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- Consecration Through Syntax: The Priestly Ritual in Leviticus 8:24
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- Disaster That Flies Down: A Hebrew Lesson on Isaiah 8:22
- Purified and Presented: A Hebrew Lesson on Numbers 8:21
- Like the Nations Before You: A Hebrew Walkthrough of Deuteronomy 8:20
- Voices of the Dead or the Living God? A Hebrew Lesson on Isaiah 8:19
- When the Ground Denies Him: A Hebrew Walkthrough of Job 8:18
- From Dust to Gnats: A Hebrew Lesson in Action
- The Power of Repetition: Exploring the Waw-Consecutive
- Through the Great and Fearsome Wilderness: From Fiery Serpent to Flowing Spring
- “Counsel Is Mine” — Exploring the Voice of Wisdom in Proverbs 8:14
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Mapping the Sacred Boundaries: Syntax of Land Allocation in Numbers 35:5
וּמַדֹּתֶ֞ם מִח֣וּץ לָעִ֗יר אֶת־פְּאַת־קֵ֣דְמָה אַלְפַּ֪יִם בָּֽאַמָּ֟ה וְאֶת־פְּאַת־נֶגֶב֩ אַלְפַּ֨יִם בָּאַמָּ֜ה וְאֶת־פְּאַת־יָ֣ם אַלְפַּ֣יִם בָּֽאַמָּ֗ה וְאֵ֨ת פְּאַ֥ת צָפֹ֛ון אַלְפַּ֥יִם בָּאַמָּ֖ה וְהָעִ֣יר בַּתָּ֑וֶךְ זֶ֚ה יִהְיֶ֣ה לָהֶ֔ם מִגְרְשֵׁ֖י הֶעָרִֽים׃
(Numbers 35:5)
Introductory Verb: Imperative Structure and Plural Address
וּמַדֹּתֶ֞ם מִח֣וּץ לָעִ֗יר
“And you shall measure from outside the city…”
The root מ־ד־ד appears in the Piel conjugation here: וּמַדֹּתֶם (“you shall measure”). It is a 2nd person masculine plural perfect form used modally as a command. The syntax is simple but significant—this is a legislative directive to a collective audience, likely the Levitical community or Israelite leadership.… Learn Hebrew
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Beauty in the Future Tense: The Quiet Binyanim of Isaiah’s Vision
בַּיֹּ֣ום הַה֗וּא יִֽהְיֶה֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֔ות לַעֲטֶ֣רֶת צְבִ֔י וְלִצְפִירַ֖ת תִּפְאָרָ֑ה לִשְׁאָ֖ר עַמֹּֽו׃ (Isaiah 28:5)
In that day YHWH of Hosts shall be for a crown of beauty and for a diadem of glory to the remnant of His people
Introduction: A Verse of Becoming, Not Doing
Isaiah 28:5 delivers a poetic promise: in the midst of judgment and chaos, YHWH will become something glorious for His people. Interestingly, though filled with majestic nouns, this verse contains only one verb—and it belongs to the simplest binyan, yet carries the greatest theological weight.… Learn Hebrew
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“Who Did Not Go Up?”: Syntax of Sworn Judgment in Judges 21:5
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מִ֠י אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־עָלָ֧ה בַקָּהָ֛ל מִכָּל־שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה כִּי֩ הַשְּׁבוּעָ֨ה הַגְּדֹולָ֜ה הָיְתָ֗ה לַ֠אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָלָ֨ה אֶל־יְהוָ֧ה הַמִּצְפָּ֛ה לֵאמֹ֖ר מֹ֥ות יוּמָֽת׃ (Judges 21:5)
Introduction: A Syntax of Oath and Outrage
Judges 21:5 is steeped in crisis. Following the near-destruction of the tribe of Binyamin, the remaining tribes of Yisraʾel seek to enforce a solemn oath made at Mitspah. This verse opens with a rhetorical question and follows with a causal explanation of a previous vow. The syntax reinforces communal urgency, and the interlacing of clauses, interrogative and declarative, creates a pressure-filled structure that mirrors the narrative tension.… Learn Hebrew
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Wealth Kept to Harm: Irony, Relative Clauses, and Poetic Diagnosis in Ecclesiastes 5:12
יֵ֚שׁ רָעָ֣ה חֹולָ֔ה רָאִ֖יתִי תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ עֹ֛שֶׁר שָׁמ֥וּר לִבְעָלָ֖יו לְרָעָתֹֽו׃
Contextual Introduction
Ecclesiastes 5:12 delivers a paradoxical observation: wealth, often seen as a blessing, can bring harm to its possessor. The verse uses compact Hebrew syntax with thematic irony. The grammar enhances the verse’s pathos by employing apposition, participial constructions, and purpose clauses to emphasize that hoarded wealth is not neutral—it may destroy the one who clings to it.
Grammatical Focus: Existential ישׁ-Clause, Noun Apposition, and Construct Chains
1. יֵ֚שׁ רָעָ֣ה חֹולָ֔ה – Existential with Appositive Qualifier
– יֵ֚שׁ (“there is”) introduces an existential clause—an observation of something present.… Learn Hebrew
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Where I Will Dwell: The Syntax of Relative Clauses and the Nuance of Imperfect Aspect
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)
And He said to me, “Son of man, the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the children of Yisraʾel forever—never again shall the house of Yisraʾel defile My holy name, they and their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings in their death.”… Learn Hebrew
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Temporal Weaving — The Syntax of Biblical Time
וַֽיְחִי־שֵׁ֕ת חָמֵ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים וּמְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיֹּ֖ולֶד אֶת־אֱנֹֽושׁ׃
Opening the Text
What does it mean for time to be counted, not just measured? This verse from Genesis 5:6 — the simple notice of שֵׁת’s lifespan and fatherhood — opens more than a genealogical record. It offers a portal into the architecture of biblical temporality. Time here is not a sequence of numbers; it is lived, layered, and linguistically arranged. Our journey begins with two verbs — וַֽיְחִי and וַיֹּולֶד — and a puzzling time construct that invites us to explore a phenomenon known as the split temporal clause in Biblical Hebrew: the division of numerical age into dual units, ordered for thematic, not just chronological, purpose.… Learn Hebrew
Negative Imperatives with Particles of Emotion and Possession
Introduction to Genesis 45:20
In this verse, Yosef instructs his brothers not to grieve over their belongings as they are invited to dwell in Egypt with full provision. The verse includes a negative jussive with emotional nuance, using אַל + imperfect verb, along with the rare verb חוס (“to pity, spare, regret”), which often carries emotional or psychological implications. This lesson examines the syntax of emotional negation and the construction of possessive prepositional phrases in Hebrew imperative contexts.
וְעֵ֣ינְכֶ֔ם אַל־תָּחֹ֖ס עַל־כְּלֵיכֶ֑ם כִּי־ט֛וּב כָּל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לָכֶ֥ם הֽוּא׃
Analysis of Key Words and Structures
וְעֵ֣ינְכֶ֔ם (veʿeinekhem) – “And your eyes.”… Learn Hebrew
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“Turn Away, Unclean!”: Analyzing ס֤וּרוּ… ס֨וּרוּ in Lamentations 4:15
Introduction to Lamentations 4:15: Public Shame and Ritual Defilement
This verse from Lamentations 4:15 depicts the depth of Jerusalem’s humiliation after the Babylonian destruction. The once-honored people of YHWH are now driven away with the cry ס֣וּרוּ טָמֵ֞א—“Turn aside! Unclean!” The command ס֤וּרוּ is then repeated for emphasis: ס֤וּרוּ ס֨וּרוּ. This article focuses on the grammatical structure, literary repetition, and ritual-theological implications of the verb ס֤וּרוּ in this context of impurity, exile, and national rejection.
ס֣וּרוּ טָמֵ֞א קָ֣רְאוּ לָ֗מֹו ס֤וּרוּ ס֨וּרוּ֙ אַל־תִּגָּ֔עוּ כִּ֥י נָצ֖וּ גַּם־נָ֑עוּ אָֽמְרוּ֙ בַּגֹּויִ֔ם לֹ֥א יֹוסִ֖יפוּ לָגֽוּר׃
Grammatical Analysis of ס֤וּרוּ
The repeated verb ס֤וּרוּ is from the root סוּר (s-w-r), meaning “to turn aside, to depart, to avoid.”… Learn Hebrew
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Striking the Depths: Object Concord and Parallel Syntax in Proverbs 20:30
חַבֻּרֹ֣ות פֶּ֭צַע תמריק בְּרָ֑ע וּ֝מַכֹּ֗ות חַדְרֵי־בָֽטֶן׃
Proverbs 20:30 is not merely a proverb about discipline—it is a poetic microcosm of how Biblical Hebrew uses parallelism and object syntax to create emphasis. The verse reads literally:
“Bruises of a wound cleanse in evil; and blows [cleanse] the inner chambers of the belly.”
This puzzling phrasing contains a grammatical and poetic tension: a verb that seems to float without a second subject, and parallel objects that mirror each other. At the heart of this proverb lies a Hebrew verb with a peculiar object pattern: תמריק (you will cleanse / it will cleanse), and how Hebrew poetry frequently omits verbs in parallelism while preserving syntactic expectation.… Learn Hebrew
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“The Glory of Young Men Is Their Strength”: The Grammar of Age and Honor in Proverbs 20:29
תִּפְאֶ֣רֶת בַּחוּרִ֣ים כֹּחָ֑ם וַהֲדַ֖ר זְקֵנִ֣ים שֵׂיבָֽה׃
In the poetic brevity of Mishlei 20:29, we find a verse that captures one of life’s most universal truths — the changing nature of human value with age. It opens with a declaration about young men, then pivots to the aged:
תִּפְאֶרֶת בַּחוּרִים כֹּחָם
וַהֲדַר זְקֵנִים שֵׂיבָה
“The glory of young men is their strength; the beauty of the aged is their gray hair.”
Beneath its concise form lies a grammatical structure rich with contrast — not only between youth and old age, but between two kinds of value: power and dignity.… Learn Hebrew
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