{"id":530,"date":"2020-05-31T05:27:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-31T02:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/?p=530"},"modified":"2020-07-30T04:56:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T01:56:45","slug":"word-order-in-biblical-hebrew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/2020\/05\/word-order-in-biblical-hebrew\/","title":{"rendered":"Word Order in Biblical Hebrew, Pt. 1: An Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In recent years, there has been lively discussions concerning word order in Biblical Hebrew.  For last century, and until  very recently, the consensus among most scholars has been that Hebrew exhibits VERB-SUBJECT word order.  For example:<\/p>\n

\u05d1\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05d0\u05e9\u05c1\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea \u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b2\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b5\u05ea \u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1\u05bc\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5\u05c3
\n<\/span>In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.\u00b9<\/p>\n

At the head of the clause, we have an infinitive followed by the perfect verb \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0<\/span>, followed by the subject \u05d0\u05b2\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd<\/span>. The verb is first, followed by the subject.  While this is the most common word order, I argue (following John A. Cook and Robert D. Holmstedt) that it is not the “default” word order. Instead, the default word order is SUBJECT-VERB, as in English.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Problem with Verb-Subject Word Order<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since VS word order is the most common, one can expect that there are many grammatical phenomena that cause the words to “invert”.  However, we run into standard SV word order fairly quickly in Genesis chapter 4:<\/p>\n

 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05a3\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u0594\u05dd \u05d9\u05b8\u05d3\u05b7\u0596\u05e2 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d7\u05b7\u05d5\u05b8\u05bc\u05a3\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u0591<\/span>
\nAdam knew Eve, his wife (Gen 4:1)<\/p>\n

Here we have one of our first instances of SV  word order in Scripture.  But why? Traditional Hebrew grammarians will argue that the word order is displaced because of “emphasis” – that is, the writer is emphasizing that ADAM knew his wife. There is, however, little evidence to support this claim, at least in this verse.  Exactly how and why is Adam being emphasized?  Is the author trying to single him out (who else was around?)? It seems like the vav <\/em>conjunction is doing nothing more than starting a new narrative episode.  So,  rather than emphasizing the subject, the author is doing the opposite – the text is unmarked and un<\/em>-emphasized (hereafter referred to as “focused”), so the clause exhibits normal SV word order.<\/p>\n

So then, why is VS word order the most common word order in BH?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I (again, following John Cook and Robert Holmstedt) argue that the default (unmarked) word order is SV like in English, it is not the most common. There are numerous grammatical phenomena in BH that affect word order, among them grammatical words at the heads of clauses, past-narrative conjugation (traditionally called waw<\/em>-consecutive\/conversive imperfect, or traditionally, the wayyiqtol<\/em> pattern), and focus-fronting (traditionally called “emphasis”). In this blog post, I will examine inversion triggered by grammatical words at the heads of phrases and the past-narrative conjugation. I will save focus (emphasis) for another blog post.<\/p>\n

Grammatical Words at the Heads of Clauses<\/strong><\/p>\n

One common way in which word order is “inverted” in Biblical Hebrew is that if there is a grammatical word at the front of a clause.  Let’s take a look at a few examples:<\/p>\n

\u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b7\u05e0\u05bc\u05b8\u05d7\u05b8\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05de\u05b4\u05db\u05bc\u05b9\u05dc \u05d7\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b7\u05ea \u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05bc\u05c2\u05b8\u05d3\u05b6\u05d4, \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd<\/span>
\n(Now) the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the Lord GOD made (Gen 3:1)<\/p>\n

Notice that this verse exhibits both inverted and standard word order.  In the first half of the verse, we note SV word order – no “markedness”, no grammatical words at the head of  the clause, just regular old SV word order: \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b7\u05e0\u05bc\u05b8\u05d7\u05b8\u05e9\u05c1, \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd<\/span>. However, in the second half of the verse, we see VS inversion, because of the relative pronoun \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8<\/span> at the head of the clause. Unaffected word order (in other words, lacking the relative pronoun) would arguably be<\/p>\n

\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d7\u05b7\u05d9\u05b7\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05d3\u05b6\u05d4<\/span> – The Lord GOD made the beasts of the field.<\/p>\n

Consider another example:<\/p>\n

\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0-\u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d4\u05b1\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9<\/span>
\n     [subject][verb] [negation]  
\n   It is not good for the man to be by himself (Gen. 3:18)<\/p>\n

Here, were the sentence exhibiting expected word order, it would be
\n\u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1 \u05d4\u05b1\u05d9\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9<\/span><\/p>\n

However, here there is a negation<\/em> (\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0<\/span>) at the head of the clause, so this triggers inverted word order. The infinitive \u05d4\u05b1\u05d9\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea<\/span> precedes the subject \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd<\/span>.Other so-called “grammatical words” at the heads of clauses that trigger inversion are \u05d0\u05b4\u05dd, \u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05df, \u05db\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9, \u05d0\u05b8\u05d6, and \u05e4\u05bc\u05b6\u05df,<\/span> the interrogatives \u05de\u05b8\u05d4, \u05dc\u05b8\u05de\u05bc\u05b8\u05d4, and \u05de\u05b4\u05d9<\/span>, and the other negative \u05d0\u05b7\u05dc<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Past-Narrative (Traditionally, Waw<\/em>-Consecutive) Conjugation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, one of  the most common ways in which word order is inverted is by the past-narrative (traditionally, waw<\/em>-consecutive verb conjugation. Contrary to what many Hebrew grammars espouse I (again, following Cook and Holmstedt – we must be careful to give credit where credit is due!) is a true past verb form, most often existing in portions of narrative prose  (hence its name!). Let’s look at what are the past narrative form, the most prevalent grammatical feature of Gen, 1:<\/p>\n

\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05a5\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u0596\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9 \u05d0\u0591\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b7\u05bd\u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05bd\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05c3<\/span> – God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light (Gen 1:3)<\/p>\n

\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b7\u05bc\u05a7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u059b\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u0596\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05be\u05d8\u0591\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1<\/span> – God saw the light, that [it] was good (Gen 1:4).<\/p>\n

\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05a8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05a4\u05d9\u05dd\u05c0 \u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u0599 \u05d9\u0594\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd<\/span> – God called the light “day”… (Gen 1:5a).<\/p>\n

If Cook and Holmstedt are correct (and I think they are), the passage lacking the PN verbs (i.e., if they existed outside of a narrative context) would be:<\/p>\n

\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8<\/span> – God said “Let there be light!”<\/p>\n

\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05db\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9\u05be\u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1<\/span> – God saw [that] the light was good.
\n\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e7\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0 \u05dc\u05b8\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd<\/span> – God called the light “day”…<\/p>\n

OK, Jonathan. Is there anything else that flips the words?<\/h3>\n

Yes, there is. But the next topic is a bit more complicated, so I’ll save that for another post. Thanks for reading!  Even if the Hebrew scholars among our readers disagree, I hope you will consider this post.  I think there’s something to it.<\/p>\n

This phrase can be translated various ways, but I have chosen to maintain the traditional translation for the sake of simplicity. <\/p>\n

Again following Cook and Holmstedt, I view the vav in a past-narrative clause (or even the so-called disjunctive vav) as a clause marker. It is not always necessary to translate it as “and”, “but”, or “or”.  At its core, it is merely a clause marker. Its translation (if any) will depend on the relationship between clauses – the vav itself holds no translational value.<\/p>\n

That’s it for now.  Thanks for reading!  Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon!<\/p>\n

-Jonathan<\/p>\n

UP NEXT: PART 2: WORD ORDER, TOPIC, AND FOCUS<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recent years, there has been lively discussions concerning word order in Biblical Hebrew.  For last century, and until  very recently, the consensus among most scholars has been that Hebrew exhibits VERB-SUBJECT word order.  For example: \u05d1\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05d0\u05e9\u05c1\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea \u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b2\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b5\u05ea \u05d4\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1\u05bc\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b5\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5\u05c3 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.\u00b9 At the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[42,29,23],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-categories","tag-advanced","tag-grammar","tag-syntax"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1183,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions\/1183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehebrewcafe.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}