-
Recent Articles
- “Stand on the Paths and Ask”: The Grammar of Refusal in Jeremiah 6:16
- “My Brothers Have Dealt Treacherously Like a Stream”: The Grammar of Betrayal in Job 6:15
- “Peace, Peace”—The Syntax and Irony of Faux Healing
- Syntax of Judgment: Divine Legal Language in Genesis 6:13 (Onkelos)
- “Beware, Lest You Forget”: The Grammar of Warning in Deuteronomy 6:12
- The Cup That Overflows: Emphatic Repetition and Divine Wrath in Jeremiah 6:11
- The Sons of Noah: Morphological Patterns and Narrative Precision in Genesis 6:10
- The Logic of Signs: Conditional Syntax and Theological Doubt in 1 Samuel 6:9
- “Whom Shall I Send?” — The Grammar of Divine Inquiry and Human Response in Isaiah 6:8
- Erasure by Divine Speech: Volition, Object Marking, and Decreation in Genesis 6:7
- On the Heart and from the Mouth: Command Syntax in Targum Onkelos on Deuteronomy 6:6
- “With All Your Heart, Soul, and Might”: The Grammar of Total Devotion in Deuteronomy 6:5
Categories
Archives
Words Dissolved — Sequential Ritual and the Grammar of Erasure in Numbers 5:23
Opening the Ritual Scroll
Numbers 5:23 comes from the strange and solemn ritual of the sotah—the woman suspected of adultery. This particular verse captures the moment when the priest takes the written curses and dissolves them into bitter water. The Hebrew is terse, sequential, and physical. The grammar moves in a straight ritual line: writing, erasing, infusing. This is the language of sacred procedure—where wayyiqtol sequencing, definite direct objects, and lexical placement carry theological Read more [...]
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Numbers 5:23
Comments Off on Words Dissolved — Sequential Ritual and the Grammar of Erasure in Numbers 5:23
The Hebrew Verb הָפַךְ: To Turn, Overturn, or Transform
The Hebrew verb הָפַךְ (root: ה־פ־ךְ) means “to turn,” “to overturn,” “to change,” or “to transform.” It is used in both literal and figurative senses: physically turning something over (like a city, an object), or transforming a condition, heart, or outcome. The verb is highly flexible, expressing divine judgment, reversal of fortune, inner change, and more.
In the Qal stem, it typically means “to turn” or “to overturn.” The Niphal (passive/reflexive) often Read more [...]
Fear and the Boundaries of the Sea: Interrogatives, Imperfects, and Eternal Decrees in Jeremiah 5:22
Jeremiah 5:22
הַאֹותִ֨י לֹא־תִירָ֜אוּ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֗ה אִ֤ם מִפָּנַי֙ לֹ֣א תָחִ֔ילוּ אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֤מְתִּי חֹול֙ גְּב֣וּל לַיָּ֔ם חָק־עֹולָ֖ם וְלֹ֣א יַעַבְרֶ֑נְהוּ וַיִּֽתְגָּעֲשׁוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א יוּכָ֔לוּ וְהָמ֥וּ גַלָּ֖יו וְלֹ֥א יַעַבְרֻֽנְהוּ׃
Rhetorical Rebuke: הַאֹותִי לֹא־תִירָאוּ
הַאֹותִי Read more [...]
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Jeremiah 5:22
Comments Off on Fear and the Boundaries of the Sea: Interrogatives, Imperfects, and Eternal Decrees in Jeremiah 5:22
The Hebrew Verb הִנֵּה: To Behold, Look, or See (Interjectional Usage)
The Hebrew form הִנֵּה (root: נ־ה־ה or variant from ה־י־נ) is not a verb in the strict grammatical sense like other action verbs—it functions primarily as an interjection or demonstrative particle. It means “behold,” “look,” “see,” or “here is / here are.” It introduces attention to something presently visible, about to occur, or dramatically revealed.
Although derived from older verbal roots (possibly היה or ננה), in biblical Hebrew it functions grammatically Read more [...]
Posted in Vocabulary
Tagged הנה
Comments Off on The Hebrew Verb הִנֵּה: To Behold, Look, or See (Interjectional Usage)
In the Gaze of God — Fronted Prepositions and Grammatical Exposure
כִּ֤י נֹ֨כַח עֵינֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה דַּרְכֵי־אִ֑ישׁ וְֽכָל־מַעְגְּלֹתָ֥יו מְפַלֵּֽס׃
Opening the Gaze
Proverbs 5:21 offers no command, no advice, no metaphor. It simply states a fact — that a man’s paths lie exposed before the eyes of YHWH. Yet even this simple truth is shaped with careful grammatical artistry. The Hebrew opens not with a subject or verb, but with a prepositional phrase: נֹכַח עֵינֵי יְהוָה (“in Read more [...]
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Proverbs 5:21
Comments Off on In the Gaze of God — Fronted Prepositions and Grammatical Exposure
The Hebrew Verb הָלַךְ: To Walk, Go, or Depart
The Hebrew verb הָלַךְ (root: ה־ל־ךְ) is a fundamental verb in biblical Hebrew, meaning “to walk,” “to go,” “to travel,” or “to depart.” It describes physical movement, but also serves as a metaphor for lifestyle, conduct, and spiritual journey. In biblical usage, it appears frequently across all genres—from historical narrative to legal texts, wisdom literature, and prophecy.
In the Qal stem it refers to simple movement or walking. In the Hithpael stem it can reflect Read more [...]
Antithetical Parallelism and Object-Verb Inversion in Prophetic Woe Oracles
Introduction to Isaiah 5:20
This verse forms part of a series of woe oracles in Isaiah 5 that denounce moral perversion and societal corruption. It presents a poetic and rhetorical list of accusations against those who invert moral categories. The verse features antithetical parallelism, where one concept is juxtaposed with its opposite, and also displays instances of object-verb inversion for poetic emphasis. This lesson will focus on the use of semantic inversion and syntactic order variation Read more [...]
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Isaiah 5:20
Comments Off on Antithetical Parallelism and Object-Verb Inversion in Prophetic Woe Oracles
The Hebrew Verb הָיָה: To Be, Become, or Happen
The Hebrew verb הָיָה (root: ה־י־ה) is one of the most essential and frequently used verbs in the Hebrew Bible. It means “to be,” “to become,” “to happen,” or “to exist.” It expresses states of being, identity, transformation, and occurrence. Though simple in form, its theological and grammatical importance is immense—especially in divine names like יְהוָה (YHWH), which is related etymologically to this root.
Unlike many verbs, הָיָה lacks a Qal participle Read more [...]
Let It Come! — Jussives, Sarcasm, and the Grammar of Provocation
הָאֹמְרִ֗ים יְמַהֵ֧ר יָחִ֛ישָׁה מַעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ לְמַ֣עַן נִרְאֶ֑ה וְתִקְרַ֣ב וְתָבֹ֗ואָה עֲצַ֛ת קְדֹ֥ושׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וְנֵדָֽעָה׃
The Voice of the Scoffer
Isaiah 5:19 places us in the mouth of the arrogant: those who dare the God of Yisra’el to act, mocking divine delay and justice. But the verse doesn’t merely quote their defiance — it mirrors it in grammar. The Hebrew is laced with Read more [...]
Posted in Grammar
Tagged Isaiah 5:19
Comments Off on Let It Come! — Jussives, Sarcasm, and the Grammar of Provocation
The Hebrew Verb דָּרַשׁ: To Seek, Inquire, Investigate, or Preach
The Hebrew verb דָּרַשׁ (root: ד־ר־שׁ) has a wide and rich semantic range. It fundamentally means “to seek” or “to inquire,” but its usage expands into contexts of:
Seeking or inquiring after someone or something (including God).
Studying or investigating deeply, especially Scripture or law.
Preaching, interpreting, or expounding—as seen in Rabbinic Hebrew.
This verb is central to the development of midrash (מִדְרָשׁ), meaning “interpretation” or “exposition.” Read more [...]
Posted in Vocabulary
Tagged דרש
Comments Off on The Hebrew Verb דָּרַשׁ: To Seek, Inquire, Investigate, or Preach