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Recent Articles
- Fear, Dominion, and Syntax: A Grammar Lesson from Genesis 9:2
- “And Job Answered and Said”: A Hebrew Lesson on Job 9:1
- Syntax of Covenant Obedience: The Altar of Uncut Stones in Joshua 8:31
- Unlock the Secrets of the Tanakh: Why Hebrew Morphology is the Key
- The Poetics of Verbal Repetition in Proverbs 8:30
- Syntax of the Wave Offering: Moses and the Breast Portion in Leviticus 8:29
- Firm Skies and Deep Springs: Grammar in Proverbs 8:28
- Only the Spoil: A Hebrew Lesson on Joshua 8:27
- Binyanim Under Pressure: Exodus 8:26
- When Service Ends: A Hebrew Lesson on Numbers 8:25
- Consecration Through Syntax: The Priestly Ritual in Leviticus 8:24
- “A Three-Day Journey”: The Syntax of Volition and Deixis in Exodus According to Targum Onkelos
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Category Archives: Grammar
“These Are Your Gods, O Yisra’el”: Construct Chains and Verbless Clauses in Exodus 32:4
וַיִּקַּ֣ח מִיָּדָ֗ם וַיָּ֤צַר אֹתֹו֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶט וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ עֵ֣גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
(Exodus 32:4)
And he took it from their hands, and he shaped it with a graving tool and made it a molten calf. And they said, “These are your gods, Yisra’el, who brought you up out of the land of Mitsrayim.”
Declaring the Calf Divine
Exodus 32:4 stands as one of the most pivotal and tragic verses in the Hebrew Bible. After receiving gold from the people, Aharon crafts the infamous golden calf and presents it with the statement: אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל.… Learn Hebrew
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“Remember Your Creator”: Urgency and Imperative Wisdom in Ecclesiastes 12:1
וּזְכֹר֙ אֶת־בֹּ֣ורְאֶ֔יךָ בִּימֵ֖י בְּחוּרֹתֶ֑יךָ עַ֣ד אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־יָבֹ֨אוּ֙ יְמֵ֣י הָֽרָעָ֔ה וְהִגִּ֣יעוּ שָׁנִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֹּאמַ֔ר אֵֽין־לִ֥י בָהֶ֖ם חֵֽפֶץ׃
(Ecclesiastes 12:1)
And remember your Creator in the days of your youth: before the days of evil come, and the years arrive of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.”
Memory Before the Days of Trouble
Ecclesiastes 12:1 begins the final poetic crescendo of Qohelet, opening with a direct imperative: וּזְכֹר אֶת־בֹּורְאֶיךָ—“Remember your Creator.” It is a call not merely to mental recollection but to covenantal consciousness.… Learn Hebrew
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The Final Plea: Imperative Rescue and National Solidarity in Psalm 25:22
פְּדֵ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִ֝כֹּ֗ל צָֽרֹותָיו׃
(Psalm 25:22)
Redeem Israel, O God, from all his troubles.
Redemptive Imperative: פְּדֵה אֱלֹהִים
פְּדֵה — Qal imperative 2ms of פ־ד־ה, “to redeem, deliver, ransom.”
A direct and urgent petition: “Redeem!” — addressed to אֱלֹהִים (Elohim).
This imperative expresses intimate reliance on divine intervention. It is a shift from personal reflection (earlier in Psalm 25) to communal intercession.
National Object: אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל
אֶת — Direct object marker.
יִשְׂרָאֵל — “Yisra’el,” the nation as a whole.
The psalm, largely personal, closes with a national request, aligning individual righteousness with communal hope.… Learn Hebrew
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The King’s Companion — Parataxis and the Architecture of Favor
אֹהֵ֥ב טהור־לֵ֑ב חֵ֥ן שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יו רֵעֵ֥הוּ מֶֽלֶךְ׃
(Proverbs 22:11)
He who loves purity of heart: grace is upon his lips; the king is his friend.
Opening the Alignment
In the terse elegance of Proverbs 22:11, we find a man who loves purity of heart and speaks graciously — and a king, drawn to him in quiet friendship. The verse flows without conjunctions, without causal markers, without explanations. It offers no verbs of result or reasoning. And in that silence lies its power.… Learn Hebrew
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“Prophesy to the Wind”: The Grammar of Breath and Life in Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֔י הִנָּבֵ֖א אֶל־הָר֑וּחַ הִנָּבֵ֣א בֶן־֠אָדָם וְאָמַרְתָּ֨ אֶל־הָר֜וּחַ כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה מֵאַרְבַּ֤ע רוּחֹות֙ בֹּ֣אִי הָר֔וּחַ וּפְחִ֛י בַּהֲרוּגִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְיִֽחְיֽוּ׃
(Ezekiel 37:9)
And He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath: Thus says my Lord YHWH, ‘From the four winds, come, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, so that they may live.’”
In one of the most vivid visions of prophetic literature, Ezekiel 37:9 places the prophet at the center of a divine command: to speak to the wind itself.… Learn Hebrew
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Carrying Guilt: The Hifil of נשׂא and Priestly Consecration in Leviticus 22:16
וְהִשִּׂ֤יאוּ אֹותָם֙ עֲוֹ֣ן אַשְׁמָ֔ה בְּאָכְלָ֖ם אֶת־קָדְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה מְקַדְּשָֽׁם׃
And they shall cause them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy things, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
Leviticus 22:16 forms part of the priestly code, warning against improper participation in sacred offerings. At its center is the verb וְהִשִּׂיאוּ—a Hifil form of נ־שׂ־א, commonly rendered “to cause to bear” or “to make bear.” Here it functions causatively: they cause others (non-priests or the unclean) to bear guilt by allowing them to eat sanctified offerings illegitimately.… Learn Hebrew
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“Cast Your Bread”: Imperatives of Faith and Risk in Ecclesiastes 11:1
שַׁלַּ֥ח לַחְמְךָ֖ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַמָּ֑יִם כִּֽי־בְרֹ֥ב הַיָּמִ֖ים תִּמְצָאֶֽנּוּ׃
(Ecclesiastes 11:1)
Send out your bread upon the surface of the waters, for in many days you will find it.
Wisdom in Motion Over the Waters
Ecclesiastes 11:1 opens a new thematic section of Qohelet, blending wisdom with paradox, urging action amidst uncertainty. The imperative שַׁלַּ֥ח לַחְמְךָ֖ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַמָּ֑יִם—“Cast your bread upon the waters”—is a vivid, poetic command that has intrigued interpreters for centuries. What does it mean to cast bread on water? Is this generosity, investment, or a leap of faith?… Learn Hebrew
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“Dead Flies in the Perfume”: The Disruptive Power of Minimal Folly in Ecclesiastes 10:1
זְב֣וּבֵי מָ֔וֶת יַבְאִ֥ישׁ יַבִּ֖יעַ שֶׁ֣מֶן רֹוקֵ֑חַ יָקָ֛ר מֵחָכְמָ֥ה מִכָּבֹ֖וד סִכְל֥וּת מְעָֽט׃
(Ecclesiastes 10:1)
Dead flies cause the perfumer’s oil to stink and ferment; a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Wisdom Spoiled by a Whisper of Folly
This verse opens the tenth chapter of Ecclesiastes with a powerful metaphor: זְב֣וּבֵי מָ֔וֶת יַבְאִ֥ישׁ יַבִּ֖יעַ שֶׁ֣מֶן רֹוקֵ֑חַ—“Dead flies make the perfumer’s oil stink.” What follows is a moral insight: a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The contrast is stark and deliberate: tiny elements, when misplaced, can destroy that which is refined and valuable.… Learn Hebrew
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Volitional Imperfects and Poetic Subjunctive Expression
אָמַ֨רְתִּי֙ אֶעֱלֶ֣ה בְתָמָ֔ר אֹֽחֲזָ֖ה בְּסַנְסִנָּ֑יו וְיִֽהְיוּ־נָ֤א שָׁדַ֨יִךְ֙ כְּאֶשְׁכְּלֹ֣ות הַגֶּ֔פֶן וְרֵ֥יחַ אַפֵּ֖ךְ כַּתַּפּוּחִֽים׃
(Song of Songs 7:9)
I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will grasp its branches. May your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your nose like apples.”
Introduction to Song of Songs 7:9
This highly poetic and sensuous verse expresses a male speaker’s desire using a sequence of imperfect verbs that reflect volition, desire, and poetic imagination. The verse features multiple uses of the imperfect with cohortative or subjunctive meaning, including the particle נָא, which emphasizes the speaker’s wish.… Learn Hebrew
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The Untamed Beast: Interrogatives, Imperfects, and Domestication Imagery in Job 39:9
הֲיֹ֣אבֶה רֵּ֣ים עָבְדֶ֑ךָ אִם־יָלִין עַל־אֲבוּסֶֽךָ׃
(Job 39:9)
Will the wild ox be willing to serve you, or will he lodge by your manger?
Opening Interrogative: הֲיֹאבֶה רֵים עָבְדֶךָ
הֲ is the interrogative particle introducing a yes/no question: “Will…?”
יֹאבֶה (“will he be willing?”) is a Qal imperfect 3ms of א־ב־ה (“to be willing, consent”) — projecting a hypothetical or doubtful future action.
רֵים — a wild ox or untamable beast, used symbolically here for strength and independence
עָבְדֶךָ — “your servant,” from עֶבֶד with the 2ms possessive suffix
Together: “Will the wild ox be willing to serve you?”… Learn Hebrew