An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

1.
2.
3.
4.
הּ ָמ ְשׁ
ארָ קָ
ן ֵכּ־ל ַע
ל ֶכבּ ָ
Therefore one calls its name Babel (or, men or people
call it Babel).
Gen 11:9
(2) Third-person singular pronoun, passive verbal form
תֹארְ ִל ל ַכוּי אֹ לוְ ץרֶ א֫ ָ ה־ת ָ אֶ
ם ֵשׁ ְבּ אֹ
ר ְק ִל לחוּה ַ זאָ הוהי
One is unable to see the land.
Exod 10:5
At that time people began to call on the name of
YHWH.
Gen 4:26
(3) Third-person plural pronoun, active verbal form
איהִ ה ַ ראֵ ְבּה־ן ַ ִמ י ִכּ
םיר֑ ִדָ
ֲעה ָ וּק ְשַׁי
(4) Plural participle
5. ךָי ֫
ֶשׁ נ־ל ָ ָכּ־תאֶ וְ
םיאִ ִצוֹמ ךָינֶ֫ ָבּ־תאֶ וְ
םידִּ ְשׂ ַכּה־ל ַ אֶ
because they watered the flocks from that well
Gen 29:2
They are bringing all your wives and children out to
the Babylonians.
Jer 38:23
The impersonal construction (in which the condition expressed by the
predicate is the topic) is treated in 22.7a.
4.5 Predicate
a The predicate is that part of the utterance making a comment about the subject.
The term may be used broadly for the entire comment, including both the verb or
equivalent, or alternatively the copula ‘to be’ (expressed or unexpressed) with a
complement (a noun or adjective) plus modifying words; or it may be used more
narrowly to exclude modifying words. Let us consider the possible types of
predication without reference to modifying words.
[Page 72] b In a verbal clause the predicate is a verb.
(1) Finite verb
1. םיהלֹ ִ ֱ ֫
א ר ֶמאֹ יּוַ And God said…
Gen 1:3