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Recent Articles
- Woven with Wonder: Syntax and Embodied Imagery in Job 10:11
- The Wink and the Wound: Syntax, Parallelism, and Irony in Proverbs 10:10
- The Grammar of Surprise: The Wayyiqtol Chain and Temporal Progression in Joshua 10:9
- The Birth of Power: The Grammar of Beginning and Becoming in Genesis 10:8
- Genealogical Syntax and the Grammar of Nations in Genesis 10:7
- Do Not Mourn as Others Do: Restraint and Reverence in the Aftermath of Fire
- The Blast and the Camp: Exploring Hebrew Commands and Movement in Numbers 10:5
- If You Refuse: The Threat of the Locusts in Translation
- Trumpet Blasts and Assembly Syntax in Numbers 10:3
- Right and Left: A Beginner’s Guide to Hebrew Word Order in Ecclesiastes 10:2
- 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
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Category Archives: Grammar
“I Sent Before You Moses, Aaron, and Miriam”: The Grammar of Triadic Leadership in Micah 6:4
כִּ֤י הֶעֱלִתִ֨יךָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם וּמִבֵּ֥ית עֲבָדִ֖ים פְּדִיתִ֑יךָ וָאֶשְׁלַ֣ח לְפָנֶ֔יךָ אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֖ה אַהֲרֹ֥ן וּמִרְיָֽם׃
In the prophetic indictment of Michah 6:4, God recalls the foundational acts of redemption that bound Him to Israel. Among these, one phrase stands out for its grammatical distinctiveness:
וָאֶשְׁלַח לְפָנֶיךָ אֶת־מֹשֶׁה אַהֲרֹן וּמִרְיָם
“And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.”
This triad — Moses, Aaron, and Miriam — is unique in Biblical Hebrew. But even more striking than the inclusion of Miriam is the verb form used: וָאֶשְׁלַח — a first-person common singular imperfect with vav-consecutive, indicating past action from a divine speaker.… Learn Hebrew
“My Name יהוה I Did Not Make Known”: The Grammar of Divine Revelation in Exodus 6:3
וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נֹודַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃
In one of the most enigmatic declarations in the Torah, God tells Moses:
וּשְׁמִי יְהוָ֔ה לֹא נֹודַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם
“And My name YHWH I did not make known to them.”
This statement — from Shemot 6:3 — appears at first to contradict what we know from earlier narratives. After all, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are recorded as using the name YHWH. So how can God say He was not known by that name?… Learn Hebrew
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The Command That Commands Understanding: A Grammatical Window into Deuteronomy’s Covenantal Pedagogy
וְזֹ֣את הַמִּצְוָ֗ה הַֽחֻקִּים֙ וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֛ה יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם לְלַמֵּ֣ד אֶתְכֶ֑ם לַעֲשֹׂ֣ות בָּאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֛ם עֹבְרִ֥ים שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃
In the opening of one of the most foundational chapters in the Torah — Devarim 6:1 — we encounter a verse that seems straightforward at first glance. Moses, standing on the threshold of the Promised Land, introduces the laws that Israel must observe once they cross over. Yet beneath this simple surface lies a rich grammatical structure that reveals how deeply the Torah intertwines commandment, instruction, and covenantal identity.… 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 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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Chronology and Conjunction: Coordinated Cardinal Numbers in Biblical Hebrew
וַֽיְחִי־לֶ֕מֶךְ שְׁתַּ֧יִם וּשְׁמֹנִ֛ים שָׁנָ֖ה וּמְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיֹּ֖ולֶד בֵּֽן׃
(Genesis 5:28)
And Lemekh lived two and eighty years and one hundred years and he fathered a son
When Numbers Tell a Story
In Genesis 5:28, we encounter a striking numerical expression describing the age of Lemekh when he fathered a son. But this is no simple “182 years.” Instead, the Hebrew text presents it as: שְׁתַּ֧יִם וּשְׁמֹנִ֛ים שָׁנָ֖ה וּמְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה—literally “two and eighty years and one hundred years.” This unusual expression invites inquiry into the grammatical structure and logic of coordinated number phrases in Biblical Hebrew.… Learn Hebrew
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Living and Dying in Syntax: Waw-Consecutive and Numerical Structure in Genealogies
וַיִּהְיוּ֙ כָּל־יְמֵ֣י מְתוּשֶׁ֔לַח תֵּ֤שַׁע וְשִׁשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּתְשַׁ֥ע מֵאֹ֖ות שָׁנָ֑ה וַיָּמֹֽת׃
(Genesis 5:27)
And all the days of Metushelaḥ were nine and sixty years and nine hundred years, and he died.
Rhythm of Life and Death
This verse from the genealogical record of Genesis presents not only the remarkable lifespan of Metushelaḥ (Methuselah), but also a quintessential example of two core grammatical features in Biblical Hebrew: the waw-consecutive form (also called wayyiqtol) and the poetic numerical construction common in biblical age reckoning.… Learn Hebrew
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Who Has Heard and Lived? — Interrogatives, Apposition, and the Grammar of Wonder
כִּ֣י מִ֣י כָל־בָּשָׂ֡ר אֲשֶׁ֣ר שָׁמַ֣ע קֹול֩ אֱלֹהִ֨ים חַיִּ֜ים מְדַבֵּ֧ר מִתֹּוךְ־הָאֵ֛שׁ כָּמֹ֖נוּ וַיֶּֽחִי׃
The Cry of the Awestruck
Deuteronomy 5:26 captures the trembling voice of Israel as they recall standing at Sinai, hearing the living voice of God emerging from fire. The verse is cast as a rhetorical question — not seeking information but expressing astonishment. Yet the Hebrew does not use a simple interrogative. Instead, it layers clauses, shifts from perfect to participle, and suspends the verb וַיֶּֽחִי (“and [he] lived”) until the very end.… Learn Hebrew
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What Turned It All Away — Fronted Guilt and the Syntax of Withheld Goodness
עֲוֹנֹותֵיכֶ֖ם הִטּוּ־אֵ֑לֶּה וְחַטֹּ֣אותֵיכֶ֔ם מָנְע֥וּ הַטֹּ֖וב מִכֶּֽם׃
When Sin Becomes Subject
Jeremiah 5:25 offers a stunning reversal: it is not divine reluctance, political failure, or cosmic delay that withholds good from Israel — it is their own sin. The verse speaks with syntactic clarity and poetic symmetry. Two lines, two clauses, two fronted possessive nouns, two perfect verbs. This is the grammar of divine cause and effect: guilt turned the blessings, and sins blocked the good. No room remains for deflection. Syntax pins the blame squarely on the people — not with fury, but with precision.… Learn Hebrew
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When the Walk Ends in Heaven: The Hitpael Imperfect and Disappearance of Enoch in Genesis 5:24
וַיִּתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ חֲנֹ֖וךְ אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְאֵינֶ֕נּוּ כִּֽי־לָקַ֥ח אֹתֹ֖ו אֱלֹהִֽים׃
“And Ḥanokh walked with God, and he was no more, for God took him.”
Genesis 5:24 is one of the most enigmatic and theologically rich verses in the genealogies of Genesis. It describes the fate of Ḥanokh (Enoch) not with the typical death formula—“and he died”—but with poetic mystery: וְאֵינֶנּוּ, “and he was not,” because אֱלֹהִים had taken him. Central to this verse is the verb וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ, a Hitpael form meaning “he walked himself,” suggesting sustained and intimate relationship, here uniquely “with God.”… Learn Hebrew
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