An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

1. שׁא ֵ ךָיהלֹ ֶ֫
א ֱ הוהי י ִכּ
אוּה ֑ ה ָל ְכֹא
As for YHWH your God, he is a consuming fire. 33
Deut 4:24
c The passive participle can be used as either an attributive (# 2) 34 or predicate
adjective (## 3–5).
2. עוֹר ַ זְ ִבוּ הקָ זָ ח ֲ דָיבוּ ְ by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm
3.
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4.
הָיוּטנְ Deut 4:34
ר֑ עֹר ֵ ֲע ירֵ ָע תוֹבזֻ ֲע The cities of Aroer are deserted.
שׁ ֻבל ָ הָיה ָ עַ ֻשׁוֹהי ִ
5. הוהי ֑ י ֵשׂ ֲע ַמ םי ִלֹד גְּ
׃םהי ֶ ֵצ ְפ ח־ל ֶ ָכל ְ םי ִשׁוּרדְּ Isa 17:2
ו Now Joshua was dressed…
Zech 3:3
The works of YHWH are great, pondered by all who
delight in them.
Ps 111:2
d The participles of the reflexive or passive stems, especially the Niphal, correspond
occasionally to an English -ible/-able term or a Latin gerundive (23.3d; ## 6–8), for
example, ארוֹנ ָ ‘metuendus, to be feared, terrible,’ דמָ חְ ֶנ, ‘desiderandus, desirable,’
ב ָשׁ חְ ֶנ, ‘aestimandus, estimable,’ ל ָלּהֻ ְמ ‘laudandus, to be praised.’ (See 25.1 for
such uses of the Pual.) 35 The gerundive meaning is also attested with the relative (# 9)
and predicate participles.
6. הדוּד ָ ְשּׁ ה ַ לבֶ ָבּ־ת ַבּ O Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction
7.
8.
Ps 137:8
ד ָלוֹנ ם ַע ְל to a people to be born
ת ֶל ֶכ֫ אֱ נֶּ ה ַ הָיּחַ ַ
9. א ָצ ְמ ִנּה ַ ףסֶ ֶכּ֫ ה־ל ַ ָכּ־תאֶ םִי ר֫ ַ ְצ ִמ־ץרֶ א֫ ֶ ְב
Ps 22:32
ה the edible game
Lev 11:47
all the money which was to be found in Egypt
Gen 47:14
33 Cf. Deut 9:3.
34 The attribute is negated by lō˒, cf., e.g., Jer 2:2.
35 See GKC §116g / p. 357. The participle nôšā˓ in Zech 9:9, conventionally rendered
‘victorious,’is difficult; it may have the sense ‘saveable, (worthy) of being saved.’