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Unit 10147

Unit 10

The Definite Article

Unit Description: How does Hebrew mark the difference between "a boy" and "the boy"? This is the question that

will we try to answer in unit 10. We will return to reading and discussing verses from the story

of the creation (Genesis 1) and the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11).

15 New Words in this Unit

150Total New Words



Unit 10148

Vocabulary

Category Hebrew Transliteration Pronunciation English

חכמה h okmāh h okhma wisdom (f.s.)

כוכב kôk āb kokhav star (m.s.)

לב/ לב l ē b / l ē bāb lev / levavheart (mind, will,

emotions) (m.s.)

נפש népeš néfeshsoul, person,

living being (f.s.)

עלה ‘ ōl āh ’ola

whole burnt

offering (f.s.)

Nouns

פ peh pe mouth (m.s.)

הוי yhwh ’adonay*LORD* (name of

Israel’s God)Proper Nouns

ה מ ל ש š əl ōmōh shəlomo Solomon

אחר ’ah ē r ’ah er another

ור ה ט t āhôr tahor clean, pure

טמא t āmē ’ tame unclean

יפה yā peh yafe fair, beautiful

Adjectives

ישר yā š ār yashar straight, right

ירד yārad yarad he came downVerbs

עלה ‘ āl āh ’ala he went up

m. = masculine f. = feminine s. = singular

* This name is usually written and read asיהוה ני ד א “LORD.” But in some cases,

particularly when this name appears next to the name ני ד א, it is written יהוand read as הים ל א “GOD.”



Unit 10149

Slides from the Unit



Unit 10151



Unit 10152



Unit 10153



Unit 10154



Unit 10

155



Unit 10156

Grammatical Remarks

The Indefinite Article

Hebrew has no indefinite article (“a”). A Hebrew word that does not have the definite article can

be translated with or without “a,” depending on the context. For example, = “horse” or “aסוסhorse.”

The Definite Article

Meaning: The definite article (“the”) is used in Hebrew in generally the same way as it is in

English. The definite article marks something or somebody specific.

Regular Form: The definite article in Hebrew is not a separate word as it is in English. Instead,

the Hebrew definite article attaches to the beginning of the word it marks. The regular definite

article is composed of three elements: 1. The letter , 2. The short [a] vowelה patah , 3. A strong

dagesh doubling the first consonant of the word. For example, וס ס ה = “the horse.” Exception: In some words in which the first consonant is followed by a shewa, that first

consonant is not geminated (i.e. doubled by a dagesh) when the definite article is added. For

example, = “the children,” even though there is noהילדים dagesh in the letter . (Thisי

phenomenon only occurs in some words; in other words that begin with a shewa, the dagesh still

appears.)

Noun-Adjective Agreement

Nouns and the adjectives that describe them must agree with each other in definiteness. In other

words, if a noun has the definite article, so will the adjective that describes it. (Remember that

the adjective must also agree with the noun in number and gender.) English convention does not

require us to translate the definite article twice. For example, וב ט ה סו ס ה = “the good horse.”



Unit 10157

Notes from the Text

is the personal name of Israel’s God, but its original vowels were not preserved, soיהוה

nobody knows exactly how it was pronounced. In Hebrew tradition, out of a desire to notaccidentally break the third commandment by misusing the divine name, this name was read

ני ד א “LORD.” The first and last vowels of ני ד א were added to the consonants of the name –

(theיהוה h ataf-patah changed to a shewa under the ) – to remind the reader that this name wasי

to be pronounced [’ădōnāy]. Many English translations render this as “LORD,” with all capital

letters. Sometimes it appears as (with the vowels ofיהו הים ל א “God”), in which case we

pronounce [’ĕlōhîm] and translate as “GOD.” Some reading traditions choose to read שם ה “the

Name” whenever they see the letters . with either set of vowelsיהוה

The Conjunction: The regular conjunction “and” appears as the long [û] vowelו when it isו

attached to a word that begins with one of the following:

1. A consonant pointed with a shewa – Hebrew cannot begin a word with two shewas, so

the form of the conjunction changes, e.g. מ ל ש .2. A bilabial consonant ( / / ב ) – The original pronunciation of the , was probably [w]ו

which is very close to these three bilabials (consonants that are pronounced with the lips),

so it very naturally morphed into the “bilabial”* vowel [û] before one of these

consonants, as in בי .

* According to the International Phonetic Alphabet, this is a “close back rounded vowel.”



Unit 10158

Homework

1. Match the Hebrew phrase on the left to the correct translation on the right.

ה עלה מ ל ש blameless and upright

תמים וישר the unclean place

לה דג המכח Solomon went up

ום הטמא ק מה the small mouth

לה עו great wisdom

יהוה ירד and a burnt offering

ן ט קה הפה the LORD went down

2. Translate the following phrases from Hebrew into English.

אחלב (Ezek. 11:19) one heart

טהוזהב (Exod. 25:11)

יפאשה (Prov. 11:22)

כבים ו כ ה (Gen. 15:5)

אחאיש (1 Kings 20:37)

פוהנ (Lev. 7:18)

טמאחיה (Lev. 5:2)



Unit 10159

3. Add the definite article to each of the following words.

דש דהש

בד

מלאך

קול

גוי

צבא

נער

ילד

4. Circle the adjective that agrees with the preceding noun in number, gender, and

definiteness.



Unit 10160

Homework Answers

1. Match the Hebrew phrase on the left to the correct translation on the right.

ה עלה מ ל ש Solomon went up

תמים ויש blameless and upright

לה דג המכח great wisdom

ום הטמא ק מה the unclean place

לה עו and a burnt offering

יהוה ירד the LORD went down

ן ט קה הפה the small mouth

2. Translate the following phrases from Hebrew into English.

אחלב (Ezek. 11:19) one heart

טהוזהב (Exod. 25:11) pure gold

יפאשה (Prov. 11:22) a beautiful woman

כבים ו כ ה (Gen. 15:5) the stars

אחאיש (1 Kings 20:37) another man

(Lev. 7:18)והנפש and the person

טמאחיה (Lev. 5:2) an unclean animal



Unit 10161

3. Add the definite article to each of the following words.

דש דשה

בד בהד

מלאך לאךמה

קול וה

גוי גוה

צבא בצה

נער הנער

ילד הילד

4. Circle the adjective that agrees with the preceding noun in number, gender, and

definiteness.

בה טנש

דגת היבה

דקם הקמה

ימ תיא

ידצהה

ינקים הזכלמה

קדלי

טת



Unit 10162

Recommended Bibliography

1. Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar , As Edited and Enlarged by the Late E. Kautzsch, Second

English Ed. Revised in accordance with the Twenty-eighth German Ed. by A. E. Cowley,

Oxford, 1910. (§35 = pp. 110-12)

2. Joüon, P., Muraoka, T., A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, Rome, 1996.

(§35 = pp. 112-14)

3. Lambdin, T.O., Introduction to Biblical Hebrew , Norwich, 1976.

(§14, §18, §21 = pp. 5, 8, 12)

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