RickBrannan/categorize_bib_lang_grammar huggingface dataset:
The examples listed below are not comprehensive, but only provide a sampling of potential options for the exact meaning.
The following example shows an infinitive absolute continuing the action of the preceding verb.
The following example shows an infinitive absolute functioning as an emphatic command (either direct or indirect).
The following example shows an infinitive absolute functioning ambiguously (could be an adverb or a finite verb).
An infinitive absolute (or a pair of infinitive absolutes) can follow a finite verb of a different root to describe complementary action.
In the following example, a single infinitive absolute is functioning adverbially.
In the following example, a pair of infinitive absolutes are functioning adverbially.
The Infinitive Absolute (and sometimes the Participle) of the specific root הלךְ can be used to express a sense of progression or continuance of the action of a main verb.
This is an extremely rare use of the Infinitive Absolute.
The infinitive construct is a non-finite verbal form that usually functions as a verbal complement, providing extra information regarding the purpose, result, or temporal frame of the verbal action of the main verb.
In rare cases, the infinitive construct functions independently as a noun.
The infinitive construct generally functions as a verbal complement to a finite verb, but in rare cases it also functions independently as a noun.
The infinitive construct is described as being in the construct state because it can occur in various constructions with prepositions, suffixes, and other nouns in a construct chain.
The infinitive construct is not found in the Hophal or Pual stems in Biblical Hebrew.
The infinitive construct can carry the following range of meanings.
This is by far the most common use of the infinitive construct, as a standard grammatical infinitive.
In the following example, the infinitive construct is expressing purpose for the action of the main verb.
In the following example, the infinitive construct is expressing the result of the action of the main verb.
In the following example, the infinitive construct is expressing the complementary action of the main verb.
In the following example, the infinitive construct is expressing complementary action, but with a more nuanced meaning.
In the following example, the infinitive construct with preposition עַל to express purpose for the action of the main verb.
The infinitive construct can be used with other prepositions (besides those included below) to provide temporal reference.
In those cases, the context and the meaning of the preposition generally make clear the specific temporal nuance being indicated.
The infinitive construct sometimes functions as an independent noun.
The infinitive construct may also introduce an entire clause that functions as a noun.
The infinitive construct of אמר with preposition לְ is used to introduce direct speech.
When the infinitive construct takes a pronominal suffix, that suffix can be either the subject or the object of the infinitive itself (not the main verb), as determined by the context.
The following example is an infinitive construct with suffix as subject of the action.
The following example is an infinitive construct with suffix as object of the action.
A noun is a word that refers to a person, a thing, a place, or an idea.
In Biblical Hebrew, all nouns contain number, gender, state, and definiteness.
By number, a noun can be singular, plural, or dual.
By gender, a noun can be masculine or feminine.
By state, a noun can be in the construct state or in the absolute state.
Nouns are listed in a Hebrew dictionary by their singular absolute form.
Also, a variety of prefixes and/or suffixes can be attached to nouns that give extra information.
For example, a noun can appear dual when it is actually plural; a noun can appear masculine when it is actually feminine; and so on.
In Biblical Hebrew, it is very common for words to change their function within a sentence.
For example, adjectives, and participles (both active and passive) often function as nouns.
Also, sometimes a noun can function as an adverb or a preposition.
Common nouns are nouns that are not proper names (i.e.
A common noun is any noun that is not a proper name.
Common noun change their form according to gender (either masculine or feminine) number (singular, dual, or plural), and state (either absolute or construct).
A gentilic noun is a noun that describes the ethnic identity of a person or group of people.
Biblical Hebrew expresses national, tribal, or ancestral identity using nouns that (usually) immediately follow the noun they describe.
For this reason, some scholars prefer to classify gentilic nouns as gentilic adjectives, because they appear in the same position as attributive adjectives.
Either classification is grammatically correct.
Proper names (usually, of people or places) are a special class of noun called "proper nouns".
In the example below, מֹשֶׁ֗ה "Moses" is a proper noun (because it is a name), but אִ֖ישׁ "man" is a common noun.
Biblical Hebrew does not have capital letters to signify proper names.
Proper nouns always appear in the absolute state and are considered 3rd person singular when used as subjects of verbs, direct objects, or referred to by personal pronouns or pronominal suffixes.
Proper names can be either masculine or feminine.
The dual form of a term usually refers to a pair of items.
Both masculine and feminine terms take the same dual ending, ־ַיִם (pathah-yod-hireq-final mem).
The plural form of a term refers to two or more of that item.
In Biblical Hebrew, a term with plural form usually refers to multiple persons or objects.
However, Biblical Hebrew can use the plural form of a word to express many different meanings about a singular entity.
Besides nouns, a plural term can be recognized by a variety of changes to the form.
These changes differ greatly from each other and are hard to sum up in a simple, helpful way.
This paradigm shows a sample of the kinds of changes that signal a plural form for verbs, independent personal pronouns, the direct object marker with a pronominal suffix, and pronominal suffixes.
The common plural expresses more than one of a thing.
The term אֲלֹהִים can function as a common plural, but it most often functions as a majestic plural (see example below).
Some nouns can be singular or plural even though they appear in plural form.
For example, the term שָׁמַיִם can be translated into English as "heaven" or "heavens", and the term מַיִם can be translated in English as "water" or waters", depending on the context.
Biblical Hebrew can use the plural form for actions that have multiple processes or an action involving a collective noun (see example Gen 4:10 below, "bloods" = "bloodshed").
The plural form can also express a collective, intensive or superlative sense of a singular item (or kind of item).
For example, the noun אֲלֹהִים (God) appears in the plural form but usually refers to the singular entity "God".
Some plural nouns in Biblical Hebrew are translated as singular in other languages.
In English, abstract plurals are often singular and have endings like -ness, -hood, and -ship.
Generally, plural adjectives (also active and passive adjectival participles) use the common plural.
A finite verb and/or verbal participle in plural form indicates that the subject of the verb is plural.
Participles in plural form can generally use the common plural, but not always.
A verbal participle in plural form indicates that the subject of the participle is plural.
Generally, pronouns and suffixes use the common plural.
The singular form of a term refers to a single item, or a collection of items all of the same kind.
In Biblical Hebrew, a word in its singular form usually refers to a single item, or to a collection of items all of the same kind.
For nouns and adjectives, the singular form is the standard form found in a dictionary or lexicon.
Besides nouns, a singular term can be recognized by a variety of changes to the form.
This paradigm shows a sample of the kinds of changes that signal a singular form for verbs, independent personal pronouns, and pronominal suffixes.
Sometimes a singular noun can refer to an entire kind of item rather than an individual entity.
For example, the noun עַם "(people") is singular and refers to an entire group of people as a single unit.
With some nouns, the singular form can be used as either a common singular or a collective singular.
For example, the noun עוֹף֙ can mean "bird" or "birds".
An adjective (also active and passive adjectival participles) in singular form describes a singular noun (either common or collective).
A finite verb (and/or verbal participle) in singular form indicates that the subject of the verb is singular (either common or collective).
Generally, all nominal and adjectival participles in plural form use the common singular.
An "adjectival participle" immediately follows the noun it describes, and matches that noun in gender, number, and definiteness.
An adjectival participle can either function as an adjective by itself or introduce an entire clause that functions as an adjective (either attributive or predicative).
Participles are non-finite verbal forms that can change their form based on stem formation (like verbs) as well as person, gender, state, and definiteness (like both adjectives and nouns).
Participles are very flexible in their grammatical use and can function as a verbal complement, a finite main verb, an adjective, or a noun.
In most cases, the context will clearly show how the participle is being used in the sentence.
The meaning of a participle is usually clear, even in cases where its specific grammatical function cannot be determined precisely.
A "nominal participle" often takes the definite article (but not always), and can either function as a noun by itself or introduce an entire clause that functions as a noun.
A nominal participle will appear in the construct state either when it takes a pronominal suffix or when it is in a construct relationship with another noun in the absolute state.
When functioning as a main verb, the participle is governed by the context and has the potential to be translated as past time, present time, future time, or even without a specified timeframe.
A verbal participle can express continuous, imminent, habitual, or even stative action as determined by the context.
When functioning as a verbal complement, the participle is governed by the main verb of the sentence and has potential to be translated as past time, present time, or future time.
Active participles express verbal action in active voice, meaning that the person/thing described by the participle performs the action expressed by the participle itself.
It is helpful to classify participles according to their function in the sentence as a whole: as a verb (or verbal complement); as an adjective; or as a noun.
Participles can function independently as their own grammatical entity, but they often introduce entire clauses that function either as adjectives or nouns.
An "active participle" is a non-finite verbal form with active voice that can function as a verb (either a main verb or a verbal complement), an adjective, or a noun.
When used verbally, an active participle most often expresses continuous or imminent action.
This is the most common use of the passive participle in Biblical Hebrew.
An adjectival passive participle can function as either an attributive adjective or a predicative adjective.
The context must determine whether a passive participle is functioning as a predicative adjective or as a main verb, because both appear the same in many instances.
Passive participles express verbal action in either passive voice or reflexive voice.
Passive voice means that the person/thing described by the participle receives the action expressed by the participle itself.
Reflexive voice means that the person/thing described by the participle both performs and receives the action expressed by the participle itself.
A passive/reflexive participle is often used as an independent grammatical entity, although it can introduce entire clauses similar to the active participle.
Passive participles are generally more limited in meaning than active participles.
Passive participles are governed either by the main verb of a sentence or by the context.
They can express action in past time, present time, future time, or without any specified timeframe.
A passive participle is a non-finite verbal form with passive or reflexive voice that can function as a verb (or verbal complement), an adjective, or a noun.
Passive participles most often function as either an attributive adjective or a predicative adjective.
The context must determine whether a passive participle is functioning as a main verb or as a predicative adjective, because both appear the same in many instances.
The following example shows a passive participle functioning as an attributive adjective.
The following example shows a passive participle functioning as a predicative adjective.
The following example shows passive participles introducing an entire clause that functions as a predicative adjective.
In the following example, the participle is in the first position, which is the normal Hebrew word order for finite verbs but not for participles.
These particles usually convey a sense of "affirmation of" or "addition to" some idea within the sentence.
Particles are auxiliary words in a language that do not describe or refer to a specific object or action.
Rather, particles often mark grammatical structures and/or show how other words within a sentence relate to each other.
Many particles are closely related to adverbs or conjunctions.
Particles are sometimes paired together (or with conjunctions) to form compound conjunctions.
Compound conjunctions are best understood as a single unit with its own range of meanings which may or may not overlap with the meanings of the individual particles themselves.
When in doubt, it is recommended to consult and dictionary or lexicon to determine whether any particular occurrence of a particle stands alone or as part of a compound conjunction.
These particles focus the attention of the reader/listener to the word, phrase, or sentence that immediately follows.
This particle precedes the direct object in a sentence.
Exhortation particles are used to emphasize or strengthen a request or command.
They are often left untranslated in English.
Interjections usually appear at the beginning of a sentence or clause and are grammatically disconnected from the rest of the sentence.
As in many languages, interjections are often "natural sounds", that is, vocal gestures or sounds that a person utters when experiencing certain emotions.
Interjections can be used to express both positive and negative emotions.
An interjection is a word that expresses strong emotion.
These particles are exclamations of emotion.
This prefix indicates that the sentence is a question and not a statement.
These particles negate some word in the sentnce, usually a verb or adjective.
These particles introduce a relative clause or phrase, often more fully describing a preceding noun or verb.
Affirmation particles express a sense of "addition to" or "affirmation of" something in a text.
Biblical Hebrew contains three major particles that, used either individually or in combination, express an "affirmation of" or "addition to" some aspect of the text.
These particles can have a scope as narrow as a single word or phrase, or as broad as an entire sentence or paragraph.
This word is flexible in meaning; sometimes it appears to function more like a conjunction and sometimes more like an adverb.
This word does not have a single translation value, but must be translated with great sensitivity to its context.
In English, אַף is often translated with a family of different words, including "also", "even", "only", "truly", and/or other terms that can convey the general concepts of affirmation or addition.
Sometimes it is left untranslated, in instances where there is no satisfactory way to communicate the sense of the word as used in its specific context.
Like אַף, this word appears to function sometimes more like a conjunction and sometimes more like an adverb.
In English, גַּם is often translated with a family of different words, including "also", "indeed", "even", and/or other terms that can convey the general concepts of affirmation or addition.
When paired together, these two particles function as a single unit, expressing a strong sense of affirmation or addition.
Again, this compound particle must be translated with extreme sensitivity to the context in order to convey its precise nuance.
When the word אִם follows oath formulas, it functions as an affirmation particle to strengthen the force of the oath, either negatively (as אִם alone) or positively (as אִם־לֹא).
In Biblical Hebrew, the definite article (the prefix הַ) is added to a term either to make that term definite, or to match that term to the noun it describes, or both.
The use of the definite article is one of the ways that a word can be made definite in Biblical Hebrew.
The definite article is not an independent word but the prefix הַ (he with pathah), usually accompanied by a daghesh in the next consonant.
The definite article normally takes the pathah vowel, but that vowel can shift (usually either lengthening to qamets or shortening to seghol) depending on the placement of the accent and/or gutteral consonants within the word.
The definite article serves an additional function to match a noun, adjective or participle the word it describes.
The definite article is usually translated as "the" in English.
However, the rules governing the definiteness of words vary in different languages, so this particle must always be translated according to the conventions of the target language.
This may have been done for the sake of rhythmic meter, since the article almost always adds a syllable to a word.
In Hebrew poetry, words can be in the determined state even without the definite article.
Therefore, in Hebrew poetry, often the state (construct, absolute, or determined) of a particular word must be determined by the context.
One way that a term can be made definite in Biblical Hebrew is to add the definite article prefix.
Demonstrative particles function to direct the attention of a listener or reader.
Biblical Hebrew has only a few demonstrative particles, with the two most common ones being הִנֵּה and הֵ֣ן.
The specific function of a demonstrative particle is to draw attention to whatever immediately follows the particle, either a single word or an entire phrase.
Similar to the exhortation particle, demonstrative particles are sometimes left untranslated.
Demonstrative particles can stand alone or take a pronominal suffix and/or a prefixed conjunction.
When used in direct speech, the demonstrative particle functions to direct the attention of the person listening to the speech.
This function of the demonstrative particle also serves to make a presentation of a person/thing from one person to another (see GEN 12:19 below).
When used in narrative or poetry (not in direct speech), the demonstrative particles functions to direct the attention of the person reading the text.
This function of the demonstrative particle often directs the attention of the reader to a scene that a person within the narrative is observing at that moment (see GEN 1:31 and GEN 8:13 below).
This particle immediately precedes the term that functions as the direct object of a verb.
As the name suggests, the direct object marker indicates the direct object of some verb.
It does this by directly preceding the noun or phrase that functions as the direct object of a verb (either finite or non-finite).
The direct object marker does not occur before every direct object, but it usually appears in places where there might be confusion.
Thus, the direct object marker is not strictly necessary in Biblical Hebrew.
Many languages, including English, do not have any specific word or symbol that serves a similar function; instead, those languages use other means of indicating the direct object of a verb (such as word order).
Therefore, in many translations this particle is never translated.
The standard form of the direct object marker is אֵת.
It can take both the prefixed conjunction and/or a pronominal suffix.
When taking a pronominal suffix, however, the two words can be distinguished by the vowel they each select.
The direct object marker takes a holem or holem-waw vowel with an attached suffix (אוֹתִי or אֹתִי), whereas the preposition takes a hireq vowel (אִתִּי) with an attached suffix.
Exhortative particles strengthen the emotion of a command or request.
Exhortation particles are words that add emotive force to a command or request.
These particles are similar to interjections but function to strengthen a specific call to action, while an interjection is used as a more general expression of emotion.
Similar to demonstrative particles, exhortation particles are sometime left untranslated, depending on the specific context.
When used with a command, נָא is usually translated as "now" in English (or left untranslated).
When used as part of a request, נָא is usually translated as "please" in English (or left untranslated).
In some instances a translation with "now", "please", or "oh" is possible, but not necessary.
The emotive context of each attestation must determine whether to render the word in translation or to leave it untranslated.
This is a stronger and more emotive form of the particle נָא.
The two particles are sometimes paired together to express extreme urgency or desperation, as in the example below.
In some instances, this particle could also be classified as an interjection.
When paired with a vocative, the word בִּי strengthens the emotive force of the statement that follows.
It is used for addressing someone who is superior.
This term can function as an interjection, an exhortation particle, or perhaps both.
Interrogative particles indicate that a sentence is a question.
The standard interrogative prefix -הֲ (he with hateph pathah vowel) should not be confused with the definite article -הַ (he with pathah vowel).
The interrogative prefix -הֲ is the standard interrogative particle in Biblie Hebrew and can be differentiated from the definite article by the context and the lack of a daghesh in the consonant immediately following the prefix.
The interrogative prefix, as well as interrogative particles in general, nearly always appear at the beginning of a clause to indicate that the clause is a question and not a statement.
However, as in many languages, in Biblical Hebrew a question can be asked rhetorically as a way of making a strong statement.
This is the standard personal interrogative particle and can be translated as "who?".
This particle can also function either as an interrogative pronoun when used at the beginning of a verbal clause, or as an indefinite pronoun ("whoever") when used in the middle of a clause or sentence.
This is the standard impersonal interrogative particle and can be translated as "what?".
This particle can also function as either an interrogative pronoun when used at the beginning of a verbal clause, or an indefinite pronoun ("whatever") when used in the middle of a clause or sentence.
This is a particle of time and can be translated as "when?".
Negative particles are terms that negate some aspect of a sentence, either an individual word or an entire phrase.
This term is used in verbless clauses to negate an entire clause or sentence.
It is sometimes classified as a noun but usually appears in the verbal position of normal word order.
Literally, the term is translated in English as "there is no" or "there is not"; but the English translation is often simplified to "is not" (see example below).
The word לֹא is the standard negative particle in Biblical Hebrew.
This term often negates verbs, but it has potential to negate other kinds of words as well.
In English, it is usually translated as "no" or "not".
When used with 2nd person imperfect verbs to express a negative command, this particle signifies a more emphatic command than the use of the negative particle אַל (with an imperfect verb).