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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
Calling Witnesses to Injustice: Imperatives, Construct Chains, and Geopolitical Irony in Amos 3:9
הַשְׁמִ֨יעוּ֙ עַל־אַרְמְנֹ֣ות בְּאַשְׁדֹּ֔וד וְעַל־אַרְמְנֹ֖ות בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְאִמְר֗וּ הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙ עַל־הָרֵ֣י שֹׁמְרֹ֔ון וּרְא֞וּ מְהוּמֹ֤ת רַבֹּות֙ בְּתֹוכָ֔הּ וַעֲשׁוּקִ֖ים בְּקִרְבָּֽהּ׃
(Amos 3:9)
Proclaim over the palaces in Ashdod and over the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: “Gather yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst.”
Proclamation to Foreign Palaces: הַשְׁמִיעוּ עַל־אַרְמְנֹות בְּאַשְׁדּוֹד
הַשְׁמִיעוּ — Hifil imperative 2mp of שׁ־מ־ע, “to cause to hear, proclaim.”
This command sets a prophetic tone: “Proclaim!”… Learn Hebrew
Arrows and Advocacy: Blessing, Fulfillment, and Courtroom Imagery in Psalm 127:5
אַשְׁרֵ֤י הַגֶּ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁ֤ר מִלֵּ֥א אֶת־אַשְׁפָּתֹ֗ו מֵהֶ֥ם לֹֽא־יֵבֹ֑שׁוּ כִּֽי־יְדַבְּר֖וּ אֶת־אֹיְבִ֣ים בַּשָּֽׁעַר׃
(Psalm 127:5)
Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them; they will not be ashamed, for they shall speak with enemies in the gate.
Blessed Is the Man: אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר
אַשְׁרֵי (“blessed is”) is a construct form of אֶשֶׁר (“happiness, blessedness”), functioning as a declaration of commendation or felicity.
הַגֶּבֶר — “the man,” a strong term (as opposed to אָדָם) implying individual strength or valor
This common formula appears in wisdom and praise texts, linking moral or familial success with divine approval.… Learn Hebrew
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The Influence of Heart and the Hifil Verb הִשִּׁיאֶ֔ךָ in Obadiah 1:3
זְדֹ֤ון לִבְּךָ֙ הִשִּׁיאֶ֔ךָ שֹׁכְנִ֥י בְחַגְוֵי־סֶּ֖לַע מְרֹ֣ום שִׁבְתֹּ֑ו אֹמֵ֣ר בְּלִבֹּ֔ו מִ֥י יֹורִדֵ֖נִי אָֽרֶץ׃
(Obadiah 1:3)
The pride of your heart has deceived you: you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, the height of his habitation; who says in his heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?”
Introduction to Obadiah 1:3
Obadiah 1:3 continues the prophetic judgment against Edom, emphasizing its arrogance and false sense of security. The verse contains several significant grammatical elements, including the noun זְדֹ֤ון (zedon, “pride”), the Hifil verb הִשִּׁיאֶ֔ךָ (hishi’ekha, “has deceived you”), and the construct phrase שֹׁכְנִ֥י בְחַגְוֵי־סֶּ֖לַע (shokhni beḥagvei-sela‘, “dwelling in the clefts of the rock”).… Learn Hebrew
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The Use of the Participle and Passive Constructions in Obadiah 1:2
הִנֵּ֥ה קָטֹ֛ן נְתַתִּ֖יךָ בַּגֹּויִ֑ם בָּז֥וּי אַתָּ֖ה מְאֹֽד׃
(Obadiah 1:2)
Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are greatly despised.
Introduction to Obadiah 1:2
Obadiah 1:2 is part of a divine declaration against Edom, emphasizing its diminished status among the nations. This verse contains notable grammatical features, including the passive participle בָּזוּי (bazui, “despised”), the Qal perfect נְתַתִּיךָ (netattikha, “I have made you”), and the emphatic use of מְאֹד (me’od, “very much”). These linguistic elements reinforce the judgmental tone and theological significance of divine retribution.… Learn Hebrew
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The Use of Imperative and Interrogative Constructions in Joel 1:2
שִׁמְעוּ־זֹאת֙ הַזְּקֵנִ֔ים וְהַֽאֲזִ֔ינוּ כֹּ֖ל יֹושְׁבֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ הֶהָ֤יְתָה זֹּאת֙ בִּֽימֵיכֶ֔ם וְאִ֖ם בִּימֵ֥י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶֽם׃
(Joel 1:2)
Hear this, you elders; and give ear, all inhabitants of the land: has this happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
Introduction to Joel 1:2
Joel 1:2 begins with a prophetic call to attention, addressing both the elders (הַזְּקֵנִים) and the inhabitants of the land (יֹושְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ). This verse employs imperative verbs (שִׁמְעוּ, הַאֲזִינוּ) to command the audience to listen, followed by an interrogative clause (הֶהָיְתָה זֹּאת בִּימֵיכֶם?)… Learn Hebrew
History of the Hebrew Language
1. The name Hebrew Language usually denotes the language of the sacred writings of the Israelites which form the canon of the Old Testament. It is also called Ancient Hebrew in contradistinction to the New Hebrew of Jewish writings of the post-biblical period. The name Hebrew language (לָשׁוֹן עִבְרִית γλῶσσα τῶν Ἑβραίων, ἑβραϊστί) does not occur in the Old Testament itself. Instead of it we find in Is 19:18 the term language of Canaan, and יְהוּדִית in the Jews’ language 2 K 18:26, 18:28 (cf.… Learn Hebrew
Unchangeable Hebrew Vowels
What vowels in Hebrew are unchangeable, i.e. are not liable to attenuation (to Šewâ), modification, lengthening, or shortening, can be known with certainty only from the nature of the grammatical forms, and in some cases by comparison with Arabic. This hems good especially of the essentially long vowels, i.e. those long by nature or contraction, as distinguished from those which are only lengthened rhythmically, i.e. on account of the special laws which in Hebrew regulate the tone and the formation of syllables.… Learn Hebrew
Hebrew Verbs With Gutturals
Verbs which have a guttural for one of the three radicals differ in their inflexion from the ordinary strong verb. These differences do not affect the consonantal part of the stem, and it is, therefore, more correct to regard the guttural verbs as a subdivision of the strong verb. At the most, only the entire omission of the strengthening in some of the verbs middle guttural (as well as in the imperfect Niph’al of verbs first guttural) can be regarded as a real weakness.… Learn Hebrew
Mater Lectionis
The usage of certain consonants to indicate a vowel in the spelling of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac languages is called matres lectionis (Latin “mothers of reading”, singular form: mater lectionis, Hebrew: אֵם קְרִיאָה mother of reading). The letters that do this in Hebrew are א (aleph), ה (he), ו (waw) and י (yod). The י and ו in particular are more often vowels than they are consonants.
The practice of using matres lectionis seems to have originated when [ay] and [aw] diphthongs (written using the י (yod) and ו (waw) consonant letters respectively) monophthongized to simple long vowels [ē] and [ō].… Learn Hebrew
Remarks on Pronunciation
א is the “soft breathing” like the h in English hour.
ה is the “rough breathing” like the h in English heat.
ח is pronounced like ch in the German Buch. ח represents two Arabic letters خ chà (pronounced as above) and ح hhà, a strong aspirate pronounced low down in the throat.
ט is a palatal t, the tip of the tounge is touching the palate instead of the teeth.
ע is pronounced by some the same as א, by others like ng in English sing.… Learn Hebrew