BBH Chapter 6 · 25 prepositional phrases
| Column | What to supply |
|---|---|
| Preposition | The preposition as it actually appears in this phrase (with pointing) |
| Base Form | The citation/dictionary form of the preposition |
| Change / Reason | What vowel changed (if any) and the grammatical reason |
| Object | The noun governed by the preposition |
| Translation | Full idiomatic English translation |
Items 1–8 · Default sheva, two-sheva rule, composite sheva matching
| # | Hebrew | Preposition | Base Form | Change / Reason | Object | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | בְּדָבָר | ||||||
| ✓ | בְּדָבָר | בְּ | בְּ | None — default sheva before normal consonant | דָּבָר | in a word / with a word | |
| 2 | לְמֶלֶךְ | ||||||
| ✓ | לְמֶלֶךְ | לְ | לְ | None — default sheva before normal consonant | מֶלֶךְ | to a king / for a king | |
| 3 | כְּאִישׁ | ||||||
| ✓ | כְּאִישׁ | כְּ | כְּ | None — default sheva; א is quiescent here | אִישׁ | like a man | |
| 4 | בִּשְׁמוּאֵל | ||||||
| ✓ | בִּשְׁמוּאֵל | בִּ | בְּ | Sheva → hireq: שְׁ has a sheva; two consecutive shevas not permitted; prep sheva upgrades to hireq (ִ) | שְׁמוּאֵל | in Samuel / with Samuel | |
| 5 | לִשְׁלֹמֹה | ||||||
| ✓ | לִשְׁלֹמֹה | לִ | לְ | Sheva → hireq: שְׁ has a sheva; two consecutive shevas not permitted | שְׁלֹמֹה | to Solomon | |
| 6 | בֶּאֱמֶת | ||||||
| ✓ | בֶּאֱמֶת | בֶּ | בְּ | Composite sheva matching: אֱ has hateph seghol (ֱ); prep takes seghol (ֶ) to match the vowel class | אֱמֶת | in truth / truly | |
| 7 | לֵאלֹהִים | ||||||
| ✓ | לֵאלֹהִים | לֵ | לְ | Composite sheva matching: אֱלֹהִים has hateph seghol under א; prep takes matching seghol, which lengthens to tsere (ֵ) before the quiescent א | אֱלֹהִים | to God | |
| 8 | כֶּחָכְמָה | ||||||
| ✓ | כֶּחָכְמָה | כֶּ | כְּ | Composite sheva matching: ח is a guttural; prep takes seghol (ֶ) by assimilation to the guttural's vowel environment | חָכְמָה | like wisdom |
Items 9–16 · Normal consonants (patach + dagesh forte) and gutturals (qamets, no dagesh)
| # | Hebrew | Preposition | Base Form | Change / Reason | Object | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | בַּמֶּלֶךְ | ||||||
| ✓ | בַּמֶּלֶךְ | בַּ | בְּ | Article fusion: הַ of הַמֶּלֶךְ drops; its patach transfers to בְּ; dagesh forte in מּ marks the absorbed article | מֶלֶךְ | in the king / with the king | |
| 10 | לַשָּׁמַיִם | ||||||
| ✓ | לַשָּׁמַיִם | לַ | לְ | Article fusion: הַ of הַשָּׁמַיִם drops; patach transfers to לְ; dagesh forte in שּׁ | שָּׁמַיִם | to the heavens | |
| 11 | כַּיּוֹם | ||||||
| ✓ | כַּיּוֹם | כַּ | כְּ | Article fusion: הַ of הַיּוֹם drops; patach transfers to כְּ; dagesh forte in יּ | יּוֹם | like the day / as today | |
| 12 | בַּבַּיִת | ||||||
| ✓ | בַּבַּיִת | בַּ | בְּ | Article fusion: הַ of הַבַּיִת drops; patach transfers; the article's dagesh and the dagesh lene in בּ merge into one dagesh forte | בַּיִת | in the house | |
| 13 | לָהָר | ||||||
| ✓ | לָהָר | לָ | לְ | Article fusion with guttural: הָ of הָהָר drops; ה is a guttural — cannot take dagesh forte; patach lengthens compensatorily to qamets (ָ) | הָר | to the mountain | |
| 14 | בָּאָרֶץ | ||||||
| ✓ | בָּאָרֶץ | בָּ | בְּ | Article fusion with guttural: הָ of הָאָרֶץ drops; א is a guttural — no dagesh forte; patach lengthens to qamets (ָ) | אָרֶץ | in the earth / in the land | |
| 15 | לָעָם | ||||||
| ✓ | לָעָם | לָ | לְ | Article fusion with guttural: הָ of הָעָם drops; ע is a guttural — no dagesh forte; patach lengthens to qamets (ָ) | עָם | to the people | |
| 16 | כָּהָאִישׁ | ||||||
| ✓ | כָּהָאִישׁ | כָּ | כְּ | Article fusion with guttural: הָ of הָאִישׁ drops; א is a guttural — no dagesh forte; patach lengthens to qamets (ָ) | אִישׁ | like the man |
Items 17–21 · Independent form · Nun assimilation · Compensatory lengthening before gutturals
| # | Hebrew | Preposition | Base Form | Change / Reason | Object | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | מִן הַמֶּלֶךְ | ||||||
| ✓ | מִן הַמֶּלֶךְ | מִן | מִן | No change — independent form used before words with the definite article | הַמֶּלֶךְ | from the king | |
| 18 | מִמֶּלֶךְ | ||||||
| ✓ | מִמֶּלֶךְ | מִ | מִן | Nun assimilation: נ disappears and is represented by the dagesh forte in the following מּ | מֶלֶךְ | from a king | |
| 19 | מִיַּד | ||||||
| ✓ | מִיַּד | מִ | מִן | Nun assimilation: dagesh forte in יּ of יַּד (יָד = "hand") represents the assimilated נ | יָד | from the hand | |
| 20 | מֵהָאָרֶץ | ||||||
| ✓ | מֵהָאָרֶץ | מֵ | מִן | Compensatory lengthening: ה is a guttural — rejects dagesh forte; hireq (ִ) lengthens to tsere (ֵ) as compensation | הָאָרֶץ | from the earth / from the land | |
| 21 | מֵאֱלֹהִים | ||||||
| ✓ | מֵאֱלֹהִים | מֵ | מִן | Compensatory lengthening: א is a guttural — rejects dagesh forte; hireq → tsere (ֵ) | אֱלֹהִים | from God |
Items 22–25 · אֶל · עַל · עִם · אֵת (DOM)
| # | Hebrew | Preposition | Base Form | Change / Reason | Object | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | אֶל הָעִיר | ||||||
| ✓ | אֶל הָעִיר | אֶל | אֶל | None — independent preposition; no prefix rule applies | הָעִיר | to the city | |
| 23 | עַל הַשָּׁמַיִם | ||||||
| ✓ | עַל הַשָּׁמַיִם | עַל | עַל | None — independent preposition | הַשָּׁמַיִם | upon the heavens / over the heavens | |
| 24 | עִם הָעַם | ||||||
| ✓ | עִם הָעַם | עִם | עִם | None — independent preposition | הָעַם | with the people | |
| 25 | אֵת הַמֶּלֶךְ | ||||||
| ✓ | אֵת הַמֶּלֶךְ | אֵת | אֵת | None — אֵת is the direct object marker (DOM), not a true preposition; no vowel-change rule applies | הַמֶּלֶךְ | [marks "the king" as the definite direct object — untranslated in English] |