An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

ַ
ַ
ַ
ְ ַ
ָ ַ
ֶ ֫ ָ ֶ֫
ִ ֱ ָ
ַ
ָ ַ
but through usage denotes ‘The City,’ the only city in that area. In such constructions
it is not that the article is added to a name; rather the article makes the combination a
name. Such combinations make up toponyms.
1.
ה ָע ְב ִגּה the hill Gibeah
2.
רֹאְי ה the stream (hay˒or) the Nile
3.
ר ָכּ ִכּה the circuit the Jordan Circuit
4.
ןוֹנ ָבלּ ה the white (Mt.) Lebanon
5.
רה ָנּה the river the Euphrates
6. רז ֵעה ן ֶבא the rock of help
They are also used to name individuals.
Ebenezer
7.
םיהלֹאה the god God
8.
ל ַע ַ֫בּ ה the lord Baal
9.
ןט ָשּׂ ה the adversary Satan
b In addition to this intermediate naming construction, there are other anomalous cases
of an article on a noun with a suffix or in construct. In most cases these forms are the
result of textual corruption. 21 ֳ ָ ֽ ָ
ַ ֫ ַ
In Josh 7:21 the form י ִלהאה ‘the/my tent’ may be a
blend of להאה and ילהא. The phrase רוּ שּׁא ךְ ֶל ֶמּ ה occurs twice in Isa 36:8, 16 but
the proper anarthrous form is found in synoptic verses in 2 Kings (18:23, 31). In Isa
24:2 the term הּתָּ רְ ִב ְגּ ַכּ ‘like her mistress’ may have the pointing ka instead of kə
because the syllable ka occurs eleven other times in the verse, creating a strong
pattern of assonance. In at least one case the suffix on a form has lost its meaning: 22 in
addition to the word[Page 250] ךְרֶ ֵע ֫ ‘value,’ Hebrew has a term ךָ ְכרְ ֶע (‘your
value’>) ‘value,’ used with the article, ךָ ְכּרְ ֶע הָ
(Lev 27:23), and in construct, ךָ ְכּרְ ֶע ְכּ
ןהֹכּ ֵ ה ַ ‘according to the value (set by) the priest’ (Lev 27:12).
13.7 Use and Nonuse of the Article
a The article is not consistently used even according to the best established patterns.
Most often it is “omitted,” or not used where it would be expected, in poetry, and this
pattern of nonuse is truer of older poetry, though the pattern is found in relatively late
poetic passages and in prose. 23 In studying this pattern scholars have found that the
21 And as such are better dealt with in a commentary than a grammar. In a few cases
the MT is too arresting for simple dismissal, e.g., Mic 2:12.
22 So also W. L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old
Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1971) 283.
23 On the general pattern see Joüon §187f /421 n. 3; D. N. Freedman, Pottery, Poetry,
and Prophecy: Studies in Early Hebrew Poetry (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns,
1980) 2–4; for full details, both theoretical and statistical and counts by individual
chapters, see F. I. Andersen and A. Dean Forbes, “ ‘Prose Particle’ Counts of the
Hebrew Bible,” The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth: Essays in Honor of David Noel
Freedman, ed. C. L. Meyers and M. O’Connor (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns,
1983) 165–83.