An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

i In other genitives of class, the subordinate element (C) precedes the superordinate
element (G). In the genitive of genus and the superlative genitive, the individual is
in the construct and the broader class to which it belongs is the genitive. In the
genitive of genus, C belongs to the class of G.
55.
56.
הּ ָלג ְ ר־ף ַ ַכּ the sole of its foot
Gen 8:9
םדָ אָ ןאֹ צ flocks of men
ִ ֵ ֶ ֫
57. יתיבּ להֹא Ezek 36:38
my tent house
58.
הזוֹבּ ֶ םדָ אָ
ליסִ כוּ ְ
׃וֹמּאִ 59. םירִ ָב ְ תלֹי
ִל ֲע
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60.
תוַ רְ ֶע ךָבְ Ps 132:3
A fool of a man (i.e., a foolish man) despises his
mother.
Prov 15:20
דּ plot involving words (i.e., any slander)
האֶ ְ
רִי־אֹ לוְ ר ָבדּ ָ
Deut 22:14
…so that he not see among you the indecency of
something (i.e., anything indecent)
Deut 23:15
j Similar is the construction used for the superlative genitive. 33 A superlative may
involve two instances of a single noun, the first a singular construct and the
second a plural genitive; or two different nouns may be used.
61. םי ִשׁ דָ ק ָ ֽ שׁדֶ ֹק֫
most holy
ִ ָ ֶ ֫
62. םידב ֲע דב ֶע
Exod 29:37
a slave of slaves (i.e., an abject slave)
63.
64.
Gen 9:25
םירי ִ ִשּׁ הַ רי ִשׁ the Song of Songs (i.e., the Choicest Song)
Cant 1:1
ינֹד ֵ אֲ ו ַ םיהלֹ ִ אֱ הָ יהלֹ ֵ אֱ
the Highest God and the Supreme Lord
33 Cf. 14.5. There are other ways of expressing the superlative in Hebrew, notably the
use of terms such as ˒ēl,˒ĕlōhîm, māwet, še˒ôl, nēṣaḥ as genitive (compare English
‘god-awful,’ ‘scared to death,’ ‘like to died,’ ‘no end of trouble’). See D. Winton
Thomas, “A Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in
Hebrew,” Vetus Testamentum 3 (1953) 209–24; P. P. Saydon, “Some Unusual Ways
of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew and Maltese,” Vetus Testamentum 4 (1954)
432–33.