Relative Clauses and Appositional Expansion in Narrative Description

Introduction to Nehemiah 13:5

This verse narrates how a large chamber was prepared for Eliyashiv, which had previously housed sacred contributions and offerings. The verse is rich in appositional constructions, participial clauses, and relative expansions, which accumulate descriptively. This lesson will focus on clause chaining in Hebrew, especially the use of participial forms and relative-like expansions without explicit relative pronouns, common in post-exilic narrative Hebrew.

וַיַּ֨עַשׂ לֹ֜ו לִשְׁכָּ֣ה גְדֹולָ֗ה וְשָׁ֣ם הָי֪וּ לְפָנִ֟ים נֹ֠תְנִים אֶת־הַמִּנְחָ֨ה הַלְּבֹונָ֜ה וְהַכֵּלִ֗ים וּמַעְשַׂ֤ר הַדָּגָן֙ הַתִּירֹ֣ושׁ וְהַיִּצְהָ֔ר מִצְוַת֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם וְהַמְשֹׁרְרִ֖ים וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִ֑ים וּתְרוּמַ֖ת הַכֹּהֲנִֽים׃

Analysis of Key Words and Structures

1. וַיַּ֨עַשׂ לֹ֜ו לִשְׁכָּ֣ה גְדֹולָ֗ה (vayyaʿas lo lishkah gedolah) – “And he made for him a large chamber.”
   – וַיַּ֨עַשׂ is wayyiqtol verb from עשה, 3ms: “he made.”
   – לֹו = “for him,” indirect object.
   – לִשְׁכָּה גְדֹולָה = “a large chamber.” A noun with an attributive adjective.
2. וְשָׁ֣ם הָי֪וּ לְפָנִ֟ים (vesham hayu lefanim) – “And there they formerly used to…”
   – שָׁם (“there”) sets the spatial context.
   – הָי֪וּ is the Qal perfect 3mp of היה, with לְפָנִים (“formerly”) indicating past customary action.
3. נֹ֠תְנִים (notenim) – “they used to place / were placing.”
   – Qal active participle, mp, from נתן.
   – Functions here as the predicate following הָי֪וּ, creating a periphrastic tense (“they used to give”).
4. אֶת־הַמִּנְחָ֨ה הַלְּבֹונָ֜ה וְהַכֵּלִ֗ים (et-hamminḥah hall’vonah vehakelim) – “the grain offering, the frankincense, and the vessels.”
   – A list of accusative objects receiving the action of נֹתְנִים.
   – הַלְּבֹונָ֜ה in apposition to הַמִּנְחָ֨ה, possibly clarifying or expanding it.
5. וּמַעְשַׂ֤ר הַדָּגָן֙ הַתִּירֹ֣ושׁ וְהַיִּצְהָ֔ר (umaʿasar haddagan hattirosh vehayyits’har) – “and the tithe of grain, new wine, and oil.”
   – Construct chain מַעְשַׂר + noun, threefold, listing agricultural products.
   – These continue the list of items once stored in the chamber.
6. מִצְוַת֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם וְהַמְשֹׁרְרִ֖ים וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִ֑ים (mitsvat halewiyyim vehamshorerim vehashshoʿarim) – “(for) the command of the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers.”
   – מִצְוַת is in construct with the list that follows.
   – Indicates the portion due to these Temple functionaries.
7. וּתְרוּמַ֖ת הַכֹּהֲנִֽים (uterumat hakohanim) – “and the contribution of the priests.”
   – תְרוּמָה is a designated offering.
   – Final item in the list, summarizing what the chamber was for.

Relative Expansion Through Participles and Apposition

Rather than using formal relative pronouns like אֲשֶׁר, this verse builds its descriptive clause through:
– A temporal verb הָיוּ לְפָנִים (“they formerly were”)
– A participial predicate נֹתְנִים (“they used to give”)
– A long string of appositional accusatives.

This reflects a feature of late Biblical Hebrew, especially in post-exilic books like Ezra-Nehemiah:
– Descriptive weight is placed in noun chains rather than subordinated clauses.
– Participles stand in place of finite verbs to imply customary, repeated, or background actions.

The effect is almost archival—listing in detail what the chamber held without grammatical subordination.

How Participial Expansion Frames Sacred Inventory in Nehemiah

Nehemiah 13:5 uses participles and appositional expansions to document sacred storage in a juridical, narrative tone. The lack of אֲשֶׁר or relative particles emphasizes inventory over interconnection, which suits the administrative and corrective function of the chapter.

– The participle נֹתְנִים provides ongoing habitual context.
– The nouns that follow are organized by cultic significance: offerings, tithes, personnel.
– The syntax gives the feel of a legal indictment—“this is what should have been there.”

Thus, the grammar supports the theology: worship infrastructure had been violated, and the writer reconstructs its proper use not through argument, but through grammatical reconstruction of memory.

In Nehemiah, grammar functions as restoration—rebuilding the house of YHWH by rebuilding its syntax.