-
Recent Articles
- 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
- 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
Categories
Archives
Category Archives: Syntax
Thorns in the Eyes: Syntax of Judgment in Joshua 23:13
יָדֹ֨ועַ֙ תֵּֽדְע֔וּ כִּי֩ לֹ֨א יֹוסִ֜יף יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֗ם לְהֹורִ֛ישׁ אֶת־הַגֹּויִ֥ם הָאֵ֖לֶּה מִלִּפְנֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָי֨וּ לָכֶ֜ם לְפַ֣ח וּלְמֹוקֵ֗שׁ וּלְשֹׁטֵ֤ט בְּצִדֵּיכֶם֙ וְלִצְנִנִ֣ים בְּעֵינֵיכֶ֔ם עַד־אֲבָדְכֶ֗ם מֵ֠עַל הָאֲדָמָ֤ה הַטֹּובָה֙ הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁר֙ נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֔ם יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(Joshua 23:13)
Know for certain that YHWH your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you, and they shall be for you a trap and a snare, and a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which YHWH your God has given you.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Syntax, Theology
Tagged Joshua 23:13
Comments Off on Thorns in the Eyes: Syntax of Judgment in Joshua 23:13
“You Have Strengthened Knees That Were Bowing”: Causative Stems and Parallelism in Job 4:4
כֹּ֭ושֵׁל יְקִימ֣וּן מִלֶּ֑יךָ וּבִרְכַּ֖יִם כֹּרְעֹ֣ות תְּאַמֵּֽץ׃
(Job 4:4)
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the knees that give way.
Eliphaz and the Power of Speech
Job 4:4 is part of Eliphaz’s opening speech, where he reminds Job of his past influence and moral strength. The verse praises Job for encouraging the weak, using evocative imagery of stumbling and bowed knees. The focus of this study is the poetic structure and the grammatical form תְּאַמֵּֽץ, a Piel stem that adds causative force to the meaning of the verb “to be strong.”… Learn Hebrew
Rhetorical Questions and Poetic Syntax in Habakkuk 3:8
הֲבִנְהָרִים֙ חָרָ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה אִ֤ם בַּנְּהָרִים֙ אַפֶּ֔ךָ אִם־בַּיָּ֖ם עֶבְרָתֶ֑ךָ כִּ֤י תִרְכַּב֙ עַל־סוּסֶ֔יךָ מַרְכְּבֹתֶ֖יךָ יְשׁוּעָֽה׃
(Habakkuk 3:8)
Was YHWH angry with the rivers? Was Your wrath against the rivers? Was Your rage against the sea, that You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots of salvation?
Habakkuk 3:8 belongs to the prophet’s grand theophany vision, where the language of ancient Hebrew poetry is stretched to its fullest expressive power. The verse is built on a series of rhetorical questions framed by the particle הֲ and repeated אִם, culminating in a striking image of YHWH riding upon war horses and chariots of salvation.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Grammar, Syntax, Theology
Tagged Habakkuk 3:8
Comments Off on Rhetorical Questions and Poetic Syntax in Habakkuk 3:8
The Throne Among the People: Syntax and Theology in Ezekiel 43:7
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֗י בֶּן־אָדָם֙ אֶת־מְקֹ֣ום כִּסְאִ֗י וְאֶת־מְקֹום֙ כַּפֹּ֣ות רַגְלַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֧ר אֶשְׁכָּן־שָׁ֛ם בְּתֹ֥וךְ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְעֹולָ֑ם וְלֹ֣א יְטַמְּא֣וּ עֹ֣וד בֵּֽית־֠יִשְׂרָאֵל שֵׁ֣ם קָדְשִׁ֞י הֵ֤מָּה וּמַלְכֵיהֶם֙ בִּזְנוּתָ֔ם וּבְפִגְרֵ֥י מַלְכֵיהֶ֖ם בָּמֹותָֽם׃
(Ezekiel 43:7)
Clause Structure Overview
The verse consists of two main thematic units, joined by a waw-consecutive, each with subordinate clauses:
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי — Narrative introduction, “And He said to me”
Direct divine speech describing:
The place of YHWH’s throne and footstool (אֶת־מְקֹום כִּסְאִי … אֶת־מְקֹום כַּפֹּות רַגְלַי)
Purpose clause (אֲשֶׁר אֶשְׁכָּן־שָׁם … לְעוֹלָם)
Prohibition clause with future negation (וְלֹא יְטַמְּאוּ עוֹד …)
Detailed Grammatical Observations
Phrase
Morphology
Syntactic Role
Notes
וַיֹּאמֶר
Wayyiqtol Qal 3ms from אָמַר
Main narrative verb
Signals a new prophetic utterance.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Syntax, Theology
Tagged Ezekiel 43:7
Comments Off on The Throne Among the People: Syntax and Theology in Ezekiel 43:7
“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
Betrayal at the Border: Disintegrating Alliances in the Syntax of Obadiah 1:7
עַֽד־הַגְּב֣וּל שִׁלְּח֗וּךָ כֹּ֚ל אַנְשֵׁ֣י בְרִיתֶ֔ךָ הִשִּׁיא֛וּךָ יָכְל֥וּ לְךָ֖ אַנְשֵׁ֣י שְׁלֹמֶ֑ךָ לַחְמְךָ֗ יָשִׂ֤ימוּ מָזֹור֙ תַּחְתֶּ֔יךָ אֵ֥ין תְּבוּנָ֖ה בֹּֽו׃
(Obadiah 1:7)
All the men of your covenant sent you to the border; the men of your peace deceived you, prevailed against you; your bread they set as a trap beneath you—there is no understanding in him.
Syntax as the Anatomy of Treachery
Obadiah 1:7 outlines in poetic and prophetic syntax the downfall of Edom by those it trusted most. This verse builds through parallel clauses, anaphora, and syntactic inversion to portray betrayal from within.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Syntax
Tagged Obadiah 1:7
Comments Off on Betrayal at the Border: Disintegrating Alliances in the Syntax of Obadiah 1:7
Genealogies in Ink: Syntax and Structure in Nehemiah 12:22
הַלְוִיִּם֩ בִּימֵ֨י אֶלְיָשִׁ֜יב יֹויָדָ֤ע וְיֹוחָנָן֙ וְיַדּ֔וּעַ כְּתוּבִ֖ים רָאשֵׁ֣י אָבֹ֑ות וְהַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים עַל־מַלְכוּת דָּרְיָ֥וֶשׁ הַפָּֽרְסִֽי׃
(Nehemiah 12:22)
The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua were recorded as heads of fathers; and the priests under the reign of Darius the Persian.
Names, Memory, and Power
At first glance, Nehemiah 12:22 may appear to be a dry administrative note. But beneath its surface lies a syntactic architecture that mirrors Israel’s theological record-keeping. The verse is a syntactically dense list that maps Levitical and priestly continuity during Persian imperial rule.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Syntax
Tagged Nehemiah 12:22
Comments Off on Genealogies in Ink: Syntax and Structure in Nehemiah 12:22
Syntax of Migration: The Grammatical Journey of Genesis 12:5
וַיִּקַּ֣ח אַבְרָם֩ אֶת־שָׂרַ֨י אִשְׁתֹּ֜ו וְאֶת־לֹ֣וט בֶּן־אָחִ֗יו וְאֶת־כָּל־רְכוּשָׁם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר רָכָ֔שׁוּ וְאֶת־הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֣וּ בְחָרָ֑ן וַיֵּצְא֗וּ לָלֶ֨כֶת֙ אַ֣רְצָה כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ אַ֥רְצָה כְּנָֽעַן׃
(Genesis 12:5)
And Avram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother’s son, and all their possessions which they had acquired, and the persons they had made in Ḥaran. And they went forth to go to the land of Kenaʿan, and they came to the land of Kenaʿan.
Syntax as Pilgrimage
Genesis 12:5 is the narrative unfolding of Avram’s obedience to YHWH’s call.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Syntax
Tagged Genesis 12:5
Comments Off on Syntax of Migration: The Grammatical Journey of Genesis 12:5
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
Posted in Grammar, Syntax
Tagged Proverbs 22:11
Comments Off on The King’s Companion — Parataxis and the Architecture of Favor
Farming Injustice: The Power of Participial Constructions in Proverbs
זֹורֵ֣עַ עַ֭וְלָה יקצור־אָ֑וֶן וְשֵׁ֖בֶט עֶבְרָתֹ֣ו יִכְלֶֽה׃
(Proverbs 22:8)
Sowing injustice, he will reap iniquity, and the rod of his fury will come to an end.
Introduction to Participial Constructions
In Biblical Hebrew, participial constructions—especially those built on the Qal binyan—are far more than descriptive modifiers. They frequently function as predicates that carry temporal, habitual, or even modal meaning. The participle זֹורֵעַ (“sowing”) in Proverbs 22:8 opens a proverbial declaration about moral causality, serving as a vivid emblem of ongoing or characteristic behavior.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Grammar, Syntax
Tagged Proverbs 22:8
Comments Off on Farming Injustice: The Power of Participial Constructions in Proverbs