RickBrannan/categorize_bib_lang_grammar huggingface dataset:
The term אַַל is almost exclusively used to negate verbs; it is also the standard particle used to negate jussive and cohortative verbs.
When used with 2nd person imperfect verbs to express a negative command, this particle signifies a less emphatic command than the use of the negative particle לֹא.
This term is sometimes used (especially with לְ) to negate infinitive construct verbs, and is usually translated in English as "no" or "not".
These particles are usually used in poetry and carry no special meaning other than to negate a word or concept within a sentence.
In English, they are usually translated as "no" or "not".
Relative particles introduce clauses or phrases that usually describe nouns but can also sometimes describe adjectives and/or verbs.
Biblical Hebrew utilizes three different particles that introduce relative clauses or phrases.
The particle אֲשֶׁר and the prefix -שֶׁ function as synonyms: they usually immediately follow nouns and sometimes adjectives.
When functioning as a relative particle, the word כִּי usually immediately follows a verb of seeing or perceiving.
Its translation depends on the noun.
Sometimes there is no noun as an antecedent.
Biblical Hebrew uses the particle כִּי to introduce relative clauses or phrases that describe something that is seen, known, or somehow perceived by a person.
Therefore, כִּי usually follows verbs of seeing/perceiving where a reader might expect to find אֲשֶׁר.
In English, it is usually translated as “that” in these cases.
The first person form of a term refers to the person(s) writing or speaking.
In English, the first person pronouns include: "I", "me", or "my", for singular; and "we", "us", or "our," for plural.
In Biblical Hebrew, terms which are marked for first person do not change form according to gender (masculine and feminine), but they do change form according to number (singular or plural).
In Biblical Hebrew, verbs, pronouns, and pronominal suffixes can all be marked for first person.
In Biblical Hebrew, a term marked for first person can be recognized by a variety of changes to the form.
These changes differ greatly from each other, so it is difficult to sum them up in a simple, helpful way.
The paradigm below shows a sample of the kinds of changes that signal a first person form.
Neither English nor Biblical Hebrew distinguish between the inclusive and the exclusive "we".
The context will determine which one is meant.
A finite verb (and/or verbal participle) in first person form indicates that the subject of the verb is the writer/speaker of the verb.
A first person independent personal pronoun refers either to the writer/speaker (for singular) or to an entire group to which the writer/speaker belongs (for plural).
A first person pronominal suffix usually functions either as a personal pronoun (for verbs and prepositions) or as a possessive adjective (for nouns).
The second person form of a term refers to the person(s) being addressed by a writer or speaker.
In English, the second person pronouns are "you" and "your," used for both singular and plural.
In Biblical Hebrew, terms which are marked for second personal can change form according to both gender (masculine and feminine) and number (singular or plural).
In Biblical Hebrew, verbs, pronouns, and pronominal suffixes can all be marked for second person.
Neither English nor Hebrew have a formal second person address.
In many languages (including German, Spanish, and French), a speaker addresses God using an informal address.
In some other languages, such as Dutch, a speaker addresses God using a formal address.
In Biblical Hebrew, a term marked for second person can be recognized by a variety of changes to the form.
The paradigm below shows a sample of the kinds of changes that signal a second person form.
A finite verb (and/or verbal participle) in second person form indicates that the subject of the verb is the person(s) being addressed by the writer/speaker.
A second person independent personal pronoun refers either to the person being addressed by the writer/speaker (for singular) or to an entire group to which that person belongs (for plural).
A second person pronominal suffix usually functions either as a personal pronoun (for verbs and prepositions) or as a possessive adjective (for nouns).
The third person form of a term refers to a person(s) or thing(s) other than the writer/speaker and the person being addressed by the writer/speaker.
In English, the third person pronouns include: "he", "him", "his", "she", or "her", for singular; and "they", "them", or "their," for plural.
In Biblical Hebrew, terms which are marked for third person can change form according to both gender (masculine and feminine) and number (singular or plural).
In Biblical Hebrew, verbs, pronouns, and pronominal suffixes can all be marked for third person.
In Biblical Hebrew, a term marked for third person can be recognized by a variety of changes to the form.
The paradigm below shows a sample of the kinds of changes that signal a third person form.
A finite verb (and/or verbal participle) in third person form indicates that the subject of the verb is someone/something other than the writer/speaker or the person being addressed.
A third person independent personal pronoun refers either to a person/thing (for singular) or group of persons/things (for plural) other than the writer/speaker and the person being addressed by the writer/speaker.
A third person pronominal suffix usually functions either as a personal pronoun (for verbs and prepositions) or as a possessive adjective (for nouns).
Both Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic have four primary prepositions: the prefix בְּ (in, at, by); the prefix לְ (to, for); the prefix כְּ (as, like); and the prefix מִ (which is a shortened form of the independent preposition מִן, meaning "from").
However, there is also a family of other prepositions.
It is common for prepositions to be combined together or with a noun to form new words that have their own range of meanings (similar to compound conjunctions) that may or may not overlap with the meaning of the individual component terms.
In Biblical Hebrew, there are 11 general categories of prepositions: indirect object; spatial; locative; temporal; instrumental; correlative; comparative; directional; causal; explanatory; and direct object.
However, this are also other types of prepositions in Biblical Hebrew.
The specific meanings of individual prepositions can be found in a dictionary or lexicon.
This is a secondary use of the prepositions לְ and עַל.
This is a common use of the preposition מִן.
This is the primary use of the preposition כְּ.
A rare use of the preposition לְ is to indicate the direct object of the verb.
When used in this way, the preposition is almost always left untranslated in English.
This is a common use of the preposition לְ.
Explanatory prepositions are often translated into English with terms such as "as", "for", "to", or it can be left untranslated.
A common use of the preposition לְ (also אֶל, with verbs of speaking) is to indicate the indirect object or recipient of the verbal action.
When used in this way, the preposition is usually transated into English with "to" or "for", or it can be left untranslated.
This is a common use of the preposition בְּ.
This is a common use of the prepositions אֶל and מִן.
A preposition introduces a phrase that describes another word/concept within a sentence, usually a noun or a verb.
However, like adverbs and particles, sometimes a prepositional phrase can describe the sentence as a whole.
In Biblical Hebrew, prepositions can also be used with an infinitive construct verb to show its relationship to the main verb of a sentence.
Biblical Hebrew has four main prepositions: the prefix בְּ (in, at, by); the prefix לְ (to, for); the prefix כְּ (as, like); and the prefix מִ (which is a shortened form of the independent preposition מִן, meaning "from").
However, there is also a family of other prepositions in Biblical Hebrew.
It is common in Biblical Hebrew for prepositions to be combined together or with a noun to form new words that have their own range of meanings (similar to compound conjunctions) that may or may not overlap with the meaning of the individual component terms.
In Biblical Hebrew, prepositions also have a specialized function of describing the relationship between a verbal complement (infinitive construct or participles) and the main verb of a sentence.
In some of these instances, the preposition introduces a dependent verbal clause and thus changes its typical meaning.
These specialized uses of prepositions are listed in the article on infinitive construct verbs.
For this reason, prepositions must always be translated with great sensitivity to the context of each use.
A dictionary or lexicon will describe the various possible meanings of each preposition, but generally will not include a complete list of individual usages.
In Biblical Hebrew, there are 11 general types of prepositions: indirect object; spatial; locative; temporal; instrumental; correlative; comparative; directional; causal; explanatory; and direct object.
A pronoun can function as a noun (personal pronouns), an adjective (demonstrative pronouns), or a relative particle (relative pronouns).
There are five categories of pronouns in both Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic.
A pronoun is a word that indirectly refers to a person or a thing.
For example: "John" is a proper name, "man" is a common noun, and "he" is a pronoun; but all three terms can refer to the same person named "John".
A "demonstrative pronoun" refers to a specific person(s) or thing(s) in particular.
In English, the following words are demonstrative pronouns: "this", "that", "these", "those".
In Biblical Hebrew, demonstrative pronouns can function either as nouns or adjectives.
Demonstrative pronouns can change form according to gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) but NOT according to person (i.e.
Demonstrative pronouns can be used to distinguish individuals within a group interacting with each other.
When used as an attributive adjective, a demonstrative pronoun often follows the noun, and both terms can take the definite article.
Sometimes neither the noun nor the demonstrative pronoun takes the definite article.
In either case, the demonstrative pronoun makes the described noun definite.
An "indefinite pronoun" is a pronoun that refers to a person(s) or thing(s) in general but not to any specific person or thing in particular.
In English, they are usually translated as "whoever” (in reference to persons) or "whatever" (when referring to things).
Indefinite pronouns do not change their form based on number, gender, or person.
However, the vowels can change depending on the vocalization of the word immediately following the pronoun.
An "interrogative pronoun" is a pronoun that appears at the beginning of a clause/sentence and indicates that the clause/sentence is an interrogative question rather than an indicative statement.
In Biblical Hebrew, a family of interrogative particles function as interrogative pronouns, and many scholars use the terms "interrogative pronouns" and "interrogative particles" interchangeably.
The two most common interrogative particles are מִי (personal interrogative pronoun, referring to a person) and מָה (impersonal interrogative pronoun, referring to a thing).
These two pronouns can also function as indefinite pronouns, especially when they appear in the middle of a clause/sentence rather than at the beginning.
As a general rule, the particles מִי or מָה function as interrogative pronouns when they appear at the beginning of a clause/sentence, and function as indefinite pronouns when they appear in the middle of a sentence or clause.
However, this is not a universal rule; the specific use of these pronouns must always be determined from the context.
A "personal pronoun" is a word that indirectly refers to a particular person(s) or thing(s).
In English, the following words are personal pronouns: "I", "we", "you", "he", "she", "they", "them".
In Biblical Hebrew, personal pronouns change form according to gender (masculine, feminine, or common), number (singular, or plural), and person (first, second, or third).
Grammatically they are very similar to pronominal suffixes, but they stand alone rather than attaching to other kinds of words; also, they are more limited in their function.
Sometimes an independent personal pronoun appears as the subject of a finite verb even though the pronominal subject is already indicated by the verb form iteself.
In these cases, the personal pronoun functions to emphasize the personal role of the subject in performing the verbal action.
Sometimes a personal pronoun simply repeats a noun or pronominal suffix that has appeared earlier in the sentence.
The specific function of the repeated pronoun must be discerned from the context in these cases, but often the repetition expresses some kind of emphasis on the identified person(s) or thing(s) within the sentence.
A "relative pronoun" is a pronoun that functions as a relative particle, that is, to introduce a phrase or clause that describes a noun.
In English, the relative pronouns include: “who", "what", “that", “which", "when", or "where".
In most cases, Biblical Hebrew simply uses either the relative particle אֲשֶׁר or the prefix -שֶׁ to introduce a relative clause.
However, in rare instances Biblical Hebrew uses certain other pronouns to serve this same function.
The two feminine demonstratives זֹה and זוֹ can also function as a relative particle.
The absolute state is the standard form of a word (noun, adjective, participle, or infinitive) in contrast to a modified form called the construct state.
A word in the absolute state can take a prefix but not a suffix.
In Biblical Hebrew, when a term stands alone and is not grammatically connected to another word, it appears in the absolute state.
The absolute state cannot take a suffix but can take a prefix, including a conjunction, preposition, definite article, or even a relative particle.
For example, a term functioning as the object of a preposition can appear in the absolute state with a prefixed preposition, provided that there is no pronominal suffix.
A term with both a prefixed preposition and a pronominal suffix would necessarily appear in the construct state.
The final word in a construct chain always appears in the absolute state either with or without the definite article.
If the absolute noun in a construct chain is definite, then the entire construct chain is definite.
If the absolute noun is indefinite, then the entire construct chain is indefinite.
The construct state is a modified form of a word (noun, adjective, participle, or infinitive) in contrast to the standard form called the absolute state.
The construct state is used when a word takes a suffix or is connected to another term in a construct chain.
The construct state serves a unique function in Biblical Hebrew to grammatically link a word to the following word(s),making a single grammatical unit called a construct chain.
Words in a construct chain are often translated into English with the word "of" between them.
Construct chains can consist of two words (for example, "the king of Israel") or more than two words (for example, "the son of the king of Israel").
For most nouns, the masculine singular form is identical to the absolute state.
The masculine plural construct ending drops the final ם and changes the final hireq to a segol (i-sound to e-sound).
Usually, the feminine singular construct ending changes from a final ה to a final ת.
The feminine plural construct ending is identical to the absolute state.
Two or more terms that are gramatically linked together to form a construct chain can express a wide range of meanings.
The final term in a construct chain always appears in the absolute state and is called the "absolute noun".
The absolute noun always determines whether a construct chain is definite or indefinite.
A construct noun can indicate a person/thing possessed by the absolute noun.
A construct noun can indicate a kind of personal relationship with reference to the absolute noun.
An absolute noun can indicate the substance or material of the construct noun.
An absolute noun can describe the construct noun, similar to an attributive adjective.
An absolute noun can indicate the specific item described by the construct noun.
An absolute noun can indicate an intended purpose/result for the construct noun.
An absolute noun can indicate the person/thing by which the construct noun is performed.
An absolute noun can indicate the person/thing that either performs or receives the action described by the construct noun.
A construct noun can indicate a unique item among a series described by the absolute noun.
These work together like two "layers", and each layer supplies different information about the verb.
In Biblical Hebrew, there are seven major stem formations and several rare ones.
The simplest form of the verb, usually with "a" vowels (qamets or patah).
Adds נִ (nun with hireq) to the beginning of the verb.
If the form also adds a prefix (like in the prefix conjugation), the נ disappears and causes the 1st radical to double (with a daghesh).
Often has הִ (he with hireq) before the verb, or a patah under the letter that the form adds before the root.
Also adds a ה before the verb, but with a qamets hatuf (or sometimes qibbuts) vowel.
Doubles the 2nd radical of the verb with a daghesh, and usually has a shewa or a hireq under the 1st radical.
Also doubles the 2nd radical but usually has a qibbuts under the 1st radical.
Adds הִתְ (he with hireq and taw with shewa) before the verb, and puts a qamets or patah under the 1st radical.
The following table is a brief overview of the most common stems and their most common functions.
Simple action refers to a typical dynamic verb; that is, the verb describes an action being performed by the subject of the verb.
Stative action refers to a typical stative verb; that is, the verb describes the subject of the verb as being in a certain state/condition.
Causative action means that the subject of the verb is causing the object of the verb either to perform the verbal action (with dynamic verbs) or to be in the state described by the verb (with stative verbs).
In English, causative action is expressed using the main verb "to cause" paired with the infinitive of the verbal action in view.
In Biblical Hebrew, the causative nature of the verbal action is expressed by the stem formation itself with no additional verbal element.
Resultative action means that the primary focus of the verb is on the result of the verbal action.
Intensive action means that the verbal action is strengthened in some way.
Active voice means that the subject of the verb is performing the verbal action.
Most verbs are in the active voice.
Passive voice means that the subject of the verb is receiving the verbal action rather than performing the verbal action.
In Biblical Hebrew, the passive nature of the verbal action is expressed by the stem formation of the verb itself without any helping verbs.
Reflexive voice means that the subject of the verb is both performing and receiving the verbal action.
In English, reflexive voice is expressed using a reflexive pronoun as the object of the verb, "I tell myself".
In Biblical Hebrew, the reflexive nature of the verbal action is expressed by the stem formation of the verb itself without any additional words.
Middle voice means that the subject receives the action but also is (partially) involved in performing the action.
Middle voice stands somewhere between passive voice and reflexive voice.
Reciprocal voice means that multiple subjects are in view who are both performing the verbal action for another and receiving the verbal action from another.
In Biblical Hebrew, the reciprocal nature of the action is expressed by the stem formation of the verb itself without any additional words.
Reciprocal voice must be distinguished from reflexive voice.
The phrase "They tell each other" is reciprocal: each member of the group is telling something to another member of the group, and each member of the group is being told something by another member of the group.
The Hiphil stem generally expresses causative action in active voice, but it can also express other kinds of verbal action depending on the context and the specific verb.
The Hiphil form is a verbal stem formation in Biblical Hebrew, usually indicated by a הִ prefix before the 1st radical and a hireq-yod (or sometimes tsere) vowel under the 2nd radical of the verb.
The Hiphil stem is generally used to express causative action in active voice.
In many cases the noun derived from the same root is the object or result of the hiphil verb associated with that root.
For example, the Hiphil verb הִמְטִיר means "to cause to rain down"; the noun מָטָר means "rain".
Causative action means that the subject of the verb is causing the object of the verb either to perform the verbal action (for dynamic verb) or to be in the state described by the verb (for stative verbs).
The Hiphil stem usually serves this causative function with dynamic verbs (and sometimes with stative verbs also).
A good example is the verb בּוֹא.
In the Qal stem, the verb בּוֹא expresses the simple action "to come" or "to go".
But in the Hiphil stem, the verb בּוֹא expresses the causative action "to bring" (meaning, to cause something to come/go).
In Biblical Hebrew, the causative nature of the verbal action is expressed by the Hiphil form of the verb itself with no additional verbal element.
In Biblical Hebrew, some verbs are found only in the Hiphil stem (and/or its derivative stem formations).
In these cases, the Hiphil usually expresses a simple action which is causative by its very nature.
A good example is the Hebrew verb סוּת, which occurs only in the Hiphil stem and means "to incite" or "to entice".
A dictionary or lexicon will indicate all the stem formations in which a particular verb is found as well as the appropriate meaning(s).
Some verbs express different meanings in different stem formations.
A good example is the verb גָּלָה.
In the Qal stem, the verb גָּלָה expresses the simple action "to uncover" or "to reveal".
But in the Hiphil stem, the verb גָּלָה expresses the simple action "to exile".
Again, this will be indicated by a dictionary or lexicon.
Some verbs express the same meaning in multiple stem formations.
A good example is the verb יָדַע, which expresses the causative action "to make known" (meaning, to cause to know) in both the Piel stem and the Hiphil stem.
This also will be indicated by a dictionary or lexicon.
The Hiphil stem can also be used to express miscellaneous kinds of simple or causative action that might not follow any of the other descriptions listed above.
As always, the specific meaning of the verb will be indicated by a dictionary or lexicon.
The Hishtaphel is an extremely rare stem formation that is similar to the Hiphil and expresses causative action in active voice.
The Hishtaphel is a rare stem formation that is unrelated to any other stem.
Many scholars believe this stem is derived from Ugaritic and is similar to the Hiphil, expressing causative action in active voice.
However, In Biblical Hebrew this stem is used almost exclusively with the common verb חוי / חוה, meaning "to prostrate oneself" (simple action with reflexive voice) or "to worship" (simple action with active voice).
The Hithpael stem is related to the Piel stem formation, and it generally expresses the reflexive voice of the meaning of a verb in the Piel stem.
The Hithpael stem is formed from the Piel stem by adding the reflexive prefix (הִתְ) and changing the vowel under the 1st radical.
Like the Piel and Pual stems, it usually has a daghesh in the 2nd radical of the verb.
Generally speaking, the Hithpael stem expresses the reflexive voice of the meaning of a verb in the Piel stem.
However, the Hithpael stem is quite flexible in its use and can express other kinds of verbal action, depending on the context and the specific verb.
A good example is the verb יָדַע.
In the Qal stem, the verb יָדַע means "to know" (simple action, active voice).
But in the Piel stem, the verb יָדַע means "to make known" (causative action, active voice).