-
Recent Articles
- The Grammar of Divine Meteorology: Syntax and Pragmatic Force in Jeremiah 10:13
- When the Sun Stood Still: Syntax and Command in Joshua 10:12
- Woven with Wonder: Syntax and Embodied Imagery in Job 10:11
- The Wink and the Wound: Syntax, Parallelism, and Irony in Proverbs 10:10
- The Grammar of Surprise: The Wayyiqtol Chain and Temporal Progression in Joshua 10:9
- The Birth of Power: The Grammar of Beginning and Becoming in Genesis 10:8
- Genealogical Syntax and the Grammar of Nations in Genesis 10:7
- Do Not Mourn as Others Do: Restraint and Reverence in the Aftermath of Fire
- The Blast and the Camp: Exploring Hebrew Commands and Movement in Numbers 10:5
- If You Refuse: The Threat of the Locusts in Translation
- Trumpet Blasts and Assembly Syntax in Numbers 10:3
- Right and Left: A Beginner’s Guide to Hebrew Word Order in Ecclesiastes 10:2
Categories
Archives
Tag Archives: 2 Kings 4:1
The Definite Construct Chain and Appositional Precision in Biblical Hebrew
Introduction to 2 Kings 4:1
This verse opens with the heartfelt cry of a widow, introducing a remarkable construction: אִשָּׁ֣ה אַחַ֣ת מִנְּשֵׁ֣י בְנֵֽי־הַנְּבִיאִים. The phrase is a finely layered construct chain embedded with specificity and grammatical hierarchy. This lesson focuses on how definiteness in construct chains, especially those involving multiple levels (e.g., “one woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets”), operates in Biblical Hebrew and contributes to both syntactic accuracy and rhetorical impact.
וְאִשָּׁ֣ה אַחַ֣ת מִנְּשֵׁ֣י בְנֵֽי־֠הַנְּבִיאִים צָעֲקָ֨ה אֶל־אֱלִישָׁ֜ע לֵאמֹ֗ר עַבְדְּךָ֤ אִישִׁי֙ מֵ֔ת וְאַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֔עְתָּ כִּ֣י עַבְדְּךָ֔ הָיָ֥ה יָרֵ֖א אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה וְהַ֨נֹּשֶׁ֔ה בָּ֗א לָקַ֜חַת אֶת־שְׁנֵ֧י יְלָדַ֛י לֹ֖ו לַעֲבָדִֽים׃
Analysis of Key Words and Structures
אִשָּׁ֣ה אַחַ֣ת (ishah aḥat) – “One woman.”… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Grammar
Tagged 2 Kings 4:1
Comments Off on The Definite Construct Chain and Appositional Precision in Biblical Hebrew