceptively familiar formula:
וְאֵ֗לֶּה שְׁמֹות֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַבָּאִ֖ים מִצְרָ֑יְמָה אֵ֣ת יַעֲקֹ֔ב אִ֥ישׁ וּבֵיתֹ֖ו בָּֽאוּ׃
“And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt, with Jacob — each man and his household entered.” (Exodus 1:1)
The book opens not with drama or divine speech, but with a list — a catalog of names.… Learn Hebrew
The Hebrew Verb זָקַק – To Purify, Refine
The verb זָקַק (zakak) means “to purify” or “to refine,” especially in the context of purifying metals like silver. It is a vivid and poetic verb that appears in the Hebrew Bible, primarily in poetic or prophetic literature, where it symbolizes moral or spiritual refinement. It is typically used in the Qal stem and occasionally appears in related binyanim such as Pual or Niphal.
Occurrences in the Tanakh
One well-known occurrence of זָקַק is in Psalm 12:7:
אִמְרֹ֣ות יְהוָ֣ה אֲמָרֹ֣ות טְהֹרֹ֑ות כֶּ֖סֶף צָרוּף בַּעֲלִ֥יל לָאָ֗רֶץ מְזֻקָּ֥ק שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם׃
“The words of the LORD are pure words: silver refined in a furnace on the ground, refined seven times.”… Learn Hebrew
The Syntax of the Poor Man’s Sin: A Grammatical Window into Equity and Access
וְאִם־לֹא֩ תַשִּׂ֨יג יָדֹ֜ו לִשְׁתֵּ֣י תֹרִ֗ים אֹו֮ לִשְׁנֵ֣י בְנֵי־יֹונָה֒ וְהֵבִ֨יא אֶת־קָרְבָּנֹ֜ו אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָטָ֗א עֲשִׂירִ֧ת הָאֵפָ֛ה סֹ֖לֶת לְחַטָּ֑את לֹא־יָשִׂ֨ים עָלֶ֜יהָ שֶׁ֗מֶן וְלֹא־יִתֵּ֤ן עָלֶ֨יהָ֙ לְבֹנָ֔ה כִּ֥י חַטָּ֖את הִֽיא׃
In the priestly code of Leviticus, where ritual precision often dominates the narrative, we find in Vayiqra 5:11 a verse that breathes with ethical nuance. It speaks not only to the structure of atonement but to the very fabric of social equity within the sacrificial system. When an individual cannot afford the standard offering — two turtledoves or pigeons — they may bring fine flour instead.… Learn Hebrew
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The Hebrew Verb זָקַף: To Raise, Erect, Lift Up
The Hebrew Verb זָקַף – To Raise, Erect
The verb זָקַף (zakaf) means “to raise,” “to straighten,” or “to erect.” It belongs to Classical and Rabbinic Hebrew, where it often appears in discussions about posture (e.g., standing upright) or ceremonial actions (e.g., erecting an object). Although it is not attested in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh, it holds linguistic significance and is used in Rabbinic literature. The following tables provide a full morphological presentation of the verb as it would conjugate in Biblical Hebrew, based on standard patterns.… Learn Hebrew
Forty Years of Syntax: The Structural Journey of Joshua 5:6
כִּ֣י אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֗ה הָלְכ֣וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ בַּמִּדְבָּר֒ עַד־תֹּ֨ם כָּל־הַגֹּ֜וי אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ הַיֹּצְאִ֣ים מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־שָׁמְע֖וּ בְּקֹ֣ול יְהוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֤ע יְהוָה֙ לָהֶ֔ם לְבִלְתִּ֞י הַרְאֹותָ֣ם אֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֨ע יְהוָ֤ה לַֽאֲבֹותָם֙ לָ֣תֶת לָ֔נוּ אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃
(Joshua 5:6)
For forty years the children of Yisraʾel walked in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Mitsrayim, perished because they did not obey the voice of YHWH, to whom YHWH had sworn that He would not show them the land that YHWH had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.… Learn Hebrew
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Quiet Binyanim in a Genealogy: How Form Shapes Ancestral Flow
וַֽיְחִי־לֶ֗מֶךְ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ הֹולִידֹ֣ו אֶת־נֹ֔חַ חָמֵ֤שׁ וְתִשְׁעִים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וַחֲמֵ֥שׁ מֵאֹ֖ת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיֹּ֥ולֶד בָּנִ֖ים וּבָנֹֽות׃
(Genesis 5:30)
And Lemekh lived after he had begotten Noaḥ five and ninety years and five hundred years and he begot sons and daughters
Rhythm of Life in Repetition
Genesis 5 is a genealogical chapter full of repetition—but repetition with meaning. The verb patterns throughout this list are not arbitrary. In this single verse, we encounter two binyanim—Qal and Hiphil—that structure the rhythm of life, time, and reproduction.… Learn Hebrew
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The Hebrew Verb זָקֵן: To Grow Old, Become Aged
The verb זָקֵן (root: ז־ק־ן) is a stative verb in Biblical Hebrew meaning “to grow old” or “to become aged.” It reflects a process of aging or maturing and is closely related to the noun זָקֵן (“old man” or “elder”). This verb typically appears in the Qal binyan and conveys a passive or intransitive process rather than active action.
Though less frequent than some other verbs, זָקֵן carries significant theological and narrative weight in Scripture. The concept of aging is often tied to wisdom, honor, and divine favor.… Learn Hebrew
Bitter Waters and Hidden Binyanim: The Verb Forms Behind the Trial of Jealousy
זֹ֥את תֹּורַ֖ת הַקְּנָאֹ֑ת אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּשְׂטֶ֥ה אִשָּׁ֛ה תַּ֥חַת אִישָׁ֖הּ וְנִטְמָֽאָה׃
(Numbers 5:29)
This is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray under her husband and becomes defiled
Grammatical Framing of Moral Crisis
This verse sits at the end of the ritual of the sotah—the woman suspected of adultery. While the surrounding narrative is rich in physical detail and ceremonial imagery, this verse compresses the essence of the law into two powerful verbs. Both are non-Qal forms, and both project theological and judicial weight: trespass and defilement wrapped in morphology.… Learn Hebrew
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The Hebrew Verb זִמֵּן: To Appoint, Prepare, or Designate (Post-Biblical)
The root ז־מ־ן does not occur as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, but it is active in Post-Biblical Hebrew, especially in Rabbinic and Modern Hebrew, where the verb זִמֵּן (Piel binyan) means:
To appoint (a time or event)
To prepare or arrange (something ahead of time)
To invite (especially in modern usage)
The related noun זְמַן (“time” or “appointed time”) is biblical and frequently used in books like Daniel and Ecclesiastes. The verb form, however, is a development in later Hebrew.… Learn Hebrew
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