An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

42.
43.
44.
45.
קוֹת ָמ ל ְ ר ַמ םימִ ָשׂ
. . .
׃ה ָל ְכאָ ְל הֶיהִי ְ ם ֶכ ָ
Isa 5:20
ל It shall be yours as food. 80
Gen 1:29
י ִשׁ פְ חָ ַל א ֵצֵי 81
He shall go out as a free man.
Exod 21:2
ןהֹכ ֵ ל ְ יוִ ֵלּה ַ י ִל־ה ָיה ָ י ִכּ This Levite, as a priest, belongs to me.
םירִ ָשׂ ְל וֹמתי ֵ֫
ִשׂ ְ
Judg 17:13
תּ You shall make them princes.
Ps 45:17
e A great many uses of l remain to be elucidated, and their diversity is considerable.
f Several notable classes of possessive phrases use l. An l phrase must be used if the
phrase must unambiguously refer to an indefinite (## 46–47). Several relevant
examples are cited earlier in connection with the lameds of specification and of
authorship; these may be reviewed: *bēn yisăi means ‘the son of Jesse’ while bēn
ləyisăi (# 15) means ‘a son of Jesse’; note mizmôr lədāwid ‘a psalm of David’ (Ps 3:1;
cf. # 17). In addition, an l phrase may be used (a) to avoid a three- (or more) term
construct phrase (# 48), (b) where the possessor is a name (# 49), or (c) where the
construct form would not be (sufficiently) distinctive (# 50).
46. הּ ָשׁיאִ ְל עדוֹמ ַ ימִ ֳענ ָ ְלוּ Naomi had a relative of her husband’s.
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47.
םרי ָ ח ִ הָיה ָ בהֹא ֵ י ִכּ
׃םימָ ִ יּהַ ־ל ָכּ דוִ דָ ְל
48. ויתֹב ָ א־תי ֲ בֵ ל ְ שׁאֹ ר שׁיא
׃אוּה
49. ר ֶשׁ א ֲ שׁדֶ ֹקּ֫ ה ַ ידֵ גְ ִבּ
ןֹרהֲ אַ ְל
50. תחַ אַ ְל םִיפַ ֫ ָנ ְכּ ע ַ ְ
Ruth 2:1 Qere
Hiram had been a longtime ally of David’s.
1 Kgs 5:15
each being the head of his fathers’ house 82
Num 1:4
the holy garments of Aaron
Exod 39:1
בּראַ וְ
Each one of them had four wings. 83
80
Cf. Ugaritic walp lakl ‘and an ox for food,’ cited in UT §10.10.
81
Cf. Gen 2:7, 22.
* unattested form
82
On hw˒ here, see 16.3.4a. Note book titles such as spr dbry hymym lmlky yśr˒l (1
Kgs 15:31).
83
The form ‘ahat is both construct and absolute.