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Recent Articles
- Grammar Under the Rod — Causatives, Double Accusatives, and the Syntax of Accusation
- The Hebrew Verb דָּמָה: To Resemble, Be Like, or Imagine
- Prophets to Wind, Words Without Breath: Futility and Punishment in Jeremiah 5:13
- The Hebrew Verb דָּלַק: To Pursue or Burn
- Scattered in Strain — Purpose Infinitives and the Language of Forced Labor
- The Hebrew Verb דָּחָה: To Reject, Push Away, or Repel
- The Grammar of Panic — Verbal Clustering and Narrative Urgency
- The Hebrew Verb דּוּן: To Judge, Plead, or Contend
- The Double Authority Structure: Reported Speech and Negation in Exodus 5:10
- The Hebrew Verb דִּבֵּר: To Speak, Declare, or Command
- The Interrogative with הֲלֹא: Rebuke and Rhetoric in Nehemiah 5:9
- The Hebrew Verb דָּבַק: To Cling, Stick, or Cleave
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The Interrogative with הֲלֹא: Rebuke and Rhetoric in Nehemiah 5:9
ויאמר לֹא־טֹ֥וב הַדָּבָ֖ר אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֣ם עֹשִׂ֑ים הֲלֹ֞וא בְּיִרְאַ֤ת אֱלֹהֵ֨ינוּ֙ תֵּלֵ֔כוּ מֵחֶרְפַּ֖ת הַגֹּויִ֥ם אֹויְבֵֽינוּ׃
Nehemiah 5:9 is a direct moral rebuke wrapped in rhetorical craftsmanship. When Nehemiah says, הֲלֹ֞וא בְּיִרְאַ֤ת אֱלֹהֵ֨ינוּ֙ תֵּלֵ֔כוּ, he uses a classic Hebrew interrogative structure to confront rather than merely Read more [...]
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The Hebrew Verb דָּבַק: To Cling, Stick, or Cleave
The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (root: ד־ב־ק) means “to cling,” “to stick,” “to join closely,” or “to cleave.” It conveys a strong sense of attachment, both physical and emotional. This verb appears frequently in the Tanakh and plays an important role in theological, relational, and covenantal contexts—especially when describing loyalty to God, familial unity, or unwavering pursuit.
It primarily appears in the Qal binyan (simple active), and in later Hebrew, also in Niphal Read more [...]
The Edges of Desire — Imperatives and Spatial Metaphor in Biblical Warning
הַרְחֵ֣ק מֵעָלֶ֣יהָ דַרְכֶּ֑ךָ וְאַל־֝תִּקְרַ֗ב אֶל־פֶּ֥תַח בֵּיתָֽהּ׃
Unveiling the Boundary
Some warnings do not describe danger — they draw maps around it. Proverbs 5:8 sketches a moral geography with two commands: one urging distance, the other forbidding approach. The target is a figure already introduced in the chapter — the forbidden woman — yet she is not directly named here. Instead, her domain is circled with negations Read more [...]
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The Hebrew Verb דָּאַג: To Worry, Be Anxious, or Concerned
The Hebrew verb דָּאַג (root: ד־א־ג) means “to worry,” “to be anxious,” or “to be concerned.” It is used to describe emotional unease, often tied to fear, responsibility, or care for others. In the Tanakh, this verb usually expresses internal distress or care for someone's well-being.
The verb is primarily found in the Qal binyan (basic stem), typically describing a state of mind rather than physical action. It is one of the core verbs in biblical and modern Hebrew that Read more [...]
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Poetry of Parallelism: The Enigmatic Syntax of Job 5:7
כִּֽי־֭אָדָם לְעָמָ֣ל יוּלָּ֑ד וּבְנֵי־֝רֶ֗שֶׁף יַגְבִּ֥יהוּ עֽוּף׃
Job 5:7 stands as one of the most cryptic and evocative verses in the Book of Job. The verse presents two parallel poetic lines that pair abstract metaphors with declarative truths:
“For man is born to toil, and the sons of Reshef fly upward.”
The poetic force lies not only in the stark imagery but also in the grammar. This article examines the syntactic structure Read more [...]
The Hebrew Verb גָּשַׁם: To Rain or Cause Rain
The Hebrew verb גָּשַׁם (root: ג-ש-ם) means “to rain” or “to pour rain.” It refers to the act of rainfall, both literal and, in prophetic literature, symbolic. The verb is relatively rare in the Tanakh and is most frequently used in poetic or descriptive passages. It is the verbal form of the noun גֶּשֶׁם, meaning “rain.”
In biblical usage, it generally appears in the Hiphil binyan (causative stem), meaning “to cause to rain,” indicating divine action in sending Read more [...]
The Guilty Soul: Predicate-Subject Inversion and Verbal Emphasis in Numbers 5:6
דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ אִ֣ישׁ אֹֽו־אִשָּׁ֗ה כִּ֤י יַעֲשׂוּ֙ מִכָּל־חַטֹּ֣את הָֽאָדָ֔ם לִמְעֹ֥ל מַ֖עַל בַּיהוָ֑ה וְאָֽשְׁמָ֖ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִֽוא׃
Numbers 5:6 opens a passage dealing with trespass against YHWH, yet its power rests not only in theological content but in grammatical subtlety. The final clause—וְאָשְׁמָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא—contains Read more [...]
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The Hebrew Verb גֵּרֵשׁ: To Drive Out, Expel, or Divorce
The Hebrew verb גֵּרֵשׁ (root: ג-ר-שׁ) means “to drive out,” “to banish,” “to expel,” or “to divorce.” It appears in both physical and legal contexts throughout the Hebrew Bible—from expelling people from a land to the formal act of sending away a spouse.
The verb most commonly appears in the Piel binyan (intensive), indicating strong or forceful expulsion. Less frequently, it appears in the Qal and Niphal stems with similar connotations of removal or separation.
Piel Read more [...]
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The Demonstrative זֹאת as Subject: Deixis and Emphasis in Ezekiel 5:5
כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהֹוִ֔ה זֹ֚את יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם בְּתֹ֥וךְ הַגֹּויִ֖ם שַׂמְתִּ֑יהָ וּסְבִיבֹותֶ֖יהָ אֲרָצֹֽות׃
Ezekiel 5:5 opens with a demonstrative pointer that doubles as the subject: זֹאת יְרוּשָׁלִַם—“This is Jerusalem.” But unlike simple identification, the Hebrew demonstrative here carries rhetorical and prophetic force. It draws the audience’s attention like a Read more [...]
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The Hebrew Verb גָּרַם: To Cause, Bring About, or Result In
The Hebrew verb גָּרַם (root: ג-ר-ם) means “to cause,” “to bring about,” or “to result in.” It conveys the idea of producing an outcome, especially one that happens indirectly. In Biblical Hebrew, it may also carry the meaning of "dragging along" or "drawing," while in Rabbinic and Modern Hebrew, it develops the abstract sense of "causation."
This verb is primarily used in the Qal binyan, meaning “to cause,” and in Modern Hebrew it also appears frequently in common speech Read more [...]
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