Classical · Biblical Hebrew
Express possession the Hebrew way — the construct chain and possessive (pronominal) suffixes.
Ch. 13 — The Cases (Construct State)Ch. 14 — Pronominal Suffixes
Core concepts · 6
- No case endings; the genitive is shown by the construct state — the first noun shortens and leans on the second: סוּס הַמֶּלֶךְ = 'the king's horse'.
- The construct noun never takes the article; definiteness comes from the absolute noun.
- Construct masc. plural drops -îm → -ê (דִּבְרֵי = 'words of').
- 'He locale' ־ָה shows motion toward (צָפוֹנָה = 'northward').
- Possessive pronouns are suffixes on the noun: דְּבָרִי 'my word', דְּבָרְךָ 'your word', דְּבָרוֹ 'his word'.
- Light suffixes (one consonant) vs heavy (two) shift the accent and the pointing.
Vocabulary & signs · tap a word to hear, expand for how to say it
word; construct דְּבַר
say: dābhār
the king's horse (construct chain)
say: sûs ham-melekh
my word
say: dᵉbhārî
your (m.) horse
say: sûsᵉkhā
a man of God ('a godly man')
say: ʾîsh-ʾᵉlōhîm
northward (he locale)
say: tsāphônâ
Exercises · answer in the app
Exercise 1 / 6
What does this mean?
Bridge to this week
Week 4's possessive shortcuts (שֶׁל, יֵשׁ לִי) ride on this machinery: construct chains and attached suffixes are exactly how prepositions inflect for person — the skill drilled in sprint Week 7.
Teach Yourself Hebrew — R. K. Harrison (E.U.P.)
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