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Recent Articles
- The Grammar of Approaching Judgment: Sound, Motion, and Purpose in Jeremiah 10:22
- Marked Lineage and Grammatical Emphasis: The Syntax of Election in Genesis 10:21
- “Even in Your Thoughts”: The Subtle Hebrew Wisdom of Ecclesiastes 10:20
- The Silence of Wisdom: Verbal Restraint and Hebrew Syntax in Proverbs 10:19
- Intercession in Action: The Hebrew Flow of Exodus 10:18
- Endless Trials: Exploring the Hebrew of Job 10:17
- “I Have Sinned”: The Grammar of Urgency and Confession in Exodus 10:16
- Order in Motion: Nethanʾel son of Tsuʿar and the March of Issachar
- The Grammar of Vision: Enumerative Syntax and Symbolic Order in Ezekiel 10:14
- The Grammar of Divine Meteorology: Syntax and Pragmatic Force in Jeremiah 10:13
- When the Sun Stood Still: Syntax and Command in Joshua 10:12
- Woven with Wonder: Syntax and Embodied Imagery in Job 10:11
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Category Archives: Grammar
“Is It Not for You to Know Justice?”: Infinitive Obligation and Rhetorical Syntax in Micah 3:1
Introduction to Micah 3:1: Addressing the Leaders of Yisra’el
Micah 3:1 opens a sharp rebuke directed at the leaders of Yisra’el. The prophet confronts the רָאשֵׁי יַעֲקֹב (“chiefs of Yaʿaqov”) and קְצִינֵי בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל (“rulers of the house of Yisra’el”), not with mere accusation, but with a biting rhetorical question: הֲלֹ֣וא לָכֶ֔ם לָדַ֖עַת אֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּט. This question—structured around the infinitive construct with the lamed preposition—expresses moral obligation and assumed responsibility. In this article, we examine how Hebrew constructs moral expectations through syntax and how this impacts prophetic rhetoric.… Learn Hebrew
Volition and Cohortatives in Prophetic Vision: Isaiah 2:3
Introduction to Isaiah 2:3: An Invitation to Ascend
This verse from Isaiah envisions a universal pilgrimage to Zion where many peoples seek divine instruction. It is one of the most famous passages describing a future when nations voluntarily turn to YHWH. What makes this verse particularly rich grammatically is the frequent use of cohortative and volitional forms, such as נַעֲלֶ֣ה (“let us go up”) and נֵלְכָ֖ה (“let us walk”), which express desire, resolve, and invitation. In this lesson, we explore how these forms function in Hebrew syntax and theology, showing how verbs can encode collective will and eschatological hope.… Learn Hebrew
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The Construct Phrase “The Devotion of Your Youth” and Its Covenantal Significance in Jeremiah 2:2
הָלֹ֡ךְ וְקָֽרָאתָ֩ בְאָזְנֵ֨י יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם לֵאמֹ֗ר כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה זָכַ֤רְתִּי לָךְ֙ חֶ֣סֶד נְעוּרַ֔יִךְ אַהֲבַ֖ת כְּלוּלֹתָ֑יִךְ לֶכְתֵּ֤ךְ אַחֲרַי֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּאֶ֖רֶץ לֹ֥א זְרוּעָֽה׃
(Jeremiah 2:2)
“Go and proclaim in the ears of Yerushalayim, saying, ‘Thus says YHWH: “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, your going after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
Introduction to Jeremiah 2:2
Jeremiah 2:2 opens a prophetic lament recalling Israel’s early faithfulness to YHWH. The verse presents a divine remembrance of Israel’s loyalty during the Exodus, using the construct phrase חֶ֣סֶד נְעוּרַ֔יִךְ (“the devotion of your youth”).… Learn Hebrew
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“He Stirred Up His Spirit”: Divine Motivation and the Idiom הֵעִיר אֶת־רוּחֹו in Ezra 1:5
וַיָּק֜וּמוּ רָאשֵׁ֣י הָאָבֹ֗ות לִֽיהוּדָה֙ וּבִנְיָמִ֔ן וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים וְהַלְוִיִּ֑ם לְכֹ֨ל הֵעִ֤יר הָאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־רוּחֹ֔ו לַעֲלֹ֣ות לִבְנֹ֔ות אֶת־בֵּ֥ית יְהוָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
(Ezra 1:5)
Then the heads of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, arose: all those whom God stirred up his spirit to go up to build the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem.
Awakening the Will to Rebuild
Ezra 1:5 narrates a monumental moment in the return from exile: the divine stirring of human hearts to begin rebuilding the Temple.… Learn Hebrew
“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׃
(Leviticus 22:16)
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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