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Recent Articles
- 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
- Your People and Your Inheritance: Strength and Arm Between Hebrew and Greek
- Who is Abimelek? Political Defiance in Hebrew Speech
- May God Enlarge Japheth: Syntax, Blessing, and Subordination in Genesis 9:27
- The Plea of the Prophet: Syntax, Intercession, and Covenant Echoes in Deuteronomy 9:26
- The Swift Flight of Life: Syntax and Poetic Motion in Job 9:25
- Fear and Syntax in Giveʿon: Nested Clauses and Theological Strategy in Joshua 9:24
- Wayyiqtol Verbs, Ruach Imagery, and Political Betrayal in Judges 9:23
- Imperatives, Prophetic Syntax, and Stark Imagery in Jeremiah 9:22
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The Seductive Scents of Syntax: A Close Reading of Proverbs 7:17
נַ֥פְתִּי מִשְׁכָּבִ֑י מֹ֥ר אֲ֝הָלִ֗ים וְקִנָּמֹֽון׃
(Proverbs 7:17)
Verse Structure and Thematic Role
This verse belongs to the seductive monologue of the אִשָּׁה זָרָה (“foreign woman”) in Proverbs 7. Through sensuous imagery and poetic rhythm, it captures the allure of temptation. The verse divides naturally into two syntactic parts:
– Clause A: נַ֥פְתִּי מִשְׁכָּבִ֑י – “I have perfumed my bed”
– Clause B: מֹ֥ר אֲ֝הָלִ֗ים וְקִנָּמֹֽון – “with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon”
Clause B may function as the means or material of the action in Clause A (despite no preposition), or it may act appositionally, explaining how the bed was perfumed.… Learn Hebrew
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Too Righteous, Too Wise: The Binyanim of Overreach in Ecclesiastes 7:16
אַל־תְּהִ֤י צַדִּיק֙ הַרְבֵּ֔ה וְאַל־תִּתְחַכַּ֖ם יֹותֵ֑ר לָ֖מָּה תִּשֹּׁומֵֽם׃
(Ecclesiastes 7:16)
Do not be overly righteous and do not make yourself too wise why should you be desolate
Wisdom in Restraint—Or Restraint in Wisdom?
Ecclesiastes 7:16 is one of the most enigmatic verses in biblical wisdom literature. It cautions against excess—even in righteousness and wisdom. But it’s not only the content that arrests attention—it’s the grammar. The binyanim in this verse—Qal, Hitpael, and Niphal/Pual—create a poetic tension between action and consequence, self-elevation and self-destruction.… Learn Hebrew
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“Two by Two, Breath of Life”: Pairing and Presence in the LXX Translation of Genesis 7:15
Εἰσῆλθον πρὸς Νωε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν δύο δύο ἀπὸ πάσης σαρκός ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν πνεῦμα ζωῆς (Genesis 7:15 LXX)
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ אֶל־נֹ֖חַ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה שְׁנַ֤יִם שְׁנַ֨יִם֙ מִכָּל־הַבָּשָׂ֔ר אֲשֶׁר־בֹּ֖ו ר֥וּחַ חַיִּֽים׃
Movement Toward Salvation
This verse describes how living creatures came to Noah and entered the ark—each with the ר֥וּחַ חַיִּֽים (rûaḥ ḥayyîm), the breath of life. The Hebrew expresses this through repetition and poetic structure, especially in the phrase שְׁנַ֤יִם שְׁנַ֨יִם. The Greek Septuagint faithfully renders this pairing while smoothing the flow with classical Greek coordination and verbal consistency.… Learn Hebrew
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“One Golden Spoon Filled with Incense”: A Tiny Vessel, A Weighty Gift
כַּ֥ף אַחַ֛ת עֲשָׂרָ֥ה זָהָ֖ב מְלֵאָ֥ה קְטֹֽרֶת׃
(Numbers 7:14)
Literal English Translation
One gold spoon of ten [shekels], filled with incense.
Word-by-Word Explanation
כַּף – “spoon”Noun. Refers to a small shallow vessel, often used in ritual contexts such as incense offerings in the tabernacle.
אַחַת – “one” (feminine)Number. Hebrew numbers must match gender. כַּף is feminine, so the feminine numeral אַחַת is used.
עֲשָׂרָה – “ten”Number. Refers to weight—specifically ten shekels. The word “shekels” is implied but not stated here.
זָהָב – “gold”Noun.… Learn Hebrew
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When Verbs Flow Like Blessings: Parataxis and Repetition in Deuteronomy 7:13
וַאֲהֵ֣בְךָ֔ וּבֵרַכְךָ֖ וְהִרְבֶּ֑ךָ וּבֵרַ֣ךְ פְּרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֣ וּפְרִֽי־֠אַדְמָתֶךָ דְּגָ֨נְךָ֜ וְתִֽירֹשְׁךָ֣ וְיִצְהָרֶ֗ךָ שְׁגַר־אֲלָפֶ֨יךָ֙ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת צֹאנֶ֔ךָ עַ֚ל הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לַאֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ לָ֥תֶת לָֽךְ׃
(Deuteronomy 7:13)
And He will love you and bless you and multiply you and He will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land—your grain and your new wine and your oil—the offspring of your cattle and the increase of your flock on the land that He swore to your fathers to give to you
A Grammatical Liturgy of Abundance
Deuteronomy 7:13 is a cascade of divine blessing.… Learn Hebrew
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“Forty Days and Nights”: Flood Duration and Stylistic Symmetry in the Septuagint
Καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ὑετὸς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας (Genesis 7:12 LXX)
וַֽיְהִ֥י הַגֶּ֖שֶׁם עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים יֹ֔ום וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים לָֽיְלָה׃
Repetition, Judgment, and Liturgical Rhythm
Genesis 7:12 repeats a central refrain in the Flood narrative: the precise duration of divine judgment. This verse employs biblical numerical parallelism to convey duration and completeness—forty days and forty nights. Both the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint preserve this structure, but the Greek introduces smoother coordination and lexical variation that gently shifts the style while keeping theological weight intact.… Learn Hebrew
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Differences Between Synonyms in Biblical Hebrew (e.g., יָדָע vs. בָּרַךְ for “Bless”)
Biblical Hebrew’s synonymous expressions often cloak distinct theological and semantic layers beneath their shared English glosses. יָדָע, rooted in knowledge and covenantal intimacy, conveys perception, experience, and divine relationship, while בָּרַךְ—stemming from the notion of kneeling—imparts favor, praise, and liturgical blessing. Their syntactic patterns diverge: יָדָע frequently appears in Qal and Hiphil stems denoting relational knowing, whereas בָּרַךְ often inhabits the Piel stem emphasizing bestowal. Additional synonym sets—such as שָׁמַע vs. הֶאֱזִין for hearing, אָהַב vs. חָשַׁק for loving, and חָטָא vs.… Learn Hebrew
Morphology in Biblical Hebrew: Word Formation & Inflection
Morphology in Biblical Hebrew revolves around a triliteral root system that yields an extensive family of meanings through structured patterns and inflections. Verb stems (binyanim) like Qal, Piel, and Hiphil shape valency and voice, while conjugations express person, gender, number, and aspect. Nouns adapt for gender and number—including dual forms—and shift between absolute and construct states to convey possession. Adjectives reflect noun agreement, participles bridge verbal and adjectival roles, and infinitives serve both syntactic and emphatic functions. Irregularities, such as suppletive plurals and weakened roots, introduce nuance.… Learn Hebrew
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Proverbs and Their Grammatical Structure
Biblical Hebrew proverbs are compact expressions of wisdom whose power lies not only in their moral content but in their precise grammatical structure. Typically arranged as bicola, these sayings use parallelism—synonymous, antithetic, or synthetic—to convey contrast, reinforcement, or progression. Grammatical features such as word order inversion, ellipsis, and fronting enhance rhetorical impact, while devices like imperatives, infinitive constructs, and numerical formulas add variety and emphasis. Metaphors are embedded through verbless clauses and construct forms, transforming abstract truths into vivid imagery. Proverbs manipulate syntax, rhythm, and poetic devices to ensure memorability and interpretive depth, making grammar itself a vessel of theological and ethical insight.… Learn Hebrew
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Descending into Night: Time Expressions and Poetic Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew
בְּנֶֽשֶׁף־בְּעֶ֥רֶב יֹ֑ום בְּאִישֹׁ֥ון לַ֝֗יְלָה וַאֲפֵלָֽה׃
(Proverbs 7:9)
At twilight, in the evening of the day, in the pupil of the night and in darkness.
A Walk into Darkness
Proverbs 7:9 comes from a narrative warning about the seduction of folly, particularly embodied in the adulterous woman. But rather than rushing into a description of action, the verse paints a setting—the moment of transition from day to night—using rich poetic devices. Central to this structure is the use of temporal prepositions, incremental parallelism, and a striking poetic metaphor: אִישֹׁ֥ון לַיְלָה (“the pupil of the night”).… Learn Hebrew
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