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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
“Tie It Around Your Neck”: The Imperative קָשְׁרֵ֥ם and Internalizing Loyalty and Truth in Proverbs 3:3
חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶ֗ת אַֽל־יַעַ֫זְבֻ֥ךָ קָשְׁרֵ֥ם עַל־גַּרְגְּרֹותֶ֑יךָ כָּ֝תְבֵ֗ם עַל־ל֥וּחַ לִבֶּֽךָ׃
Kindness and truth, do not let them leave you; bind them upon your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Introduction to Proverbs 3:3: Where Character Becomes Ornament
In Proverbs 3:3, the speaker urges the hearer to take hold of two foundational virtues: חֶ֥סֶד (loyal love) and אֱמֶ֗ת (truth/faithfulness). These qualities are personified and then treated like precious objects—meant to be bound around the neck and inscribed on the heart. The grammatical imperative קָשְׁרֵ֥ם commands this internalization.… Learn Hebrew
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Testing Israel: Purpose Clauses and Conditional Syntax in Judges 2:22
לְמַ֛עַן נַסֹּ֥ות בָּ֖ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הֲשֹׁמְרִ֣ים הֵם֩ אֶת־דֶּ֨רֶךְ יְהוָ֜ה לָלֶ֣כֶת בָּ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר שָׁמְר֥וּ אֲבֹותָ֖ם אִם־לֹֽא׃
(Judges 2:22)
In order to test Israel by them, whether they would keep the way of YHWH, to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.
Purpose Clause: לְמַעַן נַסֹּות בָּם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל
לְמַעַן (“in order that”) introduces a purpose clause. נַסֹּות is a Piel infinitive construct of נ־ס־ה (“to test, try”), expressing purpose: “to test.” The prepositional phrase בָּם (“in them”) points to Israel as the object of testing, while אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל clarifies Israel as the direct object of the testing action.… Learn Hebrew
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The Wine That Betrays: Syntactic Chiasm and Moral Irony in Habakkuk 2:5
וְאַף֙ כִּֽי־הַיַּ֣יִן בֹּוגֵ֔ד גֶּ֥בֶר יָהִ֖יר וְלֹ֣א יִנְוֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֩ הִרְחִ֨יב כִּשְׁאֹ֜ול נַפְשֹׁ֗ו וְה֤וּא כַמָּ֨וֶת֙ וְלֹ֣א יִשְׂבָּ֔ע וַיֶּאֱסֹ֤ף אֵלָיו֙ כָּל־הַגֹּויִ֔ם וַיִּקְבֹּ֥ץ אֵלָ֖יו כָּל־הָעַמִּֽים׃
(Habakkuk 2:5)
And indeed, the wine betrays; a boastful man who does not stay at home, who enlarges his soul like Sheol, and he is like death and is not satisfied. He gathers to himself all the nations and collects to himself all the peoples.
In the prophetic book of Habakkuk, we find a vision that pierces through time—a condemnation not only of Judah’s enemies but of all who exalt themselves against divine justice.… Learn Hebrew
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Parallelism and Metaphor in Joel 2:2
יֹ֧ום חֹ֣שֶׁךְ וַאֲפֵלָ֗ה יֹ֤ום עָנָן֙ וַעֲרָפֶ֔ל כְּשַׁ֖חַר פָּרֻ֣שׂ עַל־הֶֽהָרִ֑ים עַ֚ם רַ֣ב וְעָצ֔וּם כָּמֹ֗הוּ לֹ֤א נִֽהְיָה֙ מִן־הָ֣עֹולָ֔ם וְאַֽחֲרָיו֙ לֹ֣א יֹוסֵ֔ף עַד־שְׁנֵ֖י דֹּ֥ור וָדֹֽור׃
(Joel 2:2)
A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness—like dawn spread over the mountains—a great and mighty people; like it, there has not been from eternity, and after it there will not again be, until years of generation and generation.
This study will analyze the poetic structure, metaphorical language, and theological implications of this verse.… Learn Hebrew
“The Grammar of Hiding Treasure”: The Verb תִּצְפֹּ֥ן in Proverbs 2:1
בְּ֭נִי אִם־תִּקַּ֣ח אֲמָרָ֑י וּ֝מִצְוֹתַ֗י תִּצְפֹּ֥ן אִתָּֽךְ׃
(Proverbs 2:1)
My son, if you take my sayings, and my commandments you store up with you.
Wisdom as a Stored Inheritance
Proverbs 2:1 opens a conditional exhortation from a father to his son, a structure common to wisdom literature. The verse emphasizes the receptive posture necessary for wisdom, and it centers on a rich verb: תִּצְפֹּ֥ן—”you store up” or “you treasure.” This verb, tucked quietly in the latter half of the verse, conveys an entire worldview: wisdom is not just to be heard, but preserved, internalized, and guarded.… Learn Hebrew
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Returning to the Fields: Thematic and Grammatical Layers in Ruth 1:22
וַתָּ֣שָׁב נָעֳמִ֗י וְר֨וּת הַמֹּואֲבִיָּ֤ה כַלָּתָהּ֙ עִמָּ֔הּ הַשָּׁ֖בָה מִשְּׂדֵ֣י מֹואָ֑ב וְהֵ֗מָּה בָּ֚אוּ בֵּ֣ית לֶ֔חֶם בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת קְצִ֥יר שְׂעֹרִֽים׃
(Ruth 1:22)
And Naʿomi returned, and Ruth the Moavite, her daughter-in-law, with her, the one returning from the fields of Moʾav, and they came to Beit-Leḥem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
What’s Hidden in a Return?
The closing verse of Ruth 1 is deceptively straightforward. On the surface, it narrates the return of two women to Beit-Leḥem. But beneath that return lies a rich tapestry of grammatical tension and narrative momentum, embedded in subtle choices of verb forms, word order, and apposition.… Learn Hebrew
“How Can I Bear Alone?”: Analyzing אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א לְבַדִּ֑י in Deuteronomy 1:12
אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א לְבַדִּ֑י טָרְחֲכֶ֥ם וּמַשַּׂאֲכֶ֖ם וְרִֽיבְכֶֽם׃
(Deuteronomy 1:12)
How can I bear alone your trouble and your burden and your strife?
Introduction to Deuteronomy 1:12: Moses’ Burden of Leadership
In Deuteronomy 1:12, Moses recounts to the new generation of Israelites the difficulties he experienced in leading the people alone. The key rhetorical expression אֵיכָ֥ה אֶשָּׂ֖א לְבַדִּ֑י—“How can I bear [it] alone?”—employs interrogative and infinitive syntax to express the overwhelming weight of leadership. This verse sets the stage for the appointment of judges and officials, as Moses highlights the strain caused by the people’s size and conflicts.… Learn Hebrew
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“And Their Father’s Spirit Revived”: The Syntax of Emotion and Evidence in Genesis 45:27
וַיְדַבְּר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו אֵ֣ת כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֤י יֹוסֵף֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֶּ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם וַיַּרְא֙ אֶת־הָ֣עֲגָלֹ֔ות אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח יֹוסֵ֖ף לָשֵׂ֣את אֹתֹ֑ו וַתְּחִ֕י ר֖וּחַ יַעֲקֹ֥ב אֲבִיהֶֽם׃
(Genesis 45:27)
In the emotional crescendo following Joseph’s revelation, Bereishit 45:27 records a moment of profound transformation:
וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב אֲבִיהֶם
“And the spirit of their father Jacob revived.”
This verse is more than a narrative turning point — it is a linguistic window into how Biblical Hebrew encodes emotion through syntax. At its heart lies a rare verb — וַתְּחִי — that does not simply describe feeling, but signals renewal, restoration, and even resurrection of hope.… Learn Hebrew
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When Dread Becomes Flesh: Participles, Prophetic Syntax, and Emotional Collapse in Ezekiel 21:12
Ezekiel 21:12
וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־יֹאמְר֣וּ אֵלֶ֔יךָ עַל־מָ֖ה אַתָּ֣ה נֶאֱנָ֑ח וְאָמַרְתָּ֡ אֶל־שְׁמוּעָ֣ה כִֽי־בָאָ֡ה וְנָמֵ֣ס כָּל־לֵב֩ וְרָפ֨וּ כָל־יָדַ֜יִם וְכִהֲתָ֣ה כָל־ר֗וּחַ וְכָל־בִּרְכַּ֨יִם֙ תֵּלַ֣כְנָה מַּ֔יִם הִנֵּ֤ה בָאָה֙ וְנִֽהְיָ֔תָה נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִֽה׃
Anticipatory Syntax: וְהָיָה כִּי־יֹאמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ
וְהָיָה — A wayyiqtol 3ms of הָיָה, often translated “and it shall come to pass.” A frequent prophetic introduction setting a future condition.
כִּי־יֹאמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ — “when they say to you…”
יֹאמְרוּ — Qal imperfect 3mp, with subject implied (the people)
אֵלֶיךָ — “to you” — 2ms prepositional suffix
Together, this conditional clause sets up a rhetorical interaction: the prophet’s public actions will provoke a question.… Learn Hebrew
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“Why Does the Way of the Wicked Prosper?”: Analyzing מַדּוּעַ דֶּרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים צָלֵחָה in Jeremiah 12:1
Introduction to Jeremiah 12:1: A Prophet’s Theological Complaint
Jeremiah 12:1 begins a unique prophetic lament in which the prophet directly challenges divine justice. Despite affirming the righteousness of YHWH, Jeremiah boldly raises a question of moral perplexity: מַדּוּעַ דֶּרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים צָלֵחָה—“Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” This interrogative sentence is not merely informational; it is rhetorical and emotionally charged, revealing a tension at the heart of biblical theology: the apparent prosperity of the wicked in a world governed by a righteous God.… Learn Hebrew
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