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- Differences Between Synonyms in Biblical Hebrew (e.g., יָדָע vs. בָּרַךְ for “Bless”)
- Morphology in Biblical Hebrew: Word Formation & Inflection
- Proverbs and Their Grammatical Structure
- Descending into Night: Time Expressions and Poetic Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew
- The Tiberian Vowel System
- When God Speaks: The Syntax of Divine Speech Frames in Biblical Hebrew
- The Role of Gutturals (א, ה, ח, ע) in Verb Conjugation
- “Into the Ark Together”: Order, Gender, and Cause in the LXX Rendering of Noah’s Entry
- Burning Beneath the Pot: Simile Syntax and Semantic Force in Ecclesiastes 7:6
- Gutturals in Biblical Hebrew
- Guarded by Grammar: Purpose Clauses and Verbal Suffixes in Proverbs 7:5
- And They Fled Before the Men of ʿAi”: A Hebrew Battle Surprise
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Category Archives: Aramaic
One Night, Two Dreams: The Syntax of Paired Constructs in Targum Onkelos
וַחֲלָמוּ חֶלְמָא תַּרְוֵיהוֹן גְּבַר חֶלְמֵיהּ בְּלֵילְיָא חַד גְּבַר כְּפוּשְׁרַן חֶלְמֵיהּ שָׁקְיָא וְנַחְתּוֹמָא דִּי לְמַלְכָּא דְמִצְרַיִם דִּי אֲסִירִין בְּבֵית אֲסִירֵי:
(Genesis 40:5)
And they dreamed a dream, the two of them—each man his dream in one night—each man, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Mitsrayim, who were confined in the house of imprisonment.
Whispers Behind Bars: A Narrative Opening
In the depths of a prison cell in Mitsrayim, two officials of the king—each tarnished by suspicion—share not only confinement, but something stranger: a dream.… Learn Hebrew
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Scroll Marginalia: When Moshe Calls Grammar to Order (Onkelos on Deuteronomy 5:1)
וּקְרָא משֶׁה לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲמַר לְהוֹן שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יָת קְיָמַיָּא וְיָת דִּינַיָּא דִּי אֲנָא מְמַלֵּל קֳדָמֵיכוֹן יוֹמָא דֵין וְתַלְּפוּן יָתְהוֹן וְתִטְּרוּן לְמֶעְבָּדְהוֹן:
And Moshe called to all Yisraʾel and said to them, “Hear, O Yisraʾel, the statutes and the judgments that I am speaking before you today, and you shall learn them and keep them to perform them.”
Margins of Authority: The Verse at a Glance
This verse marks a turning point—the reintroduction of the Ten Words—but the Targum does not simply restate the moment.… Learn Hebrew
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She Spoke and He Was Named: Constructing Divine Reward in Genesis 30:18
וַאֲמֶרֶת לֵאָה יְהַב יְיָ אַגְרִי דִּיהָבִית אַמְתִי לְבַעְלִי וּקְרַת שְׁמֵיהּ יִשָּׂשׂכָר:
(Genesis 30:18)
And Leʾah said, “YHWH has given my reward, because I gave my maidservant to my husband,” and she called his name Yissakhar.
The Voice of Leʾah: A Dramatic Monologue
“Yehav YHWH agri”—the words burst forth from Leʾah’s lips, not with self-pity but divine arithmetic. Her grammar is theology, her syntax is sacrifice. In this verse, Targum Onkelos preserves not only the content of the Hebrew but its rhetorical sequence and relational logic, steeped in reward, agency, and naming.… Learn Hebrew
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“Leit Mayya”: Verbless Clauses and Existential Negation in Targum Onkelos
וּנְטָלוּ כָּל כְּנִשְׁתָּא דִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמַדְבְּרָא דְסִין לְמַטְלָנֵיהוֹן עַל מֵימְרָא דַיְיָ וּשְׁרוֹ בִּרְפִידִים וְלֵית מַיָא לְמִשְׁתֵּי עַמָא
And the entire assembly of the children of Yisraʾel departed from the wilderness of Sin for their journeys by the word of the LORD, and they camped in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink
Opening Insight: A Sentence Without a Verb?
One of the fascinating features of Targumic Aramaic is its use of verbless clauses—sentences where no overt verb appears, yet full semantic content is achieved.… Learn Hebrew
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From Thrones to Dust: Object Suffix Chains and Grief Syntax in Targum Jonathan on Ezekiel 26:16
וְיֶחֱתוּן מֵעַל כּוּרְסְוָתֵיהוֹן כָּל רַבְרְבֵי יַמָא וְיַעְדוּן יַת מְעִילֵיהוֹן וְיַת לְבוּשֵׁי צִיוּרֵיהוֹן יַשְׁלְחוּן זְיַע יִלְבְּשׁוּן עַל אַרְעָא יַתְבוּן וִיזוּעוּן מִן קֳדָם תְּבִירֵיהוֹן וְיִצְדוּן עֲלָךְ
And all the lords of the sea shall descend from their thrones, and they shall remove their cloaks and the garments of their adornments; trembling they shall put on; they shall sit upon the ground and shall quake before their breaking, and shall lament over you.
Why This Verse?
This verse from Targum Jonathan on Ezekiel 26:16 is a poetic and powerful expression of lament over Tyre.… Learn Hebrew
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Making Peace by Grammar: Legal Speech and Ratification in Joshua 9:15 (Targum Jonathan)
וַעֲבַד לְהוֹן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שְׁלָם וּגְזַר לְהוֹן קְיָם לְקַיָמוּתְהוֹן וְקַיְימוּ לְהוֹ רַבְרְבֵי כְּנִשְׁתָּא:
And Yehoshua made peace with them and established a covenant with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation ratified it with him.
Narrative Exposition: The Grammar Behind the Treaty
The Gibeonite deception led to more than a clever ruse—it led to a legal covenant, articulated in the judicial and covenantal syntax of Targum Jonathan. This verse captures how Yehoshua and the Israelite elders respond not merely with action but with verbal formulae, encoded in Peʿal verbs, abstract nouns, and construct chains.… Learn Hebrew
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Between the Suns and the Completion of Labor: Aspect and Construct Syntax in Targum Jonathan on Genesis 2:2
וּשְׁלִים יְיָ בְּיוֹמָא שְׁבִיעָאָה עֲבִידְתֵּיהּ דְעָבַד וְעִישַרְתֵּי עִיסְקִין דִבְרָא בֵּינֵי שִׁמְשְׁתָא וְנַח בְּיוֹמָא שְׁבִיעָאָה מִכָּל עֲבִידְתֵּיהּ דְעָבָד
And the LORD completed on the seventh day His work which He had done, and He enriched the operations of creation between the suns, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.
Verse Selection and Focus
This richly interpretive rendering of Genesis 2:2 by Targum Jonathan offers fertile ground for grammatical analysis. We will focus on two key features:
1.… Learn Hebrew
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“Yat” and the Marking of Definiteness: The Syntax of Direct Objects in Targum Onkelos
בְּקַדְמִין בְּרָא יְיָ יָת שְׁמַיָּא וְיָת אַרְעָא
In the beginning, the LORD created the heavens and the earth
Opening Focus: Why Study יָת?
In Biblical Aramaic, and especially in Targum Onkelos, the particle יָת (yat) plays a critical grammatical role. It marks definite direct objects, a feature not found in the same way in Biblical Hebrew. The verse בְּקַדְמִין בְּרָא יְיָ יָת שְׁמַיָּא וְיָת אַרְעָא (Genesis 1:1 in Targum Onkelos) beautifully demonstrates this phenomenon, containing two uses of יָת that frame the syntax of the act of creation.… Learn Hebrew
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When the Spirit Spills: Verbal Prophecy and Vision Grammar in Joel 3:1 (Targum Jonathan)
וִיהֵי בָּתַר כֵּן אֶשְׁפּוֹךְ יַת רוּחַ קוּדְשִׁי עַל כָּל בִּסְרָא וְיִתְנַבּוּן בְּנֵיכוֹן וּבְנָתֵיכוֹן סָבֵיכוֹן חֶלְמִין יַחְלְמוּן עוּלֵמֵיכוֹן חֶזְוָנִין יֶחֱזוּן:
And it shall be afterward, I will pour out My Holy Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
Dramatic Monologue: The Spirit Speaks
In this prophetic promise, Targum Jonathan renders the descent of the Spirit in grammatically rich forms: Peʿal and Hitpaʿal futures, direct object markers, and possessive chains express divine intention, human transformation, and generational reach.… Learn Hebrew