hence it is that the verb is so apt to be reduced to the infinitive when it is object of a relation, its subject generally following immediately, sometimes as a genitive (98, Ex. 17), but generally in the to lay the king to heart his nominative (98, Ex. 18), as lā sūm ham melek ḥel lib · ō, that the king should lay it to his heart.1 And because the verb is thought in the subject (53) rather than as affecting the object, it does not compound, with prepositions which would carry it to the object, but these are used after it with the noun.2 And there is often a gap between the verb and the objects and conditions, the verbal process not being carried the whole way to these, as in the constructio prægnans 3 (see 98, Ex. 20). 3 94. Hebrew shows an inaptitude for the passive conception of fact, not only in the substitution of the reflexive Niphal for the simple passive, but also in the strange constructions by which the passive is sometimes imperfectly expressed; as when an active in the third person governs what would be the subject of the passive (98, Ex. 21), or when the passive is impersonal in the third singular masculine, and the subject follows like an accusative with he before it. In this construction he may be taken as preceding a nominative, which it sometimes does, and connecting it as in apposition with the abstract subject of the verb. But to take it as accusative would accord with the Arabic idiom, in which verbs of being or becoming, instead of being followed by a nominative in apposition with their subject, are and 3d pers. made known to followed by an accusative (66); as words of vay yuggad leribqah ḥeð· dibrēi ģēsāv, and was made known to Rebecca the words of Esau ; yuggad imperfect Hoph. of nagad. Sometimes also the subject precedes the passive verb, and the verb, instead of agreeing with it in number and gender, is in the third singular masculine, as if impersonal. 95. The usual arrangement of words in calm discourse is the natural order, subject, verb, object, but any member of the sentence can at pleasure get prominence by being put first. If the object or an adverbial expression goes first the verb follows next. The adjective as predicate generally precedes its subject. The arrangement, subject, object, verb, which is common in Aramæan, is seldom found in Hebrew, and only in poetry." The adjective follows its substantive, and the genitive its governor. The greatest prominence is given to any substantive in the sentence by putting it absolutely at the beginning of the sentence, and then representing it in its proper place by a pronoun.7 96. There is often in Hebrew, as in Arabic, imperfect agreement between the verb or predicate and the subject, in number and gender. Collective nouns singular are usually constructed with the verb or predicate in the plural, the personality which is in the latter bringing out a sense of the individuals which are massed in an aggregate in the 1 Gesenius, sect. 130. 2 Ibid. sect. 137. 3 Ibid. sect. 138. Ibid. sect. 134 note, 140. 6 Gesenius, Gram., sect. 142. 1. 5 Gesenius, Hebrew Lexicon. 7 Gesenius, sect. 142. 2. former; and those individuals may be masculine though the aggregate be thought as feminine 1 (58). The subject may be plural to express extension or greatness, though denoting only a single substantive object; and the verb thinking only the personality without the greatness may be singular. Or the subject may be feminine as signifying an office though denoting the officer, for the office as a subordinate appendage is naturally thought as feminine; 2 and the verb thinking the personality will be masculine.3 The verb in the plural may be predicated individually of an aggregate which is singular; or it may be singular, being predicated in the aggregate of a plurality thought as such.4 When the verb or predicate is at the beginning of the sentence it often takes its simplest form, the masculine singular, the subject, which is feminine or plural, not having been yet mentioned. But if the construction is continued after the introduction of the subject, a verb subsequent to it must agree with it in gender and number.5 If a feminine substantive is subject to more than one verb or predicate, the feminine form is generally given only to the one nearest to the subject.6 When the subject is a substantive constructed with a genitive, the verb sometimes agrees with the genitive, the subject being merged in it. 7 There is in Hebrew a strange variability in apprehending the gender of a substantive object when directing attention to it in a pronominal element. Not only is a feminine substantive sometimes represented by a masculine person or by a masculine pronoun, which might be supposed to arise from its gender being unnoticed in thinking the pronominal element, and the masculine form of this element being used as the simplest and most general, but also a masculine substantive, even one denoting a man, may be represented by a feminine pronoun; and the gender may be different in pronominal elements representing the same substantive object in the same compound sentence (98, Ex. 22-26). In this case not only is the gender of the substantive dropped out of view, but the pronominal element takes the special feminine gender, which must be due to a weakness in the part which it has in the fact. All these imperfect concords show a weakness of attention to the very object itself in forming the substantive idea of it (Def. 4), or in noticing it afterwards, so that the one mental act may vary from the other. 97. In consequence of want of cohesion and close construction in the Hebrew sentence, two negatives do not destroy but strengthen each other, as neither of them properly denies the whole.' and thou take to thee of all food which 98. Examples: (1.) Veḥatah qax-le kā mi kõl-maḥakāl ḥaṣer 3d pers. is eaten and gather 2d sing. perf. to yē ākēl ve ḥāsap 1 Gesenius, sect. 143. 1. Ibid. sect. 143. 3. 4. 7 Ibid. sect. 145. ta thee and has been to thee kā helei 2 Ibid. sect. 105. 3. 5 Ibid. sect. 144. Ve hāyāh le kā 3 Ibid. sect. 143. 2. 6 Ibid. sect. 144, Rem. 1. 8 Ibid. sects. 119, Rem. 1, 134. Ve lā hem leḥākelāh, and thou take to thee of all food which is eaten, and gather (it) to thee, and let it be to thee and to them for food (Gen. vi. 21); gay is an abbreviated form of leqax the imperative of lagay cepit; kōl is shortened to kol when joined as above to a following word; yeḥākēl is third singular imperfect Niphal of ḥākal edit; the imperative sense is carried on by the copulative ve to the two verbs in the perfect, the command going on in thought to the completion of what is commanded (79); hēl takes the suffixes as a and 3d pers. say Vay y homer his 3d sing. send v y islax 2d sing. perf. plural noun, as if it meant regions, directions. (2.) walk 1st sing. at face to me who ḥēlā y, yehovah haser-hio hallak tī le • pānāi woman for son take lagax ta angel his with thee and succeed way thy and malḥāk ō ḥittāk vehi·tliax darke kā ve my from kindred my and from house father my hissah li· bn i mim mispaɣt · î ū・ mi· bēith ḥābi; and he said to me, Jehovah, before whom I walk, will send His angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred and of my father's house (Gen. xxiv. 40); yḥomer is third singular imperfect of hamar, if it were less closely connected with what follows it would be yhomar; the copulative strengthens the initial because it connects it strongly with what has gone before, making it contemporaneous there with (79); hi0hallaktī, first singular perfect, Hithpael of halak, I have ordered my walk; the relative haser begins the relative clause, and the antecedent is represented in the proper relation in it by the possessive suffix of third singular (92); hittak is the preposition he, which is contracted from heneth, and has the second singular suffix, which is -āk in pause, i.e., when accented at the end of a sentence or member of a sentence; the two following verbs are perfect, being thought as future completion 3d sing. say to all sons of and (79); hit liax is Hiphil of talax, has caused to succeed. (3.) Vay evening and know y homer Mōseh ve Ḥaharon el-kol - benei Yisrael jereb vidağ' 2d pl. perf. that hath brought accus. you from land of Egypt tem ki Yehovah hot in hekem me heret Mit raim; and Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even then ye shall know that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt (Exod. xvi. 6); benēi is the plural of ben in the construct state (84); vidağtem is contracted from veyadağtem; thought goes to the evening, and their knowledge is thought as then complete; hot in is the perfect third singular Hiphil of yataḥ exiit. (4.) Vay · 3d sing. say because said 1st sing. absolutely there's no fear of raq hein yireḥal y and account of woman my debar histï; ḥōmer Abrāhām kī ḥāmar · tī God in art. place art. this and slay 3d pl. me on belohim b'am māqōm haz zeh va harāg・ū・nī ġal and Abraham said, Because I thought surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they will slay me for my wife's sake (Gen. xx. 11); ki is a relative particle, which among other uses often means because, like Latin quod; bammaqom hazzeh (89); the effect harāgūnī is thought as complete in the perfect; yircha is the construct state of and 3d sing. say Esau there is to me yirahah, and debar of dabar. (5.) Vay y homer gesāv yes ta μαχι dābār. tī Jacob nay much brother my 3d sing. be to thee what to thee rāb yehi le ka haṣer lāk vayy'omer Yağaqob halemph. if emph. find 1st sing. perf. favour in eyes thy and take nāḥ ḥim -nāḥ mātāḥ xen be ģēnei ka ve lagax 2d sing. perf. present my from hand my for on account see 1st sing perf. minxão miy・ yād・ i kī ģal -kēn rāḥī ᎾᎿ face thy as seeing of face of God and 2d sing. be pleased me panei ka ki rhōl penei helōhim va ·ti •rte ni; and Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand, for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me (Gen. xxxiii. 9, 10); yehi is the third singular imperfect of hāyāh fuit; lāk instead of lekā in pause, i.e., accented at the end of a sentence; gal-ken is used for therefore, ken means straight, gal-kën on the level; the Hebrew for face is plural panim, its construct state pene; reho is the verbal noun rehoh in the construct state; tirt'eh is second singular imperfect of rat ah delectatus fuit; velaqaxta is connected as consequence with what precedes, and as such is thought in its completion in the perfect; vatirt'eni is connected as contempogive cohort. 1st pl. descend cohort. and confound raneous with rāḥīlī. (6.) Hāb · āh n hered ah ve nabel. cohort. there lip their that not 3d pers, understand pl. man lip of friends his ah sam spatam laser loh yi smeg u his sepal rēÿ ́ē ‘hu, go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech (Gen. xi. 7); hāb is the imperative of yahab dedit, and takes cohortative -ah (79); nērēd is first plural imperfect of yarad descendit, nābol is infinitive of nabal, and both verbs change their second vowel toe before -ah; the infinitive receives the tense and person of the verb with which it is connected (92); yismeju is third plural imperfect of samag audivit, the imperfect being used where Arabic would have the subjunctive (92). for what not from womb 1st sing. die from cunnus come out 1st sing. perf. (7.) Lām māh lōḥ mērexem ḥā • mū✪ mib· beten yāṭāḥ ᎾᎿ and 1st sing. expire veḥe・ gvāÿ, why died I not from the womb? (why) did I (not) give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? (Job iii. 11); why was I not dying from the womb, expiring as soon as (ve) I had come out of the vulva; ḥāmū✪ and ḥegvāÿ are both first singular imperfect; the first letter of māh is doubled by the strength with which the preposition and 3d sing. say 1st sing. go aside cohort. emph. is thought. (8.) Vay y homer Möseh ha sur ah-n nāḥ and 1st sing. see accus. art. sight art. great art. this wherefore not 3d sing. ve he rḥeh he0-ham marḥeh hag güdöl hazzeh ma'duaÿ lōḥ -yi be burnt art. bush bjar has sneh; and Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush is not burnt (Exod. iii. 3); ḥāsūr is first singular imperfect of sur, and herḥeh of raḥah; the adjective gadōl and the demonstrative take the article because the noun has it (89); maduaÿ is contracted from ma, what, and yaduag the nomen patientis of yadağ vidit, quid edoctus; yibjar third singular imper and 3d sing. call fect of bagar. (9.) Vay · yi· grāḥ P'arÿōh le Moseh üle Ḥaharōn and 3d sing. say and 3d sing. Hiph. go away art. ha . entreat pl. to vay y homer hagtīru hel Yehovah ve y a sēr frog pl. from part me and from people my and 1st sing. let go emph. accus. t'pardeğim mim⋅men'nī ū·mē·ġam · mī va ha sallex ah ḥeoart. people and 3d pers. sacrifice pl. to hā gām ve yi zbex・u la Yehovah; and Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Entreat Jehovah that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go that they may do sacrifice unto Jehovah (Exod. viii. 8); yigrāḥ is third singular imperfect of qārāḥ vocavit; the copulative becomes ū before a consonant with sheva and before labials; hağtīru is imperative plural of Hiphil of gādār suffivit; yāsēr is third singular of the short or jussive imperfect Hiphil (79) of sur recessit; hasallex is first singular imperfect Piel of salax misit. and art. man (10.) Ve hāḥādām 3d fem, bring forth accus. led heo har va tē . knew accus. Eve wife his and 3d fem. conceived yadağ ḥe0-havvāh ḥistō va ta Cain and 3d fem. say get 1st sing. perf. man qain va t homer qānī ᎾᎿ his heo-Yehovah; and Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bare Cain and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord (Gen. iv. 1); the three verbs with va are imperfects, and va has the strong vowel a because it connects them strongly with yadağ, making them imperfect in reference to it (79); heland 3d sing. say homer Yehovah is not direct object but a condition. (11.) Vayy because Hiph. meet ki hi grah Yehōvāh ḥelōhei ka le pānā·y; and Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God brought it before me (Gen. xxvii. 20); mihartā limt ōḥ, thou hast hastened to find, i.e., hast found quickly (87); met ōh is the more nominal infinitive of mātāḥ invenit; pānim, face; mihartă second singular perfect Piel of māhar festinavit. (12.) and 3d sing. add and 3d sing. take woman and name her Va y yosep Habrāhām vay · yi・ qqax ḥiṣṣāh ū·'semāh qṣṭūrāh, then again Abraham took a wife, and her name (was) Keturah (Gen. XXV. 1); yosep vayyiqqax, third singular imperfect of ḥāsap and not 2d pers. multiply pl. nāqax, adds and takes, for takes again (87). (13.) Hal t・ arbū 2d pers. speak pl. high fem. 3d sing. proceed arrogant from mouth your for te dabber u gebōhah gebohāh ye t'eḥ jābāq mip pikem ki and by him Niph. weigh pl. actions hel değ ōth Yehovah ve・l·ō ni Oken u galil oth; talk no more exceeding proudly, let (not) arrogancy come out of your mouth; for Jehovah is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed (1 Sam. ii. 3); tarbu is second plural imperfect Hiphil of rabah multiplicatus est; tedabberu is second plural imperfect Piel of dabar locutus est; both used imperatively, and the former taking the place of an adverb (87); gebohah is feminine because it is thought as a subordinate appendage of the verb; the negative is carried on |