The following mnemonics were generated by many people. Whenever you catch errors or have ideas for better mnemonics, please use the feedback page at HebrewSyntax.org. Thanks! Unless otherwise marked, nouns that end in ָ֫ה, ַ֫ת, ֶ֫ת, ִ֫ית, or וּ֫ת are feminine. Words marked [M] are masculine nouns that look like they have a feminine ending. Unless otherwise marked, singular nouns that have no ending or end in ֶ֫ה are masculine. Words marked [F] are feminine nouns that do not end in ָ֫ה in the singular. Words marked [M/F] are sometimes feminine and sometimes masculine. Chapter 3 – Syllabification and Pronunciation Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾādām ʾādām was a man man, mankind, ʾereṣ Grow carrots in the ʾereṣ (ground). land, earth, ground ʾĕlōhîm God, ʾāb ʾābi-melek means ‘my father [is/was] king’. ʾāb-ba, father father, ʾēl bêt-ʾēl is the of God’ God, bēn bēn-yāmîn is the ‘son of my right (hand)’ bayit [its construct form (ch10) bêt is used in many city names: bêt-ʾēl= house of God, bêt-leḥem = house of bread] house, dābār word, matter, yôm yôm Qippur = Day of Atonement yiśrāʾēl [See §36.5 in the textbook. Pronounce it yərûšālayim.] yərûšālayim yhwh [Traditional pronunciation אֲדֹנָי ădōnāy. See §36.5.] Yahweh, Lord miṣrayim [note that Ra is the Egyptian sun god] mōšê [Nouns that end in ֶ֫ה are masculine] melek ʾābi-melek means ‘my father [is/was] king’. king, sûs The capital city sûs-a might have had lots of horses. ʿebed ʿebed-nego (Abendigo) means ‘servant of the shining one’ slave, parʿô šānâ rōʾš Ha-šānâ = Head of the year šēm He felt a-šēm-ed of his name and reputation. name,
Chapter 4 – Hebrew Nouns Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾădōnāy ʾādôn ʾā-dônt [I don’t] have a lord and master lord, ʾāḥ ʾaḥîm brothers [plural of ʾîš ʾîš [Ish!] a man or husband has cooties! man, ʾănāšîm [plural of אִישׁ] Real men are ʾănāšîm(ed) (unashamed). [To distinguish from נָשִׁים ‘women’, remember ‘alpha male’] men, ʾiššâ Gen 2:23, Adam said, “She will be called אִשָּׁה because she was taken from אִישׁ” woman, [plural of אִשָּׁה] bat bat-miṣwâ means ‘daughter of commandment’. [This feminine noun has the feminine ending ַת] daughter bānôt [plural of בַּת] gôy Jewish people sometimes refer to non-Jewish people as ‘gôy’ or ‘goyim’. nation, derek That oil derek [derrick] in the road is in the way of our journey way, road, journey har ‘Armageddon’ be “hill of Megiddo.” This mountain is har(d). mountain, hill, hill [plural of הַר] mountains, kōhēn lēb lēb [leave] my heart, mind, and will heart, mind, heart, mind, will mayim soul, life, person, neck, a book is [safer] in the library book, scroll, eye, spring
ʿênayim [Dual of עַ֫יִן] eyes ʿîr She has the ʿîr [ear] of the city and town city, town ʿārîm [plural of עִיר] cities, towns See צְבָאוֹת below host, army, war, ṣəbāʾôt The hymn “A mighty fortress is our God” contains the lyrics: “Lord ṣəbāʾôt His name.” ‘Lord Sabaoth’ is יהוה צְבָאוֹת, which can be translated “Lord of Armies” [Masculine Plural of צָבָא] hosts, armies, qôl the of your voice will qôl [call] me. Nat King qôl [Cole] has a great voice. voice, sound, rōʾš head, top, tôrâ law, instruction, teaching, ʾābôt [plural of אָב] bāttîm [plural of בַּ֫יִת] bānîm [plural of בֵּן] yāmîm [plural of יוֹם] [Distinguish from יַמִּים ‘seas’] The last 4 words are irregular plurals listed in section §4.8.5, which are the plurals of vocabulary words from chapter 3. The other plurals in section §4.8.5 are the plurals of vocabulary words from chapter 4, and hence already in the list. Chapter 5 – Definite Article and Conjunction Waw Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾēš ʾēš [ash] is from fire. fire temple, wə and, but, also, even, zāhāb I zāhāb gold. [I is half gold] ḥereb ḥereb [Arab] sword sword ḥay living, ḥayyîm Song in Fiddler on the Roof: “Le ḥayyîm” = “To Life!” life, yeled Don’t yeled the child! child, boy, yām yām(y) [yummy] sea water. yammîm [plural of יָם] [To distinguish from יָמִים ‘days’, think of the Dagesh in מּ as a boat in the sea.] kesep̄ The kesep̄ [case of] silver silver,
rab In Isa 36:2, the king of Assyria sent the rab-shakeh (the high one) to convince king Hezekiah to surrender. Toyota made a many Rav4’s. [Geminate adjective] great, raʿ One shouldn’t cheer or say ‘raʿ!’ for evil.[Geminate adjective] raʿ (the Egyptian sun god) is evil. bad, evil, rāšāʿ was rāšāʿ [Russia] wicked? wicked, šîr šîr [Cher] is singing a song. song [ch27: to Chapter 8 – Hebrew Pronouns Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾōhel ʾaḥēr ʾaḥēr [A hair] from another woman on his shirt other, another, ʾêk How could you? My heart ʾêk(es)! ʾêkâ How could you? My heart ʾêkâ(s)! ʾelep̄ The weighs a thousand pounds. ʾăšer She gave ʾăšer [a share] to the one who asked. who, whom, that, kaʾăšer = כְּ + אֲשֶׁר = as + that as as, bəhēmâ the animal bəhēmâ(th) is in Job 40:5 animal(s), beast(s), gam Are you also gam(e)? also, dām (A)dām(’s) blood line hă hă [Huh?] interrogative ṭāhôr kî But that is indeed, truly the kî. that, because, but, except, indeed, kî-ʾim = כִּי + אִם = but + if but but, except, kəsîl kəsîl [seal] your lips, fool! fool, shameless lāmmâ Why did that lāmmâ spit on me? lāmâ Why did that lāmâ spit on me? mâ What, mâ [ma]? maddûaʿ mî Who? mî [me]? ʿānî Little Orphan ʿānî [Annie] was poor & afflicted. אֲנִי עָנִי = I am poor, humble, and afflicted. poor, humble, šemen oil, [show fate] = what a judge does one who judges, a Independent personal pronouns and demonstratives from chapter 8 are listed on the next page.
Students in my classes are responsible for them as vocabulary items. Chapter 8 Continued – The Pronouns and Demonstratives These are the independent personal pronouns and demonstratives from chapter 8. Students in my classes are responsible for these as vocabulary items. Transliteration Parsing Meaning Word ʾănî 1cs ʾānōkî 1cs ʾattâ 2ms you ʾatt 2fs you hûʾ 3ms he, it, hîʾ 3fs she, it, ʾănaḥnû 1cp ʾattem 2mp you ʾattēnâ 2fp you hēm 3mp they (m), those hēmmâ 3mp they (m), those hēn 3fp they (f), (f) [ch9: behold! if] הֵן hēnnâ 3fp they (f), those zê ms this zōʾt fs this ʾēllê cp Chapter 9 – Hebrew Pronominal Suffixes Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾô ʾayin There are not any; ʾayin(‘t) [I ain’t] got any. there is not, there are ʾên There are not any; I ʾên(’t) got any. there is not, there are ʾap̄ cut his nose ʾap̄ [off] [often] anger [Its homograph אַף in chapter 15 means also, indeed, even] nostril, nose; anger [ch15: also, indeed, even] אַף ʾappayim [dual of אַף]
bōqer bōqer [poke her] this morning. T Washington got up early in the morning. bāqār ship cattle bāqār [by car] cattle, bərākâ Jeremiah’s scribe’s name, bərākâ [Baruch], means ‘blessed’. blessing, hēn Behold! If you do something hēn(ous), you’ll be in trouble. [Its homograph הֵן in chapter 8 means they (f), those (f)] behold! if [ch8: they (f), those hinnê ḥaṭṭāʾt you sin if you don’t take your ḥaṭṭāʾt [off] sin, sin offering yēš yēš, are there is, there yeš- [Maqqef form of יֵשׁ] [With a Maqqef, long E ֵ short E there is, there kābôd In 1 Sam 4:21, a baby was (I)kābôd (‘where is glory?’) because the ark was captured. splendor, honor, kəlî kəlî(n) [clean] out the vessel. Put the kəlî(flower) in the vessel. vessel, implement, leḥem bêt-leḥem means ‘house of bread’. bread, ləbad ləbad me alone! ləbad [love had] them be not alone alone, by oneself mišpāḥâ I mišpāḥâ [miss papa] in our family. family, milḥāmâ The milḥāmâ (military Hummer) is for war. war, battle, sābîb sābîb [savvy] people are aware of what happens around them. around, about, surroundings, ʿam The “I ʿam” made all people. ʿēṣ ʿēṣ [It’s] wood. Those gʿēṣ [gates] are wood tree, Pronominal suffixes from chapter 9 are listed on the next page. Students in my classes are responsible for them as vocabulary. Chapter 9 Continued – The Pronominal Suffixes Treat the following pronominal suffixes from chapter 9 as vocabulary. Be able to parse (including the type) and translate them. Parsing Translation Suffix 1cs type 1 my ִי 1cs type 1 my ◌נִי 1cs type 2 my ַי 2ms type 1 your (ms) ְךָ 2ms type 2 your (ms) ֶ֫יךָ 2fs type 1 your (fs) ֵ֫ךְ ה
ḥayil The Nazi army said ‘ḥayil Hitler’. [This is NOT a segholate noun because the diphthong ַ֫יִ is one syllable, not two. §3.10] strength, wealth, ḥesed ḥesed [he said] he has loyalty, faithfulness, steadfast love, and lovingkindness. loyalty, faithfulness, steadfast love, ḥōdeš We’ll have a hoe-down dish [this] month. new yād A yād [yard] in my hand hand; side, power yādôt [plural of יָד] māwet [went] to heaven upon her death. [This is a MS noun. The ֶת ending is unaccented, so it is not the FS ending.] [It is not segholate because ָ֫וֶ is a diphthong] dying môt [MS construct of מָ֫וֶת] [general rule: ָ֫וֶ וֹ] death maṭṭê What’s the maṭṭê with your tribe’s staff? [Nouns that end in ֶ֫ה are masculine] staff, rod, midbār wilderness, desert, ʿôd I ʿôd him money again. again, still, as long ʿēt the ʿēt [eighth] time time, of time ʿōlâ ʿōlâ(caust) [holocaust] = a burnt offering whole burnt pānîm [This is plural, but it means ‘face’ not ‘faces’.] [The lexical form (singular) פָּנֶה never occurs.] face, pənê In Genesis 32:30 Jacob called the place pənê -el because he saw the face [פְּנֵי] of God [אֵל] [construct of פָּנִים] face of, front ṣōʾn a of sheep and goats in my ṣōʾn [zone] a flock on (i)ṣōʾn [its own] flock(s), flock of sheep and the [regal] foot of a king. foot
kol- [construct of כֹּל] [This form was listed in chapter 6, but it is repeated here because this is when we know what ‘construct form’ means] all of, each of, every one ʾăbî [construct of אָב] father ʾăḥî [construct of אָח] brother ʾēšet [construct of אִשָּׁה] wife Chapter 11 – Hebrew Numbers Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾammâ ʾammâ [ah, ma]! I hurt my forearm! [אָמָה ‘female slave’ vs. אַמָּה Dagesh in forearm] cubit, ʾēm ʾēm [aim] to please your mother mother The -ar [beggar] had little clothing. He for baggy clothes. clothing, garment, zeraʿ Is [there a] seed in there? zeraʿ [Sarah] bore Abraham’s seed. seed, offspring, ḥāṣēr ḥāṣēr [hot-air] in the courtyard and village. courtyard, village, laylâ [This is a masculine singular noun. The ָה ending on this word is unaccented, so it is not the fs noun marker.] night lākēn môʿēd We need môʿēd [mo’ aid] at the appointed time at the meeting place/assembly. appointed time (of feast), meeting place, maḥănê CJ maḥănê has a church camp and an army of Sovereign Grace churches. [Nouns that end in ֶ֫ה are masculine] camp, malʾāk Malachi מַלְאָכִֽי malʾāk[i] ‘my messenger’ is the last messenger in the Old Testament messenger, maʿăśê I have maʿăśê(ve) amounts of work to do. that end in ֶ֫ה are masculine] work, deed, naʿar There is naʿar(y) [nary] a youth or servant here. boy, youth,
= holy. to be holy, set apart, or rāʿâ a flock grazing is rāʿâ [raw] meat. [2G, 3ה] to pasture, tend (flocks), shepherd, šāʾal King šāʾal is ‘you asked for it!’ [2G] to ask (of), inquire (of), request, baʿal The name of the idol baʿal means ‘master’. owner, master, husband, (divine title) šēbeṭ The of your tribe? šēbeṭ [Shave it]! rod, staff, scepter, baʿad baʿad guys sneaking up behind behind, bəʿad guys sneaking up behind behind, yaʿan at someone’s excuse “It happened on account of …” on account nāʾ Please nāʾ [now] please, now; surely; particle often not translated נָא Chapter 19 Pronominal Suffixes on Verbs Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word bāṭaḥ It is bāṭaḥ [better] to trust. [3חע] to trust, be confident, rely bākâ Weep a bākâ [bucket] of tears. [3ה] to weep (in or joy), weep lābaš [lavish] clothing to put on a garment, clothe, be śārap̄ The śārap̄ [seraphs] are burning creatures. [2ר] [Note that it is the letter sin שׂ ś, not shin שׁ š] to burn (completely), śārāp̄ [Note that it is the letter sin שׂ ś, not shin שׁ š] fiery = peace, welfare, wholeness, deliverance [Tsere stative] to be complete, be dôr Generations of dôr(s) [doors]. (En)dôr [Endure] for generations. ḥûṣ The ḥûṣ [huts] are outside, in the street. outside, məlāʾkâ məlāʾkâ [My lack o’] work is a problem. [Beware מַלְאָךְ messenger, angel] work, occupation, par A par of bulls. bull, ox, petaḥ [pay to] enter the doorway opening, entrance, = many multitude, abundance,
She [suffe]red from a hurt lip. [so far] my lips are sealed. The shore only goes [so far] [Note that it is the letter sin שׂ ś, not shin שׁ š] lip, language, edge, Chapter 20 Qal Infinitive Construct Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾāḥaz Seize him! “ʾāḥaz [I has] you now!” [2G] to seize, grasp, ṭāmēʾ ṭāmēʾ [Tammy] is unclean. [3א] to be(come) unclean yāṣar yāṣar [Yachts are] formed, fashioned, shaped, and created. [1Yod] to form, fashion, shape, nûs Flee a hangman’s nûs. [biconsonantal] to flee, [No gal] has ever touched or reached it. [3חע] to touch, strike, sābab Turn around! [save] yourself! Turn around and go to sābab. [geminate] סָבִיב = around, about, surroundings, circuit to turn, go around, around, It’s to count it. סֵ֫פֶר = scroll, book to śāmaḥ I Rejoice & kiss (śāmaḥ!) [smack!] [3חע] [Note that it is the letter sin שׂ ś, not shin שׁ š] to rejoice, be joyful, be šābar [Shove ‘er] and she’ll break. to (up), break in pieces, smash, yaḥdāw yaḥdāw [You had] them together together, at the same yaḥad yaḥad [You had] them together. “yaḥad me at hello.” Now we are together. together, along יַ֫יִן = a spring of wine = servant. ʿəbōdâ [Avoid ‘a] work. work, labor, service, worship [defective = servant. ʿəbôdâ [Avoid ‘a] work. work, labor, service, worship [plene ʿēdâ Pastors ʿēdâ [aid a] congregation. ʿēdâ(fy) the congregation. congregation, biltî It’s not biltî [built to] last. not, ləbiltî = לְ + בִּלְתִּי not,
bôš Be ashamed bôš(ing) [boasting]. [biconsonantal] to be = great, big, large to grow up, be(come) great, become strong, wealthy or important גָּדַל ḥāšab ḥāšab [a shave], I think [1G] to think, consider, devise, plan, value, esteem, reckon חָשַׁב = good, pleasant [1Yod] to be well with, go well with, be lākad lākad [the CAD] (an engineering term). to take, capture, catch, Draw near to examine a [knee gash]. [1Nun] to draw near, come near, qābaṣ He qābaṣ [gathers] stuff to collect, gather, assemble qābar [cover] and bury it to šākan [She can] settle here. to settle, reside, dwell, to pour (out), spill, shed ḥômâ A mouse whose ḥômâ [home] is in the wall. = statute, ordinance statute, appointed time, [ Note that it is the letter sin שׂ ś, not shin שׁ š] He kebeś [carries] the lambs. Lamb, Chapter 23 Issues of Sentence Syntax Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾôr An ʾôr(b) of daylight, bəkōr a firstborn bəkōr [baker] firstborn [defective bəkôr a firstborn bəkôr [baker] firstborn [plene ḥēmâ ḥēmâ [Hey, ma]! That’s poison! wrath, heat, ḥăṣî ḥăṣî [Hut the] ball in the middle of the football half, kōaḥ strength, nəḥōšet 2 Kgs 18:4 … Hezekiah broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called nəḥōšet(an)). copper, bronze
The nāśîʾ [Natzi] leader was Hitler. chief, leader, ʿereb The [air of] the evening is nice. An [Arabian] sunset. עֶ֫רֶב חֶ֫רֶב = an evening sword evening, ʿeṣem ʿeṣem [It’s them] bones, them bones, them dry bones...Now hear the word of the LORD.” bone, pərî pərî [Paris] has lots of fruit. fruit, qāhāl qāhāl [call] the assembly assembly, community, rekeb The upper millstone made a rekeb [wreck of] the chariot. chariot, upper millstone, (collective) chariots or chariot lāšôn Don’t lāšôn [lash (out) on] anyone with your tongue. tongue, tôʿēbâ abomination, abhorrence, offensive Chapter 24 The Niphal Stem – Strong Verbs (N) = Niphal, (D) = Piel, (H) = Hiphil Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾāman Our word “ʾāman [Amen]” is from the adverb אָמֵן, meaning “truly” [1G] (N) to be reliable, be faithful, be trustworthy ‘Joshua’ = יְהוָה + יָשַׁע = YHWH is salvation [1Yod, 3חע] (N) to be delivered, be victorious, receive help יָשַׁע yātar Is there any pizza left over? yātar [Ya, there]. [1Yod] (N) to be left over, remain kûn The kûn [raccoon] is steadfast and ready. [biconsonantal] (N) to be established, be steadfast, be ready כּוּן lāḥam a fight over לֶ֫חֶם (bread) [2G] (N) to fight, do battle Escape, mālaṭ [my lad]! Escape the mālaṭ [mallet]. (N) to escape, flee to nāḥam I am sorry, but we have nāḥam [no ham] to sell. [1Nun] (N) to be sorry, regret, have compassion נָחַם
šālak Send it to get a [shellac]. [Don’t confuse with שָׁלַח = to send, stretch out] (H) to send, (down, into or away), = to know, know sexually, have understanding knowledge, understanding, ability delet The [delete] button is a door to freedom. door The roar of the wanting hāmôn [ham]. multitude, crowd, sound, zərôaʿ zərôaʿ [The rower] used her arm. He has zərôaʿ [zero] arms and no power. Use your זְרוֹעַ [arm] to sow זֶ֫רַע [seed]. arm, forearm; (metaphorically) strength, power [F] זְרוֹעַ kərûb kerem malkût מֶ֫לֶךְ = king, ruler [Distinguish from מַלְאָךְ = messenger and מְלָאכָה = work] kingdom, dominion, royal ʿēṣâ ʿēṣâ [It’s] advice. counsel, plan, [Distinguish from חָלַל = (N) to be defiled] pierced, slain, is also the verb to be(come) unclean Chapter 31 The Hiphil Stem – Weak Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word ʾāwen An ʾāwen [oven] of iniquity, wickedness, & evildoers. iniquity, wickedness, ʾôṣār [Oats] are treasure in the treasury. treasure, treasury, ʾôt the sign of my ʾôt [oath] sign, mark, pledge gôrāl The goral [corral] is my lot and portion. lot, portion, yəšûʿâ Joshua יְהוֹשׁוּעַ YHWH is salvation. salvation, help, miqnê cattle [McNuggets] cattle, livestock, = to watch (over), guard, keep, observe, protect watch, guard, responsibility negaʿ An affliction or plague is negaʿ -tive [negative]. [Distinguish from נָגַע = to touch, strike, reach] mark, plague, ṣar The ṣar [Tsar] is an adversary. יָצַר [form, create] a צַר [adversary]. adversary, [man] lived in the קֶ֫דֶם [east, ancient times] east, ancient
ʿēz [Distinguish from עַז strong, עֹז strength, and אָז = then, An עַז [strong] עֵז [goat] has עֹז [strength] so it can עָזַר [help]. goat, goat’s [geminate] (Hithpael) to pray, make intercession פָּלַל qîr Do you qîr [care] about the wall? trumpet, ram’s Chapter 35 The Hithpael Stem – Weak Verbs Transliteration Mnemonic Meaning Word barzel He pumps iron barzel [bars]. ʿēd the witness came to her ʿēd [aid] ṣārâ ṣārâ [Sarah] is in distress. distress, anxiety, šôr šôr [sure], you can borrow my ox. ox, bull, cow šulḥān The šulḥān [sultan] is at the table. are phylacteries for prayer.