An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

Non-human cases include ֶ֫
7.2.2 Class Nouns
ן ֶב א (in Job 28:3) and ץ ֵע (in Gen 3:8).
a Like English, Hebrew may use the article with a singular noun to indicate a
particular class or group; cf. ‘The lion is king of the beasts.’ Such a singular noun
has a broad referent, each member of the group. Hebrew may use the singular with
this meaning even without the article, especially in poetry. This use of the singular
is found in enumerations, after לֹכּ and other terms of quantity, with gentilics, and
in various expressions. 5
b In enumerations singular nouns follow the numeral.
1.
ךְ ֶל ֶמ ֫ םִינ ַ֫
ְשׁוּ םי ִשׁלֹ ְשׁוּ 32 kings
2. ןפֶ ֫ ֶ֫
1 Kgs 20:1
ֶגּ ף ֶלא 1,000 vines
֑ ָ ָ ִ ָ ֲ ֫
3. לשׁמ םיפלא ת ֶשׁ לֹ ְשׁ
Isa 7:23
3,000 proverbs
4.
5.
6.
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7.
8.
1 Kgs 5:12
ה ָב ֵצּ ַמ הרֵ ְשׂ ֶע םיתֵּ ְשׁוּ 12 pillars
הרָ ֲענ ַ תוֹא ֵמ עבַּ רְאַ ה ָלוּת ְב
Exod 24:4
400 young women
Judg 21:12
ל ָלח ָ תוֹא ֵמ ה ֶנֹמ ְשׁ 800 wounded
2 Sam 23:8
The noun of kind is also frequent with לֹכּ ‘all, every.’
ךָרוּכ ְ ז־ל ְ ָכּ all your males
םוֹיּה ַ םיבִ ָצּ ִנ םתֶּ אַ
הוהי ינֵ ְפל ִ ם ֶכלּ ְ ֻכּ
ם ֶכי ֵשׁאר ָ ם֑ כי ֶ הלֹ ֵ אֱ
ם ֶכינֵ ְק ִז ם ֶכיטֵ בְ ִשׁ
Exod 34:23
All of you are standing today in the presence of
YHWH your God—your leaders and chief men, your
elders and officials, and every (other) person of
Israel.
5 Such uses of the singular exist also in some European languages, but they are not as
common as in Hebrew; note that the Latin phrase ‘homo est mortalis’ is equivalent to
‘homines sunt mortales.’