classical hebrew

Shalom everyone, Jer. xlii. 6: אִם טוֹב וְאִם רָע בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֲשֶׁר אנו [אֲנַחְנוּ] שֹׁלְחִים אֹתְךָ אֵלָיו נִשְׁמָע לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יִיטַב לָנוּ כִּי נִשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ. Translation: Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD...

Hi It is customary to translate בעוד as "in X amount of time", but in Psalm 104, 33 (אשירה ליהוה בחיי אזמרה לאלהי בעודי) what does it mean? I think it translates as "as long as: I will sing as long as I exist. Thank you so much

Hi It is customary to translate the cohortative as "Let's" or "let me", but in Psalm 104, 33 (אשירה ליהוה בחיי אזמרה לאלהי בעודי) what does it mean? I think it simply translates as the future: I will sing as long as I exist. Thank you so much

Shalom everyone, Hos. vii. 16: יָשׁוּבוּ לֹא עָל הָיוּ כְּקֶשֶׁת רְמִיָּה יִפְּלוּ בַחֶרֶב שָׂרֵיהֶם מִזַּעַם לְשׁוֹנָם זוֹ לַעְגָּם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. If ז֥וֹ means "this" then why זאת wasn't used? Here is the translation I found: They return, but not to the most High: they are like a...

שלום וְאִֽם־נִכְלְמ֞וּ מִכֹּ֣ל אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֗וּ צוּרַ֣ת הַבַּ֡יִת וּתְכוּנָת֡וֹ וּמוֹצָאָ֡יו וּמוֹבָאָ֣יו וְֽכׇל־צוּרֹתָ֡ו וְאֵ֣ת כׇּל־חֻקֹּתָיו֩ וְכׇל־צ֨וּרֹתָ֤ו וְכׇל־תּֽוֹרֹתָו֙ הוֹדַ֣ע אוֹתָ֔ם וּכְתֹ֖ב לְעֵינֵיהֶ֑ם וְיִשְׁמְר֞וּ אֶת־כׇּל־צוּרָת֛וֹ וְאֶת־כׇּל־חֻקֹּתָ֖יו וְעָשׂ֥וּ אוֹתָֽם׃...

Basically my question is the following: 1. How closely related are Phoenician, Punic, Ugaritic, Moabite, Edomite, Ammonite, and Aramite to Classical Hebrew? All of these are, of course, Canaanite languages. 2. What are their origins? (Or perhaps more accurately, how did they develop?) 3. What...

Hi everyone Below is an ancient Hebrew inscription: 𐤉𐤔𐤌𐤏 𐤀𐤃𐤍𐤉 𐤄𐤔𐤓 𐤀𐤕 𐤃𐤁𐤓 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤄 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤊 𐤒𐤑𐤓 𐤄𐤉𐤄 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤊 𐤁𐤇 𐤑𐤓 𐤀𐤎𐤌 𐤅𐤉𐤒𐤑𐤓 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤊 𐤅𐤉𐤊𐤋 𐤅𐤀𐤎𐤌 𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤌 𐤋𐤐𐤍𐤉 𐤔𐤁 𐤕 𐤊𐤀𐤔𐤓 𐤊𐤋 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤊 𐤀𐤕 𐤒𐤑𐤓 𐤅𐤀 𐤎𐤌 𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤌 𐤅𐤉𐤁𐤀 𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤏𐤉𐤄𐤅 𐤁𐤍 𐤔𐤁 𐤉 𐤅𐤉𐤒𐤇 𐤀𐤕 𐤁𐤂𐤃 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤊 𐤊𐤀𐤔𐤓 𐤊𐤋𐤕 𐤀𐤕 𐤒𐤑𐤓𐤉 𐤆𐤄 𐤉𐤌𐤌 𐤋𐤒𐤇 𐤀𐤕 𐤁𐤂𐤃 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤊 𐤅𐤊𐤋 𐤀𐤇𐤉 𐤉𐤏𐤍𐤅 𐤋𐤉 𐤄𐤒𐤑𐤓𐤌 𐤀𐤕𐤉 𐤁𐤇𐤌 𐤄𐤔 𐤌𐤔 𐤀𐤇𐤉...

Hi guys, I read this in Isaiah 19:1 מַשָּׂא מִצְרָיִם הִנֵּה יְהוָה רֹכֵב עַל עָב קַל וּבָא מִצְרַיִם וְנָעוּ אֱלִילֵי מִצְרַיִם מִפָּנָיו וּלְבַב מִצְרַיִם יִמַּס בְּקִרְבּוֹ Would רֹכֵב עַל עָב קַל be an instance of anthropomorphization? If I have understood it correctly it means "is riding...

שלום וַיַּרְקִידֵ֥ם כְּמוֹ־עֵ֑גֶל לְבָנ֥וֹן וְ֝שִׂרְיֹ֗ן כְּמ֣וֹ בֶן־רְאֵמִֽים׃ (תהלים כט ו) And he made them to skip like Lebanon's young bull and Sirion like wild oxen's son. What is "them" referring to here? Here's the rest of the context: קוֹל־יְהֹוָ֥ה בַּכֹּ֑חַ ק֥וֹל יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה...

Hello, It is extremely common for the infinitive construct to have the preposition ל before it. What does it mean when used in combination with היה immediately before it? Like Genesis 15:12 ויהי השמש לבוא or Isaiah 2:5 ויהי השער לסגור בחשך.

Hi, Someone wrote that in Jonah 1:16 (see below) we have a cognate accusative. What does that mean and what is its function? וייראו האנשים יראה גדולה את־יהוה ויזבחו־זבח ליהוה וידרו נדרים Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. How does one...

Hi Could you please tell me how one can tell if a word that is of the form qātāl (like דָּבָר meaning word or matter or thing or manner or cause) or qətal (like כְּפָר meaning village) was originally of the form qatal? I mean in Proto-Hebrew. Are there any other possible origins for such...

שלום וְאִישׁ֙ לֹ֣א יוֹנֶ֔ה חֲבֹלָת֥וֹ חוֹב֙ יָשִׁ֔יב גְּזֵלָ֖ה לֹ֣א יִגְזֹ֑ל לַחְמוֹ֙ לְרָעֵ֣ב יִתֵּ֔ן וְעֵירֹ֖ם יְכַסֶּה־בָּֽגֶד׃ (יחזקאל יח ז), And is not oppressing anyone, returns his surety, a debt, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to a hungry person, and covers a naked person...

Hi Are verbs like יֵלֵךְ and יֵדַע originally of the form yaqtil? Toda raba!

I heard that words of the form qatl/qall or qitl/qill are always concrete nouns while words of the form qutl/qull are always abstract nouns. Is that true? I don't think so because עֵזֶר ("help") is abstract. Are there any examples of a qutl (or qull) that is concrete?

Hi! I take as my point of departure the following thesis, which I agree with but would like other people's feedback on: (1) yiqtol is the default future tense in ancient Hebrew. According to some scholars, yiqtol is a tense-aspect in ancient Hebrew. On this view, sometimes the yiqtol’s...

Hi everyone Below is an ancient Hebrew inscription: 𐤄𐤍 𐤄𐤍𐤒𐤁𐤄 𐤅𐤆𐤄 𐤄𐤉𐤄 𐤃𐤁𐤓 𐤄𐤍𐤒𐤁𐤄 𐤁𐤏𐤅𐤃 𐤌𐤍𐤉פ𐤌 𐤄𐤇𐤑𐤁𐤌 𐤀𐤕𐤄𐤂𐤓𐤆𐤍 𐤀𐤔ׁ 𐤀𐤋 𐤓𐤏𐤅 𐤅𐤁𐤏𐤅𐤃 𐤔ׁ𐤋𐤔ׁ 𐤀𐤌𐤕 𐤋𐤄𐤍𐤒𐤁 𐤅𐤉𐤔ׁ𐤌𐤏 𐤒𐤋 𐤀𐤔ׁ 𐤒𐤓𐤀 𐤀𐤋 𐤓𐤏𐤅 𐤊𐤉 𐤄𐤉𐤕 𐤆𐤃𐤄 𐤁𐤑𐤓 𐤌𐤉𐤌𐤍 𐤅𐤌𐤍 𐤎𐤌𐤀𐤋 𐤅𐤁𐤉𐤌 𐤄 𐤍𐤒𐤁𐤄 𐤄𐤊𐤅 𐤄𐤇𐤑𐤁𐤌 𐤀𐤔ׁ 𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤕 𐤓𐤏𐤅 𐤂𐤓𐤆𐤍 𐤀𐤋 𐤂𐤓𐤆𐤍 𐤅𐤉𐤋𐤊𐤅 𐤄𐤌𐤉𐤌 𐤌𐤍 𐤄𐤌𐤅𐤑𐤀 𐤀𐤋 𐤄𐤁𐤓𐤊𐤄 𐤁𐤌𐤀𐤕𐤉𐤌 𐤅𐤀𐤋𐤐 𐤀𐤌𐤄 𐤅𐤌𐤀 𐤕 𐤀𐤌𐤄...

ר' אליעזר מבלגנצי: וישח אדם - הנותרים , בראותם משפט אלהינו , ועיני גבוהים תשפלנה; והמקום ינשא ויגבה ויתרומם ויתגדל בעולם במשפט ההוא ששפט בם , והאל הקדוש נקדש בעולמו , לעיני הכל , בצדקה שעשה לענייו , כעניין "בקרובי אקדש" (יר' י , ג); "והתגדלתי והתקדשתי" (יח' לח , כג). בכל מקום: 'משפט' ו'צדק' -...

I read this Philippi’s Law is a sound rule, articulated by the Semitist, F. W. M. Philippi, in a lengthy article on the form of the numeral ‘two’ (Philippi 1878), according to which Proto-Semitic short *i became *a in originally closed, stressed syllables. Philippi cited possible instances in...

I read this: The Barth-Ginsberg law is a phonological rule stating that the prefix vowel of the prefix or imperfect(ive) conjugation in the base (i.e., G) stem is dependent on the theme vowel of the respective verbal base. When the theme vowel is /i/ or /u/, the prefix vowel is /a/, while when...

Hi Is there any evidence that in biblical Hebrew the begadkephat letters had only one pronunciation, whether or not they had a dagesh? Toda raba

Hi again, Do all geminate roots in the ground stem (qal) have infinitives of the form laqol, such as לסוב and לקל (from סבב and קל)? Toda raba

Hi וַיֹּאמֶר בִּי אֲדֹנָי שְׁלַח נָא בְּיַד תִּשְׁלָח And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. (Exodus 4:13) Here we seem to have an asyndetic relative clause. Is this relatively frequent in the Bible? Thanks

While studying words for colors, I came across the infrequently used adjective for turquoise / Biblical blue. I can find online the voweled singular male version of the adjective, but none of the other three - singular female, male plural, female plural. This is what I think the full set of...

Hi In today's Hebrew ratzah means "to want" but what about in the Bible? Like here ויאמר יעקב אל־נא אם־נא מצאתי חן בעיניך ולקחת מנחתי מידי כי על־כן ראיתי פניך כראת פני אלהים ותרצני (Genesis 33:10) דברו על־לב ירושלם וקראו אליה כי מלאה צבאה כי נרצה עונה כי לקחה מיד יהוה כפלים בכל־חטאתיה׃ ס...

שלום מֵ֭רַע מַקְשִׁ֣יב עַל־שְׂפַת־אָ֑וֶן שֶׁ֥קֶר מֵ֝זִ֗ין עַל־לְשׁ֥וֹן הַוֺּֽת׃ (משלי יז ד) A person who acts wrongly pays attention to misfortune's lip. A lie/deceit listens to desires' tongue. Is the verb מֵ֝זִ֗ין derived from hif'il זינ 'to eat'? אני מודה לכם מאוד

שלום בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יָגֵ֤ן יְהֹוָה֙ בְּעַד֙ יוֹשֵׁ֣ב יְרוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם וְהָיָ֞ה הַנִּכְשָׁ֥ל בָּהֶ֛ם בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא כְּדָוִ֑יד וּבֵ֤ית דָּוִיד֙ כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים כְּמַלְאַ֥ךְ יְהֹוָ֖ה לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃ (זכריה יב ח) On that day Yahweh will protect Jerusalem's dweller, and the one who stumbles among...

ר' יוסף כספי: ויגבה יי' - הפך וישח אדם. וזה הפלגת הפכות , שאם פה שני עצמים יחד , האחד יתנועע אצל מטה והאחד יתנועע אצל מעלה , לא יפגשו לעולם. והכל למדו הנביאים ממשה , באמרו "הגר אשר בקרבך יעלה עליך מעלה מעלה ואתה תרד מטה מטה" (דב' כח , מג). ואמר אדם ואיש על זה העם במוחלט לבד. Does וזה הפלגת...

Hi again, I read that in Isa 5:13 qatal is used for the prophetic future. What does this mean and is it common? לָכֵ֛ן גָּלָ֥ה עַמִּ֖י מִבְּלִי־דָ֑עַת וּכְבוֹדוֹ֙ מְתֵ֣י רָעָ֔ב וַהֲמוֹנ֖וֹ צִחֵ֥ה צָמָֽא׃ Assuredly, My people will suffer exile For not giving heed, Its multitude victims of...

שלום וַתַּ֥הַר הָאִשָּׁ֖ה וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֑ן לַמּוֹעֵ֤ד הַזֶּה֙ כָּעֵ֣ת חַיָּ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יהָ אֱלִישָֽׁע׃ (מלכים ב ד יז) KJV with Strong's: And the woman conceived and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her according to the time of life New American Standard Bible...

Hi שָׁלוֹם לְכֻלָּם Could someone tell me if words of the mishkal קְטוֹל originally had a short vowel in the last syllable and what vowel it had in the first? Here are some examples: בְּכוֹר חֲלוֹם Thank you

Hi, Is ו being used in the sense of "with" in אני ונערתי אצום כן? לֵךְ כְּנוֹס אֶת כָּל הַיְּהוּדִים הַנִּמְצְאִים בְּשׁוּשָׁן וְצוּמוּ עָלַי וְאַל תֹּאכְלוּ וְאַל תִּשְׁתּוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים לַיְלָה וָיוֹם גַּם אֲנִי וְנַעֲרֹתַי אָצוּם כֵּן וּבְכֵן אָבוֹא אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר לֹא כַדָּת...

Hi The preposition le means "for", of course. When it is followed by the infinitive construct what does it mean? For example at the end of this ויכלו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם ויכל אלהים ביום השביעי מלאכתו אשר עשה וישבת ביום השביעי מכל מלאכתו אשר עשה ויברך אלהים את יום השביעי ויקדש אתו כי בו שבת...

שלום וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי מְאֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַיּוֹם וּבֵין הַלָּיְלָה וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים וּלְיָמִים וְשָׁנִים. Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years...

I know that Modern Hebrew has only five vowels. What about Classical Hebrew?

Greetings, The King James version translates מוסר שלומנו as “the chastisement of our peace”. And it seems to be quite close to the original Hebrew. But why should our שלום be chastised (disciplined/punished)? Surely it should rather be us or our sins who are chastised. What is the exact...

What pronunciation is used by academics in Israel? Thanks, -Jonathan.

Basically my question is the following: 1.What were the different forms of Hebrew that existed before Modern Hebrew? 2.What are their origins? (Or perhpas more accurately, how did they develop?) 3.What are their particular linguistic features? You can answer in Hebrew or English. I think I...