An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

There is no trace of the etymological sense, 4 however, and the construct state is useful
only in explaining the phonetic shape of the word. Broadly speaking, רשׁא is rare in
poetry, rarer in older poetry than later, 5 and the uses of רשׁא are more diverse in later
prose than in earlier.
c The relative שׁ is pointed in various ways: usually ַשׁ or ֶשׁ with doubling of the
following consonant; ָשׁ or ֶשׁ, if doubling is not allowed (or before ō or ā), except for
ְשׁ before ה. This pronoun presents a curious history: it is attested in the older layer of
Biblical Hebrew (e.g., Judg 5:7) and in the later books, but rarely in between. 6 Since
most Semitic languages use an š form for the relative, including Phoenician and
Ammonite, and since שׁ is standard in Mishnaic Hebrew, we may suppose that the
dominant dialect of Biblical Hebrew was distinctive among Hebrew and South
Canaanite dialects in using רשׁא in preference to שׁ. 7
d The relative markers of the z series include the demonstrative הז, ֶ as well as the rare
forms וּז and וֹז (הֹז). 8 The diversity of this group of forms is discussed in connection
with the demonstratives (17.4.3). The relative use of these forms is primarily poetic.
The syntactic patterns of relative clause with רשׁא and z forms are similar. 9
1a.
1b.
וּנ ָמ ֫ ט ָ וּז־ת ֶשׁ ר֫ ֶ ְבּ in the net which they have hidden
ן ַמ ט־ר ָ ֶשׁ א ֲ וֹתּ ְשׁ רִ ְ
Ps 9:16
ו his net which he hid
Ps 35:8
15), and many other Semitic languages use š forms for the relative. See F. Rundgren,
Über Bildungen mit (š)- und n-t-Demonstrativen im Semitischen (Uppsala: Almqvist
& Wiksell, 1955).
3
Cf.BL§32a/p.264.
4
Save perhaps in Judg 5:27; Ruth 1:17 is dubious.
5
Francis 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.
6
All instances of the relative in Canticles, except one (in the title of the book), involve
š. In Qoheleth, š is used 68 times (often as a conjunction) and ˒šr 89 times. Š is not,
however, frequent in Ezra (only once) or Chronicles (only twice). See Joüon §38 / p.
89–90.
7
M. H. Segal, A Grammar of Mishnaic Hebrew (Oxford: Clarendon, 1927) 42–43.
8
It is strictly correct to say that zû is primarily a relative and zeh is primarily a
demonstrative, but the one is so rare and the other so relatively common that such a
flat statement is potentially misleading.
9
Cf. J. M. Allegro, “Uses of the Semitic Demonstrative Element z in Hebrew,” Vetus
Testamentum 5 (1955) 309–12, at 311. On the possibility that zeh and zû may be
confused in the MT, see p. 309.