| File | Description |
|---|---|
| verb-suffix-paradigms.md | Full paradigm tables: Perfect + suffix, Imperfect + suffix (energic nun), Wayyiqtol, Imperative, and Inf.Const. + suffix; summary table |
| Exercise | Description |
|---|---|
| exercises/ch19-parsing-drill/ | 25-item drill: Perfect, Imperfect (energic nun), Wayyiqtol, Imperative, and Inf.Const. + suffix forms |
| exercises/ch19-passage-exercise/ | 14-item passage exercise: Gen 28, Gen 45, Psa 23, Gen 39, Psa 16/Deu 31 — suffixes on verbs in context |
| exercises/ch19-verb-suffix-paradigm-drill/ | Paradigm drill — write 9 forms of שמר with object suffixes from memory |
| File | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ch19-morphology-deck.md | Markdown | 32-card morphology deck — Pronominal Suffixes on Verbs with root class groupings |
| ch19-morphology-deck.txt | Anki import | Morphology deck — tab-separated, ready for Anki File → Import (32 cards) |
| ch19-morphology-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe | Morphology deck — tab-separated, ready for Flashcards Deluxe import (32 cards) |
| ch19-vocab-deck.md | Markdown | Vocabulary deck — 14 words (5 verbs, 9 nouns) with POS tags and frequency |
| ch19-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Anki File → Import (14 cards) |
| ch19-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Flashcards Deluxe import (14 cards) |
| Notebook | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Qal Stem | Qal stem: full corpus data including suffixed verb forms |
Basics of Biblical Hebrew, Pratico & Van Pelt
Data: MACULA Hebrew WLC — pronominal suffixes appear on ~46,419 total Qal verb tokens OT-wide
Pronominal suffixes attached to verbs function as direct object pronouns. Instead of a separate word (e.g., אֹתוֹ, "him"), the pronoun is attached directly to the verb as a suffix.
| Function | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct object (3ms) | "him / it" | שְׁמָרַ֥נִי → שְׁלָחַ֥/נִי → שְׁמָרַ֥/הוּ |
| Direct object (1cs) | "me" | שְׁלָחַ֥/נִי — "he sent me" |
| Direct object (2ms) | "you (ms)" | שְׁמָרְ/ךָ — "he kept you" |
| Direct object (1cp) | "us" | יִשְׁמְרֵ֥/נוּ — "he will keep us" |
| Direct object (3mp) | "them" | שְׁמָרָ֥/ם — "he kept them" |
Key diagnostic: A pronominal suffix on a verb ends in a recognizable pronoun ending (נִי, הוּ, ךָ, נוּ, הָ, הֶם/ם, הֶן, כֶם, כֶן) attached directly to the verb stem — no separate אֵת marker. The verb form itself may be slightly altered before the suffix (linking vowels).
Two sets of object suffixes are used with verbs. The Type 1 (light) suffixes attach to forms ending in a vowel; Type 2 (heavy) suffixes with a linking vowel attach to consonant-final forms. In practice, the distinction depends on the conjugation:
| Person | Number | Gender | Suffix | Transliteration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Singular | Common | נִי / נִי | -nî | Most common; perfect + wayyiqtol |
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | ךָ / אֶךָ | -kā / -ekhā | Patach + kaph |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | ךְ / ֵךְ | -kh | Tsere + kaph |
| 3rd | Singular | Masculine | הוּ / וֹ | -hû / -ô | Shureq or holem-waw |
| 3rd | Singular | Feminine | הָ / ָה | -hā / -āh | Final he with qamets |
| 1st | Plural | Common | נוּ | -nû | Shureq + nun |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | כֶם | -khem | |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | כֶן | -khen | Rare |
| 3rd | Plural | Masculine | הֶם / ם | -hem / -ām | Short form ם common |
| 3rd | Plural | Feminine | הֶן / ן | -hen | Rare |
The perfect adds suffixes to a slightly modified stem. Before heavy suffixes (נִי, נוּ, הוּ), the perfect 3ms uses a connecting vowel (often qamets or patach):
| Perfect form | + Suffix | Result | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁמַר (3ms) | + נִי (1cs) | שְׁמָרַ֥נִי | "he kept me" |
| שָׁמַר (3ms) | + הוּ (3ms) | שְׁמָרוֹ | "he kept him" |
| שָׁמַר (3ms) | + נוּ (1cp) | שְׁמָרָ֥נוּ | "he kept us" |
| שָׁמַרְתִּי (1cs) | + הוּ (3ms) | שְׁמַרְתִּ֥יהוּ | "I kept him" |
| שָׁמַרְתָּ (2ms) | + נִי (1cs) | שְׁמַרְתַּ֥נִי | "you kept me" |
The imperfect uses the energic nun (נּ) as a buffer before certain suffixes — especially נִי and הוּ. This is a diagnostic feature of imperfect + suffix forms:
| Imperfect form | + Suffix | Result | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| יִשְׁמֹר (3ms) | + נִי (1cs) | יִשְׁמְרֵ֥נִי | "he will keep me" |
| יִשְׁמֹר (3ms) | + הוּ (3ms) | יִשְׁמְרֵ֥הוּ | "he will keep him" |
| יִשְׁמֹר (3ms) | + נוּ (1cp) | יִשְׁמְרֵ֥נוּ | "he will keep us" |
| תִּשְׁמֹר (2ms) | + נִי (1cs) | תִּשְׁמְרֵ֥נִי | "you will keep me" |
Same pattern as imperfect + suffix; energic nun also appears:
| Form | Result | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמְרֵ֥נִי | "and he kept me" | |
| וַיִּשְׁמְרֵ֥הוּ | "and he kept him" |
| Form | Result | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| שְׁמֹר + נִי | שָׁמְרֵ֥נִי | "Keep me!" (Psa 16:1) |
| שְׁלָח + ֵנִי | שַׁלְּחֵ֥נִי | "Send me!" |
| Conjugation | Without Suffix | + 1cs (me) | + 3ms (him) | + 1cp (us) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect 3ms | שָׁמַר | שְׁמָרַ֥נִי | שְׁמָרוֹ | שְׁמָרָ֥נוּ |
| Perfect 1cs | שָׁמַרְתִּי | שְׁמַרְתִּ֥נִי* | שְׁמַרְתִּ֥יהוּ | — |
| Imperfect 3ms | יִשְׁמֹר | יִשְׁמְרֵ֥נִי | יִשְׁמְרֵ֥הוּ | יִשְׁמְרֵ֥נוּ |
| Wayyiqtol 3ms | וַיִּשְׁמֹר | וַיִּשְׁמְרֵ֥נִי | וַיִּשְׁמְרֵ֥הוּ | — |
| Imperative 2ms | שְׁמֹר | שָׁמְרֵ֥נִי | — | — |
| Inf. Construct | שְׁמֹר | בְּשָׁמְרוֹ* | — | — |
*Inf. construct + suffix: often with preposition (בְּ/לְ/כְּ) + Inf.Const. + suffix = temporal/purpose clause.
Corpus: Genesis–Deuteronomy · 1,575 Qal verb + pronominal suffix tokens
| Root | Common Form | Torah (×) | Gloss | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — (connector H9001) | various | 162 | waw-consec. + suffix | Waw prefix connector counted separately |
| אכל | אֲכָלַ֥תְהוּ / תֹּאכְלֶ֥נּוּ | 30 | eat it/him | Imperfect + suffix very common |
| נתן | נְתַתִּ֥יהָ / יִתְּנֶ֥נּוּ | 28 | give it/him | Hiphil and Qal both common |
| בוא | יְבִיאֶ֥נּוּ | 17 | bring him/it | Often Hiphil stem |
| ראה | וַיִּרְאֵ֥הוּ / יִרְאֶ֥נּוּ | 13 | see him/it | III-ה with suffix |
| שלח | שְׁלָחַ֥נִי | 13 | send me | Gen 45:5 (Joseph) |
| שמע | שְׁמָעַ֥תְנוּ / שִׁמְעֵ֥נִי | 12 | hear me/us | Prayer + command |
| לקח | לְקָחַ֥תְהוּ / תִּקָּחֶ֥נּוּ | 12 | take him/it | |
| שים | שַׂמְתִּ֥יהוּ / יְשִׂימֶ֥נּוּ | 10 | put/make him | |
| ידע | יְדַעְתִּ֥יו | 9 | know him | Perfect 1cs + 3ms |
| מצא | מְצָאַ֥תְנִי / יִמְצָאֵ֥נִי | 9 | find me | |
| עזב | יַעַזְבֶ֥נּוּ / עֲזָבַ֥נִי | 9 | forsake me | Psa context also |
| עשה | עֲשׂוּ֥הוּ / יַעֲשֵׂ֥הוּ | 6 | do/make it | III-ה with suffix |
| נשא | שָׂאֵ֥נִי | 6 | lift/carry me | |
| עבד | עֲבַדְתִּ֥יךָ | 6 | serve you | |
| שמר | שְׁמָרַ֥נִי / יִשְׁמְרֶ֥נּוּ | 5+ | keep me/us | Paradigm root |
Perfect 3ms + 1cs — Gen 28:15 — וּ/שְׁמַרְתִּ֙י/ךָ֙ בְּ/כֹ֣ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֵּלֵ֔ךְ
"And I will keep you in all that you go."
→ שמר Qal Weqatal 1cs + 2ms suffix (ךָ); God's promise to Jacob; suffix replaces אֹתְךָ.
Perfect 3ms + 1cs — Gen 45:5 — כִּ֣י לְ/מִחְיָ֔ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֱלֹהִ֖ים לִ/פְנֵי/כֶֽם
"For God sent me before you to preserve life."
→ שלח Qal Perfect 3ms + 1cs suffix (נִי); Joseph's theological interpretation; suffix marks him as object of God's action.
Imperfect 3ms + 1cs — Psa 23:4 — כִּ֥י אַתָּ֣ה עִמָּדִ֑י שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ הֵ֣מָּה יְנַחֲמֻ֑נִי
"For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
→ נחם Piel Imperfect 3mp + 1cs suffix (נִי); energic nun absorbed into suffix; Psalm 23's climactic comfort declaration.
Imperfect 3ms + 3ms — Gen 37:28 — וַ/יִּמְכְּר֤וּ אֶת\־יוֹסֵף֙ … בְּ/עֶשְׂרִ֣ים כָּ֔סֶף
Context: note וַיִּמְכְּרוּ then suffix pattern in later verse: יִמְכְּרֶ֥נּוּ
→ מכר Qal Imperfect 3ms + 3ms suffix (נּוּ); energic nun + suffix.
Imperative 2ms + 1cs — Psa 16:1 — שָׁמְרֵ֥נִי אֵ֑ל כִּ֖י חָסִ֣יתִי בָֽךְ
"Keep me, O God, for I take refuge in you."
→ שמר Qal Imperative 2ms + 1cs suffix (נִי); direct petitionary prayer — the imperative + suffix is the standard prayer address form.
Imperative 2ms + 1cs — Gen 47:29 — אַל\־נָ֥א תִקְבְּרֵ֖נִי בְּ/מִצְרָ֑יִם
"Please do not bury me in Egypt."
→ קבר Qal Jussive (Negative) + 1cs suffix; Jacob's deathbed request to Joseph.
Inf. Const. + 3ms — Gen 39:19 — כִּ/שְׁמֹ֣עַ אֲדֹנָ֗יו אֶת\־דִּבְרֵ֤י אִשְׁתּ֙/וֹ
"When his master heard the words of his wife…"
→ שמע Qal Inf.Const. + כְּ (temporal) + 3ms genitive/subject suffix; "when his master heard" — not a direct object here but subject suffix on Inf.Const.
Inf. Const. + 1cs — Gen 19:19 — לְ/הַ֨מְּלִיטֵ֔נִי וְ/הִנֵּ֣ה הָ/עִ֤יר הַ/זֹּאת֙
"…to save me, and look, this city is near."
→ מלט Hiphil Inf.Const. + ל + 1cs suffix; Lot's plea; suffix as direct object of Hiphil infinitive.
| Conjugation | Verb+Suffix Tokens | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive Construct | ~1,488 | Most common; preposition + Inf.Const. + suffix = temporal/purpose clauses |
| Imperfect | ~1,383 | Energic nun appears before נִי, הוּ, נוּ |
| Weqatal | ~1,175 | Sequential future + suffix |
| Wayyiqtol | ~1,028 | Narrative + suffix |
| Perfect | ~577 | Less common; connecting vowel before suffix |
| Imperative | ~395 | Prayer and command; + נִי very common |
| Jussive | ~52 | Rare |
Teaching note: The Infinitive Construct + suffix is the most common construction (כִּשְׁמֹעַ = "when he heard"; בְּרֹאֹתוֹ = "when he saw him"). The suffix on the Inf.Const. typically marks the subject of the infinitive, not the object — this is the major exception to the rule that verb suffixes are direct objects.
On the Imperfect, watch for the energic nun (נּ) buffer: יִשְׁמְרֶ֥נּוּ (he will keep him) has a doubled nun — the energic nun + the suffix נוּ. This is a reliable diagnostic.
| Form | Base Verb | Suffix | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁמָרַ֥נִי | שמר Qal Perf. 3ms | + 1cs | "he kept me" |
| שְׁמָרְ/ךָ | שמר Qal Perf. 3ms | + 2ms | "he kept you" |
| שְׁמָרוֹ | שמר Qal Perf. 3ms | + 3ms | "he kept him" |
| שְׁמָרָ֥נוּ | שמר Qal Perf. 3ms | + 1cp | "he kept us" |
| יִשְׁמְרֵ֥נִי | שמר Qal Impf. 3ms | + 1cs | "he will keep me" |
| יִשְׁמְרֶ֥נּוּ | שמר Qal Impf. 3ms | + 3ms | "he will keep him" (energic nun) |
| יִשְׁמְרֵ֥נוּ | שמר Qal Impf. 3ms | + 1cp | "he will keep us" |
| שָׁמְרֵ֥נִי | שמר Qal Imper. 2ms | + 1cs | "Keep me!" |
| שְׁלָחַ֥נִי | שלח Qal Perf. 3ms | + 1cs | "he sent me" (Gen 45:5) |
| וַיִּרְאֵ֥הוּ | ראה Qal Wayyiq. 3ms | + 3ms | "and he saw him" (III-ה) |
| וַ/יִּשְׁלָחֵ֥הוּ | שלח Qal Wayyiq. 3ms | + 3ms | "and he sent him" |
| כִּ/שְׁמֹ֣עַ/וֹ | שמע Qal Inf.Const. | + 3ms (subj.) | "when he heard" |
| בְּ/רֹאֹת/וֹ | ראה Qal Inf.Const. | + 3ms (subj.) | "when he saw" (III-ה) |