An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

ה ָכרָ ֲע ַמּ ה־ן ַ ִמ
1 Sam 4:16
Other predicates can also take the article; in a sense these predicates are adjectival,
but it should be remembered that there is no distinct class of adjectives in Hebrew
(14.3.2).
21. ימִּ ַעו ְ ינִ אֲ ו ַ קידִּ ַצּה ַ הוהי
׃םי ִע ָשׁ רְ הָ
23.
YHWH is the one who is in the right and I and my
people are the ones who are in the wrong.
Exod 9:27
A predicate adjective with an article often has a superlative sense.
22. ןט֑ ָ קָּ ה ַ אוּה דוִ דָ ו ְ Now it was David who was the youngest.
םיבּ֑ ִ רַ ה ָ םתֶּ ַ
1 Sam 17:14
א You are the ones who are most numerous.
1 Kgs 18:25
In a few cases, the article is used with a finite verb to form a relative clause, either
with an explicit antecedent (## 24–25) 19 or without one (# 26). 20
24. ה ָמ חָ ְל ִמּ ה ַ י ֵשׁ נְ א ַ יני ֵ ִצ ְק
וֹתּא ִ אוּכלְ הָ הֶ
the army commanders who had come with him
Josh 10:24
25. הֹפ־וּא ְצ ְמ ִנּה ַ ךָמְּ ַע your people who are present here
1 Chr 29:17
[Page ןי ִכהֵ ה ַ ל ַע . . . ח ַמ ְשִׂיּ וַ
And he…rejoiced at what God had done for the
249] ם֑ עָ ָל םיהלֹ ִ אֱ הָ
people.
26.
2 Chr 29:36
This construction may be compared to English cleft sentences (‘It is the prophet
that I was seeking’) and pseudo-cleft sentences (‘The prophet was who I sought’), as
well as to French constructions in ‘C’est…celui qui…’ (‘It is…the one who…’).
13.6 Intrinsically Definite Nouns with the Article
a The article is chiefly used with common nouns according to the patterns outlined in
13.5. Normally words that are definite in themselves do not take the article since the
article would be redundant. But there is one major class of exceptions. Sometimes,
through usage, the article not only points out a particular person or thing, but it also
elevates it to such a position of uniqueness that the noun + article combination
becomes the equivalent of a proper name (13.4b). Among English speakers, for
example, in some communities ‘the city’ no longer designates one city out of many,
19
Same construction in Ezra 8:25, 10:17; with ˒s̆r in Judg 5:27, Ezra 10:14.
20
Same construction in 2 Chr 1:4. Note the relative frequency of these usages in
Chronicles and Ezra.