An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

d Single components of a collective unit often appear with -at suffix; such a form is
called a nomen unitatis or singulative.
17.
הָיּנ ִ א ֳ vessel
ינִ אֳ fleet
18. ה ָצּ ִנ, ה ָצי ִצ flower ץנ, ֵ ץי ִצ blossoms
19.
20.
הרָ ֲע ַשׂ (a) hair
ר ָע ִשׂ hair
הרי ָ ִשׁ (a) song
רי ִשׁ song, singing
On the other hand, one finds ה ָגדּ ָ ‘fish (coil.)’ but ג ָ
for example, ה ָנּ ַשׁוֹשׁ lily ה ָנ ֵב ְ
collective is not attested. (The masculine ן ָשׁוּשׁ is a metaphorical ‘lily,’ an
architectural decoration.)
e The infinitive may be treated as feminine.
21.
22.
ם ֶכיני ֵ ֵע ְב ה ָלּקַ נְ הַ
ֽ
ךְ ֶל ֶמּ ֫ ַבּ ןתֵּ חַ תְ הִ
דּ ‘ (a) fish.’Some forms,
ל ‘brick,’ etc., are singulatives for which the
Do you think it a small matter to become the king’s
son-in-law?
1 Sam 18:23
In some cases it is treated as masculine.
ר ָמ וָ
ער־י ַ ִכּ
ךְִיהלֹ ֑֫ ָ אֱ
... ךְבֵ זְ ָע
How evil and bitter it is that you abandoned…your
God.
Jer 2:19
f A figurative sense may also be denoted by -at.
23.
24.
25. ֫
קנוֹי ֵ suckling/child
(masc.)
ת ֶ נוֹי ֶ֫
ק sucker, shoot
ֵ
ַ֫
ְ
ָ
ךְרָי hip (fem.) ת ָכרַי ח ַצ ֵמ forehead
הח ְצ ִמ legging, greave
[Page 106] 6.4.3 Gender Doublets
םי sides (of a building, etc.)
a Some non-animate nouns have both masculine and feminine forms. Although
these so-called doublets may have different connotations, it is best not to rely too
heavily on their gender distinctions; both forms mean essentially the same thing.
Mordechai Ben Asher has surveyed 117 non-animate nouns having both
masculine and feminine forms, including five collective/nomen unitatis pairs
(6.4.2d). (He excludes cases where there is no connection between similar forms,
e.g., tôrâ/tôr, or where a connection is dubious, e.g., ˒adāmâ/˒ādām.) Of these, 61
are abstract nouns and 56 are concrete. These pairs include all kinds of meanings:
fem. feminine