Ch4 Noun Parsing Drill — Hebrew Nouns

BBH Chapter 4 · Hebrew Nouns · 25 forms

Instructions: For each Hebrew noun, give: (1) Gender (m. / f.), (2) Number (s. / pl. / du.), (3) State (abs. / cstr.), (4) Lexical Form (dictionary/singular absolute form), (5) Gloss (English meaning).
For duals: use du. for number. For irregular plurals: the lexical form is the singular dictionary form, not the plural.
# Form Gender Number State Lexical Form Gloss
1 מֶלֶךְ
✓ מֶלֶךְ m.s.abs. מֶלֶךְ king Segolate; sg. abs. = lexical form
2 מְלָכִים
✓ מְלָכִים m.pl.abs. מֶלֶךְ kings Propretonic reduction: seghol → shewa; R2 qamets
3 מַלְכֵי
✓ מַלְכֵי m.pl.cstr. מֶלֶךְ kings of Construct pl.; ים‑ → ֵי
4 תּוֹרָה
✓ תּוֹרָה f.s.abs. תּוֹרָה law, instruction Feminine ָה‑ ending
5 תּוֹרוֹת
✓ תּוֹרוֹת f.pl.abs. or cstr. תּוֹרָה laws Fem. pl. וֹת‑ is identical in abs. and cstr.
6 דְּבָרִים
✓ דְּבָרִים m.pl.abs. דָּבָר words, things R1 reduces: qamets → shewa
7 דִּבְרֵי
✓ דִּבְרֵי m.pl.cstr. דָּבָר words of Construct pl.; both internal vowels shorten
8 בָּנִים
✓ בָּנִים m.pl.abs. בֵּן sons Irregular plural of בֵּן
9 בָּנוֹת
✓ בָּנוֹת f.pl.abs. בַּת daughters Irregular plural of בַּת; feminine pl. ending
10 אֲנָשִׁים
✓ אֲנָשִׁים m.pl.abs. אִישׁ men Suppletive irregular plural of אִישׁ
11 נָשִׁים
✓ נָשִׁים f.pl.abs. אִשָּׁה women Suppletive irregular plural of אִשָּׁה
12 יָדַיִם
✓ יָדַיִם f.du.abs. יָד two hands Dual of יָד; paired body part; patach under yod marks dual
13 עֵינַיִם
✓ עֵינַיִם f.du.abs. עַיִן two eyes Dual of עַיִן; paired body part
14 עָרִים
✓ עָרִים f.pl.abs. עִיר cities Irregular plural; vowel change (i → a); fem. noun with masc. pl. ending
15 בָּתִּים
✓ בָּתִּים m.pl.abs. בַּיִת houses Irregular plural; dagesh forte in tav
16 יָמִים
✓ יָמִים m.pl.abs. יוֹם days Vowel change in plural: holem waw → qamets
17 נֶפֶשׁ
✓ נֶפֶשׁ f.s.abs. נֶפֶשׁ soul, life Segolate; grammatically feminine despite no fem. ending
18 נְפָשׁוֹת
✓ נְפָשׁוֹת f.pl.abs. נֶפֶשׁ souls Feminine plural; propretonic reduction; seghol → shewa
19 סְפָרִים
✓ סְפָרִים m.pl.abs. סֵפֶר books Segolate (Qitl); R1 reduces to shewa; R2 qamets
20 שָׁנָה
✓ שָׁנָה f.s.abs. שָׁנָה year Feminine ָה‑ ending; lexical form
21 שָׁנָתַיִם
✓ שָׁנָתַיִם f.du.abs. שָׁנָה two years Dual of שָׁנָה; time expression
22 אֲרָצוֹת
✓ אֲרָצוֹת f.pl.abs. אֶרֶץ lands Segolate; fem. pl.; hateph patach under aleph (guttural)
23 בְּנֵי
✓ בְּנֵי m.pl.cstr. בֵּן sons of Construct pl. of בֵּן; very frequent (e.g., בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל)
24 מַלְכַּת
✓ מַלְכַּת f.s.cstr. מַלְכָּה queen of Construct sg. fem.; ָה‑ → ַת in construct
25 שְׁנַת
✓ שְׁנַת f.s.cstr. שָׁנָה year of Construct sg. fem.; both vowels reduce (qamets → shewa, qamets → patach)
Reflection Questions
  1. Items 10 and 11 (אֲנָשִׁים and נָשִׁים) share no consonants with their singular forms (אִישׁ and אִשָּׁה). What does the term suppletive mean, and why do grammarians use it for these pairs? How does knowing the plural form help you identify the singular in a lexicon?
  2. Compare items 5 (תּוֹרוֹת) and 7 (דִּבְרֵי). Both are plurals, but only one can be either absolute or construct. What rule about feminine plural endings explains why תּוֹרוֹת is the same in both states? What makes the masculine plural construct so easy to identify (דִּבְרֵי)?
  3. Items 12 (יָדַיִם) and 21 (שָׁנָתַיִם) are duals. One names a body part; the other names a time period. What do these two nouns have in common that makes the dual number appropriate for each? Can you name two more Hebrew nouns that take the dual, and give their singular lexical forms?