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 HEBREW GRAMMAR: 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, 
 
 M Bi^smation 
 
 TWO MODES OF READING, 
 
 WITH OR WITHOUT POINTS. 
 
 CHARLES WILSON, D. D. 
 
 fcATE PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY IN THE BNIVERSITT OP 
 ST. ANDREWS. 
 
 FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR OGLES, DUNCAN, AND COCHRAN, 
 
 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, AND 295, HOLBORN ; 
 
 06LE, ALLARDICE, AND THOMSON, EDINBURGH; M.OGLE, 
 
 GLASGOW; AND JOHNSTON AND DBAS, DUBLIN: 
 
 At the Office of the London Society for Promoting Christianity amongrst the Jews, 
 
 BY A. MACINTOSH. 
 
 1818. 
 
n 
 
 ^1^ /^'^ XoJ^ o^i^ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE principal desiga of the following work 
 is to render the study of the VIebrew Language 
 easy and agreeable. To accomplish this pur- 
 pose the more effectually, I have introduced it 
 to the public in an English dress. It is im- 
 possible to acquire an accurate knowledge of / 
 any language, without ascending to its first 
 principles: But^ as a continued and minute at- 
 tention to these is dry and uninteresting, every 
 encouragement to be derived from perspicuity 
 of method^ or facility of communication, becomes 
 necessary. I found that the peculiarities of 
 Hebrew Grammar admitted of a more easy and 
 familiar explanation in English than in Latin. 
 Besides, many persons who have had little 
 opportunity of acquiring an extensive know- 
 ledge, either of Latin or of Greek, may incline 
 to obtain some acquaintance with that lan- 
 guage in which the first revelation of the Divine 
 will was written. The principles, both of the 
 Arabic and Persic languages, have lately been 
 
 450423 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 published in English with much success. The 
 Hebrew ought not to be excluded from the 
 same advantage^ especially when we reflect, 
 that it is probably the parent of the other two, 
 and that it contains treasures infinitely more 
 precious to us than any thing that Arabia or 
 Persia can produce. 
 
 I ardently wish that my efforts may be ac* 
 ceptable and useful to those who have devoted 
 themselves to the profession of theology. The 
 clergy of the Church of Scotland are, in ge- 
 neral, well educated, and distinguished for their 
 abilities and conscientious discharge of the 
 duties of their office : But the friends of sacred 
 literature have long beheld, with regret, a pre- 
 vailing indifference or aversion in that body to 
 the study of Hebrew. The knowledge of the 
 language of the Old Testament seems to be 
 thought neither an ornamental nor an useful 
 qualification. English translations and com- 
 mentaries are the chief objects of attention and 
 praise, while the original is almost totally neg- 
 lected and unknown. It is not easy to dis- 
 cover a plausible excuse for such conduct. 
 Had a similar inattention to the original pre- 
 vailed in former ages, how could the reformation 
 of religion have been accomplished ? How 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 tould we have emerged fix)m the darkness of 
 superstition, or escaped from the chains of that 
 spiritual tyranny which so long oppressed the 
 whole of Europe ? Fortunately the oppressor^ 
 in distributing poison, conveyed also a so- 
 vereign antidote. The Church of Rome, even 
 while she deviated both in principle and prac- 
 tice from the doctrines and precepts of divine 
 revelation, had the merit of preserving* the 
 sacred records pure and untainted, and dis- 
 played an ardent zeal to cultivate and disse- 
 minate the knowledge of the antient languages 
 in which they were written. At a time when 
 learning- had scarcely dawned on the western 
 . world, the Councils of Yienne and Lyons 
 passed decrees, enjoining, that, to promote the 
 instruction of those who were to be educated 
 for the services of religion, two professors 
 of Hebrew and Oriental Languages should 
 be established in the Universities of Bologna, 
 Paris, and Oxford. Protestants should blush 
 not to cherish the spirit and intention of such 
 wise institutions. It must be of singular im- 
 portance, in every age, to possess a set of men 
 well skilled in the original languages, who are 
 qualified to furnish new translations of the 
 Scriptyres, if necessary, or to judge accurately 
 and decisjjrely of the merit and fidelity of 
 
6 1»REFACE. 
 
 former versions. Those who profess to ex- 
 plain the Scriptures to others^ ought certainly 
 to acquire a competent, and even a critical 
 knowledge of the original languages in which 
 they are written. Can a teacher of religion 
 be qualified to speak with precision and con- 
 fidence concerning the ceconomy of Divine 
 revelation, while, from his total ignorance of 
 the language, one of the sacred volumes is to 
 him like a sealed hook f Can any argument 
 be urged to induce the student of theology to 
 acquire a knowledge of the language of the 
 New Testament, which does not conclude with 
 double force with regard to that of the Old ? 
 The two volumes of inspiration are intimately 
 connected, and mutually depend upon each 
 other. It is scarcely possible to understand the 
 second, without having carefully studied the 
 first. The one exhibits the commencement, 
 the other the completion of the same great 
 plan. The writers of the New Testament 
 have a constant retrospect to those of the Old: 
 Their style, as well as their matter, bear the 
 strongest marks of resemblance. Animated 
 with the same spirit, they speak almost a dialect 
 of the same language with those antient fa- 
 vourites of heaven, who enjoyed the distin- 
 guished honour of delivering to m%i tiie first 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 oracles of God. Without being well acquainted 
 with that venerable language which has trans- 
 mitted to us the first written intimations of the 
 Divine will, it is impossible to relish all the 
 beauties, or to receive the full impression of 
 the apostoHcal writings. 
 
 The supposition of insurmountable difficulties 
 has been a great obstacle to the prosecution 
 of this study. Apprehensions have been en- 
 tertained, that nothing but what was disgusting 
 could be derived from a language which was 
 imagined to be harsh, barbarous, and inelegant. 
 These are the misrepresentations of inexpe- 
 rience, and the ill-grounded apologies of in- 
 dolence. Though some inconveniencies arise 
 from the peculiarity of the alphabet, from the 
 inverted mode of reading, and from an un- 
 necessary load of points and accents which have 
 been introduced, yet there are circumstances 
 which render the acquisition of this language 
 more easy and expeditious than that of almost 
 any other, antient or modern. Free from that 
 variety of flexion, which renders the acqui- 
 sition of the Greek so laborious and difficult, 
 the technical part of the Hebrew is easily at- 
 tained, and readily remembered. Its primitive 
 words are few in number, and produce the 
 
8 PKEFACE. 
 
 different classes of their derivatives by a me- 
 chanism both simple and ingenious. The 
 knowledge of Hebrew affords a key to the 
 other eastern languages, which imitate the 
 structure of its flexions, but are far inferior to 
 it in point of simplicity, and distinctness of cha- 
 racters. While the Arabic and Persic exhibit 
 various minute forms of the same letter when 
 it is initial, medial, final, connected, or un- 
 connected, the Hebrew employs only one fair 
 and large character for each letter, excepting 
 Jive, which have a peculiar shape when they 
 happen to terminate a word. These circum- 
 stances recommend the Hebrew to our first 
 notice ; because, by beginning with what is 
 easiest, we gradually ascend to what is more 
 obscure and difficult. 
 
 But, independent of its utility, the Hebrew 
 is well intitled to our attention as an object of 
 literature. It possesses all the marks of a pri- 
 mitive language. It derives its origin from the 
 most remote antiquity, and has transmitted to 
 us the only well authenticated history of the 
 antient state of mankind with which we are 
 acquainted. It has long been an opinion, con- 
 fidently maintained by those who have made 
 the greatest proficiency in Hebrew, that the 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 knowledge of it alone would supply more ma- 
 terials for a system of etymology^ than the la- 
 borious researches of all those authors who 
 have devoted their attention to this subject. I 
 have, in the following pages,, given some spe- 
 cimens of derivations^ which^ I presume^ will 
 tend to support this hypothesis. An immense 
 number of words, in most of the eastern lan- 
 guages, bear plain marks of a Hebrew ori- 
 ginal. Great part of the Celtic, and of the 
 northern languages, may be traced to the same 
 source. If we pursue etymologies no farther 
 back than to the Greek or Latin, we will soon 
 find that we have not reached the fountain, 
 and that these celebrated tongues derive their 
 origin from a much more antient stock. Were 
 more industry bestowed on this subject, the 
 truth of what is here advanced would soon be 
 confirmed by numerous and satisfactory proofs. 
 New discoveries would furnish new incitements. 
 The progress of society, of manners, of know- 
 ledge, and of arts, would be greatly illustrated. 
 
 In composing the treatise I now offer to the 
 public, I have consulted the best informed 
 authors on this subject. It may perhaps be 
 thought, that the preliminary discourse is pro- 
 tracted to too great a length ; but if it be 
 
10 • PREFACE. 
 
 recollected, that the difficulty of reading the 
 language, or rather of pronouncing its com- 
 binations of consonants, has been the chief 
 obstacle to the study of it, the dissertation will 
 by no means appear prolix. Though I have 
 preferred the mode of reading without points, 
 as the most natural and expeditious, yet I have 
 not altogether reprobated the other. As the 
 pronunciation of a dead language gives no as- 
 sistance to the learner in acquiring a know- 
 ledge of it, he may adopt either of the methods 
 to which he shall be most inclined. It is, 
 however, of some importance to prefer the 
 easiest method of reading ; and, if the letters 
 of a language themselves can be employed for 
 this purpose, it would be absurd to supersede 
 thesC;, in order to supply their place by fic- 
 titious signs. The mode of reading by the 
 vowel-letters is far from being new; but I 
 have confirmed and illustrated the theory by 
 additional arguments and examples. No new 
 terms are employed without a particular ex- 
 planation. I have been attentive not to perplex 
 the reader with a multiplicity of rules, but 
 have endeavoured, by a perspicuous arrange- 
 ment, to imitate the simplicity of the language, 
 the principles of which I unfold. When I 
 differ from other grammarians, I have assigned 
 
PREFACE. 11 
 
 reasons for my opinion^ which are submitted 
 to the examination of the candid. The number 
 of examples which I have found it necessary 
 to introduce have augmented the size of the 
 book ; but these examples, besides illustrating 
 the subject^ may serve, in some measure, the 
 purposes of a vocabulary. 
 
 Upon the whole, I flatter myself, that a 
 person of tolerable capacity, who applies to 
 the study of Hebrew on the plan recommended 
 in the following work, will, in the course of 
 a few months, be able to read, with very little 
 assistance from a lexicon, the whole book of 
 Psalms, and most of the historical parts of the 
 Old Testament. If he persists in the study, 
 he will soon find no great difficulty in under- 
 standing any passage which the first opening 
 of the sacred volume may present. Should my 
 labour be productive of such happy effects, 
 I will enjoy the fruits of it with peculiar sa- 
 tisfaction. 
 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 THE first edition of this Grammar was pub- 
 Jished in the year 1782, while Dr. Wilson 
 was Professor of Hebrew in the University of 
 St. Andrews. — A sound understanding, and an 
 elegant taste, improved by an extensive ac- 
 quaintance with the best writers both in the 
 ancient and modern languages, qualified him 
 eminently for such a task, and enabled him to 
 exhibit the Elements of Hebrew Literature in 
 a manner that must be highly gratifying to 
 those whose minds have been opened to views 
 of universal grammar. 
 
 While this third edition was in the press, 
 the Church of Scotland, and the University of 
 St. Andre wSj lost one of their brightest orna- 
 ments by the death of its learned and respect- 
 able Author; an event which will long be 
 lamented by a numerous circle of friends, who 
 admired his talents as a Scholar, respected 
 his worth as a Man, and enjoyed the happiness 
 of his instructive and deHghtful conversation in 
 the intercourse of private life. 
 
PREFACE. 13 
 
 Prom that time, the whole charge of super- 
 intending the publication devolved on me. — I 
 have not taken it upon me to make any alter- 
 ations on the Work^ but have confined myself 
 to the duty of seeing it accurately printed ; 
 and if (notwithstanding all my care) a few 
 typographical errors have escaped my notice, 
 I am confident they will not be found to be 
 of so much importance, as to occasion any 
 embarrassment to the reader. 
 
 Having used this Grammar as a class book 
 ever since my appointment to the office of 
 Professor of Hebrew and Oriental languages 
 in the University of Edinburgh, I have been 
 led to bring its utility to the test of expe- 
 riment: and while I take this opportunity of 
 mentioning, with merited approbation, the pro- 
 ficiency of many successive classes of young 
 men whom I have had the pleasure to instruct; 
 I know they will unite with me in acknow- 
 ledging the benefit which they have derived 
 from Dr. Wilson's labours, and in assuring 
 the Public, that, . during every session of 
 College, we have seen the hopes which he 
 expresses in the conclusion of his preface 
 completely realized. 
 
 William Moodie. 
 Edinburgh, April \^ 1802. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page 
 Of the Alphabet, with the Nuraher, Order, and Powerg of the 
 
 Letters IT 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Of Reading^ by the Letters alouc, without the assistance of 
 Vowel-Points, and the Means to be employed for pro- 
 nouncing such words as consist only of Combinations of 
 Consonants without any Vowel-Letters 31 
 
 CHAPTER lU. 
 The Doctrine of Vowel-Points explained and exemplified .... 50 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Of the Nature and Genius of Hebrew Grammar 100 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Of Noufis Substantive ^ 103 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Of Adjectives and Participles 109 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Comparison of Adjectives 112 
 
CONTENTS. 15. 
 
 Page 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of Nouns ia Government or Construction 116 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Of Pronouns , 125 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Concerning the Affixes 129 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Of Verbs 138 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Observations on the Servile Letters in Verbs, and the use of 
 the Infinitive as a Substantive Noun or Gerund 1 58 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Of Defective Verbs, particularly such as, in Flexion, lose 
 the first Radical 1 62 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of Verbs which have some Peculiarities in their Middle 
 Radical .,.. 170 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Of Verbs which hav« H ^^^ their last Radical 17 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Explanation of Irregularities that take place in the Flexion 
 of some Verbs 182 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Of the Verbal Affixes 184 
 
16 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 CHAPTER XVni. 
 
 Of Derivat'iTe Nouns 191 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Of Numbers 205 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 List of Adverbs, Prepositions, Interjectiom, and Conjunc- 
 tions 210 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Of Syntax 217 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Of Peculiar Idroms, and Compound Words 228 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Concerning the Investigation of the Radical Word S33 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Passages of Hebrew from the Book of Psalms and the Pro- 
 phecy of Isaiah, with Translations 250 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Important Extracts from various parts of the Hebrew Scrip- 
 tures, with Translations and explanatory Notes, not in- 
 troduced into the first Edition .... , 26€ 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of Uic Alphabet^ with the Number^ Order, and 
 Powers of the Letters, 
 
 THE Hebrew, like most other languages of 
 the East, is written from the right to the left 
 hand ; and the books in this language commonly 
 begin where those of Europe end. 
 
 The alphabet consists of twenty-two letters, 
 the names and figures of which are contained in 
 the following table. 
 
 Aleph 
 
 « 
 
 Lamed 
 
 h 
 
 Beth 
 
 In 
 
 Mem 
 
 72 
 
 Gimel 
 
 :i ■ 
 
 Nun 
 
 3 
 
 Daleth 
 
 1 
 
 Samech 
 
 D 
 
 He 
 
 n 
 
 Ain 
 
 V 
 
 Vau 
 
 1 
 
 Pe 
 
 D 
 
 Zain 
 
 t 
 
 Tsade 
 
 !^ 
 
 Heth 
 
 n 
 
 Koph 
 
 P 
 
 Teth 
 
 ID 
 
 Resh 
 
 "^ 
 
 Yod 
 
 ^ 
 
 Shin 
 
 m 
 
 Caph 
 
 3 
 
 Thau 
 
 n 
 
■m 
 
 JIJ^BREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Pe Nun Mem Caph 
 
 £3 3 t3 3 
 
 ^;/jFifve;df .-these.letkrs have a double form ; one 
 when they are in the beginning or middle, the 
 other when in the end of a word. 
 
 Tsade 
 
 The initial or medial form X 
 
 The final • • • i* 1 ? D 1 
 
 To mark the variation of form which these 
 letters undergo, some Grammarians have given 
 them the denomination of Camnepatz. 
 
 As the Writers of Hebrew never divided a 
 word so as to place part of it in one line, and 
 part of it in another, they enlarged some of 
 their letters to fill up the blank spaces. These 
 enlarged letters are. 
 Final Mem Thau Lamed Heth He Aleph 
 CD D H n n >^ 
 
 which have obtained the name of Literce dila- 
 tatce, broad or extended letters. 
 
 Particular attention must be paid to the fol- 
 lowing letters, which have a near resemblance to 
 one another, because numberless mistakes have 
 arisen from their being exchanged by careless 
 
 or ignorant transcribers. 
 
 
 
 
 HHe 
 n Heth 
 nThau 
 
 -r Daleth 
 
 -) Resh 
 
 1 Caph final 
 
 ^ Girael 
 3 Nun 
 
 
 2 Beth 
 DCaph 
 
 y Ain 
 V Tsade 
 
 
 D Men 
 
 D Sam 
 
 a final 
 ech 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Yod 
 Vau 
 Zain 
 Nun final 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 19 
 
 In the antient manuseriptSj all the letters are 
 written in a continued series^ without spaces at 
 the end of words or sentences, a circumstance 
 which has occasioned much trouble and embar- 
 rassment to interpreters. 
 
 The present Hebrew characters are generally 
 believed to be the Chaldaic, introduced by Ezra 
 after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish 
 captivity. The old Hebrew characters were those 
 of the Phoenicians, now called the Samaritan, 
 because the Samaritan Pentateuch is written in 
 them. 
 
 There are only two letters in the alphabet 
 which consist of separate lines, viz. He Jl and 
 Koph p. 
 
 The learner should make the figure of the 
 letters perfectly familiar to himself, by close and 
 minute attention. In order to acquire a com- 
 plete knowledge of the characters, which a little 
 labour at the beginning will easily accomplish, 
 the following hints of resemblance may be useful, 
 
 Aleph )A is not unlike the Roman capital A ; 
 
 Heth n diflFers from He H by only having its 
 three lines connected ; 
 
 Yod ^ is exactly the form of a comma ; 
 
 Caph D is the Roman capital C inverted ; 
 
 Samech D is nearly the same with the medial 
 sigma 7 of the Greeks inverted ; 
 b2 
 
20 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Mn V is very like the Roman letter y ; 
 
 Tsade ^ is not unlike z ; 
 
 And Shin t2? is a trident without the handle. 
 
 After we have sufficiently known the figures 
 and names of the letters^ the next step is to 
 learn to enunciate or pronounce them, so as 
 to produce articulate sounds. On this subject, 
 which appears at first sight very plain and simple, 
 numberless contentions and varieties of opinion, 
 meets us at the threshold. From the earliest 
 period of the invention of written characters to 
 represent human language, however more or less 
 remote that time may be, it seems absolutely cer- 
 tain that the distinction of letters into vowels and 
 consonants must have obtained. All the specu- 
 lations of the Greek grammarians assume this 
 as a first principle. A vowel is a letter which 
 expresses an articulate sound by itself; that 
 sound, with respect to the time of its enunciation 
 by the voice, may be either long or short. A 
 consonant is a letter which, as the name sig- 
 nifies, cannot be uttered or pronounced by itself, 
 but con, i. e. in company with a vowel ; and 
 accordingly all the consonants in every alphabet, 
 when they are named or pronounced, must always 
 be sounded with a vowel before or after them. 
 In English B, C, D, T, &c. with the vowel after 
 — L, M, N, R, S, with the vowel before. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 21 
 
 In the Greek alphabet, all the consonants, 
 without one single exception, are enunciated 
 with a vowel after them. 
 
 This, as I shall more fully shew afterwards, is 
 exactly the case with respect to the Hebrew al- 
 phabet. The naming, the enunciation of every 
 consonant, is always performed by means of a 
 vowel after it ; yet, wondrous as it may appear, 
 the greater part of Jewish grammarians have had 
 the audacity, or rather the absurdity, to affirm, 
 That all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are 
 consonants^ and not one of them a vowel: — An 
 opinion which it is astonishing that many learned 
 men, well skilled in Oriental antiquities, and no 
 ways indulgent to Jewish fables or Rabbinical 
 reveries, have adopted and maintained. As the 
 Hebrew has been a dead language for two thou- 
 sand years, the true pronunciation of it is irre- 
 coverably lost. Maimonides, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, 
 and all the ablest of the Jewish Rabbis, acknow- 
 ledge it impossible for them to determine how 
 the Hebrew was read or pronounced in the days 
 of Moses, of the Judges, or of the Prophets. 
 The modern Jews, in different countries of the 
 world, differ much from each other in their modes 
 of pronunciation ; and, whatever they may pre- 
 tend, can make no discovery, or give the least 
 
22 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 information respecting the manner in which their 
 forefathers read or pronounced the words of their 
 sacred books. But the just pronunciation of any 
 language is not necessary to the understanding of 
 it when written; and, as learned men have dif- 
 fered so much about the method of pronouncing 
 or reading Hebrew, some insisting upon one 
 mode and some upon another, we are left at li- 
 berty to propose or to adopt any method which 
 on trial, may be found the easiest, the most com- 
 prehensive, the best accommodated to different 
 nations, and that which will throw the fewest 
 obstacles in the way of our acquiring the true 
 sense and meaning of the language. I have 
 therefore subjoined the following short scheme 
 of direction, for enabling every inhabitant of 
 Europe, or of any other civilized country, to 
 read and pronounce the characters and words of 
 the Hebrew language. I beg leave only to pre- 
 mise this observation, that I absolutely and un- 
 equivocally deny the position. That all the letters 
 of the Hebrew alphabet are consonants ; and, 
 after the most careful and minute inquiry, give 
 it as my opinion, that of the twenty-two letters, 
 of which the Hebrew alphabet consists. Five are 
 vowels and Seventeen are consonants. The five 
 vowels by name are, Aleph, He, Vau, Ypd, A,m, 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 23 
 
 which, for the sake of ease and simplicity, may 
 be pronounced with one sounjd, and always con- 
 sidered as long vowels. 
 
 The mode of pronouncing all the letters is ex- 
 hibited in the following sketch : 
 
 Form. Sound. 
 b) a as in call. 
 1 b 
 
 5 g hard as in gone, govern. 
 1 d 
 
 n e long^ as in there, where, tete. 
 1 a long, as the diphthong oo in good, 
 
 food ; or as the « of the Greeks. 
 t z soft, like s in rose, pleasure, 
 n h with a guttural sound, somewhat 
 
 stronger than h in house, harmony. 
 ID t 
 
 ** i as in field, or as the diphthong ee in 
 feet, street, or as y in ye, your, 
 never j. 
 ID c hard, as in come, carry. 
 h 1 
 
 ?D m 
 
 3 n 
 
 D s 
 
 V o long, like the Greek omega «. 
 
 a P 
 
 !^ tz somewhat harder than zain t. 
 
24 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Form. Sound 
 
 P k 
 
 "^ r 
 
 t2? sh or sometimes s 
 
 Jl th as in throne, thither, very often t. 
 
 Grammarians have been more perplexed in 
 ascertaining the sound of J^, than that of all the 
 other letters of the alphabet. According to some 
 writers, it should be sounded gn, in the begin-* 
 ning of a syllable, as gnaw, gnat ; and ng in the 
 end, as ring, among. Others maintain that it is 
 a strong and deep guttural, equal to three h's; 
 an opinion which^ it is to be hoped, will not ge- 
 nerally prevail, both on account of the difficulty 
 of pronunciation, and the number of other gut- 
 turals supposed to be in the alphabet. The Se- 
 venty interpreters, in expressing Hebrew words 
 by Greek characters, sometimes omit this letter 
 altogether ; at other times they represent it by a, 
 y, or u. This is a plain proof, that, in their day, 
 the true antient sound of V was lost, or that they 
 were entirely ignorant of it. I most willingly 
 adopt the opinion of those who think it should be 
 sounded O. Its name, ain, signifies an eye, or 
 a fountain. Its figure, in the old Hebrew or Sa- 
 maritan alphabet, V, bears a near resemblance 
 to our O ; the shape of an eye and of a well 
 having probably suggested this common form. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 85 
 
 As we have borrowed the shape of this letter from 
 the antient Hebrews, it does not seem unnatural 
 that we should affix to it the sound of our O. 
 We shall perhaps be confirmed in this opinion, 
 when we reflect on the situation of O in the 
 Greek and Latin alphabets. Its place is imme- 
 diately before P, as ain is immediately before pe 
 in the Hebrew alphabet. To this may be added, 
 that the lips, in pronouncing the sound of O^ 
 are naturally cast into the exact figure of that 
 letter. 
 
 The names of the Hebrew letters are generally 
 significant words. 
 
 ?)7b^ an ox, a leader, a teacher. 
 T\^'2. a house. 
 TO"^;! a camel. 
 TtT\ leaf of a door. 
 Nn «^n she, behold. 
 11 a hook, a nail, 
 pt weapons, arms, 
 n^n an animal, a quadruped. 7 v c u^ 
 n^IO a curvature, a scroll, r >v ©j#iti. ii»%ke t 
 Ti^ T a hand, when shut close. 
 
 Pp the hollow of the hand, cavity, cup. 
 *ltt7 a spit, a goad to drive cattle, to learn. 
 Dt2 a stain, a spot, <i^ft;^y, unspotted. "^^ 
 
 \\1 a fish, or snake. 
 T^D a basis, a support^ fulcrum. 
 
26 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Y)> an eye^ a fountain. 
 t^Q the lip, the mouth. 
 ^l)i a huntsman's pole, sides, j^*"--^ 
 ^1p an ape. h: : a / /A. ht-^d, evt 
 ttJ^^ a head. 
 \^ a tooth. 
 
 in a terminus or cross. 
 In the first sense^ n ends the alphabet^ and^ in 
 the second, resembles the Patibulum in its form, 
 though the figure of a cross is more properly 
 preserved in the Samaritan, and from thence, 
 in the Greek and Roman alphabets, 4. r t. 
 
 As there are several Psalms, and other portions 
 of Scripture, divided into parts, each of which 
 parts begins with a different letter of the Hebrew 
 alphabet, the number and order of the letters are 
 determined from very antient times, and by very 
 high authority.* 
 
 That the learner may acquire a facility in dis- 
 tinguishing the characters, he ought frequently 
 
 * See Psalms xxv, cxi. cxii. cxix. in whicb last, each 
 letter, from Meph to Thau^ inclusive, begins eight stanzas, 
 verses, or <rrtxpi, making in all eight times twenty-two, 
 i. e. one hundred and seventy-six stanzas. 
 
 In the third chapter of the Lamentations, every three 
 stanzas begin with the same letter. This acrostic mode of 
 composition establishes the number and order of the cha- 
 racters in the Hebrew alphabet beyond all dispute. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 27 
 
 to name the letters as they occur in the following 
 examples. 
 
 To relieve the eye^ I have annexed a trans- 
 lation to each verse, the utility of which will 
 be more fully discerned afterwards. 
 
 GENESIS IX. 8. 
 
 : i^i^h ^m v:2 hv<^ r\: bi^ ti^nht^ i^m s 
 
 8 And God spake to Noah, and to his sons 
 with him, after this manner ; 
 
 9 Behold I establish my covenant with you, 
 and with your progeny after you ; - k 1 v 
 
 n^nnn ^ivn DDn^^ iw^ n^nn ti/^: ^d n^^ lo 
 
 10 And with every living soul with you, of 
 the fowl, of the cattle,* and of all animals with 
 you, from those which have come out of the ark, 
 extending to every animal of the earth. 
 
 * The original word comprehends quadrupeds of all kinds* 
 
28 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 111 have established my covenant with you, 
 that all flesh shall never more be cut off by the 
 waters of a flood ; neither shaU there be again 
 a flood to desolate the earth. 
 
 : thw 
 
 12 And God said, This shall be a sign of the 
 covenant which I make between me and you, 
 and every living soul with you, through all 
 future generations (litt to generations for ever). 
 
 *»:*'3 nna m^^ nrvr]^ p;;n ^nr\2 "^ntrp nj^ 13 
 
 13 I will set my bow in a cloud, and it shall 
 be for a sign of a covenant between me and the 
 earth ; 
 
 14 So that when I spread a cloud over the 
 earth, and a bow is seen in the cloud. 
 
 /" 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 29 
 
 ^ud"? o^'DH nw n^T n^i -ic^^n ^33 n^n ti^aa 
 
 15 1 will then remember my covenant between 
 me and you, and every living soul amongst all 
 flesh, and the waters of a flood shall never again 
 appear to destroy all flesh. 
 
 nti^K it:/2 "jDi n^n tt^a: b:^ ]ui d%iSk rn d^w 
 
 16 For the bow shall be in a cloud, and I will 
 look upon it for a memorial of the everlasting 
 covenant between God and every living soul of 
 all flesh residing upon the earth. 
 
 PSALM CXIX. 18. 
 
 : imiriD m^^^m no^nKi "^i^j; h^ is 
 
 18 Illuminate mine eyes, and I shall see won- 
 derful things in thy law. 
 
 19 I am a stranger in the earthy conceal not 
 from me thy commandments. 
 
30 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : n;; bD2 T^^^^ ^^ n^i^rh ^ti:;^: nD-i:i 20 
 
 20 My soul is agitated with continual longing 
 towards thy judgments.* 
 
 * The original properly signifies. Decisions of an equi- 
 table and merciful judge, considered as rules of conduct. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of Reading hy the Letters alone^ without the as* 
 sistance of Vowel Points, and the Means to be 
 employed for pronouncing such words as consist 
 only of Combinations of Consonants without any 
 Vowel Letters. 
 
 AFTER we have acquired the knowledge of 
 the letters or characters^ as divided into vowels 
 and consonants, with the manner of pronouncing 
 them separately, the next step in grammar is to 
 enunciate or read them, when constituting words 
 expressive of human sentiment or meaning. 
 That the whole of this subject may be placed at 
 one view under the reader's eye, it will be neces- 
 sary to enlarge somewhat more particularly both 
 on the division and the conjunction of the letters. 
 Prom this disquisition we shall more clearly as- 
 certain the vowel characters, which have the 
 singular advantage of being pronounced with 
 perfect ease, and we shall completely acquire, 
 at least in my opinion, the capacity of enun- 
 ciating all words in this language, which happen 
 to consist solely of consonants, nearly with as 
 much facility as though they consisted of vowelsi 
 
32 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 without any assistance derived from points, dots, 
 accents, or figures of any kind. 
 
 From the first view of the letters, it is plain, 
 that some of them must be of that order or class 
 which, in other languages, are named vowels, 
 i. e. letters which can be pronounced by them- . 
 selves, and which represent a distinct sound ; yet 
 it has been strenuously maintained, as before ob- 
 served. That all the letters of this alphabet are 
 consonants. But why « in the Greek, and a in 
 the Latin and English alphabets, should be uni- 
 versally acknowledged as vowels, and ^^ in He- 
 brew, from which the former have both their 
 shape and place, should be^ condemned to rank 
 among the order of consonants, is altogether 
 inexplicable. 
 
 There are three letters which bear the marks 
 of vowels clearly stamped upon them, 
 
 a u i 
 
 These have been called matres lectionis, or 
 the parents of reading, because, by their as- 
 sistance alone, a vast variety of words may be 
 easily enunciated. 
 
 At the same time, there is a great number of 
 words in Hebrew that consist entirely of combi- 
 nations of consonants, universally acknowledged 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 33 
 
 to be such, without any of those vowels. There- 
 fore it became a question,, How are these words 
 to be pronounced, so as to produce intelligible 
 sounds ? 
 
 To facilitate the enunciation of this language 
 several men of learning and inquiry have conjec- 
 tured that other letters, besides the three men- 
 tioned above, t^ *l ^ were vowels. Thus, some 
 have asserted that H is the same sound with 
 the Greek epsilon, or e short, as it holds the 
 same place in the Hebrew that e does in the Greek 
 alphabet, being the fifth letter in both: That 
 n is the Greek ^ or h ; which last they think 
 derives its name from HTT, read and pronounced 
 in the Chaldaic manner, ^TVn yurx. In support 
 of this opinion, the authority of St. Jerom is 
 adduced, who refuses it a place among the con- 
 sonants ; but the greater number agree that it is 
 an aspiration, as the h in hkaton. With respect 
 to V, I have already mentioned authorities to 
 support the conjecture of its being O ; so that,' 
 according to this plan, the vowels in the Hebrew 
 alphabet would be. 
 
 N 
 
 a 
 
 n 
 
 e short 
 
 n 
 
 e long 
 
 *i 
 
 i 
 
 :> 
 
 o 
 
 1 
 
 u 
 
 
 c 
 
34 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 But, on further inquiry, a more probable hy- 
 pothesis was adopted, viz. That all the letters in 
 the Hebrew alphabet, which seem to have any 
 title to be acknowledged as vowels, represent 
 only the long vowels; and that it is scarcely to be 
 expected that the original writers or first framers 
 of the alphabet, would employ two characters to 
 represent e, while they used only one character 
 to represent each of the other vowels. It was 
 therefore agreed that H, instead of representing 
 e short, should represent e long, or ^, and that 
 n should be deprived of its vowel sound, and 
 restored to its place as a guttural. 
 
 The vowel-letters will then be exactly as I have 
 stated them in p. 2S. 
 
 Vi 
 
 a 
 
 n 
 
 e 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 :^ 
 
 o 
 
 1 
 
 u 
 
 But, after all these laudable attempts, a vast 
 number of words appear totally destitute of these 
 vowels. How are these words to be pronounced 
 so as to make articulate and intelligible sounds ? 
 When the antient Hebrews read their sacred 
 books, it behoved them undoubtedly to pronounce 
 the combinations of consonants which stood in 
 their antient manuscripts, in such a manner as to 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 35 
 
 be understood by the hearers. But, How are 
 we to pronounce or read them? and. What 
 method shall we invent to make these dumb con- 
 sonants vocal ? In answer to this, I humbly 
 request attention to the following observations. 
 
 1. We can now entertain no hope of reco- 
 vering the genuine and original pronunciation 
 used by the Patriarchs, by Moses, or any of the 
 antient Jews. This is totally and irrecoverably 
 lost. But the loss is not peculiar to the Hebrew. 
 The true pronunciation of Greek, of Latin, and 
 of every language, the krtovvledge of which is 
 to be derived only from books, has shared the 
 same fate. 
 
 2. The true pronunciation, though we could 
 attain it, would afford no assistance toward the 
 understanding of the language. A person of 
 tolerable capacity may understand Greek, Latin, 
 Spanish, Italian, French, or German, though he 
 be an utter stranger to the just pronunciation of 
 any of these languages. He will find it much 
 more difficult to acquire the proper pronunciation 
 of any foreign language at present in use, than 
 either to read or speak the Hebrew, according to 
 any mode that has ever been invented. 
 
 3. Any number of persons may agree to insert 
 a short a or e, in any combination of consonants 
 to facilitate their pronunciation ; or they may use 
 c2 
 
36 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 the vowel that immediately follows the consonant, 
 when pronounced^ as e in Beth, i in Gimel, &c. 
 This is the method proposed by Masclef, a very 
 ingenious French critic and grammarian of the 
 last century. 
 
 In the present improved state of the art of 
 writing, it is difficult to form an idea how the 
 first writers should venture to exhibit any word, 
 by the assistance of consonants, without vowels ; 
 yet it is an undoubted fact that they have done so. 
 In every page of Hebrew writing, we find words 
 that consist solely of consonants, none of which 
 were ever suspected of possessing one feature of 
 the vowel character. These words stand upon 
 the firm pillars of consonants, as if they con- 
 temned the mutability of vowel sounds. 
 
 *1"Ttl? 
 
 sdd 
 
 "iriD 
 
 str 
 
 n^h 
 
 Imd 
 
 ni"^ 
 
 rdd 
 
 •TfDD 
 
 msc 
 
 Dp^nD 
 
 mthnkm 
 
 ^^D 
 
 sll 
 
 IpD 
 
 pkd 
 
 tDDtl?^ 
 
 mshpt 
 
 ■pi 
 
 brc 
 
 lip 
 
 kdr 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 37 
 
 with a great number more, are combinations of 
 consonants, entirely destitute of vowels. But, 
 in all words of this kind, we have reason to be- 
 lieve that it is the short vowels only which are 
 wanting. The cause of this deficiency seems to 
 have been, that, in the rudiments of the art of 
 writing, the authors considered one short vowel 
 as necessarily implied in the pronunciation of 
 every consonant. No consonant can be pro- 
 nounced without a short vowel either before or 
 after it. The antients,in naming their con- 
 sonants, always pronounced the vowel sounds 
 after, never before them. The names of all the 
 consonants in the Greek alphabet plainly shew 
 this. As no consonant, therefore, could be 
 enunciated without a short vowel, the Hebrew 
 writers thought it sufficient, in words destitute 
 of long vowels, to note down the consonants only, 
 being fully convinced that, in this abbreviated 
 form, the meaning of such words could not be 
 mistaken by the reader. They employed their 
 vowel characters for the purpose of expressing 
 their long vowels, when these constituted a ra- 
 dical part of the word. For the short vowels 
 they had no characters, deeming them unne- 
 cessary, because the very pronunciation of the 
 consonants forced them, as it were, from the 
 
38 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 mouth of the speaker^ while, at the same time, 
 these fleeting and variable sounds made no part 
 of the word in its radical and primitive capacity. 
 As we use our vowel characters to represent both 
 their long and their short sound, as the fabric of 
 our language, in the derivation and connection of 
 words, is entirely different from that of the He- 
 brew and other languages of the East, the absence 
 of vowels in any word raises our surprise, and 
 we can scarcely think it possible to pronounce it. 
 But, if we examine the matter with attention, 
 our surprise will cease. In pronouncing short 
 syllables in English, the pronunciation is gene- 
 rally so rapid, that the nicest ear cannot dis- 
 tinguish what vowel the speaker or reader has 
 uttered.* Nay, sometimes the vowel is entirely 
 lost, as in hason, mason, lesson, lessen. It is 
 scarcely possible to distinguish the sound of any 
 vowel in the last syllable of these words. On 
 farther trial, we shall find that, in common pro- 
 nunciation, we expel almost all the short vowels 
 to such a degree, that^ if we place by themselves 
 the consonants which compose the word, omitting 
 the vowels, we shall be able to enunciate these 
 
 * Father, fathir, fathur, fathyr, fathar, father, are all 
 the same as to the article of pronouncing the short vowel in 
 the last syllable. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 39 
 
 combinations as easily without the vowels as with 
 them. Let the following words serve for ex- 
 amples: — \^^rL^ -7 
 
 Bkr Baker 
 
 ^* .^ 
 
 Mrnr Mariner r^ 
 
 Vntnr Vintner 
 
 SUr Seller 
 
 Mkrl Mackerel 
 
 Mrcl Miracle 
 
 Prtnrs Partners 
 
 Stggr Stagger 
 
 Shpmstr Shipmaster 
 
 Persons who are defective in the art of spelling, 
 generally write in this manner. They crowd 
 their words with consonants, neglecting the 
 vowels. 
 
 Many more instances might be adduced ; but 
 these sufficiently prove that we can easily read 
 without written vowels, combinations of con- 
 sonants, much more complex than any that ap- 
 pear in Hebrew, and that it is almost impossible 
 for us to utter those combinations, without enun- 
 ciating the very vowels which constitute the real 
 words, as they are commonly written or spelled : 
 So that every day we insensibly practise the rule 
 which I have recommended, with respect to all 
 those words in the Hebrew language which ap- 
 
40 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 pear divested of vowels. It is reasonable to 
 think, that an intelligent Hebrew reader would 
 know by tradition, by received custom, or siniply 
 by the position of the consonants, what vowel 
 sound he should insert, to pronounce intelligibly 
 all such words as consist entirely of consonants. 
 Now that we are deprived of all these helps, w6 
 must supply the defect in the best manner we can, 
 by inserting short vowels, according as the na- 
 ture or position of the word, or our ear, may 
 direct. Difficulties will occur but seldom, and 
 practice will render the work perfectly easy. 
 
 4. There is another mode which may be in- 
 vented for writing or pronouncing this antient 
 language, and that is, any class or body of men 
 ma}' consent to use signs in place of vowel-letters, 
 such as marks or dots, above, below, and in the 
 bosom of the consonants. Had these persons 
 agreed to employ this method to enunciate com- 
 binations of consonants only, perhaps their in- 
 vention might have merited some praise ; but 
 unluckily they built their system on a sandy 
 foundation. They proceeded on the supposition, 
 or rather the assertion, that there were no vowel- 
 letters in the Hebrew alphabet ; that it consisted 
 entirely of consonants, so that their vowel-signs 
 must be appended to every letter, except in some 
 situations the letter happen to be the last in a 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. ' 41 
 
 word, or be extinguished or silenced by a vowel- 
 sign. 
 
 This method of using marks for vowels was 
 adopted by a set of Jewish critics, called Maso- 
 rites, ^ who flourished after the commencement 
 of the Christian aera. These men bestowed 
 much pains upon the text of the Old Testament, 
 particularly that portion of it which was named 
 the Law, Their labour, indeed, did not pene- 
 trate very deep. They afford us little or no 
 assistance in the investigation of the true sense 
 of Scripture. In vain do we seek from them the 
 solution of difficulties, the elucidation of obscure 
 passages, or any useful information concerning 
 the manners and customs of their ancestors. 
 Their time was chiefly spent in giving directions 
 about the pronunciation or spelling of the lan- 
 guage, about the manner in which it ought to be 
 read, in numbering the syllables and words of 
 particular books, and in attempting to unfold the 
 mysteries, or rather superstitious fables, hid under 
 the veil of inverted, enlarged, or diminished 
 letters. Their attempts to affix points or marks 
 to the Hebrew letters, with an intention to supply 
 the defects of vowel-letters in the original text, 
 
 * The name is borrowed from a word that signifies 
 Tradition, Masora, a critic on the Text of the Old Tes- 
 tament, principally founded on tradition. 
 
42 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 appeared in the fifth century. These attempts 
 continued to increase till about the tenth, at 
 which period, it, is generally thought, this art 
 attained its perfection. 
 
 Many authors assign to the invention of 'point- 
 ing a much more antient origin, and are dis- 
 pleased that an art, in their estimation, so 
 ingenious and useful, should be deemed the 
 production only of later times. I shall not enter 
 into disputes on this subject. A few centuries, 
 more or less, is a matter of small consequence. 
 It is clear, from the most authentic documents, 
 that the complex system of adding points to the 
 Hebrew letters, not merely to facilitate the enun- 
 ciation of consonants, but to disguise and transform 
 those very letters, which every one must, at first 
 view, discern to be vowels, was unknown at the 
 time of the Seventy's translation, about two hun- 
 dred and eighty years before the birth of Christ. 
 Those translators of the Old Testament into the 
 Greek language, either used manuscripts which 
 had no points at all, which is the most probable 
 supposition ; or, if they had any, they were, in 
 number and quality, entirely different from those 
 which appear in the Bibles printed on the Maso- 
 retic plan. The differences between the reading 
 of the Septuagint, and that of the Masorites, 
 would afford materials for a very voluminous 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 43 
 
 work. If, therefore^ the Hebrew manuscripts, 
 in the time of the Seventy, were unpointed, or 
 if they were pointed in a manner essentially dif- 
 ferent from that mode of pointing which has 
 come down to us, and is alone the subject of 
 debate, the admission of either of these hypotheses 
 must destroy the high antiquity, and, of conse- 
 quence, the authority of the present vowel points, 
 and reduce the invention of them to a period pos- 
 terior to the age of the Septuagint translation. 
 We are not deficient in proof for the establish- 
 ment of this opinion. For, if we form our judg- 
 ment on the subject from writers of reputation 
 posterior to the Christian sera, we shall find that 
 vowel-marks were unknown, or not in use, for 
 several centuries after the commencement of that 
 period. Origen, who lived in the third, and 
 St, Jerom, who lived in the fourth century, and 
 were both well skilled in Hebrew, make no 
 mention of vowel-points. Prom their writings, 
 it is abundantly evident, that they read many 
 words very differently from that reading at- 
 tempted to be fixed, as the true one by the Ma- 
 soretic pointing. The silence of St. Jerom on 
 this subject, is a circumstance truly remarkable. 
 He, of all the antient fathers, was most devoted 
 to the study of Hebrew literature. He spent 
 more than twenty years in Judea^ merely for the 
 purpose of attending the schools of the most ce- 
 
44 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 lebrated Jewish teachers^ and of conversing with 
 the most intelligent native Jews on the subject of 
 their language, and the meaning of their sacred 
 writings ; yet he has left us no hint concerning 
 vowel-points^ no description of the niceties of 
 the art ; and^ when he treats of the different 
 manner of reading any Hebrew words^ his ob- 
 servations are confined entirely to the letters. 
 
 The most strenuous advocates for the vowel- 
 points have not asserted that they were coeval, 
 or of the same authority, with the letters, but 
 generally think that they were invented during 
 the time the language was spoken, or soon after 
 it ceased to be a living language; that this in- 
 vention was useful or necessary to preserve a 
 traditionary pronunciation, and to ascertain the 
 meaning of words, which otherwise would have 
 been ambiguous. But the expedient is very lame 
 and imperfect. These critics are not agreed 
 about the precise sounds which the points re- 
 present. They affix very different points to the 
 same words ; and, even where they are agreed, 
 their authority is of little value, as they lived at 
 a distance so remote from the times when the 
 language was spoken. 
 
 The matter has been agitated with keenness 
 and acrimony. Heat and passion have been in- 
 troduced into a controversy of little or no impor- 
 tance : For, whether we read with or without 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 45 
 
 vowel-points^ the sense and meaning of the lan- 
 guage must entirely depend upon the written 
 characters, destitute of points and accents, as 
 they still remain in the most antient and authentic 
 manuscripts. The Jews have never suffered the 
 manuscripts, which are preserved in their sy- 
 nagogues for the purposes of religious worship, 
 to be disfigured with points. Some of their 
 ablest and most intelligent rabbies have main- 
 tained and proved, to the conviction of candid 
 judges, that the points are a late invention. 
 Every one acquainted with Hebrew knows, that 
 the whole structure of the language is inde- 
 pendent of them, and can be much more easily 
 learned, and much better understood, withont 
 than with them. 
 
 The method proposed above of reading, by 
 supplying a short a or e between the consonants, 
 is exceedingly simple ; whereas the Masoretic 
 pointing is complex and difficult beyond measure, 
 and extremely discouraging to a beginner. It 
 will also appear afterwards, that the use of points 
 has, without any just cause, multiplied the 
 flexions of nouns and verbs, to the great dimi- 
 nution of that simplicity which is the inrallible 
 mark of an original language, and is one of its 
 greatest ornaments. 
 
 The following is a specimen of the method of 
 
46 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 reading- without points^ by supp]3?ing only a few 
 short vowels, which are marked in Italic cha- 
 racters. 
 
 PSALM I. 
 
 l^n K^ n^i^ ti^^i^n nt:'^^ i 
 
 elec la asher e-ais Ashri 
 
 reshoim be-otzath 
 
 om«d la hhflttaim u-be-drec 
 
 isah la letzim u-be-miis«b 
 
 iVDH mn^ n-nnn dk •'d 2 
 
 hh&phtzu leue be-turat am ki 
 
 u-lile iumam ' ieghe u-bc-tur^tu 
 
 mim pdghi ol satal ke-otz u-eie 
 
 be-otu iten phriu asher 
 
 b^2'' «^ ^nhl!^ 
 
 ibul la u-oleu 
 
 : n^b)i> nm"^ 1:1;^ ^31 
 
 itzlihh ios^ asher u-col 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 47 
 
 e-reshoim kan la 
 
 ka-rautz am ki 
 
 ruh tedpenu asher 
 
 be-mispat reshoim ikmu la can ol 
 
 : D^^T^ mi;n D^t^tom 
 
 tzadikim be-odath u-hataim 
 tzfldikim dree leue iudo ki 
 
 tabed reshoim u-drec 
 
 In this passage, which contains sixty -seven 
 words, there are only three totally destitute of 
 vowel-letters, 
 
 yn toDtt^Dn p 
 
 Even in the other words, the vowels to be 
 supplied are very few ; and, upon the foregoing 
 scheme of vowel-letters, there are some words 
 which consist wholly of vowels. 
 
 leuS mn^ uei^ rrm 
 
1(18 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Others have 
 
 only one 
 
 consonant. 
 
 and 
 
 several 
 
 vowels. 
 
 ^3h 
 
 eais 
 
 uoleu 
 
 iose 
 
 
 
 And there are at least thirti/'three words which 
 stand in no need of supplied vowels. 
 
 The letters l?^ M "1 ""^ upon the plan of the Ma- 
 soriteSj are termed quiescent, because, according 
 to them, they have, on some occasions, no sound ; 
 at other times, these same letters indicate a va- 
 riety of sounds, as the fancy of these critics has 
 pleased to distinguish them by points. This 
 single circumstance exhibits the whole doctrine 
 of points as the baseless fabric of a vision. To 
 suppress altogether, or to render insignificant a 
 radical letter of any word, in order to supply its 
 place by an arbitrary dot, or a fictitious mark, 
 is an invention fraught with the grossest ab- 
 surdity. 
 
 From the preceding example, it is evident, 
 that the Hebrew is far from being destitute of 
 vowels ; that, according to the mode of reading 
 here proposed, its sounds are neither disagreeable 
 nor unmusical ; and that a very little attention 
 will soon render the pronunciation and reading 
 of it perfectly easy and familiar. This will be 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 49 
 
 one essential point gained ; for it will supersede 
 the intricate and embarrassing machinery of the 
 points, and remove those obstacles which have 
 deterred so many from the study of the lan- 
 guage. 
 
 But, as many Bibles are printed on the Ma- 
 soretic plan ; as this plan has been patronized by 
 respectable names, and much time and labour 
 have been spent in the improvement of it ; as it 
 is a mode of reading invented by Jews, who^ 
 it is presumed, should best know the language 
 and traditions of their forefathers, a work of this 
 kind might be thought imperfect, if an expla- 
 nation of the doctrine of vowel-points were alto- 
 gether neglected. 
 
 The following chapter contains the most ma- 
 terial information on this subject. 
 
60 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Doctrine of Vowel-Points explained and ex* 
 emplified. 
 
 THE Vowel-Points and the Accents were at 
 first few in number^ but afterwards increased so 
 much, that now the former amount to fifteen, 
 and the latter to about thirty. 
 
 The points may be divided into signs of long, 
 of short, and of very short vowels. 
 
 The signs of the long vowels are five, of the 
 short five, and of the very short four. 
 
 THE FIVE LONG VOWELS. 
 
 5 ba, Kametz 
 3 be, Tzere, ^ 
 ''I bi, Chirek-longum 
 3 or 13 bo, Cholem 
 !)2 bu, Shurek, « 
 
 THE FIVE SHORT VOWELS. 
 
 5 ba, Patach 
 3 be, Saegol 
 5 bi, Chirek-breve 
 3 or 5 bo, Kametz-chatuph 
 3 bu. Kibbutz, • . 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 51 
 
 Two dots, the one placed above the other, (:) 
 is called Sheva, and represents a very short e. 
 It is only to be pronounced when under the first 
 letter of a word, under a doubled letter,* after 
 another Sheva, or after a long vowel : On other 
 occasions it is generally quiescent. 
 
 This Sheva, when prefixed to Patach, SsBgol, 
 and Kametz-chatuph, produces three very short 
 vowels, marked as under. 
 
 K a Chateph-patach 
 K ^ Chateph-saegol 
 ^$ 5 Chateph-kametz 
 
 The term Chateph signifies short, or that the 
 vowel is to be pronounced very rapidly, as the 
 Sheva before each of them implies. 
 
 The letter W has sometimes a point above its 
 right tooth, sometimes above its left. In the first 
 case it is to be sounded sh, in the other s. 
 
 u; Shin i:; Sin '^' 
 
 When the letter preceding tt) wants a point, 
 the right hand point of Shin is Cholem, or 
 long. When the letter immediately following 
 has no point. Shin is furnished with two points 
 (£^ ; the left one, Cholem, if there be no point 
 
 * Sub litera daghessata. 
 
 .^A-<-. 
 
52 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 below W ; the right, Cholem, if the preceding 
 letter is unpointed. 
 
 n^D Moshe 
 1:t^^ Leshono 
 1^:11/ Sone 
 nt^V Gnose 
 
 By this frugal invention, the same point an- 
 swers several purposes. 
 
 A dot or point (•), in the middle of a letter^ 
 sometimes doubles it ; in which case the point is 
 called Daghesh Forte ; as 
 
 •T/>3 Pikked 
 iri^ Itten 
 
 Sometimes it only removes the aspiration from 
 the letters ]iDi"f^i, and then it bears the name 
 of Daghesh Lene. 
 
 The same point placed in the bosom of *» and 
 n, imports that they are to be sounded, when 
 otherwise they would be silent. This point is 
 called Mappik. 
 
 When Patach (-) is below the last letter of a 
 word being a guttural, it is to be pronounced 
 before, not after such letter; in vyhich case it has 
 the name of Patach furtivum, or the Patach who 
 has slily stolen a place^ or opened a door where 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. $$ 
 
 he had no title. Patach signifies to open, 
 
 nriD. 
 
 D^^by: latzliahh, not iatzlihha 
 j;?i"lj Zeroang, not zerogna. 
 
 /' 1 represents two vowels and a consonant; with 
 a point above, it is Cholem ; with a point in its 
 bosom, it is Shurek ; but if it has a point below, 
 it becomes the consonant v, and its vowel-point is 
 destined to serve other purposes. 
 
 nin^ lehovah 
 ns^JI yivvasheb 
 
 In the language of the Masorites and of all the 
 Jewish grammarians who adopt their plan^ when 
 a letter is not to be pronounced, it is said qui- 
 escere, to be silent or at rest. When it is to be 
 pronounced, it is said, moveri, to be moved, or 
 put in motion. Agreeable to this rule, the short 
 vowel Sheva has two characters ; when it is silent, 
 it is named Sheva quiescens ; when it is pro- 
 nounced, it becomes Sheva mobile. 
 
 It is a general rule, that '^ after Saegol and 
 Tzere, is always quiescent ; as also fc^ and H, 
 when unpointed, in the end of a word. 
 
 The last letter of almost every word is destitute 
 of a vowel-point. The only exceptions are ^ 
 
hi 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 and r\j which often have either a Sheva quiescent, 
 or a Kametz for their attendants. 
 
 The Accents were intended to serve the pur- 
 pose of our commas, colons, and points, or to 
 ascertain the various tones and gestures with 
 which a sentence should be read. As to their 
 utility in regulating the voice and gesture of the 
 reader, the Jews themselves can give us little 
 information ; and, with respect to the other pur- 
 pose, of dividing a sentence into its parts, they 
 often tend rather to mislead than to elucidate. 
 I have not therefore thought it necessary to assign 
 examples. It is surprising that the Jewish critics, 
 with all their skill in dots, points, and accents, 
 never had the ingenuity to invent a point of in- 
 terrogation, of admiration, or a parenthesis. 
 
 The above sketch is sufficient to afford a ge^ 
 neral notion of the Masoretic method of reading 
 Hebrew by means of points. 
 
 But, when we have attained the knowledge of 
 these signs, and are able readily to distinguish the 
 vowels which they represent, we are still far from 
 being adepts in the art. The application of them 
 to the purposes of flexion, composition, and de- 
 rivation, is a work of singular labour and diffi- 
 culty. The addition of one letter to a word, 
 changes the whole mass of its points. It may 
 convert them, perhaps, from long to short, ot 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 55 
 
 from short to long; it may expel some and in- 
 troduce others ; it may make vowels consonants, 
 and consonants vowels; so that the learner, lost 
 in a maze of intricacy, relinquishes the painful 
 task. This circumstance, in all its unhappy 
 effects, was well known to the great patrons of 
 this mode. They complained of it, but they 
 still adhered to their plan. 
 
 Buxtorf, who fights for the authenticity of the 
 points, as if he were fighting for inspired truth, 
 says, in one of his treatises on the study of He- 
 brew, ' That the changing of the vowel-points,* 
 he means when the genders and cases of nouns, 
 and the different flexions of verbs require it, ' is 
 * a most laborious and difficult work, where, after 
 ' wearisome toil and pains, a young man, finding 
 ' he is making but small progress, and gathering 
 ' but little fruit, contracts a strong aversion to 
 ' the business, and altogether gives up the pur- 
 ' suit.'* 
 
 Elias GramSmaticus, in his book entitled Hab- 
 bachur. Disc. III. chap. 2. assigns four reasons 
 for changing the points of nouns : 1. The 
 
 * Mutatio punctorum vocalium in lingua Hebraea, res 
 est sollicita et operosa, in qua juveutus cum mul to sudore 
 se torquet, sed cum exiguo saepe fructu, ita' ut se expedire 
 nesciens nauseam concipiat, ac studium tandem abjiciat. 
 Buxtorf, Epitom. 
 
56 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 ' motion from masculine to feminine. 2. The 
 ' flexion from singular to plural. 3. Regimen. 
 ^ 4. The Affixes. Some add a fifth to these^ viz. 
 ' Accent, to be understood in a threefold sense : 
 ' 1. When the rightful accent is taken away from 
 ' the word. 2. When it is transposed or re- 
 ' moved from its proper place. 8. When pause 
 ' takes the place of a syllable.'* 
 
 This^ surely^, is but poor recommendation of 
 the doctrine from teachers^ and small encourage- 
 ment to learners. 
 
 As I have resolved, in the following work, to 
 make no use of points, from a conviction that 
 the grammatical principles of the language are 
 totally independent of them, it becomes unneces- 
 sary for me to enumerate or explain the various 
 rules which have been laid down for ascertaining 
 the changes to be made upon them. If any 
 person choose to read the language, or to learn 
 its grammar, upon that plan, he may consult 
 
 * Elias Gramraaticus in libro Habbachur, Orat. 3, 
 cap. 2. quatuor ponit causas ob quas nomina mutentur, 
 1. Est Motto, e masculino in fcKminium ; 2. Flexio, e sin- 
 gular! in pluralem; 3. Regimen; 4. Jffixa, Quidam 
 his quintam adjungunt, Accentus, idque tripliciter. Primo, 
 Quando legitimus accenfus a voce anfertur. ? Secundo, 
 Quando a proprio loco transponitur. ' Tertio, Quando 
 pausa syllabam occupat. •" - 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 57 
 
 BuxtorPs or Leusden's Grammar, or many others 
 of the same kind, where he will find the subject 
 treated with great industry, and at great length. 
 
 The following Psalms, in which the enun- 
 ciation of the Hebrew letters and vowel-points, 
 is expressed by Roman characters, on the left 
 hand page, will serve as specimens of that mode 
 of reading. 
 
 To state more accurately a comparison be- 
 tween reading with the Points, and reading with 
 the Letters, assisted with a few short supplied 
 vowels, this last mode is exhibited on the right 
 hand page. 
 
58 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM XV. 
 
 As read or pronounced with the Points, 
 
 Mizmor leDavid. 
 
 1 lehovah mi iagur beoholeca 
 Mi ishcon behar kodsheca. 
 
 2 Holech tamim upognel tzedek 
 udober emeth bilbabo. 
 
 3 Lo ragal gnal leshono 
 
 lo gnasah leregnehu ragnah 
 vehherpah lo nasa gnal kerobo. 
 
 4 Nibzeh begnenaiv nimas 
 ve eth ire lehova yecabbed 
 nishbang leharang vela iamir. 
 
 5 Caspo lo nathan beneshech 
 ve-shohhad gnal naki lo lakahh 
 gnoseh elleh lo yimmot legnolam. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM XV. 
 
 Mcording to the Letters, with Enunciatory Short Vowels 
 supplied; these last are in Italics, 
 
 Mz'zmuF le Dud. 
 
 1 l^u^ mi igur bea^lec 
 
 mi ishcan beer kedeshec 
 
 2 Eiilec tamim upol tzedec 
 udeber amith belebbu 
 
 3 La regal ol leshenu 
 la ose leroeu roe 
 uherepe la nesa ol kerobu 
 
 4 N^b^ze beoiniu nemas 
 uath irai leue icabed 
 neshebo le^ro ula imer 
 
 5 Casepu la naihan beneshec 
 ushehad ol neki la \akah 
 ose ale la imut leoiilim 
 
 In this Psalm, according to the Hebrew mode 
 of writing, there are, including the title, fifty- 
 five words, of which there are only six totally 
 destitute of vowel-letters, one in each of the first 
 four verses, and two in the fifth. 
 
60 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM ex. 
 
 Read or pronounced according to (he Pointt. 
 
 LeDavid Mizmor. 
 
 1 Neiim lehovah ledoni sheb limini 
 gnad ashith oiebeca hhadom leragleca. 
 
 2 Matteh gnuzzeca ishlahh lehovah mitzion 
 redeh bekereb oiebeca. 
 
 3 Gnammecha nedaboth beiom hheleca 
 behadre-kodesh 
 
 merehhem mishhhar lecha tal ialdutheca. 
 
 4 Nishbang lehovah velo yinnahhem attah 
 
 cohen 
 legnolam gnal dibrathi malchi-tzedek. 
 
 5 Adonai gnal yemineca mahhatz 
 beiom appo melachim. 
 
 6 Yaddin baggoim male gheviyoth 
 mahhatz rosh gnol eretz rabbah. 
 
 7 Minnahhal baderec yishteh 
 gnal-cken iarim rosh. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 61 
 
 PSALM ex. 
 
 Read or pronounced by Letters^ with Enunciatory Short 
 Vowels supplied, 
 
 Le Dud Mizmwv, 
 
 1 Nam leue leadni sheb leimini 
 od ashith aibic hadom leregdic 
 
 2 Mite ozec ishh'h leue metziun 
 rede bekereb aibic 
 
 3 Omec nedabieth beium hilcc 
 beederi-kodesh 
 
 mcrehem meshahar lee ia\ iled«tec 
 
 4 Nishibo leue ula in«hem ate ken 
 leoul«m ol deb«rthi Melcki-tzedec 
 
 5 Adni ol iminec mahaiz 
 beium apu meieckim 
 
 6 Idin beguim mcla guiuth 
 mahaiz rash ol aretz rabe 
 
 7 Menahal bederec ishte 
 olcan irim rash. 
 
 N. B. There are no diphthongs in Hebrew ; 
 where three or four vowels meet in a word, they 
 must all be pronounced separately. The sounds 
 of two or three vowels do not coalesce, as at in 
 rain, oa in coach, or eau in beauty. 
 
62 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 After the learner hath perused with attention 
 these two ditFerent modes of reading, the one by 
 the letters, and the other by vowel-signs, he will 
 not find it a matter of great difficulty to deter- 
 mine, on a comparative view, to which he should 
 give the preference. 
 
 The method of reading by the vowel-letters/ 
 wherever they occur, and by inserting a few 
 short vowels in the combinations of consonants, 
 recommends itself from its simplicity. It pre- 
 serves the original and radical letters of every 
 word, in that state of dignity and importance to 
 which they are naturally entitled. The vowels 
 which it supplies are intended for no other 
 purpose but to facilitate the pronunciation, and 
 claim no title to determine the meaning, or to 
 adjust the grammatical place of any word. It 
 can be learned in a very short time, and retained 
 with very little practice. It clears the grammar 
 of an uncommon load of rubbish, and minute 
 criticism, under which it has long groaned, and 
 restores the language to its native simplicity and 
 beauty. 
 
 The Masoretic plan can lay no claim to any of 
 these advantages. 
 
 The patrons of this plan, indeed, celebrate its 
 superior excellence ; because, according to them, 
 it fixes, in the most decisive manner, what vowel 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 63 
 
 sound is to be used, in alliance with the conson- ^ 
 antSj without leaving the reader to the uncertainty 
 of conjecture concerning the short vowel, which, 
 according to the other method, he may find it 
 necessary to supply. They trace it to remote 
 antiquity. They think it a matter of great im- 
 portance, because it was invented by Jews, who 
 surely were the fittest persons to transmit to s: 
 posterity that ancient pronunciation which they ^ 
 had received by tradition from their fathers. As 
 an accumulation of its honours they affirm, that 
 it determines the sense of many words, which 
 would otherwise be ambiguous; and gives energy 
 to the verb^ by distinguishing two conjugations ^ 
 or forms, which, without points, have no exist- 
 ence. ^^ 
 
 But these assertions stand on no solid foun- 
 dation. Though some of them were allowed to 
 be just, yet all the boasted advantages of the 
 vowel-points can never counterbalance the inju- 
 ries which the language has sustained, by the 
 application of them to the purposes of grammar. 
 
 Had the friends of the points confined the use 
 of them solely to the purpose of readingy I 
 should have had no objection to their employing 
 fifty for one, if they had thought them necessary, 
 and could have procured persons equally labo- 
 rious with themselves to adopt their complex 
 
64 HEBliEW GRAMMAR. 
 
 system. But when, by the application of them 
 to grammar, they new-model the language, 
 increase its declensions and conjugations without 
 any cause, deface the original letters, and expel, 
 in pronunciation, essential parts of the word, so 
 that the hearer cannot determine betwixt the real 
 letter, and the fictitious sign, the matter becomes 
 more serious, and requires a deeper investigation, 
 by all who wish to see Scripture-criticism esta- 
 blished on solid and rational principles. 
 
 The verbs t^^^l and TO^ are pointed by the 
 Masorites with a Kametz below each of the two 
 first letters, the last letters in both being un- 
 pointed, and, of course, according to the rule, 
 quiescent. These words must therefore be read 
 or pronounced, JBara^ Gala. Any person who 
 hears these sounds would naturally conclude that 
 both the words end in a ; whereas the one termi- 
 nates in ^^, and the other in Jl ; both of which 
 letters are radically and essentially necessary to 
 determine the signification of the different words; 
 yet, by this scheme, they are rendered useless 
 and insignificant. 
 
 t^*^l is commonly translated to create, to make; 
 T\b^ to reveal : But, without the last letters, 
 which are expelled, or confounded by the points, 
 *>:i signifies a son, and 7A to roll. What a mas- 
 sacre of language is this ! 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 65 
 
 It has been already said, that we have good 
 grounds to think the invention of pointing is of 
 no great antiquity, and that, in all probability, 
 it had no existence before the Christian aera. 
 Even though we should acknowledge, that the 
 original intention of it was to preserve the tradi- 
 tionary pronunciation of times much more an- 
 tient, we have no certainty that it is the true 
 symbol of this antient pronunciation. How do 
 we know that Tzere, consisting of two hori- 
 zontal points, if it had a being in the ages before 
 the Masorites, sounded as e long, or that S<jegol, 
 consisting of three dots, in a triangular form, 
 sounded as e short, when we do not know the 
 exact sound of any letter in the alphabet ; nay, 
 are taught by these very persons, that b^ is a con- 
 sonant, or the spiritus lenis of the Greeks, i. e. 
 nothing at all. Is it not much more credible that 
 the Alexandrian Jews, who translated the Old 
 Testament into Greek, the authors of the Chaldee 
 Paraphrases, the Jewish Rabbies, and the Maso- 
 rites, were all equally ignorant of the true pro- 
 nunciation of the Hebrew, which had ceased to be 
 a living language many centuries before their 
 time ? 
 
 The vowel-marks are no indications to us of 
 the antient sounds of the language.* These 
 
 * See Bishop Hare's Prolegomena in Psalmos. 
 E 
 
66 HEBREW GRAM M AH, 
 
 sounds have vanished^ like the breath of those 
 who uttered them ; and no tradition could either 
 arrest or transmit them. We are at liberty to 
 invent sounds for ourselves^ and no objection can 
 lie against this expedient, if we employ them 
 only for the purposes of pronunciation, not to 
 alter the radical parts of the words, not to deter- 
 mine their signification, nor to confound the 
 original principles of the grammar, as the in- 
 ventors of points have done. 
 
 It is a favourite argument with the advocates 
 for the vowel-points, that, without their assist- 
 ance, the sense of a vast number of words would 
 be left in a fluctuating and uncertain state — that, 
 on this account, they are absolutely necessary to 
 prevent ambiguities in the language. 
 
 A very little reflection will shew the weakness 
 of this argument. It is the unavoidable fate of 
 all languages to be liable to ambiguities. The 
 Hebrew is not more so than any other. But 
 these ambiguities must be resolved by an investi- 
 gation of the sense of the period, by considering 
 the disposition and connection of the words, and 
 not by points or marks, which particular persons 
 may impose,^ 
 
 When, for instance, the word Terra appears 
 in any Latin sentence, it is capable of various 
 interpretations, according as it is considered to 
 
HE^EW GRAMMAR. 67 
 
 be in the nominative, the vocative, or the ablative 
 case. Some writers, to prevent ambiguity, in- 
 vented a mark to determine the abhitive, and, by 
 a circumflex on the last letter, gave seasonable 
 intimation of this case. But, surely the parti- 
 cular case of Terra, in any sentence, must be 
 determined by circumstances altogether indepen- 
 dent of this mark. Those who have made any 
 progress in the language despise it, and the in- 
 ventors are entitled to little credit for their saga- 
 city. They have only performed the third part 
 of their work ; they have left two other cases, in 
 this and all similar words, in their natural ambi- 
 guity. 
 
 The pointing of the Masorites is, in every 
 respect, equally deficient, and can be of no use 
 in resolving the ambiguities of words. 
 
 The three consonants, "T^l may either represent 
 a noun or a verb. In the first case, it is com- 
 monly translated via, a way, and, in the last, 
 calcavit, to trample upon, or tread under foot. 
 To mark these different significations, the Maso- 
 rites, when it is to be understood in the first 
 sense, place below it two SsBgols, Til '» when in 
 the other, a Kametz and a Patach, Tl^T. But 
 what advantage is gained by this ? Though, in 
 their opinion, the ambiguity is removed, it may 
 still remain in all its consequences, if conco- 
 e2 
 
68 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 mitant words, or the general tenor of the sen- 
 tence, do not determine the meaning. The 
 sense must be investigated without any regard to 
 the points ; and it may often be discovered, on 
 examination, that the points have affixed to 
 a verb the meaning of a noun, and to a noun the 
 meaning of a verb. 
 
 I pass over entirely their two conjugations of 
 Pihel and Pyhal, as unnecessary incumbrances 
 with which they have loaded the language. The 
 absurdity of them is so obvious, and the in- 
 vention of them so groundless, as to stand in no 
 need of any confutation. 
 
 Several other circumstances might be men- 
 tioned to illustrate the confusion and contradiction 
 with which the Masoretic plan is embarrassed. 
 I shall particularize only the following : 
 
 Kametz, their longest «, and Kametz-chatuph, 
 their short o, have both the same mark. When 
 this signature stands for the short o, it is some- 
 times marked with a Sheva, to distinguish it from 
 Kametz, the long a ; but, unluckily, the invention 
 makes it the same with Chateph-kametz, the 
 very short o, and an amazing number of rules 
 becomes necessary to distinguish the three from 
 each other. 
 
 The first and fundamental principle of the 
 doctrine of pointing is, that all the letters are 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 69 
 
 consonants. This is an incontrovertible maxim, 
 maintained by all the proficients in the art. But, 
 notwithstanding this position^ the points are en- 
 dowed .with the singular or magical virtue, tliat 
 they can, at pleasure, transform a vowel into 
 a consonant, or a consonant into a vowel. Nay, 
 they can compel the same letter to be both 
 a vowel and a consonant at the same time. 
 Dagesh- forte makes one letter two ; 1 and U? are 
 forced perpetually to vary their phases ; and, 
 should they, or any other letter, remonstrate 
 against this treatment, the sovereign authority of 
 the points can reduce them to absolute silence. 
 
 Such frivolous distinctions, and complicated 
 rules, have inspired thousands with disgust at the 
 language, and with contempt for the inventors. 
 Too much praise, therefore, cannot be bestowed 
 on those who, by their ingenuity in discovering 
 vowel-letters, and readiness in supplying other 
 means of assistance, have enabled us to extricate 
 ourselves from this dark labyrinth, and to prose- 
 cute the study of Hebrew with equal pleasure 
 and profit. 
 
 It is a common practice with the advocates for 
 the points to speak disrespectfully of the Septu- 
 agint translation.* The reason is obvious; it 
 does not favour their plan. But their antipathy 
 
 • • Vide Gossetium in Lexico. 
 
70 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 is extremely ill founded : For, next to the sacred 
 original, the Septuagint or Greek translation of 
 the Old Testament is one of the most precious 
 rejnnants of antiquity that Providence hath pre- 
 served to the church.* 
 
 Origen^ to his great honour, executed a most 
 useful and laborious work^ entitled Hexapla, of 
 which, unfortunately, some fragments only re- 
 main. 
 
 His design was to transmit, in as great purity 
 as possible, the Hebrew Scriptures, with the 
 Greek translations that had been made of them 
 before his time. 
 
 The Hexapla was divided into six columns. 
 
 In the first was placed the original Hebrew ; 
 
 In the second, the Hebrew expressed in Greek 
 characters ; 
 
 In the third, the Greek translation of Aquilas ; 
 
 In the fourth, that of Symmachus ; 
 
 In the fifth, the translation of the Seventy ; 
 And, 
 
 In the sixth, that of Theodotion. 
 
 * Habeat sane textus Hebraeus, praerogativam fontis, 
 habeat etiam vulgata Latina, locum suum, Graeca tamen 
 apud omnes cordatos et moderates vires, qui de istiusmodi 
 rebus optime judlcare norunt, semper in honore erit. /«- 
 trodudio ad Led. Ling. Orient, per Brianum Waltoriy 
 Praef. p. 66. Vid. etiam, August, de Civ, Dei, lib. xviii. 
 cap. 43. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 71 
 
 Aquilas^ Symmachus^ and Theodotion^ to- 
 wards the end of the third century of the Chris- 
 tian aera^ translated the books of the Old Tes- 
 tament into Greek for the benefit of the Jews 
 who did not understand Hebrew. Aquilas was 
 a mere verbal translator, even to the etymology 
 of proper names. The two last translated some- 
 what more liberally ; but of all the three, Sym- 
 machus is by far the most elegant and judicious. 
 It is pity so few fragments of his work have 
 survived the ravage of time. 
 
 As it is a matter of some curiosity to know in 
 what manner the Hebrew was read by Greek 
 writers in the third century, and as copies of the 
 Hexapla are not always easily to be found, I 
 have subjoined a specimen of that part of 
 Origen's work which contains the Hebrew Text 
 converted into Greek characters. 
 
'^*^ HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 GENESIS I. 
 TO EBPAIKON. 
 
 : D^;^n ^:a ^i; nam;:: D\n^x nm 
 : -n^ ^n''^ niK ^n^ d\i^k -idk^^i 3 
 
 : nnj^ dv ipn \ti m;; 
 ^^nnz: \tt d^dh ^inn ;;^pn ^n> n^nhi^ n^N^i « 
 : : n^di d^d i^n 
 
 %Ti ;;^p-)^ 'ji/D it^^K D^DH ]UT ;;'>p-)^ nnnD 
 
 ipn \Ti any nti D^^Dti^ ;;>p-)^ D^n'7i^ ^np-^i s 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 73 
 
 GENESIS L 
 TO EBPAIKON. 
 
 Ey EXy^yiviKois ypafjiiAxa-i* 
 
 1 Bpvia-iO ^xpx EX&>E</x ed oe.a-a[AaiiiJt, ovsQ txapes 
 
 2 Ovoiaipss otieOx ^uov ov^oov ovuas^ aX (pvs d'£&;/x. 
 spav) EhusiiJi. t^oipai^iQ ccX (pn otfAxtfA* 
 
 3 OviufAep EKueiiA izi wp 8isi u^, 
 
 4 Oviaip 'EXuii/A, sQ ocup y^i TwjS HiaJ^^rfK EXusiia ^riv 
 aup sQv)v acu<Ti^, 
 
 5 Ovixpoc 'EXusiiJ. Xocup iu(jt, aXocuazy^ x,xpx XvtXx eiet 
 sps<^ atst BuxEp tu^A, ««$. 
 
 6 Oviw(/.£p EXusifA. let pxycix Muy^ a^xi^ Hiti (AX^hX 
 
 7 Ovixxs EXuEifA, XupxKix mxShX jSm xt^xi^ji. xtrsp 
 (^x9xx9 Xxpvxix aQm xy^xn*. xa-ip yt^xxX Xx^xkix siu 
 
 8 OviKpx 'E.Xuttfx Xxpxttix arxiAXi{A 8iei tpsB aisi ^ukb^ 
 
 Were we to examine this passage attentively, 
 it might furnish scope for various observations. 
 I shall only mention a few. 
 
74 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 It is very remarkable that Origen expresses the 
 four letters fe^ n V, which the Masorites call Qui- 
 escent^ by vowels ; with such a variety^ however, 
 that he seems to look on it as a matter of indif- 
 ference whether he denotes t«^ by «, c, »», or c^. H 
 is generally converted into « or « ; *^ into < or »> ; 
 ^ into » or 6^. 
 
 But^ what is particularly worthy of notice^ as 
 it so clearly confirms the doctrine taught in pages 
 23 and 24, is, that ^ and H are treated by him 
 as vowelsj and never as consonants. 
 
 V Occurs no less than eleven times in this pas- 
 sage, in nine of which it is expressed by a, in 
 the other two by f. 
 
 n Appears seven times, in three of which it is 
 expressed by *», twice by «, once by v, and once 
 by 5. 
 
 He represents the Hebrew consonants almost 
 exactly by the same Greek consonants which we 
 would use in converting the Hebrew into Greek, 
 excepting ^, which he renders by s. But it is 
 difficult to assign the reason why he expresses 
 ^"•p"^)! Jlt^ the third and fourth words of the 
 seventh verse, by the single word KecpxKtu, when, 
 according to the analogy which he observes on 
 similar occasions, the expression ought to have 
 been «0 u§uxia. 
 
 He is nowise scrupulous about the vowel to be 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 75 
 
 supplied between two consonants, for their enun- 
 ciation, but promiscuously employs a, e, ^, and 
 even o^,* to accomplish this purpose. 
 
 Should any person be at the pains to transcribe 
 this passa<2:e of Hebrew into Roman characters, 
 either upon the first or second scheme of vowel- 
 letters, he would be surprised to see the co- 
 incidence betwixt the copy and the Greek 
 expression. 
 
 The principal varieties take place in the vowels. 
 The consonants remain firm and inflexible. The 
 same thing happens in our own language, though 
 habit makes us inattentive to it. The same 
 vowel is perpetually changing its sounds, ac- 
 cording to its situation in different words, and 
 even in the same words, according to the country 
 or province where the speaker resides. This 
 must have been the case with the Hebrew in the 
 time of Origen ; and, indeed, it is the case with 
 all languages, at all times. Examples might be 
 adduced from the Latin, and from the different 
 dialects of the Greek. St. Jerom affirms, in the 
 most express terms, that the Jews, in his time, 
 were not solicitous about the intermediate vowels 
 which they inserted betwixt their consonants ; 
 that they observed no uniformity in this article ; 
 
 * Ex. gr. -)p2 ^wx£f. 
 
76 HEBREW GRAMMAR, 
 
 and that the inhabitants of one province differed 
 widely^ in their mode of* speaking, from those of 
 another. So little notion had this learned father 
 of a traditionary pronunciation, and of those 
 standards and regulations by which the Maso- 
 rites attempted to fix what, in its own nature, 
 must ever be fleeting and changeable. Speaking 
 on one occasion of a Hebrew word, D7t2? which 
 consists of three consonants. Shin, Lamed, Mem, 
 he adopts the following remarkable language : 
 
 *^ Nee refert utrum salem aut salim nominetur : 
 ^' Cum vocalibus in medio literis perraro utantur 
 " Hebraei, et pro voluntate lectorum ac varietate 
 '^ regionum eadem verba diversis sonis atque ac- 
 " centibus proferantur."* 
 
 '* It is of no importance whether you pro- 
 *^ nounce it salem or salim ; for the Hebrews 
 ^^ very seldom employ written vowels between 
 '' their consonants, and the same words may be 
 *' uttered with different sounds and different ac- 
 '' cents, according to the pleasure of the readers, 
 " or the variety of the climates and countries 
 '^ where they reside.*' 
 
 What has been advanced will, I flatter myself, 
 serve sufficiently to illustrate the different modes 
 of reading, with or without the points. The ar- 
 
 * Hieronymus in Epist. ad Evangelura. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 77 
 
 guments in favour of the last mode, viz. reading 
 by the letters, appear to me perfectly conclusive : 
 But the reader may adopt the other, if he inclines 
 to subject himself to the labour of acquiring the 
 knowledge of its complicated rules. 
 
 Those who choose to enter more deeply into 
 the controversy concerning the points, and all 
 who wish to be completely informed of the ad- 
 vantages to be derived from the study of Hebrew, 
 and the related languages, Chaldaic, Syriac, 
 Arabic, &c. may consult the following authors. 
 From these writers they will learn, that the 
 knowledge of these languages will enable them 
 to discern the sense and beauty of antient Scrip- 
 ture, in a multitude of passages otherwise very 
 obscure, and will pave the way for the acquisition 
 of every thing either useful or ornamental in 
 Eastern science. 
 
 Treatise of Elias Levita, a Jewish Rabbi of the six- 
 teenth century, who first ventured to call in question 
 the antiquity of the points. 
 
 Ludovicus Capellus's Arcanum Punctationis reve- 
 latum. 
 
 The two Buxtorfs, father and son, strenuous de- 
 fenders of the points ; the first in his book called, " Ti- 
 berias, sive Coramentarius Masoreticus ;" the latter, in 
 his " Tractatus de Punctorum Vocalium et Accentuum 
 
78 HEBREW GRAMMAR, 
 
 in Libris Vet. Tesfamenti Hebraicis, origine, antiquitate 
 et auctoritate. Part ii. cap. II. 
 
 Capellus's Vindiciae Arcani, et Critica Sacra, lib. v. 
 cap. 12. 
 
 Scaliger, Epist. ad Buxtorf. 243. 
 
 Morin, Exercitat. Biblicse. Exercit. vi. 
 
 Drusius, ad Loca difficil. Pentateuch, cap. 25. 
 
 Pfeifferi Critica Sacra, cap. iv. sect. iii. quaest. ii. 
 p. 83, 84. Lipsiae, 171?. 
 
 Prideaux's Connect, parti, book v. vol. ii. p. 501. 
 / Edit. 20th. 
 
 Dr. Kennicot's Dissertations on the Hebrew Text, 
 passim. 
 
 Dr. Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 344 — 
 v^ 372. London, 1766. 
 
 Mr. Sievewright's Treatise against the Masoretic 
 Pointing. 
 
 Dr. John Robertson's true and antient manner of 
 Reading Hebrew. London, 1748. 
 
 Dr. Gregory Sharp's Dissertation on the Original 
 Powers of Letters. 
 
 Shuckford's Connections. Pref. vol. i. p. 47. et seg. 
 
 Huetii Demonst. Evang. Prop. iv. c. 8. § 19. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 79 
 
 Temple's Essay on Ancient and Modern Learning, 
 8vo. edit, of Miscellan. part ii. p. 12. 22. 
 
 Lamy de Tabernac. lib. 2. ^ 5. 
 
 Bochart. Phaleg. lib. 4. c. 24. also his Canaan il- 
 lustrated. 
 
 An Essay on the usefulness of Oriental Learning, by 
 R. Parker. London, 1744. 
 
 Dissertation sur la Literature Orientale, par Jones, 
 1771. 
 
 Castelli Oratio de Ling. Arab. p. 15. 
 
 Schickard. Horol. Ebraeum, p. 141. 
 
 Stackhouse's Apparatus to Hist, of the Bible, p. xlv, 
 &c. 
 
 Lamy's Introd. to Holy Script, as translated by 
 Bundy, book ii. chap. v. 
 
 FuUeri Miscell. Sacr. lib. ii, cap. 6. lib. iv. cap. 14. 
 
 Th. Hayne, Dissert, de Ling, cognat. ap. Crenii ana- 
 lecta, p. 23. 36, 37. 
 
 RoUin's Ancient Hist. torn. ii. part ii. 
 
 Universal History, vol. iii. p. 331. 
 
 Blackwall's Sacred Classics. 
 
 Beveridge de Ling. Orient. Praestant. 
 
80 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Ockleii Introd. ad Ling. Orient. 
 
 Houbifi:ant's elegant edition of the Hebrew Bible, 
 with Latin translation, 4 vols, folio. Paris, 1750. 
 
 Dupin's History of the Canon of the Old and New 
 Testament. 
 
 Pococke Orat. de Ling. Arab. 
 
 Kidder's Demonstration of the Messias, part ii. & iii. 
 
 Reland. Prolegom. in Analecta Rabbin, p. 14, 
 
 Helvici Tract, de Chald. Paraphras. 
 
 Dr. Shaw's Travels to Egypt and Syria. 
 
 Volney's Travels through Egypt, &c. 
 
 Savary's ditto ditto. 
 
 Hanmer's Observations on Sacred Scripture. 
 
 Dr. Grey's Hebrew Grammar. 
 
 That the learner, before he proceed to the 
 Grammar, may be capable of reading easily on 
 the plan which I have recommended, he must 
 render the following passages familiar, by fre- 
 quent repetition. Below each word of the first 
 passage, I have transcribed the Hebrew letters 
 in Roman characters. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 81 
 
 To remove the irksomeness of reading an un- 
 known tongue, I have annexed a translation on 
 the opposite page, expressive of the connected 
 sense, rather than the literal meaning. Expla- 
 natory notes are added, which, I hope, will be 
 found both entertaining and instructive. 
 
82 HEBREW GJFIAMMAR. 
 
 EXODUS XX. 1. 
 THE DECALOGUE, OR TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 lamer eale edeb«rim col ath Aleim uidaber 
 mearetz eutzathic asher aleic leue ancki 
 
 : Dnn;; n^aa DnvD 
 
 obedim mebith mitzrim 
 
 FIRST COMMANDMENT. 
 
 peni ol aharim Aleim lee ieie la 
 
 SECOND COMMANDMENT. 
 
 asher temune ucol pesel lee tose la 
 metahath bearetz uasher memol beshemim 
 
 )^h pi^*? r\r\n^ D'^Dn ij^^i^i 
 
 la learetz mettth«th bemim uasher 
 leue ancki ki tobedem ula le^m U'shtehu^ 
 
 bv D^n bv ryy^ iiy np£i Nip ^k -yrh^ 
 
 ol benim ol aboth oiin pakad kena Al Al^ic 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 83 
 
 EXODUS XX. 1. 
 
 THE DECJLOGUEy OR TEN COMMANDMENTS, 
 
 And God spake all these words in this manner : 
 
 I am Jehovah* thy God, who brought thee 
 out from the land of Egypt, out from the house 
 of slavery.^ 
 
 FIRST COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt have no strange^ gods in my pre- 
 sence. 
 
 SECOND COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt not make to thee any carved re- 
 presentation,* or any likeness of objects in heaven 
 above/ or in the earth below/ or in the waters 
 below the earth f thou shalt not bow down thy- 
 self to them, nor serve them ; for I Jehovah 
 thy God am a jealous® God, visiting the iniquity 
 of the fathers upon the sons^ to the third and 
 
 Fg 
 
84 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Ton n^v'\ ^^5:::^'7 n^^i^i bv^ u^^bii; 
 
 hesed uos^ les^^nai reboim uol sheleshim 
 metzuihi uleshomeri leaebi lealepim 
 
 THIRD COMMANDMENT. 
 
 la cki kshua Aleic leue sliem ath tesa la 
 leshua shrmu ath isa asher ath leue jneke 
 
 FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 iM:;t^ r2^ipb r\2t:/n dv ni^ iidt 
 
 srseth lekodeshu esabath ium ath zecur 
 uium melactzc col aosith tobed imim 
 col tose la Aleic leleue sabath eshebioi 
 uaraethec obedec ubathec ubenec ate melacke 
 scseth cki beshoric asher ugerec uberaathea 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR, 85 
 
 fourth generation'' of them that hate me ; but 
 exercising mercy to thousands*^ of generations 
 of them that love me and keep my command- 
 ments. 
 
 THIRD COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt not lift up the name" of Jehovah 
 thy God to a falsehood ;* for Jehovah will not 
 hold him innocent,f who shall lift up his name 
 to a falsehood. 
 
 FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Remember the Day of Rest, to sanctify it :J 
 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work ; 
 but the seventh day is a day of resi^^ in honour 
 of^ Jehovah thy God: Thou shalt not do any 
 work, thou, nor thy son^ nor thy daughter, nor 
 thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy 
 cattle, II nor the stranger that is within thy gates ; 
 
 * Or, to a vanity. 
 
 + i. e. will treat him as highly criminal. 
 % Liit. to separate and set apart from all others, 
 § Or, appointed by. 
 
 |] i. e. Beasts of labour or burden, camels, asses, mules, 
 oxen, horses. 
 
86 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 yi^n r)i^^ d^dj^h tm^ m.T n::^^ u^f2> 
 
 earetz uath eshemim ath leue ose imim 
 beium uinah bam asher col uath eim ath 
 esabath ium ath leue harac can ol eshebioi 
 
 uikadesheu 
 
 FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 lonx** i;;;::^ id^^ n«i t^^ ^^ "T3D 
 
 iarecun lemon amec uath abic ath cab«d 
 naihan Aleic leue asher eadame ol imic 
 
 lee 
 
 SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 tiratzah la 
 
 SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 tenap la 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 87 
 
 for in six days Jehovah made the heavens and 
 the earth, the sea, and all that is in them ; and 
 rested" on the seventh day ; wherefore Jehovah 
 blessed^* that as the day of rest, and sanctified it.^^ 
 
 FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy 
 days may be prolonged upon the land which Je- 
 hovah thy God giveth thee. 
 
 SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt not commit murder. 
 
 SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 
 
88 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 teganah la 
 
 NINTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 shakar od beroc tone la 
 
 TENTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 asheth tehamod la roc bith tehamod la 
 
 ^Di nom Mw^ iriDi^i na;;i i;;i 
 
 ucol uham^zru ushuru uamethu uobadu roe 
 
 leroc asher 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt not steal. 
 
 NINTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt not bear^^ false witness against thy 
 
 neighbour." 
 
 TENTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 Thou shalt not covet the house of thy neigh- 
 bour ; thou shalt not covet the wife of thy neigh- 
 bour, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, 
 nor his dx, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy 
 neighbour's. 
 
 Explanatory Notes on the above Passage, 
 
 1 Jehovah — This is the appropriated name or title 
 of the true God among the Jews. A more full expla- 
 nation of its meaning will be given afterwards. 
 
 2 House of slavery — Litt. the house of slaves, or 
 bondmen. 
 
 3 Thou shalt have no strange God, &c. — Strange^ 
 or alien, expresses more properly the force of the term 
 onilic than othery ia our translation. The prohibition 
 
90 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 is, You shall not have in your possession, as objects of 
 adoration, any forms or memorials of the gods of the 
 neighbouring nations devoted to idolatry; for this 
 would be an insult upon my presence, Psal. xvi. 4. 
 " Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after 
 " another god — their drink offerings of blood will I not 
 '* offer, nor take up their names into my lips." 
 
 It ought to have been translated, " Their sorrows 
 " shall be multiplied who hasten to adopt strange gods 
 " — I will present no drink offerings of blood to them, 
 " nor will I lift up their names upon my lips." — To 
 lift up the name of a god, is an idiomatic phrase in 
 Hebrew, to signify an act of solemn religious worship, 
 addressed to the Deity, by calling his name. The 
 inspired author means, '' I will offer no part of reli- 
 '^ gious service to such alien gods," For, as he adds, in 
 ver. 5. " Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance^ 
 '' and of my cup." 
 
 4 Carved representation — VdS properly signifies any 
 figure carved with a graving tool. It chiefly expresses 
 figures in wood or stone, of which materials the earliest 
 idols were made. It was late before molten images 
 were introduced, or such as were made of metal liqui- 
 fied by fire, and cast into moulds. 
 
 5 In heaven above — That is, any representation of 
 any of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, or stars, 
 the clouds, or perhaps the fowls of the air, which last 
 word is frequently named the heaven, in Hebrew 
 Scripture. 
 
 6 In the earth below — Representation of any of the 
 animals upon the earth, of rtny kind or quality. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 91 
 
 7 In the waters under or helow the earth — Represen- 
 tation of any fishes, or aquatic animals. 
 
 8 Jealous God — i, e. An avenging God, particularly 
 ready to punish this sin of idol worship, which, among 
 antient nations, was the parent of every abomination, 
 and is still in many places of the earth, the source of 
 much evil and moral depravity. This is evident from 
 the history of the Old Testament respecting the worship 
 of Moloch, Baalpeor, the Golden Calf, and the Calves 
 at Dan and Bethel. Recollect also the impure rites 
 practised among the Greeks and Romans, and the 
 human sacrifices which take place among many savage 
 nations. 
 
 9 To the third and fourth generation — To the third 
 and fourth in the line of descent. 
 
 10 Mercy to thousands — Mercy to the thousandth 
 generation, in the line of descent. What an amiable 
 view of the Divine goodness ! How beautifully does 
 mercy rejoice over judgment ! 
 
 11 Thou shah not lift up the name — See note 3. 
 According to our English translation, " Thou shalt not 
 '^ take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," the 
 Interpreters seem to have restricted the meaning to 
 a prohibition of what is called profane swearing in 
 common conversation, which no doubt is very blame- 
 able and offensive to all pious persons. Though the 
 precept may imply this, yet the opinion of the best 
 commentators is preferable. That this commandment 
 properly contains a solemn prohibition of perjury, or 
 swearing a false oath, i. e, asserting a falsehood in the 
 name of the God of truth, the Guardian of Innocence, 
 
92 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 the Avenger of Wickedness. Another meaning may 
 be, a prohibition against applying the name of the 
 true God, or ascribing his honours, to a vanity, i. e. an 
 idol, which, as the Apostle Paul says, is nothing in the 
 world. The common title given in Scripture to the 
 heathen gods is vanities, things of nought, neither 
 objects of fear nor of trust, whose power needs not to 
 be dreaded, and whose favour is of no avail. 
 
 12 jRest in honour of Jehovah — I think this trans- 
 lation exhibits a juster meaning than the common one, 
 the Sabbath of the Lord thy Gof/.— The preposition 
 We is often used to express in honour of or by appoint' 
 ntent of and more clearly points out the great design 
 of the institution of the Sabbath, as a periodical rest 
 for man and beast, and a proper allotment of time for 
 rational beings to meditate upon God, and recollect, 
 with sentiments of true devotion, his power, wisdom, 
 and goodness, so conspicuously displayed in the 
 creation and preservation of the universe. 
 
 13 Rested — i. e. Ceased from creation. By this term 
 the completion of the work is represented ; conveying, 
 hov/ever, no intimation of weariness and fatigue in the 
 Deity, as if retiring into the repose of Epicurus^s gods. 
 According to the language and doctrine of Scripture, 
 the Creator continues to be the preserver of the uni- 
 verse, and never suspends his parental care. Our 
 Saviour, vindicating his own conduct in performing 
 miraculous cures on the Sabbath, corrects the supersti- 
 tious notions of the Jews with respect to the rest of 
 that day. John v. 17. " Jesus answered them. My 
 " Father worketh hitherto, and I work." See Dr. 
 Clarke's excellent paraphrase on the passage. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 93 
 
 14 Blessed the seventh day — Appointed it for a hleS' 
 sing and relief io mankind. 
 
 15 Sanctified it — Distinguished it from all other days 
 — set it specially apart for rest and devotion. 
 
 IQ Bear false witness — The original word here ren- 
 dered to hear, properly signifies to answer, to make 
 a reply or return to some question; and the precept 
 certainly means to enjoin the greatest tenderness with 
 respect to our neighbour's character, and to prohibit 
 every degree of calumny and false accusation. 
 
 17 Thy neighbour — The original word m used here, 
 and in the following precept, the fifteenth Psalm, and 
 many other passages of Scripture, properly means 
 any of our fellow creatures, who, by this term, are all 
 recommended to us as common friends. It is generally 
 rendered by words that imply contiguity of situation 
 or dwelling, 'nXvcnoy, proximus, socius, neighbour, 
 companion, one in whom we either are or ought to be 
 interested. Cain had no just sense of this relation, 
 when he said, Am I my brother's keeper ? And the 
 Jewish teacher, conversing with our Saviour, in the 
 tenth chapter of Luke, had very little knowledge of 
 the law, or of his profession, when he asked the ques- 
 tion, Who is my neighbour ? 
 
 
94 HEBREW GRAMMAU. 
 
 ina;'' ht^ noi^^ ion 3 
 
 : DTi^T D\l'7U^ '^^^H^ 
 
 in^ Sm ni/T ^i^ ncDi & 
 : ;;-)» moi m.T r»^^ kt 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 95 
 
 PROVERBS III. 
 
 1 My son, forget not my law, 
 
 and let thine heart keep my commandments: 
 
 2 For length of days, and years of life, 
 and peace shall they add to thee. 
 
 3 Let not compassion and truth forsake thee ; 
 bind them around thy neck ; 
 
 engrave them upon the tablet of thine heart. 
 
 4 So shalt thou find favour and prosperity 
 in the sight of God and man. 
 
 6 Confide in Jehovah with all thine heart, 
 and lean not on thine own understanding. 
 
 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, 
 and he shall make thy paths straight. 
 
 7 Be not wise in thine pwn eyes ; 
 fear Jehovah, and depart from evil. 
 
 8 It shall be healing to thy flesh,* 
 and marrow to thy bones. 
 
 9 Honour Jehovah from thy substance, 
 and from the best part of all thy crop : 
 
 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, 
 and thy presses shall overflow with new wine. 
 
 • LXX. teca-is ta-rut ru aui*.uri era. The reading in their 
 copy was probably "Jltt^H^ lebasherec, instead of lllfi^/ 
 lesharec. 
 
96 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 nov m.T 3n«"^ -ii:^« nx o i* 
 
 DDOn KVD DTi< nt^i^ 13 
 
 5]DD iriDO mriD aico o i* 
 
 p^^ iD^ riDDna m.T i® 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 97 
 
 1 1 My son despise not the correction of Jehovah ; 
 neither be weary of his reproof. 
 
 12 For whom Jehovah loves he reproveth ; 
 and correcteth the son whom he favoureth.* 
 
 13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, 
 
 and the man that getteth hold of knowledge : 
 
 14 For her merchandize is better than the mer- 
 
 chandize of silver, 
 and her produce than fine gold. 
 
 15 She is more valuable than pearls ; 
 
 and all the objects of thy delight cannot be 
 compared unto her. 
 
 16 Length of days is in her right hand ; 
 in her left^ riches and honour, 
 
 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, 
 and all her paths, peace. 
 
 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold 
 
 upon her; 
 and they that keep her fast are blessed. 
 
 19 Jehovah, by wisdom, founded the earth ; 
 establishing the heavens by understanding. 
 
 * This is according to the translation of the Seventy, as 
 quoted by the Apostle, Heb. xii. 6. '' Whom the Lord 
 ^' loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he 
 " receiveth," — It ought to have been, " whom he accepteth," 
 or, *' whom he favoureth." 
 
 6 
 
98 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 •man i^h Mt^^n Di^ 2* 
 nn^tt^ nn-)i;i nnDt^^i 
 D>^nD nnsDD i^Tn ^« 25 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 99 
 
 SO By his knowledge the deeps are broken up,* 
 and the skies drop dew. 
 
 21 Keep sound wisdom and discretion, 
 my souj let them not depart from thy view. 
 
 22 For they shall be life to thy soul, 
 and ornament to thy neck. 
 
 23 Then shalt thou walk thy way in confidence, 
 and thy foot shall not stumble. 
 
 24 If thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid ; 
 yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall 
 
 be sweet. 
 
 25 Thou shalt not be dismayed at sudden terror, 
 lii^ nor at the desolation of the wicked when it 
 
 cometh. 
 
 26 For Jehovah shall be on thy way,f 
 
 and shall keep thy foot from every snare. 
 
 * See Genesis Yii. 11. 
 
 + LXX. yx§ Kv§ios icrxt ztrt ttxtrm oSwx o-y. Probably 
 they might read "JH/DD^ bemzsletec, in via tua, on thy 
 way ; which makes the sense much more coherent than the 
 reading of the common copies, "JTODUl bcckeselec, in Ji» 
 ducia tuOy thy confidence. 
 
 g2 
 
100 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of the Nature and Genius of Hebrew Grammar, 
 
 THE Terms of Grammar, in Hebrew, and 
 the other Eastern Languages, are very different 
 from those of Greek and Latin Grammar^ which 
 the common course of education renders so fa- 
 «miliar as to supersede the necessity of a particular 
 explanation. 
 
 That nice attention to the changes of termina- 
 tion, so requisite in acquiring the knowledge of 
 other antient languages, has here no existence. 
 We descend from Words to their Elements; and 
 the accurate knowledge of letters is the prin- 
 cipal part of Hebrew Grammar. 
 
 Its flexion nearly approaches that of the mo- 
 dern languages, particularly the English. The 
 relations and dependencies of nouns are not dis- 
 tinguished by Terminations, or Cases, but by 
 Particles or Prepositions prefixed. The Persons, 
 Moods, or Tenses of Verbs, are not marked by 
 the changes of their last syllables, but by means 
 of letters of a particular order, which sometimes 
 appear in the middle, sometimes in the beginning, 
 aud sometimes in the end of the original word. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMi^R^ S\ l lV>''\''tQi\ 
 
 For the full understanding of this circumstance, 
 it is necessary to attend to the following distinc- 
 tion. 
 
 All the letters of the alphabet are divided into 
 two classes. They are either Radical or Servile. 
 
 The first constitute primitive or original words, 
 which, by a significant metaphor^, are called roots. 
 
 The second constitute derivatives, or branches 
 from these roots, and are employed in all the dif- 
 ferent flexions. 
 
 The Roots are generally verbs, and consist 
 commonly of three, sometimes of two, rarely 
 of four letters. 
 
 All the twenty-two letters of the alphabet may 
 be radicals, i. e. primitive words may consist of 
 any of these letters ; but eleven letters properly 
 claim this title, because they never can be serviles. 
 
 The Serviles are the other eleven letters, by 
 means of which the whole business of Flexion, 
 Derivation, Numbers, Genders^ Persons, and 
 Tenses is accomplished. 
 
 Even these letters are somewhat limited in 
 their servile power; for only two of them, viz, 
 1 and ^ can be inserted or ingrafted between ra- 
 dical letters; the others must either be prefixed 
 or postfixed to the root. 
 
102 :r . HBBREW GRAMMAR, 
 
 The Eleven Radicals. 
 
 The Eleven Serviles. 
 
 > 
 
 t^ 
 
 1 
 
 a ■ 
 
 t 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 to 
 
 "1 
 
 D 
 
 3 
 
 5^ 
 
 «? 
 
 Q 
 
 ^ ' 
 
 ii 
 
 3 
 
 P 
 
 tn 
 
 "^ 
 
 n 
 
 It is remarkable that the alphabet should be 
 equally divided between these two kinds of letters. 
 
 Few words have more than ten letters. Those 
 which consist of that number are not many. A 
 great number consists of three or four. But^ of 
 whatever letters any word consists^ it must at 
 least contain one of a radical character. 
 
HEBHEW GRAM M Alt. 
 
 103 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of Nouns Substantive,' 
 
 NOUNS have only two Genders, masculine 
 and feminine. Their cases are not distinguished 
 by terminations, but by letters or prepositions 
 prefixed, as in English. 
 
 The common signs of the cases are. 
 
 Of the 
 Gen. and Dat. h signifying, to, for, in 
 
 honour of, made hy. 
 Accusative T\\^ Which seldom admits of 
 
 translation into English 
 after an active verb. 
 When prefixed to a per- 
 son, it commonly signi- 
 fies With, 
 h^ To > After verbs of 
 hv upon \ motion. 
 Ablative 1 Jn, by, 
 
 ?D or p From. 
 The letter n is the definite article often placed 
 before nouns, ansv^^ering the same purpose as the 
 Greek article »? ^7 ^o> or The, in English. 
 
104 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Declension of Nouns Substantive. 
 
 The Declensions are two : 
 
 1 Of masculines, which form their plural by 
 adding D"* to the singular. 
 
 2 Of feminines, which form the plural by 
 adding Ml to the singular. 
 
 Of Nouns Masculine, 
 Masculine nouns are, 
 Names of men "fll David Datrtr 
 
 Of offices belonging to men "77^ A king /?? ' ' 
 
 tDDIt!? A judge 
 Of rivers ptt^D Pischon 
 
 Of mountains 7D*^5 Carmel 
 
 Of nations '^"11^^ An Hebrew 
 
 Of months \0^'l Nisan. 
 
 Or they are known by their terminating in 
 a radical letter^ or in '' D ] : 
 "111 A word 
 
 '^'IV An afflicted man ' / - 
 DVID A ransom, redemption. pfrC ^ 
 This rule is not universal. 
 
 Feminines. 
 Names of women tTI"^ Rachel 
 
 Offices belonging to women r\*17Vtt A midwife v 
 Countries or provinces D*'"^!Jt2 Egypt 9?^. /f^^^ 
 
 Cities in^'l'^ Jericho. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 105 
 
 Or they are known by their terminations, far 
 the greater part of feminine nouns ending either 
 in n or n. 
 
 ntr^« A woman is/l^Jiah.. 
 rrp/H A part or portion ^ <v>7 ^ / "^^ 
 rn")il LaWj doctrine ;'T^?^*f^A 
 rvr:^':^r\ Wisdom h h a c h /^<^^ a . ' 
 
 n^nD:\ Sulphur a?i. -ff^ i tfi 
 
 n"1D5 Lid of a chest, a cover, cctjo v e tk 
 
 Yet niD Death, is masculine, and there are 
 many other exceptions. 
 
 Example of a Masculine Hebrew Noun, with 
 its Prepositions, or Signs of Cases prefixed. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 Nom. "f^Daking W'^h^ Kings ;^-v, 
 G. D. y:>^h of. to, for a king D^::^?^^ 
 
 Ace. ^^rj nW" a king D^D^D n^ 
 
 Voc. ^h'O O king D'^D^n 
 
 Abl. ^T'rJl in a king n^:hl2'2 
 
 ^^DtD from a king D^'^^OD 
 
 Sometimes the vocative has Jl before it, as 
 I'^lfc^n O enemy. The signs of the cases are con- 
 joined with the noun, as if they weye a part of 
 it, which is very apt to perplex the learner, as he 
 must strip the noun of these signs, before its 
 primitive form can appear. 
 
106 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Instances of this in our own language would 
 seem very uncouth : Aman, theman^ toaman, 
 withaman, fromthekings, intheday. 
 
 The conjunction 1 and, also the comparative 
 letter i signifying as, like to, and the article IT 
 the, are prefixed to nouns^ in the same manner 
 as if they were a part of these nouns. 
 
 D^'IIT "IDD A book and words 
 U^^'X\ ^^^2 A king and nations 
 y^!D As a tree 
 n^'^^i Like a lion 
 
 tr^trrr The sun 
 
 V^^n The earth. 
 
 All the servile letters used as prefixes to nouns, 
 are comprehended in the memorial lh'y\ TW12 
 
 Examples to be declined as above. 
 
 "IDD A book ni^ A heart Hhc^h 
 
 ti)^^^ Aman pt2? A neighbour f//.^'/^ '^" 
 
 tmib^ A man W A sluggard Kt^e c 
 
 yi) A prince "^^i A boy vi^^a ii^tv- 
 
 Xh'D An inn pn A shield Hia 
 
 *'i:i A kid '^V"^ A forest ^ -^ ' 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 107 
 
 Declension of Nouns Feminine. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 Norn. mn A sword nniH Swords 
 
 G. D. :nrh hh^rzL rr\Tsrh 
 
 , Ace. yn n« rrarsn n« 
 
 Voc. inn rcar\n 
 
 Ab. mm r\xr\rr2. 
 
 Peminines which end in Jl or H in the sin- 
 gular^ change these letters into rc\ in the plural. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 <tlee*^ ni7t2 A queen Pl)y772 Queens ?r^fi?i 
 
 ^fTj^^/f nntO^ A crown ni"^tO^ Crowns ai a r 
 
 is^ A ntDli A lamb n'^ti?l!D Lambs 
 
 o-H z. k *^^5^ ^ virgin T\)1T/V Virgins 
 
 ^ Jl^TpD An engraving. ni^7pQ Engravings. 
 
 Sometimes H feminine of the singular is 
 changed into n^ and a plural masculine termi- 
 nation is added, as Tiy^ a i/ear, D"^]1j\2? two 
 years, D'^itl? and Viy^^ years, are also in use. 
 
 Some masculine nouns form their plurals after 
 the manner of feminines, as, 
 
 ■tie >-y7 ^ ^» ^♦t C /t^ , ^h'c, n t^ft 
 
108 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 1« A father nil« Fathers 
 
 ^ n^1« A treasure n'T^lTl^ Treasures 
 
 Dtl? A name tTX:i'^ Names 
 
 t^l2^ An army. Jl")^^l!^ Armies, hosts. 
 
 On the other hand, some feminines form their 
 plurals as masculines, by changing H into D*^ 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 n^^ A word D^So Words 
 
 n^t^ An oak n^h^ Oaks 
 nnv A dove D'^iV Doves 
 
 n:^3r\ A fig-tree. D^3«n Pig-trees. 
 
 Some nouns have both a masculine and femi- 
 nine termination in the plural. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 '^^tl A court D^n!?n and PTi^'^n Courts 
 
 *7D^n A palace. D^^D^H and trhTT^ P^ces. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of Adjectives and Participles' 
 
 THE singular feminine of adjectives generally 
 terminates in H, the plural masculine always in 
 Q^ the feminine in r\1. 
 
 The singular feminine of participles terminates 
 either in Jl or n^ the plural in Jni 
 
 The prefixes of the substantive, or its signs of 
 case, are not repeated before the adjective. 
 
 p^-T!? Ilh'ch to a just king, 
 not p'^l^h y7^*7 
 
 p*^"T2 Justus ip^Q Visitans vir 
 
 I^L-.. • ,• !^.*> Visitans femina 
 
 O^p"^!^ justi n^p*)D^ 
 
 mp'^'n justae D^lp^Zi Visitantes viri 
 
 n')^p1D Visitantes feminae. 
 
 Adjectives and Participles are often used as 
 substantives, particularly the participles present 
 of active verbs, expressing not only act, but 
 habit or practice. 
 
110 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Custodiens for custos 'My\'^ He that keepeth, 
 
 or, a keeper. 
 
 Scribens for scriptor '^S^lD He that writes, 
 
 or, a writer. 
 
 Pascens for pastor H^^ ,He that feeds, 
 
 or, a shepherd. 
 
 When used in this sense, they have very often 
 the definite article H before them. 
 
 "Vy^12T^ He that teaches, or, the teacher. 
 TTin He that brings into subjection. 
 The subduer. 
 V^ntri^ ^12^Wn He that keepeth Israel. The 
 keeper of Israel. 
 
 The adjective commonly, and the participle 
 often, are placed after the substantive. 
 
 llto tlJ^b^ Vir bonus. 
 DlDH p Filius sapiens. 
 rr^riD "^Ip Sepulchrum apertum. 
 D^^tin D'^tT'ilM Homines impii. 
 ni'ltV TW^^ Pemina derelicta. 
 nilW t\W^^ Feminas derelictae. 
 
 A singular adjective is sometimes joined to 
 a plural substantive. 
 
 p'n^ U^rh^ Dii Justus. 
 TWp '^ilb^ Tl In manum Dominorum durk 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. Ill 
 
 Sometimes a plural adjective has a singular 
 substantive. 
 
 tD'^b^ fp^ A thousand man. Mille homo, 
 n^tl? D''1tt?J^ Twenty year. Viginti annus. 
 
 Sometimes, but very rarely, the adjective has 
 a feminine termination when the substantive is 
 masculine. 
 
 nnnrtDn n'h^^ Swift feet 
 rohyi^ D*':31t^ Lapides magna, for magni 
 m^"i D'^rV Lofty eyes. 
 
112 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Comparison of Acljectives. 
 
 THE comparison of adjectives is'very simple, 
 and is commonly performed by adverbs or pre- 
 positions ; sometimes by a repetition of the ad- 
 jective. 
 
 The degrees of comparison are expressed by 
 •^nV more, and 1b^t2 most, nery much. The 
 first precedes^ the other follows the adjective, 
 p"*!!^ inv more just, l^'D p^l'^ most just. 
 
 Sometimes, to exaggerate or enforce, these 
 adverbs are doubled, nnV -)nv, 1«D I^^IO, 
 
 Comparison is frequently denoted by the pre- 
 position ]D or 72, while the adjective continues in 
 the positive degree. 
 
 Bona est sapientia prae margaritis. 
 
 : -inn: ^d::d ^r\^^2r^^ ts^di pnnzD "^na did 
 
 Better is my fruit than gold, even than fine gold^ 
 and my revenue than chosen silver. 
 
 2n r ^' <^'' 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 113 
 
 -I'll; TDi'pD im-ia ^l:^^D^ 
 
 Better is the man slow to anger than the strong ; 
 And he who hath rule in his spirit than the taker 
 of a city. 
 
 The superlative degree is expressed by a repe- 
 tition of the positive. 
 
 nitD llto Good, good. 
 bl> bl> Great, great. 
 
 Ardor of sentiment naturally forces repetition. 
 
 : *>:! ^n Di^t^a.^ 
 
 O Absalom ! my son ! my son ! 
 
 My bowels ! my bowels ! I am pained.* 
 
 * The repetition in the following lines is beautiful : — 
 Ex illo, Corydortf Corydon est, tempore, nobis. 
 
 ViRG. Eclog, V\\, 
 
 Te, dulcis conjux, /e solo in littore, secum 
 Te, veniente die, te^ decedente canebat. 
 
 ViRG. Georg, lib. iv. 
 
 Me, me, adsum qui feci, in me convertite ferrnm, 
 O Rutuli. Mea fraus omnis. 
 
 ViRG. Mneid, lib. ix; 
 
 »— Non ilia virum, non ilia pericli, 
 
 Telorumque memor. lbid» lib. ix. 
 
 H 
 
114 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Order of succession, or continuance, is ex- 
 pressed by repetition of persons, number, or di- 
 vision of time. 
 
 Man by man t2?*^tA tl?''t«^ Man, man 
 
 By pairs, two and two D^'^t!? D^itt^ Two, two 
 Every day, or day by day CDV DV Day, day. 
 
 If the conjunction 1 intervene, opposition or 
 diversity is meant. 
 
 In a heart and in a heart they speak, i. e. They 
 speak with duplicity of heart. 
 
 There shall not be to thee in thy bag a stone and 
 a stone, a great and a small, i. e. Thou shalt 
 not have different weights. 
 
 : n:£opT nh^l: ns^^j^i n^>i^ in^M i^ ^^T ^h 
 
 There shall not be to thee in thy house an ephah 
 and an ephah, a great and a small, i, e. Thou 
 shalt not have different measures. 
 
 Instead of 1^12 very, the proposition 1 is pre- 
 fixed to a noun collective, or to a plural. 
 
 d^a d'^nVi Brutish among the people. The 
 most brutish of the people. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 115 
 
 Oit^l D'^lil*)! The treacherous among men ; 
 or. The most treacherous of men.* 
 
 The other methods of comparison, or of ex- 
 pressing the superlative degree, will be explained 
 in the next chapter. 
 
 * The expressions, Sanctae Deorum, Virg, 
 
 ^«x ^sauvy Homer, 
 
 0/ lAOiTxtot ruv iXvOpUlFUVy 
 
 Lucian, Dial, Mart* Dial. 3. 
 Iiear some resemblance to this construction. 
 
 h2 
 
116 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of Nouns in Government or Construction,* 
 
 WHEN two substantives^ different in their 
 significations^ follow one another, the first of 
 them is said to be in government or construction, 
 and commonly suffers a change of termination. 
 The second, which, in Greek or Latin, is the 
 word governed, suffers no change, though it is 
 to be considered as in the genitive, and is to be 
 translated with the sign of that case. Were 
 I allowed to coin a new term, I would call it the 
 Genitive of Position. 
 
 As this is the only change which Hebrew 
 nouns undergo, excepting that expressive of the 
 plural number, it requires a particular expla- 
 nation. 
 
 Nouns standing alone, or considered by them- 
 selves as independent of other words, are, by 
 Hebrew grammarians, said to be in statu abso- 
 
 * Though the subject of this chapter properly belongs to 
 Syntax, it was necessary to introduce it here, not only on 
 account of the change which construction produces in nouns, 
 but because this change occurs in almost every sentence of 
 the language. 
 
H£BREW GRAMMAR. 117 
 
 luto; but, when these nouns are placed before 
 substantives^ which differ from them in signifi- 
 cation^ they are said to be in statu regiminis 
 sive construct 0. 
 
 All words whatever may be considered either as 
 absolute or appropriated, as in a general or par- 
 ticular state. Thus, for instance. 
 
 The words. Kings, Ships, House, Law, 
 Fishes, standing alone, are in statu ahsoluto. 
 They belong, so to speak, to nothing. But, 
 when I say. Kings of the earth, Kings of Israel, 
 Ships of War, House of God, Law of the Lord, 
 Fishes of the sea. Fishes of the river, I take 
 these words out of their absolute state, and put 
 them in a restricted or appropriated state. A 
 change is made upon them, but none upon the 
 words that follow them. This change is therefore 
 very naturally, and even philosophically, marked 
 in Hebrew by a change of the terminations of 
 the words so restricted. They are in statu regi- 
 minis sive constructo, or perhaps, more properly, 
 restricto. 
 
 Sometimes the word in regimen suffers no 
 change. When this is the case, its regimen is 
 known only by juxta position : for the rule is 
 universal and invariable, that the word in statu 
 regiminis is always placed immediately before the 
 word, which is to be translated as in the genitive. 
 
118 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 The changes made upon words, when placed 
 in statu regiminis, are principally these, 
 
 1. D final, in masculine plurals, is expunged, 
 which makes them terminate in '^ 
 
 2. n the mark of the feminine singular, is 
 changed into n, while rn of the plural remains 
 unchanged. 
 
 Attention to the following examples will render 
 this peculiarity of Hebrew Syntax perfectly fa- 
 miliar. 
 
 Nouns in their absolute state, 
 
 D^^^^n Kings 
 nV3W Ships 
 
 n*^! A house 
 min Law 
 0*^:11 Fishes. 
 
 77ie same Nouns in Regimen, with their Ge- 
 nitives of Position immediately after them. 
 
 ynk^ ^':h^ Kings of the earth 
 
 h^'^W^ '>'Dhl2 Kings of Israel 
 
 rv:irhi:i nV3« Ships of war 
 
 ^« n^n The House of God 
 
 mn*^ nnin The law of Jehovah 
 
 D^n "^On Fishes of the sea 
 
 'SnTi W Fishes of the river. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 'JJ9 
 
 It will be of great advantage to the learner, if 
 he frequently read the following examples of 
 nouns in regimen with their subsequent genitives, 
 and endeavour to commit them to memory. 
 
 D^Dtt? ^^Q)^ Fowl of heaven 
 7!3tl?n '^Oyo The instruction of wisdom 
 D"^t^ton "yM The way of sinners ^ 
 
 ri« '^DDfc^ The bounds of the earth 
 7t*M tbltl? A rod or sceptre of iron 
 pDi "^nit Sacrifices of righteousness 
 D^^^n m« The way of life 
 rnt ^^nctl? The llp^ of a strange woman 
 
 iM2i^ 1^ A witness of truth 
 rr\72 ^Dll The ways of death 
 n^'^h Itirir^ The seat of the mockers 
 1'^'^ 75VT2 The path of uprightness 
 D^n^b^n ^rhvi The God of gods 
 D'^D *^p^Db^ Streams of water 
 
 "153 "^31 The sons of the stranger 
 Dlb^ \1 A son of man 
 mrr^ y\'M The arm of Jehovah 
 C3*^D "^^75 Canals of water 
 0^*10)^ ^11 The generation of the uprigtit 
 D^^t2n niMJ-l The desire of the wicked 
 
 h^ n^l The house of God 
 0^*1^ tX\y712ID Kingdoms of the nations 
 
120 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 rrcjn^n «1!? The host of the war or of the 
 
 battle 
 D^l^"?:: '^nns The gates of the nobles 
 irtin "hn^ The tents of the wicked 
 D^tttt? ^n^ The days of heaven 
 lO^^n nO'^D The foundations of the hills 
 mn^ nb^n*^ The fear of Jehovah 
 •p« "iDDtl? Judges of the earth 
 t^Dtr^ nil^^n^ The paths of judgment. 
 
 Participles and adjectives are frequently placed 
 in the state of Regimen, and by that means they 
 are connected with the substantives which follow 
 them. 
 
 Examples. 
 
 tTin^ fc^'n'' One that feareth the Lord, i. e. 
 
 A fearer of the Lord 
 '^'^l '^l'^'' They that go down to the pit 
 The goers down of the pit 
 y\l '•nilV Those that pass by 
 
 The passengers of the way 
 l'? non Void of heart 
 
 Destitute of understanding or cou- 
 rage 
 Xrr\ ^Stl? Having a humble spirit 
 Humble of spirit 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 121 
 
 Its ^^y\l Liars 
 
 Speakers of falsehood 
 D'^ilDtl? fe^DtO Having unclean lips 
 Unclean of lips 
 1^ nt!?^ Upright in heart 
 Upright of heart 
 p« ^^VID They that work iniquity 
 
 Doers of iniquity 
 TViliip '^Itt)*' Those who dwell in the extreme 
 parts 
 The inhabitants of the extremities. 
 
 Both energy and elegance are happily con- 
 joined in the following expressions : 
 
 Q^Dl XO^b^ A bloody man 
 
 A man of blood 
 \wh tr^b^ A talkative man 
 
 A man of tongue 
 tfl^'tO '>m Clay-built houses 
 
 Houses of clay 
 D17 '^tt);3fe^ Courageous men 
 Men of heart 
 D'^DDH ttJ'^fc^ A violent man 
 
 A man of violence 
 nSDD •^nD Few 
 
 Men of number, that can easily be 
 counted 
 
124 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 To express the superlative degree, the name 
 of God is very often subjoined to words in statu 
 regiminis, b^ HTM tD'^n?^^ God. 
 
 ht^ nib^ Cedars of God, i. e. 
 
 The loftiest cedars 
 hvt ^"^^n The mountains of God 
 The highest mountains 
 D^tt «*rD D^n^« :h^ The river of God, full of 
 waters.* 
 
 * An elegant expression to denote rain. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 145 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of Pronouns, 
 
 THE detached Personal Pronouns are these. 
 Singular. 
 •'iDiM or •^:3« I 
 
 nnw Thou M. 
 ^rWfK TWfK Thou P. 
 ^^^n He 
 ^'^n She 
 Plural. 
 
 •^3fe^ "Sim -i^nisw We 
 
 Dn« Ye M. 
 inw Ye p. 
 
 rrcjn on They M. 
 n:3n p They p. 
 
 The signs of the cases are thus prefixed. 
 
 Singular. 
 Norn. •'iiW ^:3k^ I 
 G. D. "h Of, to, for me* 
 
 Ace. ^ni« Me 
 
 Abl. '^l In me 
 
 ^inn Prom me. 
 
 * ^^ty Has been improperly reckoned the genitive, it is 
 eompounded of {^ for Iti^K the relative, and 7 the sign of 
 
124 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 To express the superlative degree, the name 
 of God is very often subjoined to words in statu 
 regiminis, b^ H^fr^ 0*^117^^ God. 
 
 h^ nifc^ Cedars of God, i. e. 
 
 The loftiest cedars 
 h^ ^'D'n The mountains of God 
 The highest mountains 
 £3^^ «*7n n^nh^ :hQ The river of God, full of 
 waters »* 
 
 * An elegant expression to denote rain. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 ^*te 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of Pronouns. 
 
 THE detached Personal Pronouns are these. 
 
 Singular. 
 •'32« or ^::« I 
 
 nnt^ Thou M. 
 
 ^r<A n« Thou P. 
 
 «in He 
 ^ ^'Tr She 
 Plural. 
 
 n2fc^ 1211:3 i2n2« We 
 
 onb^ Ye M. 
 
 JJnN Ye p. 
 
 nrDH on They M. 
 
 n^n p They P. 
 
 The signs of the cases are thus prefixed. 
 
 Singular. 
 Norn. ^'iiN *^2t^ I 
 G. D. "h Of, to, for me* 
 
 Ace. "^ni« Me 
 
 Abl. ''I In me 
 
 •'iD?^ Prom me. 
 
 * *^^{y Has been improperly reckoned the genitive, it Is 
 compounded of ^ for "jli^i^ the relative, and ^ the sign of 
 
126 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Plural. 
 Nom. 13)1:3 '):3ro« We 
 
 G. D. ^:h Of, to, for us 
 
 Ace. 1Dni« Us 
 
 Abl. 1:31 In us 
 
 'I^TDD Prom us. 
 
 Singular. 
 Nom. nn« Thou M. 
 
 G. D. ^^ Of, to, for thee 
 
 Ace. "fni« Thee 
 
 Abl. 11 In thee 
 
 ^?2 Prom thee. 
 
 Plural. 
 Nom. DHb* You, ye 
 
 G. D. D5^ Of, to, for you 
 
 Ace. OiriM You 
 
 Abl. Ml In you 
 
 dMD Prom you. 
 
 Singular. 
 Nom. n« Thou P. 
 
 G. D. 1^ Of, to, for thee 
 
 Ace. '^r\^^ Thee 
 
 Abl. 11 In thee 
 
 y2lt2 From thee. 
 
 the datiye, and is equivalent to Quod est mihi^ ^^^ ]^>1 
 Bomus Quce est mihi^ Mea domus^ Domus met. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 127 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Norn. rr:n« in« Ye, you P. 
 
 G. D. ph Of, to, for you 
 
 Ace. ]:^r\^ You 
 
 Abl. pi In you 
 
 \2'0'D Prom you. 
 
 Singular. 
 Nom. ^ «in He \ 
 
 G. D. lV Of, to, for him 
 
 Ace. ini« Him 
 
 Abl. 11 In him 
 
 liDD Prom him. 
 
 Plural:* ^: ::i 
 
 Nom. iTOJl or on They M. 
 
 G. D. ID*? nrh Of, to, for them 
 
 Ace. Dnn« Them 
 
 Abl. Dm In them 
 
 DHD Prom them. 
 
 Singular. 
 Nom. b^*»rT She 
 
 G. D. rh Of, to, for her 
 
 Ace. nrr\^ Her 
 
 Abl. ni In her 
 
 n3?2t) Prom her. 
 
128 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Nom. HDH p They F. 
 
 G. D. \nh Of, to, for them 
 
 Ace. pm« Them 
 
 Abl jni In them. 
 
 ]TV2 From them. 
 
 The accusatives of the personal pronouns have 
 frequently the particles h^ and 7^ before them, 
 or with a Yod, "hi^ ^^V Thus, "pS« to thee, 
 1i*^7^ upon or against us. 
 
 The ablatives have often before them D^ signi- 
 fying with, as, "^t^V with me, "^12^ with thee. 
 Sometimes also ^ is prefixed to DV making a com- 
 pound preposition, as '^WD from with thee, 
 ')yD^^ from with us, , 
 
 In these pronouns, it is easy to distinguish the 
 radical part to which the signs of cases are pre- 
 fixed. This radical part constitutes the affixes 
 mentioned in the next chapter. 
 
 The other pronouns are, 
 nt Hie, is, iste 
 n«t F. Haec Sing. 
 It Hie et Hffic 
 hVi of nht^ PL Illi, illsB, ilia 
 
 ntrt^ Indecl. Qui, quae, quod. Sing, et PL 
 *^D Quis? 
 TV2 Quid? 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 1S9 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Concerning the Affixes* 
 
 THE Affixes, or, as they are sometimes called^ 
 the Suffixes, are the personal pronouns subjoined 
 to nouns and verbs. When subjoined to nouns, 
 they may be called Possessive Affixes, when to 
 verbs^ Verbal Affixes. 
 
 Possessive Affixes, 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 *» My i;] Our 
 
 •7 Thy M. DD Your M. 
 
 T Thy F. p Your P. 
 
 in ^ His ^'O D on Their M. 
 
 n Her jn \ Their P. 
 
 Verbal Affixes, 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 •>:d Me ^^ Us 
 
 HD T Thee M. D5 You M. 
 
 ••:d T Thee P. p You P. 
 
 in 12 Him ID D on Them M. 
 
 n n:3 Her p Them P. 
 
130 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 These affixes are joined to nouns, verbs, par- 
 ticiples, and prepositions, which is the reason 
 why a great number of words in this language 
 have the same termination. 
 
 Feminine nouns ending in H change H into Jl 
 before they assume the affixes, and insert *^ after 
 the plural feminine termination HI seemingly to 
 soften the sound. 
 
 D of the plural masculine termination is ex- 
 pelled by the affixes, and when *^ my, is affixed 
 to the plural, after D is expelled, the '' of the 
 plural also loses its place, to prevent the hiatus 
 of two Yods ; in which case the singular and 
 plural coincide, and are distinguishable only by 
 the sense, or by other words in the sentence. 
 
 There is very little difference betwixt the pos- 
 sessive and the verbal affixes. 
 
 My ^ 
 
 After verbs is ^1 Me, to me 
 
 His nn ^ 
 
 After verbs in ^^ Him 
 
 Belonging to her H 
 
 After verbs H H^ Her personally. 
 
 Dl: Masc, and p Fern, are subjoined both to 
 nouns and verbs ; only, after the first, they sig- 
 nify your, after the last, you. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 131 
 
 *\12 Both as a possessive and a verbal affix, is 
 mostly used in poetic compositions, for DJl or D 
 theirs, them, 
 
 I shall here give an example of a masculine and 
 feminine noun, singular and plural, with the pos- 
 sessive affixes ; reserving examples of the verbal 
 affixes till the verb be explained. 
 
 IDD A book M. 
 ^''IDD My book 
 "^^IQO for ''-IDD My books 
 I^^DD Our book 
 i:3*^'-\DD Our books. 
 
 ^nsD Thy book 
 
 ^^"\DD Thy books 
 
 ori^DD Your book M. 
 
 p^DD Your book P. 
 
 Di'^'lOD Your books M. 
 
 p^nsD Your books P. 
 
 nnSD His book 
 
 V-^DD His books 
 
 imSD or d^DD Their book M. 
 
 DH^'^DD Their books M. 
 
 il"^DD Her book 
 
 n'^'^DD Her books 
 
 pDD Their book P. 
 \n^^QO Their books P. 
 
132 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 HDin A reproach P. 
 
 'TlS^^n My reproach 
 
 '^iniD*))! My reproaches 
 
 l^r^D'^n Our reproach 
 
 13*^Jl1D'^n Our reproaches. 
 
 "^JlDin Thy reproach 
 
 ^"^niD*^n Thy reproaches 
 
 D5riD"in Your reproach M. 
 
 pjns*^n Your reproach F. 
 
 Di'^mD'in Your reproaches M. 
 
 pTllD'^n Your reproaches P. 
 
 inDin His reproach 
 
 VmDin His reproaches 
 
 1?^ or DllS'^n Their reproach M. 
 
 ^12 or Dn*^Jn'lD"^rr Their reproaches M. 
 
 nr>D"^n Her reproach 
 
 H'^mD'in Her reproaches 
 
 ]iPSi'l'n Their reproach P. 
 p'^niD'^rr Their reproaches P, 
 
 Ik^ father, Hfc^ brother, and DH father-in- 
 law, assume '' before the affixes, as, '^''^^ thy 
 father, VHt^ his brother, iT'pn her father-in- 
 law. 
 
 JlD a mouth, changes H into "^ before the af- 
 fixes, as, 'l^'D thy mouth, VD his mouth. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 133 
 
 For the benefit of the learner, a (able of 
 nouns, with their prefixes and affixes, is sub- 
 joined. 
 
134 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Nouns alone. 
 
 n*^t2?^ Anointed 
 
 ^jl Middle, midst 
 
 Ji*^l A house 
 17 A heart 
 nnilJi Reproof, admonition 
 niTH Hidden things 
 y70 A rock 
 
 h>^ A foot 
 
 X^r:^"^ The right hand 
 U'^ysV':^ Youth 
 
 V5^ A tree 
 nn« A word 
 IHD Fear 
 
 Dtl? A name 
 !l'^r\:3 A path 
 nilD Glory 
 ^t2?D Transgression 
 
 •TT Life 
 
 ^t^ Anger 
 pl^ Righteousness 
 
 Jnt2?p A bow 
 tDt^*^ A head 
 
 rh^ God 
 
 D'^iD Faces 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 135 
 
 The same Nouns with their Affixes and Prefixes, 
 
 in^'tTD His anointed AfF. 
 liSini In the midst of us Pref. aff. 
 li'^Jnl Our houses AfF. 
 ^iSl In thy heart Pref. aff. 
 •^nreinS At my reproof Pref. aff. 
 on^Tm And their dark sayings Pref. aff. 
 
 ^Von The rock Pref. 
 'QrrhT\ Their feet Aff. 
 n2''t2''l In her right hand Pref. aff. 
 IV^^V:^ Her youth Aff. 
 YV^"^ And as a tree Pref. 
 n?2N My words Aff. 
 nT\n^ Your fear Aff. 
 "f?2\r> Thy name Aff. 
 DJn^llTiiD From their paths Pref. aff. 
 "^Tays And my glory Pref. aff. 
 On^'^tiJD Their transgressions Aff. 
 •^TT My hfe, or lives Aff. 
 ^Q«l In thy anger Pref. aff. 
 "^pISD According to my righteousness Pref. 
 
 aff. 
 in\rp'^ And his bow Pref. aff. 
 1tt?«ni On his head Pref. aff. 
 Xi'^rhv^ Our God Aff. 
 ^'»DDD From thy face Pref. aff. 
 
136 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 "lit Memorial 
 n^*ltD^ Salvation 
 "1«1!J Neck 
 
 p:jr Eye 
 hh^:^ Young child 
 h^p Voice 
 Ib^ Father 
 n« Brother 
 on Father-in-law 
 Wti2 Soul 
 ^ID Dew 
 Tlt^V Pillar 
 r^^'l House 
 tt?Di Soul 
 HD Mouth 
 n:310« Truth 
 Ur^ Day 
 p-T« Lord 
 n'^l!? Enemy 
 D*^^t2? Heavens 
 noin Band 
 \T\tl Hot anger 
 
 DV People 
 •^^t^ Treasure. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 137 
 
 D*):3t Their memorial Aff. 
 ^TOItD^l In thy salvation Pref. aff. 
 Tl^*)!? Thy neck Aff. 
 yy^^ Thine eyes Aff. 
 yhh^:^ Thy little ones Aff. 
 
 ^h^p Thy voice Aff. 
 7^1«^ To thy father Pref. aff. , 
 Vn« His brother Aff. 
 r^'DH Her father-in-law Aff 
 "^XHJQ^h For my soul Pref. aff. 
 7105') And as dew Pref. 
 nn-^nv Her pillars Aff. 
 *in*^111 And in his house Pref. aff. 
 ntron In his soul Pref. aff. 
 VDl In his mouth Pref. aff. 
 n^^n^m And the truth Pref. 
 Vn'^m And in his days Pref. aff. 
 *1i^:)')lb^ Our Lord Aff. 
 "f^nnii^ Thine enemies Aff. 
 7*^ttU) Thy heavens Aff. 
 ID^^n'l^D^D Their bands Aff. 
 
 151*^)111 And in his hot anger Pref. aff. 
 "fD:j?Sl And to thy people Pref. aff. 
 Vnini^i^l In his treasures Pref. aff. 
 
138 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Of Verbs, 
 
 ALL Verbs pass through the same/orwSj and 
 may be said to have only one conjugation, or 
 rather to be indeclinable. 
 
 The radical word remains unvaried, while the 
 inflection is carried on by Servile Letters, some 
 of which perform their office as abbreviated Pro- 
 nouns, prefixed or postfixed to the original word ; 
 others as Characters of the different forms, and 
 two of them, viz. 1 and ** as Auxiliaries, inserted 
 between the radical letters. 
 
 The various appearances of Verbs, which, in 
 common grammars, are distinguished by the 
 terms Modes and Voices, are called by the Jewish 
 grammarians. Conjugations, and have received 
 from them the technical names of Kal, Niphal, 
 Hiphil and Hophal, and HithpaheL 
 
 These names of the conjugations are derived 
 from the old theme 7^D operatus est, which the 
 grammarians employed as the model to represent 
 all verbs, pronouncing the middle letter V as 
 a strong guttural. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 139 
 
 ^VQ Pahhal 
 
 h)^Q2 Niphal 
 
 h'^VZiTl Hiphil 
 
 ^i^DH Hophal 
 
 h:^Zinn Hithpahel. 
 
 All these are the third persons singular mascu- 
 line of the preterite, in the different conjugations 
 which they denominate. 
 
 The word 7VQ is the Pure Root, unburdened 
 with any servile letter, and is, on this account, 
 more commonly named 7p Kal, i. e. Levis. It 
 represents the active voice, or conveys the simple 
 affirmation of the verb : 
 
 hv^ He wrought. 
 
 Niphal is the passive of Kal, formed by pre- 
 fixing i to the radical letters : 
 
 7^Di He or it was wrought. 
 
 Hiphil, in the active voice, is formed by pre- 
 fixing nto the first radical, and inserting "i be- 
 twixt the second and the third. It signifies, to 
 cause, or command another to perform the action 
 of the verb : 
 
 ^'^^DJl He caused to work. Operari fecit. 
 
 Hophal is the passive of Hiphil, formed by 
 prefixing H to the radical letters, and signifies to 
 
140 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 be under the influence of the fore-mentioned 
 cause. 
 
 h^B'n He was caused to work. 
 
 Hithpahel bears a near resemblance to the 
 middle voice of the Greeks, is formed by pre- 
 fixing Pm to the radical letters, and commonly 
 signifies to perform the action of the verb to one's 
 self, or to repeat frequently the action. 
 
 bv^tyn He wrought his own work, or 
 wrought frequently. 
 
 The letters prefixed to, or inserted between, 
 the radical letters, are named the Characteristics 
 of the Conjugations, where they appear. 
 
 ;3 Characteristic of Niphal 
 n and '^ of Hiphil 
 
 n - - of Hophal 
 T\n - - of Hithpahel. 
 
 These technical terms have obtained such long 
 possession in Hebrew grammar, that it would be 
 difficult and perhaps improper, to expel them, or 
 to substitute others in their room. 
 
 The chief inconvenience of them is, that they 
 represent only the position or situation of the 
 letters in the different modes or voices, but give 
 no intimation of the meaning conveyed by these 
 modes. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 141 
 
 The following illustration may be found useful, 
 though the old terms should still be retained. 
 Kai may be considered as representing the 
 
 verb in its simple state, and may 
 
 be named^ 
 
 The simple form 
 Niphal The passive of the simple form 
 Hiphil The causal form 
 Hophal The passive of the causal form 
 Hithpahel The reflex or frequentative form. 
 
 Example of a Verb, with the Signification of its 
 different Forms subjoined. 
 Simple form "TpD He visited 
 
 Its passive "TpD2 He was visited 
 
 Causal form TpDH He caused another 
 
 to visit 
 Its passive IpQH He was caused to 
 
 visit 
 Reflex or frequen- 
 tative form Ip^r^n He visited himself 
 He superintended 
 his own affairs, 
 or. 
 He visited frequent- 
 
 * The Masorites, by their points, create other t\9o conju- 
 gations, which they name Pihhel and Pyhhal. The first, 
 
142 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 The parts of the verb which require particular 
 attention, are Kal^ Nipbal, and Hiphil. 
 
 The principal tenses are, the past and the 
 future. Sometimes the participle present is made 
 use of to denote present time ; the substantive 
 verb being understood or implied in the personal 
 pronoun. 
 
 IpID ^^^^^ Ego visitans 7V1D ^'ib^ Ego operans. 
 
 The substantive verb rT^H or mn fuit, is 
 seldom introduced as an auxiliary to form com- 
 pound tenses with participles, as in Greek and 
 Latin, but it often appears by itself. 
 
 "W^ is used in the present tense for he is, or it 
 is, or theT/ are, and with affixes. tJ?b^ is used in 
 the same manner ; and sometimes n^Jli is found 
 in Niphal. 
 
 actWe, signifying, as they pretend, to perform the action of 
 the verb diligently^ the other passiye, signifying that the 
 action of the verb is diligently performed. The letters of 
 these conjugations, excepting in their pretended participles, 
 are exactly the same with those of Kal, nay, the same with 
 each other, only pointed in a different manner. Pihhel has 
 Chirek-breve under the first radical, Dagesh-forte in the 
 second, and, below it, Tzere. Pyhhel has Kibbutz under 
 the first radical, Dagesh-forte under the second, and, 
 below it, Patach. What egregious trifling ! The noble 
 simplicity of antient Hebrew writers was incompatible with 
 such silly distinctions. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 148 
 
 Hebrew verbs have but three moods : The 
 Indicative, Imperative, and Infinitive, which last 
 is called, by grammarians, y\p'0 the fountain, 
 from y\p fodit. The future is often used for the 
 imperative mood, as in the Ten Commandments. 
 
 The subjunctive or optative mood is expressed 
 by conjunctions situated before the indicative. 
 Sometimes the future supplies the place of both, 
 or the infinitive with a prefix. 
 
 Kal, or the simple form, has two participles, 
 active and passive. The active, termed Benoni, 
 is formed by inserting 1 after the first radical, as 
 Ip'IS visiting. The passive, or Pahul, by in- 
 serting "^ before the last, as lIpD visited ; but the 
 1 is often expunged in the text, especially in the 
 participle active, but may be retained in the pro- 
 nunciation. The other conjugations have also 
 their participles formed by prefixing 72, as TpDn* 
 in Hiphil, causing to visit ; npSHD in Hithpahel, 
 visiting his^ own, or frequently. They are all 
 declined as adjectives. 
 
 Yod inserted before the last radical, denotes 
 the eflFect produced by the action of the verb, 
 without reference to time, or denotes only con- 
 tinuance, or establishment. HtT'TD to anoint, rWV2 
 anointing, mt2?T2 anointed, tl'^WD established in 
 office hy anointing. 
 
 ♦ Q in this situation, is denominated Mem prteformans* 
 
|44 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Kal^ pl'^ to justify, to declare just, free of the 
 crime alleged ; plM^ justifying, pV^ justifiedj 
 p'nt an habitually just man. 
 
 All verbs are declined by fragments of the 
 personal pronouns^ prefixed or postfixed to the 
 radical letters. These fragments are postfixed in 
 the praeter tense of the indicative^ and in the 
 imperative mood ; prefixed in most of the persons 
 of the future tense^ though, in some of them, 
 they are both prefixed and postfixed. 
 
 It is remarkable that, in the past tense, the 
 verb or action is set before the person, as ^Tsyiy^ 
 Didici ego, learn did I ; where 1^7 is the root 
 or body of the verb To learn, *^n is the sign of 
 the Person, from "^Jnifc^ or '':3b^ ego. But, in the 
 future tense, the verb or root is set after the 
 person, as, "l'1D7b^ I will learn, where fc^ is ego, 
 from •'ib^ the former part of the pronoun being 
 generally prefixed, and the latter affixed to the 
 verb. 
 
 Fragments of Pronouns postfixed in the Indi- 
 cative. 
 
 
 Singular. 
 
 3d Pers. 
 
 n She 
 
 2d Pers. 
 
 n Thou M. &P. 
 
 1st Pers. 
 
 '^n L 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR, 145 
 
 ' Plural. 
 
 SdPers. n They 
 
 2d Pers. Oil Ye M. 
 
 gdPers. \r\ Ye P. 
 
 1st Pers. 13 We, 
 
 These letters p?2'^]in may be called the etimun 
 personal postfixes of the preterite. 
 In the imperative the postfixes are, 
 2d Pers. sing. P. "^ 
 
 2d Pers. plur. M. *) 
 
 2d Pers. plur. P. n:: with *) sometimes 
 inserted after the middle radical. 
 
 These letters HDV may be called the lune per- 
 sonal postfixes of the imperative. 
 
 The prefixed and postfixed pronouns of the 
 future are. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 •^ He Pref. 
 n She Pref. 
 n Thou Pref. 
 n Thou Pref. and "^ post. 
 « J. Pref. 
 Plural. 
 
 •» Pref. 1 Post. Thejf 
 n Pref. nu Post. They 
 n Pref. •) Post. Ye 
 n Pref. n Post. Ye 
 2 Pref. We. 
 
 3d Pers. 
 
 M. 
 
 
 P. 
 
 2d Pers. 
 
 M. 
 
 
 P. 
 
 1st. Pers 
 
 • 
 
 3d Pers. 
 
 M. 
 
 
 F. 
 
 2d Pers. 
 
 -M-. 
 
 
 F. 
 
 1st Pers. 
 
 
146 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Hence it appears^ that the prefixes of the 
 future are the letters ]t^tV Itan, and the postfixes 
 the letters H^V luncy the same with the postfixes 
 of the imperative formerly mentioned. 
 
 The whole inflection of verbs is carried on by 
 the assistance of seven Letters, n;]*^D*)nt^ 
 
 Sometimes '^ and H are added^ merely to soften 
 the sound. When employed for this purpose, 
 they are named FaragogicaL 
 
 The letters "^ 1 H fc^ may be substituted for each 
 other. "^ is often changed into *) and H into 
 « or \* 
 
 n as a prefix or characteristic in verbs, and 
 ^ characteristic of the passive Niphal, are gene- 
 rally superseded by the personal prefixes of the 
 future of Niphal and Hiphil. 1 and "^ frequently 
 undergo the same fate. 
 
 Verbs are Perfect or Defective. Perfect, 
 when they retain all their radical letters, through 
 every mood and form: Defective, not by wanting 
 any part of the verb, but by rejecting one or 
 more radical letters, in some of their parts. 
 
 IpQ He visited, is a perfect verb ; Iti?*^ He sat 
 or dwelt, is defective; because, in the imperative, 
 infinitive, and future Kal, it loses "^ radical, and 
 is abbreviated. TO^ He revealed^ in like manner, 
 
 * Regula, Literae ejusdem organ! facile inter se commu- 
 tantur. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 147 
 
 loses, in some persons, n final, or has its place 
 supplied by ^ or 1, into which it is commuted. 
 
 In the language of Jewish grammarians, the 
 radical letters are numbered from the theme 7J^D ; 
 D first, V second, 7 third radical. 
 
 Verbs defective in *^ and 3 first radicals, are said 
 to be defective in Pe Yod, and Pe Nun, Those 
 that double the second or middle radical, are said 
 to be verbs, Duplicantia sive geminantia Ain, as 
 IID He encircled. Those defective in the third 
 radical H are said to be defective in Lamed He, 
 
 Let an example of a perfect verb be IpQ He 
 visited, which is thus inflected : 
 
 Kal. The Indicative Active. Past Time, 
 
 Singular. 
 3d Per9. IpD He visited 
 
 iTTpD She visited 
 mpQ Thou visitedst 
 *^nipD I visited. 
 
 Plural. 
 llpD They visited 
 OmpD Ye visited M. 
 jmpD Ye visited P. 
 ')TlpQ We visited 
 k2 
 
MS HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Participle Present, Benoni. 
 Singular. 
 Ip'lD Visiting M. 
 n'lp^D or nipID Visiting F. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 D^'TplQ Visiting M. 
 rmp^t:! Visiting F. 
 Or without the 1 after the first radical. 
 
 Participle Preterite. Pahul. 
 
 Singular. 
 TIpD Visitatus, visited M. 
 mipD Visitata, visited F. 
 
 Plural. 
 D^n'ipD Visitati, visited M. 
 rrmpB Visitatae, visited F. 
 
 Infinitive. 
 IpD or r\pO To visit. 
 
 Imperative, 
 IpD or TlpD Visit thou M. 
 •^-TpD Visit thou F. 
 nipD Visit ye M. 
 r\yi^p^ Visit ye F. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Future^ 
 
 149 
 
 Singular. 
 
 nips'* He shall visit 
 
 Tipsn She shall visit 
 
 irp^Ts Thou shalt visit M. 
 
 •^Ipcn Thou shalt visit F. 
 
 TlpSW I shall visit. 
 
 Plural. 
 lips'* They shall visit M. 
 n^^npsn They shall visit F. 
 
 r\p^T\ Ye shall visit M. 
 n^'T^pDn Ye shall visit F. 
 "npDi We shall visit. 
 
 The future is formed from the infinitive by 
 the addition of the prefixes and postfixes, and 
 generally by the insertion of *) after the middle 
 radical ; but ^ is not admitted into some persons, 
 viz. the second person singular feminine, and the 
 third and second persons plural masculine. Very 
 often, in writing, 1 medial of the other persons is 
 omitted, but may be supplied in reading, as in 
 the participle present. 
 
 The characteristic letters that form Niphal, or 
 the passive voice, are 2 prefixed to the root, in 
 the preterite and participle ; and H prefixed to 
 the infinitive and imperative. 
 
150 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 But, from these last, 3 is expelled by H, and 
 both n and ^3 are expelled from all the persons of 
 the future Niphal, by the pronominal serviles : 
 For it is a rule universally observed, That the 
 letter characteristical of the tense excludes the 
 letter characteristical of the conjugation. 
 
 This expulsion of the characteristic letters oc- 
 caj^ions an abbreviation or contraction of the verb, 
 wherever it lakes place. 
 
 The contraction is, indeed, attended with one 
 unfavourable circumstance, that several persons 
 in the future tense passive, coincide with cor- 
 responding persons in the same tense active ; 
 but such coincidence, and variety of signification, 
 occur in the words of most languages, without 
 producing that confusion which, at first, we are 
 apt to suspect. 
 
 The following instances will clearly shew that 
 ambiguities are frequent, and occasion but little 
 embarrassment. 
 
 Legit, may either be the third person singular 
 of the present or of the preterite tense. 
 
 Legimus, is either the first person plural of 
 the present or preterite. 
 
 Legere, if we regard only the letters, may be 
 either the present of the infinitive, the third per- 
 son plural of the preterite active, the second 
 person singular of the present, or the same 
 person of the future passive. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 151 
 
 Prodite, may be either the second person 
 plural of the imperative of Prodo, or of Prodeo, 
 or the vocative singular of Proditus. 
 
 CapitCy may be either the ablative singular of 
 Caput, or the second person plural of the imper- 
 ative of Capio. 
 
 Domini, may either be the genitive singular, 
 or the nominative or vocative plural of Dominus, 
 
 Masculine Latin nouns of the fourth declension 
 have six cases alike ; three in the singular and 
 three in the plural. 
 
 The dative and ablative plural are alike in all 
 the five declensions. 
 
 The nominative, accusative, and vocative, of 
 all neuter nouns are the same. These cases, in 
 neuter plurals, both in Greek and Latin, ter- 
 minate in the same letter, viz. in a. 
 
 Tv^v, may be either the third person singular of 
 the subjunctive, first aorist active, the second 
 person singular of the first future indicative 
 middle voice, or the second person singular of the 
 subjunctive, first aorist of the same voice. 
 
 The second and the third persons dual of the 
 present indicative active, in all conjugations and 
 voices, are the same. 
 
 Tvirrna-t^ js either the third person plural of the 
 present of the indicative active, or the dative 
 masculine plural of the participle present active, 
 or the dative neuter plural of the same participle. 
 
152 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 I cut, I read, denote either the present or the 
 past time. 
 
 The past tense, and the participle perfect of 
 the most part of English verbs, coincide. 
 
 Pew persons of verbs are marked by termi- 
 nations ; and adjectives have no distinction of 
 gender or number. 
 
 Labour, Temper, Love, Trouble, and many 
 similar words, may be either nouns or verbs. 
 
 The word Post may signify an office, a station, 
 a letter carrier, part of the defence of a garrison, 
 a pillar. 
 
 Would it not appear very fantastical to invent 
 points to distinguish these different significations ? 
 Or, are they liable to be mistaken or misun- 
 derstood ? 
 
 Niphal. Passive Voice. 
 
 
 Preterite, 
 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 T]1'p^^ 
 
 IpD^ 3 He was visited. 
 
 
 m'p^^ 2 
 
 
 ^^nips: 1 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Fem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 
 npD: s 
 
 impa: 
 
 Dmps): 2 
 
 
 i:npDi 1 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 153 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Participle, 
 
 Singular. 
 -rpr^i M. 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 Ipsn To be visited. 
 
 Imperative. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 ^np^n 
 
 ip^n M. 
 
 r]yipi^n 
 
 "^^p^n F. 
 
 
 Future, 
 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Fem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 ipan 
 
 nrpa^ 3+ 
 
 "^npan 
 
 ipt^n 2 
 
 
 ip^^ 1 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 nnpan 
 
 Ipa^s 
 
 nnpan. 
 
 ^npt^n 8 
 
 npa: 1 
 
 * Contracted for "fp^il*! &c, 
 f Contracted for *Tpa3iT &c. 
 
154 
 
 i HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Causal Form. 
 
 Hiphil. 2b cause to visit, 
 
 
 Preterite. 
 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Fem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 DTpan 
 
 Tpan 3 
 nnp^n 2 
 "^riTpan i 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 inTpan 
 
 DrnpDH 2 
 
 
 Participle. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Singula!:. 
 
 
 Tp£iD M. 
 cHTpSiD p 
 
 
 Infinitive. 
 
 npan or '^^p^n 
 
 
 Imperative. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 iTpan 
 nnpiin 
 
 n'^pDn F- 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. tft5 
 
 Future, 
 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 ^^^^n 
 
 TpSi^ 3 
 
 •»Tpan 
 
 Tpan 2 
 
 
 Tp2i« 1 
 
 • 
 
 Plural. 
 
 nyi^^n 
 
 ITpS'' s 
 
 r^yip^ry 
 
 ITpSin 2 
 
 
 tpd: 1 
 
 Hophal, the pass 
 
 ive, is the same, in every re- 
 
 spect^ with Hiphil, 
 
 only *^ medial is not inserted. 
 
 This conjugation 
 
 is not much in use. 
 
 The characteristic serviles of Hiphil are H 
 
 before the firsts and 
 
 •» before the third radical. 
 
 The characteristic of Hophal is H before the 
 
 first radical. 
 
 
 Reflex, or Frequentative Form, Hithpahel. 
 Vox Media, 
 
 
 Preterite, 
 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Pern. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 mpann 
 
 '^l.iinT] 3 
 
 
 mpann 2 
 
 
 •^mpDnn 1 
 
IS6 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 impann 
 
 Mp^nti 3 
 
 DnipDnn 2 
 
 mpann > 
 
 
 Participle, 
 
 Plural. 
 
 D^npDHD 
 
 nnpana 
 
 Singular. 
 
 TpanD M. 
 snnpanD f. 
 «mpDnD 
 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 
 ip^nn 
 
 
 Imperative, 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 npsjnn 
 nnpanrr 
 
 ^ip^nn F. 
 
 
 Fw^wre. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 Singular. 
 Masc. 
 
 •^npanji 
 
 -Tpan** 3 
 Tpssnn 2 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 nnpsinn 
 niipann 
 
 Mp^rv 3 
 
 npann 2 
 
 ip^n2 J 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 157 
 
 The characteristic of Hithpahel is the syllable 
 nn prefixed to the radical letters. The H is 
 sometimes rejected, according to the Rule, page 
 146, parag. 5. 
 
158 HEBREW GRAMMAR, 
 
 CHAPTER XIT. 
 
 Observations on the Servile Letters in Verbs, and the 
 use of the Infinitive as a Substantive Noun or 
 Gerund.^ 
 
 FROM the consideration of the preceding 
 examples, it will be easy to form a judgment 
 of the nature and use of the servile letters, 
 which were mentioned in the beginning of 
 Chapter XI. They are divided into the fol- 
 lowing classes. 
 
 1. Serviles^ additional or final, subjoined to 
 the root pD^Tin 
 
 2. — Inserted in the root, 1 and "^ 
 
 3. Prefixed, or put before the root, 
 
 \^t\^ with n in Hithpahel, and 12 participial. 
 
 4. Characteristic of the different forms, 
 
 Niphal, Hiphil, Hophal, and Hithpahel, i H '^ Jnn 
 These, however, particularly ^ and H initial, are 
 commonly ejected by the prefixed serviles. 
 
 The servile letters in verbs, to which the ge- 
 nius of the language gives the preference, and 
 on which the learner should bestow the greatest 
 attention, are those employed to represent the 
 personal pronouns, and have already been named 
 Pronominal Serviles. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 159 
 
 The inserted or medial letters^ 1 and "^ even 
 though the last be characteristical, are treated 
 with more indifference, and frequently excluded 
 in flexion. 
 
 3 and Jl though characteristic oi four forms, 
 are sometimes deprived of their places in these 
 forms, by the pronominal serviles, and the par- 
 ticipial 12 
 
 But it ought to be remembered, that, of the 
 characteristics of Niphal, 3 remains immoveable 
 in the^reterite and participle, and H in the infi- 
 nitive and imperative, though both disappear in 
 the future. 
 
 n the prefixed characteristic of Hiphil, retains 
 its place in the preterite, infinitive, and impe- 
 rative, but disappears in the participle and future. 
 
 n in Hophal, stands as characteristic of the 
 preterite and infinitive, but is excluded both from 
 the participle and the future. 
 
 The prefixed sellable DTI keeps its place as 
 characteristical of the preterite, infinitive, and 
 imperative of Hithpahel ; but the H of this sylla- 
 ble is ejected from the participle by 72, and from 
 the future by the pronominal serviles. n only 
 remains as the characteristic of the whole form. 
 
 These observations are applicable to all verbs, 
 whether perfect or defective, and mark an uni- 
 formity in their flexion which will enable the 
 learner easily to retain them in his memory. 
 
160 HEBREW GRAMMAR, 
 
 The Infinitive Mood, often admits the prefixes 
 of the nouns, as if it were a substantive, nearly 
 in the same manner as the infinitives of Greek 
 verbs assume the article before them, or as those 
 of Latin verbs admit of adjectives in the neuter 
 gender. 
 
 Scire tuum. 
 
 Infinitive, 
 TpD Visitare 
 
 With the prefixes, 
 
 TpD7 Visitatum, ad visitandum, ut visitaret 
 
 ^IpCl In visitando 
 
 TpCD A visitando 
 
 TipCD Quasi visitabat, visitaret. 
 
 Sometimes it is converted into a feminine sub- 
 stantive, by the addition of ]1, especially in verbs 
 defective in the first radical. 
 
 ItZ?** Sedit, hahitavit. Infinitive Kal Itl? or 
 niU) to sit. 
 
 nnu? To sit 
 rsDXih To sit 
 
 illtl^l In sitting 
 JHv2??2 From sitting 
 nitro As sitting. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 161 
 
 Verbs ending in n change H into 1 before Jl. 
 
 rh> to reveal, irh> to reveal, irh:h for re- 
 vealing. 
 
 The infinitive, in this manner, possesses all 
 the properties of a substantive^ may be put in 
 statu regiminis, and may even assume the affixes. 
 
 And my seat (abode) shall be in the House of 
 Jehovah for length of days. 
 
 : m Di^tt^ai^ ^:^D ^nl22 
 
 In his flying (when he fled) from the face of Ab- 
 salom his son. 
 *^iyp DV7 In the day of my rising up. 
 
162 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Of Defective Verbs, particularly such as, in Flexion, 
 lose the first Radical, 
 
 THE greatest number of defective verbs con- 
 •sist of such as have either D or "^ for their first 
 radical. 
 
 The chief difference between these verbs, and 
 those honoured with the name of perfect, con- 
 sists in extirpating the first radical from the in- 
 finitive, imperative^ and future of Kal. The 
 addition of H to the infinitive is taken notice of 
 in the former chapter. 
 
 In verbs defective in Nun first radical, the 
 Nun suffers an elision through the whole of 
 Niphal, Hiphil, and Hophal. The intention 
 was probably to avoid the harsh sound which the 
 conjunction of two Nuns, or of Nun with another 
 consonant, might produce. The preterite, and 
 both participles in Kal, imitate the form of perfect 
 verbs already exhibited. 
 
 Kal. 
 
 nti'j: m^ 3 He approached. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. W^^ 
 
 Participle, Benoni. 
 Participle. Pahul. 
 
 The Defective Parts, 
 Infinitive. 
 
 r\m or ti/} 
 
 Imperative. 
 Future, 
 
 nmn ^m^ 3 
 
 Niphal, or the passive voice of these verbs, 
 coincides in many parts with the active, because 
 3 characteristical of Niphal, ejects 3 the first 
 radical, to soften the sound. Both 3 character- 
 istic and n are ejected in their turn, by the per- 
 sonal or pronominal letters. 
 
 l2 . 
 
164 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Specimen of what Niplial would he in its 
 natural State, 
 
 nm:: m:: Preter. 
 
 m:2n infin. 
 
 Future. 
 tt^J^rin t^J3:n> 3d pers. sing. 
 m2:n^ 1st pers. plur. 
 
 ISJiphal in its contracted State, commonly used. 
 
 m^^r\ Infin. 
 Future. 
 
 miry ti^jr 3 
 ^m^n mm « 
 
 2 first radical totally disappears in the forms 
 Hiphil and Hophal. 
 
 Hiphil. 
 
 Hophal. 
 
 r]m^in tt^^jn 
 
 nmn mn 
 
 rwir\ 
 
 nmn 
 
 &c. >r\mn 
 
 &c. ^r\mn 
 
 Part Pres. 
 
 Part. Preter. 
 
 tt'^JD 
 
 mo 
 
 Infinitive. 
 
 Infinitive. 
 
 mn or ti;>}n 
 
 mn 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 165 
 
 Imperative. 
 Future, 
 
 &c. ^^:ix 1 
 
 Caret. 
 
 Future. 
 
 &c. C^Ji^ 1 
 
 Hithpahel. 
 
 m:Dn 
 
 Declined regularly. 
 
 Verbs which have *^ for their first radical^ 
 exclude it from the infinitive, imperative, and 
 future of Kal, in the same manner as i is ex- 
 cluded from the contracted parts of the verbs 
 just now described. They also undergo some 
 other alterations. For instance, they change "^ 
 of Kal into 1 after i characteristic of Niphal, and 
 retain the *) in all the tenses. ") also continues as 
 the substitute of "^ through both the forms Hiphil 
 and Hophal ; and the latter is distinguished from 
 the former by the absence only of '^ before the 
 last radical. 
 
 The preterite and participles in Kal, of verbs 
 defective in '^ when first radical, imitate the form 
 of perfect verbs. 
 
166 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Preterite. Kal. 
 Singular. 
 Fem. Masc. 
 
 nnt^^ 2^^ 3 He sat, or dwelt. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Participle, Benoni. 
 Participle. Pahul. 
 
 The defective or abbreviated Parts, 
 Infinitive. 
 
 r^2u; or 2ti:; 
 
 Imperative. 
 Plural. Singular. 
 
 Future. 
 Singular. 
 Fem. Masc. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 
 Plural.' 
 
 Pern. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 n^2t:;n 
 r]22u;n 
 
 ^2t^r\ « 
 
 2m » 
 
 
 Niphal. 
 
 nntt^ii 
 
 Singular. 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 inntt^ii 
 
 
 Participle Present. 
 
 
 3{yi: " 
 
 
 Infinitive. 
 
 
 2ti;^r\ 
 
 
 Imperative, 
 
 Plural. 
 
 ^2u;^n 
 
 Singular. 
 
 2ti/^r] M. 
 ^ntt^in F. 
 
 167 
 
168 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Future, 
 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Fem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 nmn 
 
 2i:;vs 
 
 '^2tt;^n 
 
 2l:;^T^^ 
 
 
 3tt^1K 1 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 n:2ll;^n 
 
 12l^V 3 
 
 n^^j^in 
 
 1n^^n 2 
 
 
 nm: 1 
 
 
 Hiphil. 
 
 na^t^^in 
 
 n^ti^in 
 
 
 &c. n2ll;^n 
 
 Participle Present. 
 
 
 n^tt'iD 
 
 
 Infinitive. 
 
 
 :lw^r\ or ri^ti^^rj 
 
 
 Imperative. 
 
 ^l't:/^n 
 
 ati^m 
 
 n2t:;^n 
 
 "^n-^tyin 
 
 &c. nw^n n^'tfi'V 
 
 Hophal is the same with Hiphil, except that it 
 is deficient in •* before the third radical. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 169 
 
 Hithpahel is regularly inflected. 
 
 •^D*^ to chastise, or to instruct, ^T to know, 
 and my^ to reprove or confute, change "^ into ^ 
 after nn 
 
ITO HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of Verbs which have some Peculiarities in their 
 Middle Radical, 
 
 THERE are two sets of verbs in Hebrew, 
 which nearly resemble each other in flexion, 
 though, from their arrangement in common lex- 
 icons and grammars, they appear very different, 
 and exceedingly irregular. The one set consists 
 of verbs which double the second, or middle 
 radical, as IID to go round, \T^ to sing, TTtl? to 
 destrot/.* The other, of verbs which have "^ for 
 their middle radical, as dip to rise, pD to prepare, 
 to establish, y\0 to go back, yi"! to run.f 
 
 These last verbs are commonly thought to 
 have their roots in the infinitive, as here ex- 
 pressed, while all other Hebrew verbs have their 
 roots in the third person preterite of Kal. But, 
 if the reader attend to the following instances of 
 similarity between verbs that double the second 
 radical, and such as are said to have ^ for their 
 middle radical, he will probably be of opinion, 
 that the third person preterite of Kal, in these 
 
 * Verba geminantia Jin, 
 
 + Verba defectiTa, sKe quiescentia, in Jin Vm, 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. ITl 
 
 last, ought also to be reckoned the root, as well 
 as in other verbs, and that the *^ is inserted in the 
 infinitive, according to the common analogy of 
 the language. 
 
 The circumstances in which these two kinds of 
 verbs resemble each other are, 
 
 1. They both seem to have a double Kal, the 
 one full, the other contracted. 
 
 Full. Contracted. 
 
 nniD or 220 20 
 
 OD^P or DDp Dp 
 
 2. In several parts of their flexion, both of 
 them insert 1 before the pronominal serviles, par- 
 ticularly before H* 
 
 Kal. Hiphil. 
 
 n20 20 HD^n D^n , 
 
 3. In the enlarged or full form of Kal, they 
 resemble each other through the whole flexion ; 
 in the contracted form they resemble each other 
 in the infinitive, imperative, and future. In 
 Hiphil and Hophal, they differ very little, and 
 in Hithpahel not at all ; so that, on the whole^ 
 
 * ^ in this situation has obtained the name of Vau CM- 
 phonicum^ because it softens the sound. 
 
172 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 they may be considered as belonging to one 
 class, capable of being easily reduced to the 
 general analogy. 
 
 Had proper attention been paid to the resem- 
 blance of these verbs, and had their roots been 
 stated in lexicons, as in the preterite Kal, either 
 full or contracted, much superfluous trouble 
 might have been spared ; for, in this case, the 
 searcher would have had letters to guide him in 
 his investigation of the root : but, on the present 
 plan, he is obliged to have recourse to conjectures 
 which often disappoint his hopes. 
 
 Example of the enlarged Form of Kal in the 
 Verbs above described. 
 
 They commonly assume 1 after the first radical^ 
 as the participle present of perfect verbs, and are 
 regularly inflected. 
 
 HDD'lp DDIp n'^yw MID 
 
 Participle, Benoni. 
 
 DOIp MID* 
 
 * Sometimes ^ is prefixed, D^IDD 
 DDIpD 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Participle, Pahul. 
 
 
 ^}^U 
 
 OD^p 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 22^D 
 
 Future, 
 
 DD1p'> 
 
 22^D^ 
 
 Example of the Contracted Form. 
 
 n2D 20 
 
 m3D 
 ^n^2D 
 
 13D 
 
 jmno Dm3D 
 
 1J13D 
 
 HDp Dp 3 
 
 nop 2 
 
 ••ilDp 1 
 1Dp» 
 
 iriDp Dnop s 
 i:Dp > 
 
 Participle, Benoni. 
 
 Dp 
 Participle, Pahul. 
 
 . DID 
 
 Infinitive, 
 
 Dip 
 
 aionaiD'' 
 
 Dipn Dip'' 
 
 173 
 
 Niphal, in both, appears only in the contracted 
 form. 
 
17* HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 
 Preterite, 
 
 nio: 2D2 
 
 nn^p: Dip: 
 
 ninv: 
 
 niDip: 
 
 
 Infinitive. 
 
 2^Dn 
 
 Dipn 
 
 
 Future, 
 
 20n 20^ 
 
 Dipn Dip'^ 
 
 Hiphil is also contracted. 
 
 
 Preterite. 
 
 n2Dn 3Dn 
 
 niy^pn u^pn 
 
 n^2Dn 
 
 mD^pn 
 
 
 Participle. 
 
 noiD 
 
 D^'pD 
 
 Hophal assumes 
 
 5 1 between the prefixed ser- 
 
 viles and the root. 
 
 
 
 Preterite, 
 
 2D^n 
 
 Dp^il 
 
 
 Future. 
 
 nov 
 
 Dpr 3 
 
 2D^n 
 
 Dpin« 
 
 3D1« 
 
 DpIK > 
 
 Yet this Vau is 
 
 sometimes omitted. 
 
 In Hithpahel of these verbs, m is prefixed to 
 
 the enlarged form, 
 
 as. 
 
 22^D^\T^ 
 
 DD^pnn 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. ]7o 
 
 But, when the first letter of any verb is D or W, 
 these letters exchange places with H in the syl- 
 lable I^Tl of Hithpahel, because it would appear 
 that the antient Hebrews could not easily pro- 
 nounce the sibilant sound of D or tt? after H. 
 Instead of lllDJin they read ll'inon ; instead of 
 •^Itl^nn they read "^IJltl?!! from "lltt? to break. 
 
 Up is sometimes sounded with the letters b^ and 
 •^ inserted between the radicals, Db^p U'^p. This 
 test form is frequent in Chaldaic and Rabbinical 
 writings. 
 
 Several Hebrew verbs have ^^ for their middle 
 radical^ as, 
 
 l***^ To be an enemy 
 
 n^n To live 
 
 ^"^1 To ring, or express joy by noise 
 
 tVy To breathe, odorari, olfacere. 
 
 Several nouns also, which seem to be primitive 
 words, have "^ for their middle radical, as, / 
 
 ^"h An old lion r\^1 An olive ; 
 
 p Wine il^l A house 
 
 W^n A he-goat "T^p A wall 
 
 rp A spear TD A thorn. 
 h'h Night 
 
176 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Of Verbs which have tl for their last Radical,* 
 
 THE knowledge of these verbs will be easily 
 acquired, by attending to the following circum- 
 stances which mark their character. 
 
 n their last radical, is sometimes changed into 
 Ji, sometimes into *', and sometimes altogether 
 expelled before the pronominal serviles. 
 
 Niphal differs in nothing from Kal, except that 
 it assumes before the first radical in the preterite 
 and participle Benoni, and Jl before the infinitive 
 and imperative. 
 
 The preterite, infinitive, and imperative of 
 Hiphil, are formed by prefixing H to the corres- 
 ponding parts of Kal. tt prefixed to the radical 
 letters forms the participle both of Hiphil and 
 Hophal, which agree in all their parts. 
 
 A specimen of Kal will be sufficient to give 
 a clear idea of the whole verb. 
 
 * They are commonly named quiescent in Lamed He, 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 177 
 
 Preterite. 
 
 Kal. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Pem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 nrh} 
 
 *nh} 3 He revealed. 
 
 ri*'^:3 2 
 
 Plural. 
 
 \rrh:i 
 
 DJi^*?:! 2 
 
 Participle, 
 
 Benoni. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 n^i:i M. t 
 nb)} F. 
 
 Participle, Pahul. 
 
 D^**!^:! ^i^:i M. 
 
 nvi^: mb: f. 
 
 ♦ Its significations are commonly stated thus, H^J r«?«- 
 lavitf migravity abdudus fuit in c<^tmt(dem^ veiexilium, 
 M 
 
178 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 
 Future, 
 
 
 
 Singular, 
 
 
 Fem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 r\b:n 2 
 nb^i^ 1 
 
 Plural. 
 
 
 n^^b^iT^ 
 
 1^:1^3 
 
 i*7jn2 
 
 
 Niphal. 
 T)b}2 Pret. 
 nb22 Part. 
 
 HiphiL 
 Hithpahel. 
 
 rh^nn Pret. 
 n^:ijnT2 Part. 
 
 Hophai. 
 
 T)b}n 
 r\b:D 
 
 The substantive verb JlTT or Jlin /mz^, is in- 
 flected in the same manner with n?^ or the other 
 verbs defective in H. From H^Tl is derived mn*' 
 the peculiar name of the true God among the 
 
 Jews. r\T}'^ HE WHO EXISTS, o uv. 
 
 The following passage from the book of Ex- 
 odus* contains a description of this exalted title. 
 
 * Chap. iii. 14. , 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR, 179 
 
 .THi^ i^i^ ^^nK nt^^io h^ D^'^^K i^^^^ 14 
 ''^n^j:^ r\>ni^ b^iw"^ ^:2h iDi^n riD iDi^'^i 
 
 ^Dii; nr do^'?^ *»:r6B^ np;;^ \n^Ki pn^^ ^n^K 
 : in nn*7 nDr nn d^;;^ 
 
 sThe name Jehovah, in the original, is ex- 
 pressive of the self- existence, independence, and 
 eternity of God. It has been said, and perhaps 
 jnstly, that its full meaning and energy cannot be 
 conveyed by a single term in any language. The 
 Seventy render it by kv§ios^ which is more pro- 
 perly a translation of ^'IJIfc^ Dominus, Our 
 translators commonly render it by the vv^ord Lord. 
 It appears that, even in the time of Josephus, the 
 custom had obtained, which still prevails among 
 the Jews, not to pronounce the name mJl'^ from 
 a reverence which seems to savour of superstition. 
 " God revealed to Moses," says that historian, 
 *' his proper and peculiar title, never before mjide 
 '* known to men, which it is not lawful for me to 
 ^' mention.*** 
 
 * As the passage^ is curious, the reader may perhaps wish 
 to peruse it in the original. 
 
 Muv&^s ^s UK e^uv ama-rEtf ois iirmyyihiro ro Osiov ^exr^s 
 7« TotHTuv ffi^«i(»)(Aacrm xxi xK^oxr-ns ysyo(ji,eyos sv^xfAsvos xvru kxi 
 
 m2 
 
180 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Speaking of the legislators of different conn- 
 tries, Diodorus Siculus remarks, " That Moses 
 *' affirmed he had received the laws which he 
 *' established among the Jews, from the God 
 ^' whose name was iao.'* We can scarcely en- 
 tertain a doubt that this was a particular mode of 
 pronouncing the word mrT^.* 
 
 vsei^ocQinvxt ruvrvis rvis ^vva,ijt,scus sv A/yt/WTw ofK^siSy wrt^oXei (ji.yi^e 
 ovo[Aaro^ oivru ytua-i'f r« i^ia ^Qowio-cti^ (puvrn V avru ixsna-^viyiort 
 XXI o'^'tus in itai T»jy zj^oa-vtyoqiciv etiretv ivx Ovuv e^ ovo(Axros avrov 
 'zax^Etvoti rots n^stots 'SJa^xuxXip, tcoci o &tos uvru a-vi^octv^ tmv 
 ,«tiT» xupofTfiyo^ixv a zy^orspov sis xvO^wrros Tsa.^BXoHO'otv^ thz^i ins » 
 ^0/ ^iiJits eiveiv. JosEPHUS, Antiq. Jud. Vol. I. p. 106. 
 Ed. Havercamp. 1762. 
 
 TRANSLATION : 
 
 ^' As it was impossible for Moses lo disbelieve the pro- 
 " raises which the Deity had made to him, after having seen 
 '' and heard so many confirmations of them, he earnestly 
 '^ entreated that he might be allowed to exercise miraculous 
 " powers in Egypt, and, above all, that God would make 
 *' a discovery (o him of his proper name and peculiar desig- 
 '' nation, that, during the rites of sacrifice, he might 
 '« address him in due form; and accordingly God did mani- 
 " fest to him his distinguishing title, which had never before 
 " reached (he ear of man, and which it is not lawful for me 
 " to utter." 
 
 * Utx^a [jLiv yaf A^iiAxa-'nois Zoc&^xva-riov /<rro§s<Ti rof oeyotQov 
 AatiJLOvx zu^ocTTroi^a-acr^xi rovs do^aovs avru oioovxi <mx^x ct rots 
 9io(jt.a^oiji.tvois Tirxis Zx^oK^iv ucxvrus mv koivkv Ea-rtxvy >ujx^x §e 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 181 
 
 Verbs which terminate in b^ as their last radical^ 
 named by the Masorites quiescent in Lamed 
 Aleph, are complete and perfect in every respect, 
 and are inflected in a manner exactly similar to 
 "?pO so that they require no separate illustration. 
 
 Examples. 
 \irO. To'create i^m To be thirsty 
 
 fe^Stn To hate WtttO To be impure 
 
 ^hl2 To be full t^!«2 To find. 
 
 rots lii^xtois Mbferviv rov law iiriy.tx.^oviA.ivoi Qsov, DlODORUI 
 SiGULUs, Edit. Rhodomani Hanovice^ 1604. p. 48. c. 
 
 TRANSLATION : 
 
 *' The claims to inspiration are innumera1)le : for histo- 
 *' rians inform us, that Zathraustes, among the Arimas- 
 *' pians, pretended that the Good Demon gave him his laws, 
 ** Zamolxis, among the Getae, affirmed that the Common or 
 '' Universal Vesta inspired him with legislative powers : 
 ** and Moses, the law-giver of the Jews, recommended his 
 *' institutions as the revelations of the God iao." 
 
 Vide Orationem Ludovici Capelli de Nomine Jehovah, 
 calcem libri de arcana puncL revelalo, et in appendice 
 ad Criticam Sacram. 
 
182 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 Explanation of Irregularities that take place in the 
 Flexion of some Verbs, 
 
 FROM nnt!? to bow down, is formed with 
 1 inserted after the middle radical rniTOnn, per 
 metathesin^ mnntl^n to bow down one's self in 
 worship, a verb frequently used in the Psalms. 
 
 Some few retain H in declining, as^ 
 
 ni^ Qibbus, to be protuberant, high. 
 
 nnn;^ Gibba. 
 
 Common Form. 
 
 nra:i 
 
 Verbs ending in ^ sometimes expunge it before 
 a Nun servile, as Hi^Db^Jl for ni^;3b^n Pem. 
 They shall be supported or made firm, from 
 pfc^ fidelis, firmus, credidit. 
 
 So verbs in Jn often lose it before H servile. 
 
 ^Tin:: for '^nri'ii i cut 
 
 ^n^ for '^nn^ I die. 
 Two letters of the same kind are seldom placed 
 together. Serviles expel serviles, whether of the 
 same or of a different class. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 183 
 
 Some verbs are doubly defective, chiefly such 
 as have ^ or ^ for their first radical, and H for 
 their last. 
 
 JV^Jl 2d per. plur. masc. fut. from H^'' to 
 afflict. \ paralogical. 
 li^'Tin 1st per. plur. masc. pret. Hiphil, from 
 TW to cast down. Hiphil^ TTiyn to 
 confess. 
 
 to*^ 3d per. sing. masc. fut. Kal, from niD3 
 to extend, tD"* contracted for HtD^^ 
 
 "7^^ 1st per. sing. fut. Kal, from TO^ to 
 smite, ^b^ softened for Tl'D^^ 
 The verb ]r\^ to give, is doubly defective, and 
 in a peculiar manner ; for it not only loses its 
 first 3 as "^fD^ to pour, and other verbs defective 
 in Pe Nun, and its last before another 13 as pb^ 
 but it also loses its final D before the servile n as 
 ^rslTS^ for "^^^D^ I gave, DDJli for DD^Jlij/e gave, 
 and has its infinitive in nn to give, for M^JH 
 which sometimes is thought to assume H para- 
 gogical instead of H and appear Jl^n dare. H^n 
 in the 8th Psalm, which has much perplexed the 
 critics, by their taking it for the infinitive, is 
 probably a contraction for 'n^ilD 2d person sin- 
 gular masculine future Kal, with H paragogical, 
 jn*^ ]nn T^^Drs contracte H^H rejecting either the 
 first or the second ii. 
 
184 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Of the Verbal Affixes. 
 
 IT was formerly observed, that the possessive 
 pronouns are subjoined to nouns, under the name 
 of Affixes. The personal pronouns are sub- 
 joined to verbs in the same manner, and will 
 require some exemplification to render them 
 familiar. 
 
 A Verb with its Affixes, 
 
 He visited. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 IpD 
 
 Me 
 
 12 
 
 
 Us 
 
 1 
 
 
 Thee ^ 
 
 05 
 
 
 You M. 
 
 P 
 
 
 You P. 
 
 n 
 
 
 Him 
 
 nn 
 
 
 Him 
 
 D 
 
 
 Them, eos 
 
 ID 
 
 
 Them, eos 
 
 n 
 
 
 Her 
 
 1 
 
 
 Them, eas. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. ' 185 
 
 n of the third person singular feminine is 
 changed into D before the affixes, in the same 
 manner as H feminine of nouns. Analogous to 
 the same rule, D of the second person singular 
 feminine, assumes "^ before the affixes. 
 
 mpQ She visited. 
 
 *»:3 mpQ Me 
 
 12 Us 
 
 T Thee 
 
 d:3 &c. You 
 as above. 
 
 mpQ Thou didst visit F. 
 
 •':3^rnpD Me P, 
 
 n: Us 
 
 *in &c. Him 
 
 In the second persons plural masculine and 
 feminine of Kal, ]mpD DrnpD the D and \ final 
 are ejected, and their place is supplied by 1 in- 
 serted before the affixes. 
 
 Ye visited. 
 
 ''iinipD Me 
 
 -13 Us 
 
 in Him 
 
 D Them, eos 
 
 \ Them, eas 
 
 n Her. 
 
186 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 13 for hirrii and HD for her, are genemlly 
 affixed to the future^ from which the inserted Vau 
 is expelled by the affixes. 3 seems to be inserted 
 or added, to give the voice a resting place, and 
 avoid hiatus vocalium. 
 
 The adding of the syllable on to the end of 
 words, is a practice frequent among Arabic wri- 
 ters ; and, — in Greek, the letter v is subjoined to 
 words terminating in a vowel, when the next 
 word begins with one, as, 
 
 rvvrea-iv otvras 
 
 "ripD*^ He shall visit 
 
 ppD*^ With ] paragogical 
 
 ^nripZ:^ He shall visit him 
 
 '\yip^^ Contracte 
 
 ^P^^l He will visit her. 
 
 n3-TpD^> 
 
 3 is sometimes inserted before *7 thee, ^31Wt2r 
 they shall hear or carry thee, from fc^t!?3 tuUt, a 
 verb defective in Pe Nun, 
 
 Examples of Verbs with their Pronominal Af^ 
 fixes, 
 
 D\U To place, to put 
 Myty^ Thou hast put him 
 TV2r\ To deceive 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 187 
 
 '^rn'^DI Thou (fem.) hast deceived me 
 
 n«1 To see 
 VIT^I^*^ I have seen him 
 
 nD** To instruct 
 '\pnD'^ She instructed him 
 «!^ To find 
 Dn«:s5D She found them 
 nto:3 To incline 
 intsrr She inclined him 
 in5 To write 
 Dniiii Thou hast written them 
 
 hhp To despise 
 ''inSpn Thou hast despised me 
 
 \T\^ To give 
 in^Tin^ Thou (fem.) hast given him 
 
 t^m:3 To lift up, to bear 
 D^il^tr: Thou (fem.) hast borne them 
 
 nn« To curse 
 n*^r\*\*^fc^ I have cursed her 
 nt^r To forsake 
 "^y)1lV They have forsaken me 
 nSv To go up 
 •^3in*^7Vn Ye have brought us up, caused us 
 to ascend 
 m^ To forget 
 'p:3n5U? We have forgotten thee 
 
 riD To die 
 l^n'^Dn It (fem.) shall kill him 
 
188 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 \r\^ To give 
 in:)n Give him 
 nph To take 
 ^T^p Take him 
 pn To shew favour 
 ^'iin Have mercy upon me 
 h^XO To see, to ask 
 ''i'^7fc^tl? Ask ye me 
 ^1*1"^ To pursue 
 IDl*^'^ He will pursue him 
 
 nnt To sing 
 *^*lDr He will sing of thee 
 IID To go round 
 •inDllID^ He will lead him about 
 -ntl? To destroy 
 Gl'Qj^ He will destroy them 
 pin To embrace 
 ''Dpinn She will embrace me 
 Tiy^ To oppress 
 Di"'^ Let us oppress them 
 b^:s^ To find 
 ni^«^'» They shall find her 
 
 «np To cry 
 *'3i')«np'' They shall call upon me 
 n«n To see 
 ''il^n*^ They shall see me 
 mi To flee 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 189 
 
 nmil When he fled, in his flying, p.* 
 
 fjl*^ To pursue 
 *7QT^7 To pursue Ihee, p, 
 
 nr\D To open 
 •^nnsi When I open, at my opening, p. 
 
 Db^n To despise 
 DDi^D To despise them 
 
 Wp'2 To seek 
 "l^plS To seek thee, p. 
 
 \1?^ To approach 
 Dfltl?^! When they drew near, p, 
 
 D^n To be hot 
 DDTO When they grew hot, p, 
 
 Dp To rise 
 '^'^T^p They that rise up against thee 
 nh'' To bear 
 nm71 When she brought forth, p. 
 
 n::i To build 
 •^r^'lill When thou buildest, in thy build- 
 ing, p. 
 p To prepare 
 li^'^ni When he prepared, in his prepa- 
 ration, p. 
 Tl^l To deceive 
 *»ini?2*^7 To deceive me, p. 
 7D To circumcise 
 
 * Those marked with p, have Prefixes as well as Affixes. 
 
190 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 ITOHI When he was circumcised, p. 
 rT"lt To disperse 
 D5''il1*)tm When ye shall be dispersed 
 «np To cry, to call 
 Vfr^^lp They that call upon him 
 nw To do 
 nn^W They that do them 
 
 VV'^ To advise 
 in^W She that counselled him 
 
 :nn To slay 
 V;iinrT His slain, those slain by him 
 
 Vi^p To call 
 n^lf^^inp Her guests. Litt. Those invited by 
 her 
 n:v To afflict 
 y:y^y:i They that afflict thee 
 n^'^ To see 
 ''W*! They that see me. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR, 191 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Of Derivative Nouns. 
 
 NOUNS are derived or formed from verbs in 
 five dififerent ways. 
 
 1. By abstraction of radical letters 
 
 2. By commutation of radical letters 
 
 3. By prefixion^ 
 
 4. By insertion/' of serviles. 
 
 5. By addition y 
 
 By radical, in the above division, is not meant 
 any of the eleven letters which properly deserve 
 that title, because none of them ever desert their 
 station in the verb^ or in the noun derived from 
 it^ but such letters only as become occasionally 
 radical, though they generally belong to the class 
 of serviles. 
 
 Nouns which are formed by the prefixion or 
 addition of serviles, have received the technical 
 name of He'emantic, because the letters which 
 compose the word '^il^Db^n credidi, are employed 
 in their formation. The letter ^ however, ought 
 to have been added to the number, as contri- 
 buting its service to the same work ; and then 
 
192 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 with pleasure we should have observed the same 
 seven letters^ which carry on the whole inflection 
 of verbs, acting in another capacity, reducing 
 verbs to nouns, and amassing a vast store of 
 words from a stock seemingly narrow and circum- 
 scribed. 
 
 Heemantic Nouns placed heloto the Verbs whence 
 they are derived. 
 
 1. Such as are formed from verbs by the ab- 
 straction of radical letters, Jl final being some- 
 times added. 
 
 V'y^ To know 
 ^1 n^l Knowledge 
 
 Drr^ To be hot 
 on rM::in Heat 
 
 ^h^ To beget 
 rrh A birth 
 
 m^ To pledge 
 T(rXl A deposit 
 
 1V^ To fix a place or time 
 niV A congregation, a meeting at stated 
 times 
 
 "^V^ To consult, to advise 
 TOV A counsel 
 
 VD3 To go 
 TiiVO A going out 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 193 
 
 ^U?i To carry, to lift up 
 ^W n«\r> Elevation 
 
 ni!^ To command 
 yit A precept 
 
 D one of the Heemantic letters, is sometimes 
 prefixed. 
 
 ^m To carry 
 t^triD A load, mass 
 TO;3 To blow 
 r\Q HDD Blowing, bellows. 
 
 2. Such as are formed by commutation of ra- 
 dicals, n into ''. 
 
 n^lir To afflict 
 
 ^::^ Afflicted, affliction 
 TOl To weep 
 
 ■^il Weeping 
 ma To bring forth fruit 
 
 ^*ID Fruit 
 
 ns^ To be beautiful 
 
 *^Zi^ Beauty. 
 
 Nouns formed from Verbs, hy the prefixing or 
 postfixing of Servile Letters, 
 
 fc^ Prefixed. 
 li^lS To paint 
 yn!J« A finger 
 
194 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 m*P To rise^ to spring up 
 mtb^ A native, indigena 
 
 lt5 To lie, to deceive 
 Itib^ A liar, a deceitful man 
 
 b^'X To prosper 
 b^XO^ A bunch of grapes. 
 
 72 Prefixed 
 
 p:r To feel delight 
 p^?2 A dainty or delicacy 
 
 bnp To gather 
 7np?D A congregation 
 
 1^^5 To be grieved 
 n«:3D Grief 
 
 ^XOn To be dark 
 •^trrrD Darkness 
 
 :i>W To be high 
 n:itl?D A tower 
 
 ""^^b To carry a message 
 '^^b'O A messenger,, an angel 
 
 tDCtT! To judge 
 ^ IDD^D Judgment 
 
 "ini To choose 
 •ini^ A chosen thing 
 
 "n^p To possess 
 n2pt2 A possession 
 
 ntru? To make 
 nt2?5?D A work 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 195 
 
 ntDl To trust 
 ntOlD Hope, confidence 
 
 '^l^W To keep 
 IT^tlJD A watch 
 nsn To ride 
 2D1D A chariot. 
 
 Nouns of instrument are commonly expressed 
 by D prefixed. 
 
 nilD To open 
 tir\Zi12 An opener, a key 
 
 mt To blow 
 mtD A wind-maker^ a fan 
 p> To protect, to cover 
 pD A coverer; a shield 
 nD« To bind 
 niDk^D A binder, a band 
 
 nph To take 
 n^tlph^ Tongs. 
 
 *» is frequently commuted into \ and Q or n 
 prefixed to the root in that form. 
 
 VT To know 
 ^T)^ An acquaintance 
 
 Itl?'' To sit 
 ^Wf2 A seat 
 
 «-^^ To fear 
 W-^ID Fear 
 N 2 
 
196 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 WV To inherit 
 ttT^ID An inheritance 
 
 «!^^ To go out 
 t^^"!^ Ah outgoing 
 
 tlJp'^ To ensnare 
 Wpyo A snare. 
 
 n 
 
 n^*^ To make sorrowful 
 n^m Sorrow 
 
 HT To throw, to take aim 
 tTy)T^ Law, doctrine 
 
 HT To confess 
 ni*)n Confession 
 
 TO'' To reprove 
 nniin Reproof 
 
 711*^ To expect 
 
 rhmn Hope. 
 
 :3 prefixed forms proper names. 
 
 1^^ To rebel 
 T^^DD Nimrod 
 
 TTlD To struggle 
 ''^nc:: Naphthali. 
 
 2 postfixed produces appellatives or diminutives. 
 nitl? Quievit 
 pni\2? Sabbatulum 
 
 W^iii Vir 
 pt»'^« Virunculus, vel pupilla oculi 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 197 
 
 I'^p To approach 
 ]T)p An oflFering 
 
 "l^t To remember 
 \T\'21 Memory. 
 
 There are some examples of Mem Heemantic 
 terminating words. 
 
 DVID A ransom 
 U72V By day 
 DWnD Suddenly 
 tD^n Freely^ undeservedly. 
 
 Ty and H final are commonly signs of the femi- 
 nine gender. Sometimes 1 or *^ are inserted 
 before il, as r\1i7D regnum, n**"^^ sulphur. 
 
 From "^k^D to be fair, or to make fair, is de- 
 rived il^lb^Dn beauty, glory ^ with T\ both prefixed 
 and postfixed. 
 
 Examples of "^ prefixed and postfixed. 
 ^ prefixed, commonly forms proper names. 
 
 npV To supplant 
 npU^^ Jacob 
 
 plTT To shew favour 
 pni*^ Joannes, Gratiosu^. 
 
 pm To laugh 
 pre*^ Isaac 
 
198 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 mn To be, to exist 
 TT\T1^ Jehovah. 
 
 Sometimes common nouns are formed in the 
 same manner. 
 
 top^ To gather 
 t5*)jT?'^ A knapsack 
 
 ^t2?i Darkness 
 ?)1t2?i^ The bird of night 
 
 "\m To shine 
 ITO*^ Oil. 
 
 *» postfixed forms Patronymics, names of na- 
 tibnSj and ordinal numbers. By affixing H or H 
 they become feminine. 
 
 ^niV Hebraeus 
 ^^^=^Uebr^a 
 •^n^^D An Egyptian. 
 
 The addition of H constitutes the feminine of 
 ordinal numbers. 
 
 ptriW-^ First 
 
 ^i^tn Second 
 
 ^lirhxiH Third 
 
 i^^ll Fourth 
 
 ^tn^?2n Fifth 
 
 ^tlJtl? Sixth 
 
 ^T^'^ Seventh 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 199 
 
 *»:3^r:tr) Eighth 
 
 ^V^t2?n Ninth 
 ^TtriiT Tenth. 
 
 Nouns formed by H final, are commonly of the. 
 feminine gender. 
 
 nnt^ To love 
 nin« Love 
 
 IHD To fear 
 nire Fear 
 
 h^:: To be unjust 
 nS'^V Iniquity 
 
 D7V To hide, to conceal 
 TVy^V A virgin 
 
 pbn To divide into shares 
 np7n A share, a portion 
 
 ^7^1 To bless 
 nD*11 A blessing 
 
 ph To be white 
 nnS The moon 
 
 llb^ To lose, to perish 
 nilt^ A lost thing 
 
 h^XO To ask 
 nS^tl? A petition 
 
 Din To be wise 
 riDSn Wisdom. 
 
200 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Examples of Nouns having a Servile Letter 
 both prefixed and affixed to the Boot, as also 
 ^ and *> inserted, 
 
 ^^:i To roll 
 n?^^ A volume 
 T\T\Ty To terrify 
 nilHD Destruction 
 
 DtDt To plot 
 n?:itn A wicked device 
 7751 To praise 
 ThT\T\ Praise 
 
 77D To pray 
 rf7Dr» Prayer 
 
 hht) To raise 
 rh'On A high-way 
 
 hhn To bore 
 nVnn A beginning 
 
 -^1« To shine 
 rvr\V(0 A den* 
 V\\ To move 
 rX\^XQ A door-post 
 p^t To straiten 
 np-^^rD A strait 
 
 11^ To return 
 nilt!:^ A turning back 
 11"^ To strive 
 
 * JD PmatWum^ 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 201 
 
 ni^^nn Contention 
 
 fl^ To mock 
 T^Th^ Interpretation 
 
 pi To know, to consider 
 llTiiry Understanding 
 
 D'li To slumber 
 no*)2n Drowsiness 
 
 not! To fly to 
 rrDUD A refuge 
 -^no To hide 
 "^ino?:^ A covert. 
 
 Nouns of four or five letters, mostly conson- 
 ants, are formed by doubling one or more of the 
 radicals, and frequehtly represent rapidity, or 
 repeated motion. 
 
 1. By doubling the two first radicals. 
 
 nplp The scalp, from 
 ^:i^:i A wheel, 
 
 lip 
 
 ^DliT An eye-lid, 
 
 ^05^ 
 
 3. By doubling the second. 
 
 
 :i^:in Meditation, 
 
 n:irr 
 
 p:t Fornication, 
 
 n2t 
 
 3. By doubling the third. 
 
 
 p^W Quiet, 
 pV") Green, 
 trh^b^ri Redness, 
 
 Van 
 
202 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Doubling the two first, and inserting 1 
 V^XOV^ Delight, TOtl? 
 
 liTinvri Error, HVn 
 
 The second and third. 
 
 phphtl Slippery, from phtl 
 
 ^D:3Dn Proward, ^DH 
 
 101121^ Red, U1^ 
 
 «!^«^ Offspring, ^ii'^ 
 
 Nouns compounded, or of foreign extraction, 
 sometimes consist of four or five radical letters. 
 ^7t A storm 
 •^IDV A mouse 
 Vni Iron 
 D11D A garden 
 n"i3^ A frog 
 py^^ Purple. 
 
 Nouns of one Si/llable, and two Letters, from 
 Imperfect Verbs, 
 
 Uty Hot, heat 
 
 Dil Perfect, integrity 
 
 'OV People 
 
 D^ The sea 
 Dfc^ A mother 
 
 15 Gibbous 
 
 ?)l A festival 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 203 
 
 1!J A side 
 
 "SD Pine gold 
 
 m White 
 
 y^ Soft 
 
 "ft Pure 
 
 h^ Dew 
 
 hp Light, not heavy 
 
 ^tD A little child 
 
 )r)n A drum 
 
 p Garden 
 
 tp The hollow of the hand 
 
 }rp A threshold, a cup 
 
 ^'a Bitter 
 
 11 Clean 
 
 -ip Cold 
 
 r\^ A winepress 
 
 HD A morsel 
 
 nu? The navel 
 
 ih The heart 
 
 7Jn A heap 
 
 \1l Grace 
 
 yn An arrow 
 
 *7D All 
 
 ,^n Palate 
 
 ^tlJ A tooth 
 
 Di A standard 
 
 nV A season 
 
 tiJ^ Strength 
 
S04 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 7^ A shadow 
 p A nest 
 VP The end 
 
 yi A bear 
 pn A statute. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR, S05 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Of Numbers, 
 
 THE Cardinal Numbers are, 
 "rn« M. One 
 
 D'^itl? M. Two 
 U^TW P. 
 
 ntr^tt? M. Three 
 
 tf^tr P. 
 
 rT;s^i"i« M. Pour 
 vy^v< P. 
 
 nti^tsn M. -Pive 
 tr^rr P. 
 
 TXW) M. Six 
 tro P. 
 
 n:s^ltt? M. Seven 
 ' Vim P. 
 
 n^t^tU M. Eight 
 
 n:3nti? p. 
 
 • r^y/xary M. Nine. 
 ytrn P. 
 
206 
 
 HEBREW 
 
 GRAMMAR, 
 
 ^w:^ M. 
 
 Ten 
 
 m^v P. 
 
 
 Tr)m F. 
 
 
 D^-1W Twenty 
 a^t2?^tl? Thirty 
 D'^l^l-lfe^ Forty ' 
 U^WOn Fifty 
 n^Xl!}^ Sixty 
 n^yy^ Seventy 
 D'^:3D\r' Eighty 
 D^li^trn Ninety 
 
 »lb^t2 One hundred 
 G^n«D Two hundred 
 il'l^tS tn^U? Three hundred 
 ^^ A thousand 
 D^qS« Two thousand 
 D^dV« tri^ru? Three thousand 
 f\h^ n^XohxH) Thirty thousand 
 Min Ten thousand 
 d^'llfe^l^ Twenty thousand 
 nib^ll wh'^ Thirty thousand, or three ten 
 thousands. 
 
 For the ordinal numbers, from two to ten, see 
 page 198. 
 
 The Ordinals above ten do not differ from the 
 Cardinals, and are expressed in this manner. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 207 
 
 *^tr:jr nnw One and ten. The 11th 
 
 -^W D^::tr> Two and ten. The 12th 
 
 in«1 Q'^'y^ Twenty and one. The 21st. 
 The Jews employ also the letters of the al- 
 phabet to express numbers, in the same manner 
 as the Greeks and Romans ; but this practice is 
 chiefly confined to the writings of the Rabbies 
 and of the Masorites. To the twenty-two com- 
 mon letters of the alphabet, the five finals are 
 added, making in all twenty-seven, which are 
 divided into three classes, consisting of nine each. 
 The first class represents Units, the second Tens, 
 the third Hundreds, in this manner : 
 
 M 1 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 p 100 
 
 a 3 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 1 200 
 
 a 3 
 
 ' h 
 
 30 
 
 O 300 
 
 T 4 
 
 O 
 
 40 
 
 n 400 
 
 n 5 
 
 2 
 
 50 
 
 •J 500 
 
 1 6 
 
 D 
 
 60 
 
 D 600 
 
 t 7 
 
 V 
 
 70 
 
 \ 700 
 
 n 8 
 
 S 
 
 80 
 
 f\ 800 
 
 IS 9 
 
 2 
 
 90 
 
 Y 900 
 
 In joining Hebrew letters to denote numbers, 
 it must be remembered, that the letter of the 
 highest numerical value is placed first on the right 
 hand, before the letter of less value, contrary to 
 our method of calculation by figures, according 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 to which, the value of a figure increases towards 
 the left, and diminishes toward the right. 
 
 *» stands for ten, 1 for two. Placed thus l'' 
 they signify 12, «^ 31, :i!^ 93, Hp 105, IDn 266. 
 
 The number 15 should be represented by TV 
 but, because these letters constitute part of the 
 word mrr'' the letters ItD or 9 and 6, represent 
 15, to prevent, as the Jews allege, the profana- 
 tion of the peculiar name of God. For the same 
 reason, tD 9 and 7, is used instead of V 10 and 
 6 J to express 16. 
 
 An acute accent above any one of the first 
 nine letters, multiplies its value by a thousand, 
 i^ 1000, i 3000 ; though sometimes the number 
 of thousands is represented by a common letter 
 prefixed to a doubly accented j»^. 
 
 Kn 2000 m 8000 
 
 If hundreds are added, the accented Aleph is 
 omitted. 
 
 pi 2100 Xin 4300 IDJfc^ 1782. 
 
 As the pages and the chapters of printed He- 
 brew Bibles, are generally marked with letters 
 for numerical signs, it is proper that the learner 
 be acquainted with this method. 
 
 Let him also attend to the following observa- 
 tion: 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 209 
 
 Keri and Chetib, the one derived from fc^'Hp to 
 tead, and the other from iniD to write, are terras 
 frequently used by Jewish authors, to express the 
 difference between the reading of the manu- 
 scripts, and that of the printed copies of the Old 
 Testament. The Chetib is the word adopted in 
 the text, and is marked with a small circle above 
 it, which refers to a different reading in the 
 margin, named the Keri, commonly distinguished 
 by the letter Koph below it, and sometimes 
 written in Rabbinical characters. 
 
210 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 List of Adverbsy Prepositions^ Interjections^ and 
 Conjunctions, 
 
 IT is impossible, in any table, to assign the 
 precise meaning of Adverbs. As they limit and 
 qualify verbs, their sense is chiefly to be gathered 
 from the general turn of the sentences where 
 they appear. 
 
 n^^ '>^') 
 
 f 
 
 TO^N) 
 
 ^ Where ? 
 
 nD^« b^*)5^«; 
 
 > 
 
 n::« i« 
 
 Whither, where? 
 
 p«iD 
 
 Whence ? 
 
 HD «D 
 
 Here, hither 
 
 IDD nQD 
 
 Thence, hence. 
 
 
 Here, hither 
 
 nm 
 
 There 
 
 nwn 
 
 Thence 
 
 ri^yo) 
 
 Within 
 
 n^^^D) 
 
 
 V^n 
 
 Without 
 
 n^^D 
 
 Above 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAB. 2 1 1 
 
 From above* 
 
 Tn^T^ Below 
 
 "linb^ Backward 
 
 ••JlD When? 
 
 > How Ions: ? 
 
 nm Now 
 
 "llTO To-morrow 
 
 DDI*^ By day 
 
 UW^ The day before yesterday 
 
 0*^257^ Before this time 
 
 1"^12t^ Constantly 
 
 ^^■^^J Until 
 
 D-)tO Before that 
 
 ■)ilD Quickly 
 
 t« Then 
 
 Dfc^n Is it so? 
 
 «SrT Is it not ? 
 
 7^W How ? 
 
 * VM12 Wherefore ? 
 
 ni:h Why ? 
 
 HD^ How many, how often ? 
 
 p So 
 
 \M Truly 
 o2 
 
912 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 *7b^ Yes, surely 
 ^^^H Certainly 
 
 t^7> Not : n* 
 
 Do not 
 
 Lest 
 
 Perhaps . 
 
 In vain 
 
 Vainly 
 
 Without a cause, undeserr- 
 
 edly 
 Like a Jew 
 
 At oncCj together 
 
 How much more ? Afif. 
 
 How much less ? Neg. 
 
 Slowly 
 
 By little, scarcely 
 
 x\lmost, as little 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 213 
 
 pt^:: Almost, scarce any, if not 
 
 H So 
 
 pnM Just so* 
 
 nil In such a way 
 
 nn« Once 
 
 Ty^l'^ Twice, secondly 
 
 n^UJ^Vtl? Thrice, thirdly. 
 
 Prepositions. 
 
 f'h^ h^ 
 
 To 
 
 hi^^ 
 
 At, near to 
 
 ^IV IV 
 
 Even to 
 
 1^ 
 
 Before, over against 
 
 n!)A n!>3 
 
 Over against 
 
 ni2vhl 
 
 ) 
 
 h^7^[ 
 
 * Over against, opposite to 
 
 ^^DDj 
 
 ) 
 
 P 
 
 Between ^^,^f 
 
 D "^its p 
 
 From, than, in comparison 
 
 
 of, away from 
 
 ''isS 
 
 Before. Litt. at the face 
 
 ^"hv hv 
 
 Upon, above 
 
 n^iD 
 
 Around 
 
 • The syllable ID is often expletive. 
 f ^ is often addod to prepositions and adverbs, Ew 
 phonia Causa, 
 
214 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 nn:ir On this side 
 
 "^1^^ Beyond, ' over 
 
 rt^hn Beyond 
 
 ^"Mn^ nn^^ After 
 
 nnn Under, for, instead of 
 
 * VUpon account of, because of 
 
 The letters d ^ !) 1 are called inseparable 
 Prepositions, or Prepositives, 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. ^1^ 
 
 1 in, D according as, like, 7 to, for, at, 
 J2 from. 
 
 There is only one inseparable post-positive, 
 n towards. 
 
 TV2MD Towards Sodom 
 TOIfe^ Towards the earth 
 ntiS Towards Luz. 
 
 Conjunctions. 
 
 d:i ?!« Also 
 
 1 And 
 
 ^tl? Which, who 
 
 Dfc^ If 
 
 Q« ^n But 
 
 tnh n« If not 
 ^h ^h^ If 
 
 ^^'l*? Unless 
 
 ^« But 
 
 hlt^ But, nevertheless, notwith- 
 standing 
 th^^ Nevertheless 
 ^2 1D> Even though, though it 
 should be so 
 ■)« Or 
 *^^ For, because 
 
 * A contraction for ^t^K 
 
216 HEBRETT GRAMMAR. 
 
 ^P^ > For which cause 
 
 ^ri^i^ Not 
 
 pb) Wherefore, upon which ac- 
 p 7^) count, therefore. 
 
 Interjections, 
 
 p n:irT b^rr Lo! Behold! 
 
 •»! «::b^ «:) Prithee, I pray 
 
 n^ '^in Wo, O! Alas! 
 
 "hh^ Woes me! 
 
 rh'hn God forbid! 
 
 H^Tl tH^Tl Irony or laughter 
 
 lirr rD»l Come now ! Go to * 
 
 p^ Surely, be it so. 
 
 Prepositions assume the affixes. ^ is often in- 
 serted betwixt the preposition and the pronoun, 
 to soften the sound. 
 
 ^nV Tome 
 
 "h:^ Upon me, towards me 
 
 T^V To thee 
 
 iDH^^nnn Under them. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 217 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Of Syntax. 
 
 HEBREW Syntax enjoys the advantage of 
 being extremely simple, and is free from the 
 elliptical and irregular phraseology which often 
 perplexes us in other languages. The words 
 commonly stand in their natural order ; and sen- 
 tences admit of being translated into English, 
 almost without any alteration of the arrangement. 
 The chief exception is, that the nominatives very 
 frequently follow their verbs, and the adjectives 
 their substantives. 
 
 A substantive noun is often found alone in the 
 body of a sentence, when it is neither a nomi- 
 native to a verb, nor governed by a verb, and 
 has no preposition or sign of case before it. In 
 this situation, it frequently indicates the instru- 
 ment by which the energy of some principal verb 
 of the sentence is exerted, and must generally be 
 translated, so as to refer to this verb, with signs 
 that express the ablative in Latin. 
 
 Their tongue (i. e. with their tongue) they flatter. 
 
218 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Favour (i. e, with favour) sbalt thou crown him. 
 
 Lest I come and strike the earth — curse, i, e. 
 with a curse. 
 
 TTim TTin -nn^ t-i^ ^;; lann -n:in 
 
 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou mighty, 
 in thy glory and thy majesty. 
 
 3D-) n^v imm 
 
 And in thy Majesty prosper, ride. 
 
 The verb ^b'O signifies to be full, and, in 
 Hiphil, to fill, we say, A vessel full of water. 
 Fill this vessel with water. Fill this granary/ 
 with corn. Were these sentences to be con- 
 verted into Hebrew, the words water and corn 
 would want the signs of and with, and stand 
 solitary. 
 
 And he said. Fill four casks with water. 
 
 And I will fill this house glory, {i. e. with glory,) 
 saith Jehovah (God) of hosts. 
 
 And the house was filled smoke, (i. e. with 
 smoke). 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. SI 9 
 
 The personal pronouns are often placed by 
 themselves, the substantive verb to be supplied. 
 
 I God all-sufficient. Sup. am. 
 
 I weak or sick. Sup. am. 
 
 nr\^ vt^i pn bi^ k^ •^r) 
 
 For not a God delighting in wickedness art thou. 
 
 Akin to this is another form of construction, 
 in which the personal pronoun *^ik^ is conjoined 
 with a substantive, without any verb, denoting 
 a particular attachment in the person to what the 
 substantive implies or expresses. 
 
 But I prayer, i. e. I am devoted to prayer. 
 
 I peace, i, e. I am much inclined to peace. 
 
 The pronoun is often repeated after the rela- 
 tive by a pleonasm. 
 
 Which the wind driveth it away, 
 
 n* i^no^n ii^i^ i2^n ^im 
 
 Blessed is the man whom thou shalt chasten him, 
 O Jehovah ! 
 
220 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 The same construction, derived from this 
 source, sometimes occurs in the Greek of the 
 New Testament. 
 
 Kelt tx§a^t ^uvvi fxeyocKip rots rtcrcraqariv ayys\ots ois tSo6>» ocvrois 
 a^tKvicrui rv)v ynt xoit r*iv ^xXxaerav, 
 
 And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels 
 to whom it was given to them to hurt the earth 
 and the sea. 
 
 Merx mcvrx. si^ov xxt t^a oy\os zsoXvs ov a^tOi/.viO'xi avrc¥ uttit 
 
 After these things 1 looked, and behold a great 
 multitude, which no man could number it, 
 
 A verb generally agrees with its nominative in 
 gender, number, and person. 
 
 Sometimes, however, a plural nominative is 
 joined to a verb singular. 
 
 In principio creavit Dii. 
 In this case, t^'ll is to be considered as the 
 radical term, before or behind which any nomi- 
 native may be placed, itself remaining inde- 
 clinable, as, 
 
 . 1 loved. Ye loved. They loved. Loved he 
 them ? In all these instances, loved is invariable. 
 
 *»ik^ npD and ^T\:^^ IpD may be said with as 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 221 
 
 great propriety as *^n"TpD and WpD only the last 
 is more frequently used. 
 
 Words that express dominion, dignity, ma- 
 jesty, are commonly put in the plural. 
 
 n^rh^ Gods D^:31« Lords 
 
 D'lT'Vl Husbands, masters. 
 
 Though, at the same time, they may have a verb> 
 noun, or affix singular. 
 
 tt^np i7i^yi icti^ m^nv m,T t^v i^^w ^d 
 
 For thy Maker is thy husband, Jehovah (God) of 
 hosts, his name, and thy Redeemer the Holy 
 One of Israel, God of all the earth shall he be 
 called. 
 
 In this sentence, though *^7^1 *^W and ^TT^^fc^ 
 be plural, yet nin*^ the affix ^ kis, b^^ Redee7ner, 
 'Wrp the Hob/ One, and the verb «"^p^ he shall 
 he called y are all in the singular number. 
 
 An adjective singular is sometimes joined to 
 a substantive plural. 
 
 '^StoQtij^ •^tl?'^ Right are thy judgments. 
 
 Collective nouns, or nouns singular, that com- 
 prehend many individuals, may have an adjective, 
 participle, or verb plural. 
 
22S HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Populus lagtantes, Populus videntes. 
 
 pD^T i^:d -n^^n m.T npiin '^i:iv wn ntr« 
 
 Happy the people who know the joyful sounds 
 O Jehovah, in the light of thy countenance 
 shall they walk. 
 
 Though D^rr be singular, yet the participle 
 '^^"Tl*' and the verb p57n'» are plural. 
 
 Two or more substantives singular may have 
 a verb, adjective, participle, or possessive affix 
 plural. 
 
 The world and its fulness, thou hast founded 
 them, 
 
 i::t ijotr^n ]^mn^ mnn 
 
 Thabor and Hermon, in thy name (they) shall 
 rejoice. 
 
 Property or possession is represented by h the 
 sign of the dative, the verb being omitted. 
 
 For to me — every wild beast of the forest. 
 
 To thee — the day, and to thee — the night. 
 
 To thee — the heavens, also to thee — the earth. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 223 
 
 Such phraseology corresponds to the Latin 
 rule. Est pro habeo^ Tibi dies, et tibi nox, &c. 
 
 h before substantive nouns often appears re- 
 dundant, corresponding to the dative of the thing, 
 in such Latin phrases as these, Erant auxiho 
 mihi. Est mihi voluptati. 
 
 n3D«: n^np n:i6 nn^n hd^k 
 
 How is she become an harlot, the faithful city ? 
 Quomodo facta est meretrici civitas fidelis ? 
 
 DH^:::' nwi p':^^:^ I'^i/ai r^'l};:h \or\n n^m 
 
 And the strong man shall be tow (for tow), and 
 his work a spark (for a spark), and they shall 
 burn both together without a quencher. 
 
 nai mn:)^"! '^n'^h mn*^ nD)i n^•T» ^^nn Dva 
 
 In that day shall the branch of Jehovah be for 
 a beauty, and for a glory, and the fruit of the 
 earth for excellency and ornament, to the es- 
 caped of Israel. 
 
 Eritque Jehovah mihi Deo. 
 
 Factusque est homo animsB viventi. 
 
224 HEBEEW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Instances of variety or irregularity in the use 
 of the past and future tenses frequently occur. 
 These are apt to embarrass at firsts but practice 
 will render them easy and intelligible. 
 
 Whatever happens by custom^ habit, or the 
 course of nature, is commonly expressed in the 
 future tense. 
 
 njH'^ n^r)'^ mini 
 
 In the law of Jehovah he will meditate, i. e. it is 
 his constant practice to do so. 
 
 T*?» :iii^ri ^u;>^: p d^'Q Y^i^ ^V y^i:T\ ^""^d 
 
 As the hart crieth for {Litt. shall cry for) streams 
 of waters, so shall my soul cry for thee, O 
 God! 
 
 Speaking of God, Job says, chap, ix. 1 1 . 
 
 Behold he passeth over me, and I see him not ; 
 
 he turneth again also, and I understand him 
 
 not. 
 
 All these verbs, in the original, are in the 
 future tense. 
 
 The letter ^ before the perfect, often converts 
 it into a future, and, before the future, converts 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 225 
 
 it into a perfect tense^ bearing, in this character, 
 the title of Vdu conversiviim.^ 
 
 -11^ ^T^ -nx ^n^ wnh^ n^i^^i 
 
 And God said. Let light be, and light was, Litt, 
 And God shall say, &c. 
 
 And thou shalt keep his statutes and command- 
 ments. Lift. And thou hast kept, &c. 
 
 The word tb^ has frequently the same effect of 
 changing the future into the perfect. 
 
 nniTD ^^^n i2}:2 Dn;; u;bm nt^D h'^ny^ r^^ 
 
 Then Moses set apart three cities on this side 
 Jordan towards the sun-rising. 
 
 The verb 7*'"11"^ is in the future tense. 
 
 Then sung Moses and the sons of Israel this 
 song. 
 
 Ttl?*' is in the future tense. 
 
 Verbs often have after them nouns derived 
 from the same root with themselves. 
 
 * This promiscuous use of the preterite and future appears 
 to me very inexplicable. After all my research I have found 
 no satisfactory account of it. 
 P 
 
226 HEBUEW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Why do yqu use this proverb ? 
 
 bwt2 A proverb^ a parable, a sententious say- 
 ing. 
 
 bw^ To speak or use such a saying. 
 
 And I will sweep it away with the sweeping or 
 besom of destruction. 
 
 And thou didst cause it to take root. 
 Et fecisti ut radicaret radices suos. 
 
 tD*lt2? sometimes also signifies to eradicate. 
 
 In the same manner, tI?T in Hiph. tT'^^'^irr 
 signifies to put in possession, or to expel from 
 a possession. 
 
 Jtl?1 To remove ashes, to cover with ashes, to 
 fatten, to reduce to ashes. 
 
 The verb to skin, in our own language, has 
 opposite significations. 
 
 \V2^^ *>:;; in p 
 
 He judged the judgment (the cause) of the af- 
 flicted and the indigent. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 227 
 
 Plead my pleading, i. e. my cause. 
 
 As if we said, 
 
 Contende contentionem meam. 
 
 As synonymous nouns are sometimes placed 
 together, the first, in statu regiminis, to express 
 the superlative degree ; so a noun and verb, of 
 nearly the same signification, are frequently con- 
 joined, to convey an idea of something complete 
 and entire. 
 
 And the land be wasted with desolation, i. e. be 
 made utterly desolate. 
 
 r2 
 
<:2S HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Of Peculiar Idioms^ and Compound Words, 
 
 IN the chapter concerning nouns in construc- 
 tion, instances were given of some beautiful 
 peculiarities of expression, for which the Hebrew 
 is distinguished. It will not be improper to add 
 some more specimens in this chapter. 
 
 The word p Jilius^ is often placed in regimen, 
 as related to, connected withj or produced by, 
 the substantive which follows it in the genitive of 
 position. 
 
 n:3tr U'^'^V p A son of twenty years 
 A man twenty years old 
 
 TWp p A son of the bow 
 An arrow 
 
 hv^hl "^^2. Sons of Belial, or of the 
 worthless 
 Men of base character 
 
 •^i^^ p The son of my floor 
 Grain when threshed 
 
 ' tp^ *^il Sons of the burning coal 
 Sparks, 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 229 
 
 It is to be expected that a very ancient and 
 primitive language^ spoken at a period when 
 society was neither corrupted nor embellished by 
 artj would be exceedingly simple, but, at the 
 same time, highly figurative and metaphorical. 
 It is probable also, that it would borrow its 
 images not merely from the grand objects of 
 nature, but from those with which men are most 
 familiarly acquainted, such as, from the parts and 
 members of the human body, or from the instru^ 
 ments and occurrences of rural life. 
 
 The following idioms may serve to illustrate 
 this observation. 
 
 tl?« ptrS A tongue of fire* 
 Flame 
 
 vho p The tooth of a rock 
 
 A sharp pointed rock, a crag 
 
 U^ nstr The lip of the sea 
 The sea- shore 
 
 rY^*^D 1*^)1 A sword of mouths 
 A two-edged sword 
 
 ' in*' ^J2 Who shall give .? 
 O that I 
 
 * Acts ii. 3, Cloven tongues, as of fire, i, e. divided 
 flames. 
 
230 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 X^"l ^'llD mii His glory are men of famine 
 The ?nen in whom he gloried 
 are famished 
 
 D^n^« tlJ^fc^ A man of God 
 
 A pious or inspired many a 
 prophet" 
 
 mrr'' 71p The voice of Jehovah 
 The thunder 
 
 rr\rv nn The breath of Jehovah 
 The wind 
 
 ^IpV \\V The iniquity of my hfels 
 
 The violence of those who un- 
 justly pursue or persecute 
 
 . me* 
 
 Slt^tr *T^ The hand of the grave 
 The power of the grave 
 
 X\'hv ptD'i T\Xi^ The years of the right hand 
 of the Most High 
 Fast times in which the Al- 
 mighty had given signal 
 displays of his power 
 
 D^?2^ 1^ The heart of the seas 
 The middle of the sea 
 
 * Psalms xlix. 5. I mention this only as a probable 
 meaning, for the expression is very obscure. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 231 
 
 nmr ^DVSV The eyelids of the morning 
 The first dawning of the day 
 
 13V D"T The blood of the grape 
 Red wine 
 
 \'\^r\ ^D Tf-nn il^r] -^i:!^ 
 
 I go the way of all the earth 
 
 And he slept with his fathers. 
 
 We meet with few compound words in Hebrew, 
 and, when they do occur, they exhibit little of 
 that soft and musical coalition remarkable in si- 
 milar words of the Greek, but rather resemble 
 such combinations as the following, which fre- 
 quently present themselves in English ; Sun- 
 rising, hard-hearted, stiff -necked, hare-foot, 
 dim-sighted, hook- seller^ fire- worker. 
 
 Examples of compound Hehrew Words. 
 
 D"^!^ Abram, an eminent father, compounded 
 of Ifc^ father, and Q") high. 
 
 U'n^'ytk Abraham, the eminent father of a 
 multitude, compounded of tlie former word, and 
 on contracted for "(It^n a multitude. 
 
 niD7!J A deadly shade, comp. of 72 a shadow, 
 and T\yo death. 
 
232 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 T'b^"1t2!'*' Israel, a prince of or with God^ comp. 
 of "^ one of the Heemantic letters, "lit? a prince, 
 and h^ God. 
 
 ni'^D^^Dn Moles, from ^sn to dig, doubling 
 the two last radicals, ^D'^DH 
 
 7^*^73, A worthless person, comp. of 71 not, 
 and 7^*' to profit, to be of advantage. 
 
 a*^^Vt^^ Proud oppressors, comp. of Jlt^/il to be 
 proud, and Hi*' to oppress, to afflict. 
 
 nVSTTl An armoury, a place for hanging up 
 weapons of war ^ a mount of observation, a high 
 place for worship. 
 
 The Rabbies, and writers of the Talmud, 
 assign these different significations to this com- 
 pound word, because they are at a loss whether 
 they should derive it from TlblD to hang up, and 
 JlVQ acies, the edge or point of a sharp weapon, 
 or from 7r\ a heap, a mound of earth, and HVD 
 ora, mouths, faces. The first is the most pro- 
 bable meaning. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAU. 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Concerning the Investigation of the Radical Word, 
 
 THAT the Primitives, in the Hebrew and 
 other Eastern languages, may be found with 
 facility, it is necessary to be well acquainted wkh 
 the division of the letters into radical and servile, 
 because these last must be rejected before the 
 root appear. 
 
 If the root consist of pure radicals, commonly 
 three in number, it is easily found, and as easily 
 divested of the serviles which attend it. But, as 
 the servile letters may also constitute roots, it is 
 sometimes a matter of difficulty to distinguish 
 when these letters ought to be considered in their 
 radical, and when in their servile, capacity. 
 This difficulty is increased in the verbs denomi- 
 nated imperfect', for, in some of their parts, 
 either by contraction or commutation, these verbs 
 lose sometimes one, sometimes two of their ra- 
 dical letters, which must be restored to their 
 place, before the root can be exhibited in its true 
 form. 
 
 The learner must therefore endeavour, by fre- 
 quent practice, to acquire a dexterity in dis- 
 
234 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 covering the radical letters^ in divesting them of 
 their serviles^ and in restoring them where they 
 are lost by the abbreviated flexions. This exer- 
 cise is the more necessary, as, in almost all lexi- 
 cons, the words are arranged according to the 
 alphabetical order of the roots. These are com- 
 monly printed in a larger character, and have 
 below them their derivatives, as children and 
 descendants. By this plan, neither the signifi- 
 cation of any verb, nor of any noun derived from 
 it, can be found, till its root be investigated and 
 determined. 
 
 The following directions will be found useful 
 in the investigation of radical words. 
 
 The chief things to be attended to are. What 
 letters are commonly servile, either in nouns or 
 verbs ; in what part of the word they most 
 generally appear ; and what is the most probable 
 conjecture to be formed, in order to restore such 
 radicals as are lost by the abbreviated flexions. 
 
 The servile letters in nouns* are such as form 
 the feminine gender, and the plural terminations, 
 the prefixes, including the signs of the cases, the 
 heemantic letters, and the possessive pronouns or 
 affixes. 
 
 * Under this title are included not only substantives, 
 adjectives, and participles, but also infinitives, when used 
 as nouns or as gerunds. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 235 
 
 The servile letters in verbs are the personal 
 prefixes and postfixes, formerly named the pro- 
 nominal servileSy the characteristics of the dif- 
 ferent forras^ and the verbal affixes. 
 
 1 and "^ whether inserted in nouns or verbs 
 must be rejected in the investigation of the root. 
 
 As the serviles generally appear in greatest 
 number at the end of words, the most proper 
 method of discovering the root seems to be this : 
 
 Begin from the left hand, remove the serviles 
 as you go along, retain the pure and the sup- 
 posed radicals, reject the inserted 1 and \ restore 
 or commute the radicals lost by abbreviation : 
 and, finally, reject the prefixes. 
 
 Directions for finding the Root, and for re^ 
 storing the deficient Radicals. 
 
 I. If, after rejecting the serviles, three pure 
 radicals remain, you may conclude these to be the 
 root. 
 
 II. If only two remain, as is the common case 
 in abbreviated roots, prefix to these either 3 or "^ 
 or insert 1 betwixt them, or postpone H, or 
 double the second. 
 
 For the sake of brevity, in pointing out the 
 serviles to be rejected, I shall use the words 
 a capite, when they are to be removed from the 
 
236 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 beginning of a word ; a medio, when from the 
 middle ; and afiney when from the end ; or these 
 abbreviations, a cap. a med. a Jin. 
 
 R. placed before a word intimates that it is the 
 root. 
 
 Examples, 
 
 T)pQ« a med. 1— a cap. «— R. TpD 
 Dn'^pQD a fin. D^— a med. ^— a cap. n— R. IpD 
 ''illtr? a fin. ^Tl — a cap. 7 — inde Itl? to which 
 prefix ^— R. Itn^ 
 
 712*^ a med. *) — a cap. '^ — inde 7D to which pre- 
 fix 3— R. h^: to fall. 
 
 1i1T2*^pn a fin. "\y) — a med. *^ — a cap. H — inde 
 Op which may be supposed to be a root of two 
 letters in the third person singular of Kal ; but, 
 according to the common opinion of gramma- 
 rians^ 1 must be inserted to place the root in the 
 infinitive aip See pages 170, 171. 
 17^ a fin. 1 — add r» — inde 117^ 
 TODD a fin. H— -a cap. D— R. ID or IID • 
 ^^'^ a fin. 1 — a cap. "^ — Remains only 3 to which 
 prefix i and postfix 51 — inde R. TOi to strike. 
 
 That the learner may have this subject fully 
 before him, and be accustomed to an expeditious 
 investigation of the radical term, I have annexed 
 the following table, which contains an analysis 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 237 
 
 both of nouns and verbs according to the doctrine 
 and rules above laid down. 
 
 Example of the Mode of investigating Roots in 
 Hebrew Words, both Nouns and Verbs. 
 
 'j^l^Zi'^m Thy judgments, a fin. Tf final pos- 
 sessive affix, and "^ sign of the plural inasc. — ^a 
 cap. t2 heem. — R. t^Dt!? to judge. 
 
 V^HD His priests, a fin. ^ poss. affix, and "^ 
 sign of masc. plur. — R. pi to serve in a public 
 office, either sacred or civil. 
 
 D^'Dln^Tpi And for comforters, a fin. D"^ term, 
 plur. masc. — a cap. ^ heemantic, 7 pref. of the 
 dative, and ^ conjunction — R. DHi to comfort. 
 
 *':3r2n:D'' They shall comfort me, a fin. ^'^ verbal 
 affix — ^a cap. '^ prefix — R. DH^ 
 
 ^n^Vtl^*^ And thy staff, prop, or support, 
 a fin. ^ poss. affix, and Jl term. fern. — a cap. D 
 heemantic, and 1 conj. — R. p^ to lean upon. 
 
 IDtOTDTl*^ And thou didst deliver them, a fin. 
 1t:i poetic verbal affix — a cap. Ts pers. and ^ con- 
 vers. — R. D7D to rescue, to deliver. 
 
 'Q))^'W^^ And he saved them, a fin. T2 verbal 
 affix — a med. '^ — commute 1 into '^ — reject, a cap; 
 ^^ personal, and 1 convers. — inde R. V^ to save. 
 
 "TOnnn Thou shewest thyself merciful, a cap, 
 nnchar. Hithpahel — R. IDH mercy, compassion. 
 
 ^y^Tln We give thanks, or we confess, a fin. 
 
238 HEBKEW GRAMMAR. 
 
 *)3 pers. — a med. "^ — a cap. "1 commutable, and n 
 char, of Hiphil^ remains only "T to which prefix 
 ^^ and postfix H — inde JlT in Hiphil TTVin confi- 
 teri. There are few so difficult as this. 
 
 77inD?2 Exalting thyself, a med. ^ transpose 
 n and place it before D — reject a cap. PD — the 
 word is in the participle Hithpahel of the root 
 77D elevaint. 
 
 I^^'^ ")^3r\ "yXO^ He whom thou cursest shall 
 be cursed, ItTb^ pronoun radical, •^fr^H a cap. 
 n pers. — R. "^t^ a contraction for "^^b^ maledixit. 
 ^^V a cap. 1 and "^ pers. It is the third person 
 singular masc. of Hophal. — R. "^t^ See p. 1T4, 
 1. 9. from hot. 
 
 DJl^TlI'l^D^^ From their close places or con- 
 jfinements, e claustris suisj a fin. DH poss. affix, 
 •^ expletive, Jll term. plur. fem. — a cap. 72 hee- 
 mantic and 72 prefix, remains the root "n^D to 
 shut up. In this word there are three pure 
 radicals, and seven serviles, of which two are 
 before and five behind the root. 
 
 Dn*^niSV1^^ From or by their own counsels^ 
 a fin. Drr^ni as above, commute 1 into "^ — a cap. 
 72 heemantic and 72 prefix — inde R. "^V^ to 
 consult, to advise. This word has only two 
 pure radicals, and eight serviles. 
 
 Dn^tl?! In the gates, a fin. D"* term. plur. 
 masc. — a cap 1 prefix — R. I^tl? a gate. 
 
 TVWV72 Her works, a fin. H fem. poss. affix. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 239 
 
 *» sign of masc. plural — a cap. ^ heem. — R. Iltt^V 
 fecit. 
 
 n'^il Thou buildest, a fin. Jl personal and "^ 
 commutable into tl — inde HDl to build* 
 "^n*^! Th2/ house, a fin. "J — R. H^'l domus, 
 '^il^b^^D Thy work, service, labour, a fin. "] 
 poss. affix, and T\ fern, term.— a cap. D hee- 
 mantic — R. "^vh to work, to serve, D^it^7Q 
 Angels, the messengers and servants of God. 
 
 Specimens of the investigation of the Root in 
 other Languages beside the Hebrew, 
 
 The investigation of roots is not peculiar to 
 the Hebrew, but common to all languages^ and 
 is of singular advantage, if we would attend to 
 accuracy and propriety of writing. 
 
 In such languages as do not admit of the dis- 
 tinction between radical and servile letters, the 
 following may be observed as general rules for 
 reducing words to their first principles. Let 
 that part of the word which remains unvaried be 
 considered as the radical term, and let the changes 
 of termination be disregarded or cut off. Com- 
 pound words must be resolved into their compo- 
 nent parts, and the prepositions excluded. In 
 these words which seem reducible to Hebrew 
 roots consisting entirely of consonants, the inter- 
 
240 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 mediate vowels employed for their enunciation, 
 are not to be considered as essential, or as con- 
 stituting a part of the root. 
 
 An universal rule, to be constantly attended 
 to in tracing radical words, is the one formerly 
 mentioned : Literce ejusdem organi facile inter 
 se commutahiles, i. e. '' Letters pronounced by 
 " the same organ of speech, may easily be sub- 
 " stituted for one another." Prom this circum- 
 stance letters have been divided into Labials^ 
 Dentals, and Gutturals. 
 
 Labials in Hebrew, 1 D 
 in Greek, ^ ^ <? 
 in Latin and English, p b for ph or v. 
 
 Dentals in Hebrew, t5 1 n 
 in Greek, r S d 
 in Latin and English, t d th. 
 
 Gutturals in Hebrew, ^p >r\ 
 in Greek, ^y x 
 in Latin and English, c k g ch. 
 
 By careful attention to the various changes 
 and mutual substitutions of these letters, the 
 learner will make a rapid progress in tracing 
 words to their ultimate etymologies. 
 
 The following instances amongst many that 
 might be given, will serve to illustrate these 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 241 
 
 observations, and shew how words of different 
 languages may be traced to a Hebrew original. 
 
 In all the inflections and derivatives of rvitru, 
 the radical part is rvit, probably from ^n tap, to 
 strike, to heat. Hence tap, in English, is used 
 in the same sense. The word is derived from 
 the sound produced by beating. 
 
 In capio, and all its derivatives or changes, 
 the radical part remains cap, from fj^ caph^ or 
 cap, the holloio of the hand. Hence, to take in 
 the hand, to hold. Inde, captivus, cavus, and 
 many more. 
 
 Xafarrw, to carvc, to cngvave. The radical 
 consonants are, x?^ ^^m ID^ to cut, to engrave 
 in wood or stone. 
 
 BfifAAToc, ^ynj.xtTi, R. /3u/x«, from rrr^l a high place, 
 
 pD pheren, to endow, (ps^^x dowrj/, parapher- 
 nalia, all beside the dowry. 
 
 ^'^'^, video, R. ^T ido, to know. 
 
 )^^ ain, not. Hence the negative particle in ; 
 inimicus, imprudens. 
 
 'h^ovo voluptas, Ti^tuf suavior, «5w av^xvu placeo, 
 may be derived from pV oden, oblectare se, vo- 
 luptas, delicice, Eden. 
 
 SuffeteSi Carthaginian magistrates, a Funic 
 or Phoenician word, generally thought to be de- 
 rived from D*^!0D1tl? suffetim, judges, R. tODtt? to 
 judge. 
 
243 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 2»3/A«, o^^a/vw, to point out, to distinguish, from 
 Dtl? sem, any mark of distinction > a name. Per- 
 sons of distinction, or of renown, are called in 
 Hebrew Dt2? '^tt^ib^ Men of name, 
 
 ^'Z cad, a cask or barrel, Inde cad-us, 
 
 172 mad, a measure, Inde modius, modus, 
 moderor, &c. 
 
 Commotion — reject the preposition and termi-* 
 nation, remains mot, from tDlTD moveo, motum. 
 
 Mixture — mixtura, misceo, i^Kryu, radical con- 
 sonants (Ao-y, from ^012 to mix. 
 
 "1DD sepher, to count, to write, Inde to 
 cypher, to use a particular mode of writing; 
 cyphers, instruments of numbering. 
 
 The resemblance between the following words, 
 both in sound and sense, is strongly marked. 
 
 n'llW Ib^ Ab, abbut, abbot 
 h^^^ Auil, evil, folly 
 n«;i Gae, Gay 
 ni^ Gibbe, gibbous 
 Q11 Dum, to be silent 
 hT\ Hul, to howl 
 Tvyi Dema, V«f) like 
 
 J*"*^ lin, wine, vinum, om^ 
 1^^ Agr, ayzi^ot, congrego 
 y^tt? Saraz, to multiply, to increase^ 
 o-ofos a heap 
 
HEBIIEW GRAMMAR. 243 
 
 mt"^ Ave, to desire^ aveo 
 tab^7 Lat, to hide, lateo 
 
 p>l Dik, a mound, a fortification, a 
 
 dyke 
 HV Ohed, to labour, to serve, ohedio 
 11V 06r, over 
 Dlb^ -46a6*, to be fat, obesus 
 713 Cabel, a rope or chain, a ca6/e * 
 
 p^ Sac, saccus, sackcloth ^^t/f^ 
 
 "ID Afar, bitter, amarus 
 i^'ID JPhera, wild, fierce, ferus, fera 
 ^'Ipti? Succuij succus, juice, moisture 
 tA"1p A'iara, to cry, to crow 
 fC%/t^ PP Keren, cornu, a horn 
 
 n^D7 Lapidj xxi^vxs^ xa/xTraJor, a lamp. 
 
 This table might be greatly enlarged : I have 
 only adduced these as specimens of the close con- 
 nection which many languages may have with 
 each other, and to prove how far the Hebrew 
 insinuates itself into them all, by being derived 
 from one common stock. The reader, if he has 
 inclination, may find frequent opportunities of 
 employing himself in this exercise, both for a- 
 musement and improvement. 
 
 q2 
 
244 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Specimen of Additions to the foregoing Table. 
 
 "^tl? Sir J a prince, an honourable man ; hence 
 Sir, Sire, Sieur. 
 
 7D Col, to collect, assemble ; hence calculate, 
 
 y.a\f.u3 call, &C. 
 
 Dip Kedem, the east ; hence Cadmus, a man 
 from the east, who introduced the Hebrew or 
 Phoenician characters into Greece. 
 
 Ill Bur, a hole or pit ; hence bore, bury, 
 burrow. 
 
 il'lT^JTl'll Booremith ; hence the Greek irvfeiy^K 
 vv^ocfj.i^os, a pyramid, the Hebrew word signifying^ 
 the cave of death, or a cave for the dead, 
 
 ^^2t^ Abash, or as it is in the Chaldaic, 
 H^\2?b^l^^ abashta, i. e. the father or inventor of 
 fire ; hence ^(pxta-Tos, Dorice a^a/aror, the Greek 
 name of Vulcan. The term Vulcan is most pro- 
 bably derived from the Hebrew name pp7lin 
 Tubelkin, the first part, Tubl, being easily soft- 
 ened into Vul. The name Vulcan evidently 
 appears to be of Hebrew origin. The character 
 given by Moses of this person is a farther confir- 
 mation of this conjecture. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR, ^45 
 
 The passage in the original is as follows : 
 Genesis iv. 22. 
 
 English Translation : 
 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-Cain,* an in- 
 structor (margin, whetter) of every artificer in 
 brass and iron. 
 
 The last words may more properly be rendered, 
 The polisher of evert/ artful work in copper and 
 iron; which may signify that he was the first 
 who invented or practised the art of smelting 
 those metals, and by fire converting them into 
 instruments of the highest utility to mankind. 
 
 ixh^'^ luledethy a midwife ; hence the desig- 
 nation of llithyia given to Juno Lucina, the god- 
 dess that presided at births, as mentioned in the 
 Carmen Seculare of Horace. 
 
 Rite matures aperire partus 
 Lenis Ilithyia, tuere matres 
 Sive tu LuciNA probas vocari 
 Seu genitalis. • 
 
 * So the word is deformed by the Masoretic pointing, 
 which also converts t^llD Kv^os Cyrus, into Coresh, to th« 
 obliteration of all etymology. 
 
246 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 ■^DDIi Tapsar, by transposition Satrap, a Per- 
 sian word for a general or governor. See Nahum 
 iii. 17. Satrapa, satrapes, 
 
 'nD72 Hamam, to be warm ; hence Hummums, 
 hot baths, an Arabic word brought from Turkey. 
 
 ?]1tO Tereph, prey, food caught in hunting; 
 hence t^s^w t^o^)?, to feed, to nourish, food. 
 
 7m Tebel ; hence tabula, table, any flat sur- 
 face ; used also to express the habitable world. 
 
 7D5 Cupel ; hence couple. 
 
 p1!J, Tzuky signifies to confine, straiten ; hence 
 choak, check. 
 
 10 *11D Mur, myr ; hence ^olic />ti;ff«, Lat. 
 mi/rrhaj Eng. myrrh, Lat. amarus, bitter. — 
 ** Myrrh is a vegetable production, of the gum 
 '' or resin kind^ issuing by incision, and some- 
 *' times spontaneously, from the trunk and larger 
 " branches of a tree growing in Egypt, Arabia, 
 *' and Abyssinia. Its taste is bitter, but its smell, 
 ** though strong, is not disagreeable." See Exod. 
 XXX. 23. Psalm xlv. 9. Cant. v. 5. 13. 
 
 pVo Milik, signifies to wring or squeeze out ; 
 hence milk, and mulgeo, mulctum, to milk. 
 
 yhp Kelo, signifies bending, inclining ; hence 
 the Greek xo,kos hollow, and the Latin verb ccelo, 
 to engrave, to hollow, scoop out. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 247 
 
 pn Tacan, signifies to direct^ regulate by 
 weight, measure or rule ; hence rsx^n, rmruv, a^x'- 
 TtxTwv ; whence, Eng. technical^ architect, archi- 
 tecture, &c. 
 
 •^Vn Tor, signifies to divide, cut, cleave ; 
 hence, Greek, r^ut^ to wound, Eng. to tear, tore, 
 torn ; also perhaps Greek tw^w, Lat. tei^a, tritus. 
 Eng. trite, contrite, contrition. 
 
 pn Theren, signifies any thing settled or fixed ; 
 hence, Greek, 6§mvs a footstool ; also o^ovos, Lat. 
 thronus, Eng, throne. 
 
 The following derivations may perhaps appear 
 whimsical or absurd to the enemies of etymolo- 
 gical enquiries ; but to persons who have mi- 
 nutely attended to the connection of languages, 
 they will appear to have a good foundation, while 
 at the same time they afford an example of the 
 advantages to be derived from a judicious inves- 
 tigation of radical terms. 
 
 pt Zeken, signifies old ; by a small alteration 
 it is senex. 
 
 y*tfe^ ^retz, signifies the earth, which is a word 
 nearly of the same letters as the Hebrew ; and 
 the Hebrew, by inversion, is nearly the same as 
 terra, 
 
 TnW12i Mesuri, signifies a measure. In these 
 two words the consonants are the same, and 
 
^48 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 nearly allied are the Latin mensura and the 
 French mesure. 
 
 Take a sample from other languages besides 
 the Hebrew. 
 
 If we pronounce the ch in the word church, as 
 the English pronounce it in chorus or character, 
 it becomes the same as Kyrk, and both spring 
 from the same root, av^ia ontos, breviter xv^ixKy,, the 
 house of the Lord, Heb. 7^r\''l Bithal, defaced 
 by the points into Bethel. 
 
 Eglise, in French, signifying a church, is 
 from the Greek jxxx*j<r<a, in Latin ecclesia. 
 
 See, the seat, the diocese of a bishop, is from 
 the French siege, and the Latin sedes. 
 
 The French word eveque, and the English 
 bishop, have not one letter the same, though both 
 are undoubtedly derived from the Greek £w/<rxowor, 
 or Latin episcopus. Litt. a superintendent, an 
 overseer, or watchman. 
 
 Few persons would believe that the English 
 strange and stranger, could come from the Greek 
 preposition syt, t|, out, from ; Latin, ex, extra^ 
 extraneus; Old French, estrange, estranger 
 (now etrange, etranger); English, strange, and 
 sti^anger. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 249 
 
 Bull, signifying a letter or mandate from the 
 Pope, whence, Italian, hollo a seal, bollare to 
 seal, and French bulletin j signifying an authentic 
 public document or letter, all come from the Latin 
 bulla, a stud, a stamp, a seal. 
 
 Grammatical investigation may be prosecuted 
 on this plan to a very great length, and promote 
 both entertainment and instruction. 
 
250 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Passages of Hebrew from the Book of Psalms and 
 the Prophecj/ of Isaiah^ with Translations, 
 
 PSALM Lxxiv. 12. n;; 
 
 C3^i^3n '^cyj^n nn2^ a^ Itf n m-na nn^^ 13 
 
 nnn: n::^nin nn^ ^mi p;;D Jij:;pa nni^ i^ 
 "n«» mrDH nn^ nh-^h i^-^ih dv t^ is 
 
 f)im f p pi^ n)bM:^H2Vi2 yn'j nni< it 
 
 Sd Ji:iy/7 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 251 
 
 ■n-; IfAj 
 
 PSALM LXXIV. 12. 
 
 12 But God is my King from the times of old, 
 
 working deliverances in the midst of the 
 earth. 
 
 13 Thou didst break in sunder by thy strength 
 
 the sea ; thou didst break in pieces the 
 heads of the great monsters in the waters. 
 
 14 Thou didst break in pieces the heads of Levi- 
 
 athan ; thou didst give him as meat to the 
 people of the deserts. 
 
 15 Thou clavest fountain and flood ; thou didst 
 
 dry up rivers of might. 
 
 16 To thee belongs the day, and to thee the 
 
 night ; thou hast prepared the light and 
 the sun. 
 
 17 Thou fixest all the boundaries of the earth ; 
 
 summer and winter, thou hast formed 
 them. 
 
252 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM cm. 13. jp 
 
 : ri^n^ ^;/ mn^ Dm d^^d hj; n« dh-id 13 
 : ^:^i^^ id;; "^d -n::r i^n^^^ ;;t Kin o 14 
 
 : ^D^pf2 im: i^td^ i^^i i^ia^i^i u hid;; mn '^d is 
 mpni^ivj^T H^;; d^i;; n;;^DVv» mn^ nom i^ 
 
 : Dmtt^;;^ vtpa n^r^i innn ns^i^^ is 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 253 
 
 PSALM cm. 13. 
 
 13 As a father hath compassion upon his chil- 
 
 dren, Jehovah hath compassion on them 
 that fear him. .. ^ 
 
 14 For he knoweth our frame, he remembers 
 
 that we are dust. 
 
 15 Frail man, as grass are his days, as a flower 
 
 of the field so he flourisheth. 
 
 16 For a wind passeth over it, and it is no more; 
 
 and its place shall never know it again. 
 
 17 But the mercy of Jehovah will be from age to 
 
 age upon them that fear him, and his 
 righteousness will continue to sons of 
 sons. 
 
 18 To them that keep his covenant, and to them 
 
 that remember his commandments to do 
 them. 
 
 19 Jehovah hath established his throne in the 
 
 heavens, and his kingdom beareth rule 
 
 over all. ,,. .,.^ .... 
 
 - ^- . . . ' ^■^- i i i .^ <^ '^. :f ; 
 
 ■/ 1" ■*T. 
 
254 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIX. 6. tOD 
 
 •^iM n^n^b naT mn'b ti;;^ pnt^a "^d '^jd ^ 
 ^t2W2 jiDim -nnn cn^^nn nnj^ -pD^i pai^ 12 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 259"' 
 
 PSALM LXXXIX. 6. 
 
 6 For who in heaven can be compared to Je- 
 
 hovah^ who can be likened to Jehovah 
 among the sons of the mighty ? 
 
 7 God is greatly feared in the assembly of his 
 
 saints, and is reverenced by those that 
 surround his altar. 
 
 8 O Jehovah, God of Hosts ! who is like thee, 
 
 the powerful Jehovah, with thine attend- 
 ant faithfulness ? 
 
 9 Thou rulest in the pride of the sea ; when it 
 
 lifteth up its waves, thou stillest them. 
 
 10 Thou hast dashed in pieces the mighty proud 
 
 as one that is slain ; with the arm of thy 
 strength thou hast scattered thine enemies. 
 
 1 1 To thee belong the heavens, and to thee the 
 
 earth ; the world and its fulness, thou hast 
 founded them. -' -' 
 
 12 The north and the south, thou hast created 
 
 them ; Thabor and Hermon in thy name 
 shall rejoice. 
 
 J 3 To thee belongs an arm with power ; strong 
 is thy hand, high thy right hand. 
 
 14 Righteousness and judgment are the establish- 
 ment of thy throne; mercy and truth 
 shall go before thy face. 
 
256 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 ISAIAH XL. D 
 
 mil'' TD nnp^ ^^d n:^^ nvi: ^d n>?a:; 
 
 nmyn m^^ m;T t^ i:d nniDn K-np ^ip 3 
 
 •^2 '':: nn^ -it^^n Sd i^m mn^ tdd n^^Ji « 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. SS7 
 
 ISAIAH XL. 
 
 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith 
 
 your God. 
 
 2 Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and tell 
 
 her that her warfare is completed ; that 
 her iniquity is pardoned; that she hath 
 received from the hand of Jehovah double, 
 notwithstanding all her sins. 
 
 S A voice of one crying ; Prepare in the wil- 
 derness a way for Jehovah, make straight 
 in the desert a highway for our God. 
 
 4 Every valley shall be raised, and every moun- 
 
 tain and hill shall be made low ; the 
 crooked shall become straight, and the 
 rough plain. 
 
 5 The glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and 
 
 all flesh shall see it at once; for the mouth 
 of Jehovah hath spoken. 
 
 6 A voice said. Cry ; and I said. What shall I 
 
 cry ? All flesh is grass, and all its come- 
 liness like the flower of the field. 
 
 7 The grass shall wither, the flower shall fade, 
 
 when the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon 
 it : surely the people are grass. 
 
 R 
 
258 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 nzDi^ ^i^-i^n ^i^ •'Dnn D^t^n^ mt^^no i^ip 
 
 n^T ^h n^jro mn Kin^ prnn mn^ ^n^^ n:n »o 
 
 ip^nm D^K^to pp> mn ni/T nnj; nna " 
 
 : *7n:^ n^hv ^m^ 
 
 
 n5j;^ni'» in^;; ty^i^i m»T nn nj^ pn ^» i» 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 259 
 
 8 The grass shall wither, the flower shall fade ; 
 
 but the word of our God shall stand to 
 eternity. 
 
 9 Ascend to a high mountain, O thou publisher 
 
 of good news to Zion ; raise thy voice 
 aloud, O thou publisher of good news to 
 Jerusalem ; raise it, be not afraid ; say 
 thou to the cities of Judah, Behold your 
 God. 
 
 10 Lo, the Lord Jehovah shall come in strength, 
 
 and his arm shall rule for him ; his reward 
 shall be with him, and his recompense 
 before him. 
 
 11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he 
 
 shall gather the lambs with his arm, he 
 i shall carry them in his bosom, and gently 
 lead those that give suck. 
 
 12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow 
 
 of his hand, who hath meted the heavens 
 with a span, or coUected the dust of the 
 earth in a bushel, who hath weighed the 
 mountains in scales, and the hills in a 
 balance ? 
 
 13 Who hath prepared the spirit of Jehovah, 
 
 and as the man of his counsel hath made 
 him to know ? 
 
 r2 
 
260 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 in 13::^^ D-^itiSD l>nli;:2^ ^biD noD D'^iii jn i» 
 
 : ^10^ pID D'l^K 
 
 DDH t^in nna^ npT ^^;^ y^; tiD^'in idddh 20 
 : toiD^ N^ ^D2) i^n^ 1^ typn'^ 
 
 ii^^iiD n:irj i^iSn VDa/n t^^bn vnn ^^1S•^ «» 
 :pj^n nMD)D Dm:^3n j^iSi dd^ 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 261 
 
 14 With whom did he consult, or who made 
 
 him understand ; who taught him in the 
 path of judgment ; who taught him know- 
 ledge, or made him acquainted with the 
 way of discernment ? 
 
 15 Lo, the nations are reckoned by him as the 
 
 drop of a bucket,, as the hght dust of 
 a balance, he poiseth the isles as a very 
 little thing. 
 
 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor 
 
 the beasts of it sufficient to be a burnt 
 offering. 
 
 17 All nations are as nothing before him ; they 
 
 are counted by him less than nothing, and 
 vanity. 
 
 18 To whom then will ye liken God, or what 
 
 resemblance will ye compare unto him ? 
 
 19 A workman formeth an image, a goldsmith 
 
 overlays it with gold, and casteth chains 
 of silver. 
 
 20 He that is destitute of oblation, chooses a tree 
 
 that will not rot; he seeketh for himself 
 a skilful artificer to prepare a graven 
 image that shall not be moved. 
 
 21 Have ye not known, have ye not heard, has 
 
 it not been told you from the beginning, 
 have ye not understood it from the foun- 
 dations of the earth ? 
 
262 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 pTD iim:n D'^ajHD rT^ntr^^i yni^n jin ^;; ntt^\n 22 
 
 
 : mip iDi<> mt^^i^i ^iv^nn *>» ^kt 25 
 D^'ii^ nnD ^^ip^ Dt^n D^D^ cD^n:; laoDn 
 
 •^:5-n n-ino: ^^^nt^^^ imm n^iJ^ noi^n nD> 27 
 : -na:;*' ^toat^^D %n'7j^2:i mn^Q 
 
 m.T th^i; ^nbi^ ni/Dt:^ ^^^ D^^ n;;T ^^^^n 28 
 npn pi^ w^^ >a;^"i p];;'''' k^ p«n mvp ^^nin 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 26S 
 
 22 Who is it that sitteth upon the circle of the 
 
 earth, while the inhabitants of it are as 
 grasshoppers, that stretcheth out the hea- 
 vens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out 
 as a tent to dwell in ? 
 
 23 That reduceth princes to nothing, that maketh 
 
 the judges of the earth as vanity ? 
 
 24 Surely they shall not be planted, surely they 
 
 shall not be sown, surely their stock shall 
 not take root in the earth ; he shall also 
 blow upon them, and they shall wither, 
 and the tempest shall carry them away as 
 stubble. 
 
 25 To whom then will ye liken me, and to whom 
 
 shall I be equal, saith the Holy One ! 
 
 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath 
 
 created those, who bringeth out their host 
 by number, who calleth to all of them by 
 name ; from the greatness of his might, 
 and because he is strong in power, not 
 one is deficient. 
 
 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob ! and speakest, O 
 
 Israel ! my way is hid from Jehovah, and 
 my judgment is neglected by my God ? 
 
 28 Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, 
 
 that the God of eternity, Jehovah, the 
 Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth 
 not, and wearieth not ^ bis understanding 
 is unsearchable. 
 
264 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : nnT nov;; d^:ij< ]^^b^ no ^V'h \n 29 
 : "ht^/y b^t^D U'^'l^n2') v:i*'i Dn;;^ isij/'^i so 
 
 : id;;"^^ k^i id*?-^ 'u;:i^'» k^i 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 265 
 
 29 He giveth power to the faint, and to those of 
 
 no might he multiplieth strength. 
 
 30 Even young men shall faint and be weary, 
 
 and choice youths shall utterly fall. 
 
 31 But they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew 
 
 ' their strength ; they shall mount up on 
 wings as eagles ; they shall run and not 
 be weary; they shall walk and not be 
 faint. 
 
266 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Important Extracts from 'carious Parts of the 
 Hebrew Scriptures^ with Translations and explana" 
 tory Notes J not introduced into the first Edition, 
 
 GENESIS XV. 1. ID 
 
 tr\y^ h"^ mn^ inn r]>r\ ^'7^i^ onnin -in« i 
 ^Dii^i "^^ inn HD mn^ •'nu^ o-in« nioi^*'") « 
 
 p n:ni nr nnn: ^^^ ^^^ ]n d-)3k niOiS'^i 3 
 
 : '^n^^ a^")V wn 
 
 ••D n? itt^T^ )^h -)D»^ v^^^ m.T -im T)m\4. 
 
 HD^at^n i^3 conn nDK^^i nvinn in^ i^vvi 5 
 iD^'^T Dni^ nsD^ ^JDin d?^ D^nisiDn is^di 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 267 
 
 GENESIS XV. 1. 
 
 1 After these things, the word of Jehovah was 
 
 directed to Abrain in a vision, saying, Fear 
 not, Abram, I will be thy shield, and thy^ 
 exceeding great reward. 
 
 2 And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt 
 
 thou give me, seeing I live without sons, 
 and the chief director of my house is this 
 Eliezer of Damascus ? ' * " "' ^ ' 
 
 3 And Abram said, Lo, to me thou hast given 
 
 no progeny ; a servant of mine house 
 shall inherit my property. See Genesis 
 xxiv. 2. 
 
 4 And the word of Jehovah addressed him, 
 
 saying, This person shall not be thine 
 heir ; but one who shall proceed from 
 thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 
 
 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said. 
 
 Look now towards heaven, and count the 
 stars if thou art able to number them ; 
 and he said unto him. So numerous shall 
 thy progeny be. 
 
268 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : n^t^^n^i^ "^D i/^K non mn^ "^n^^ idx^t s 
 
 jm Tinn Dn« ina'^i n^^^ ^d n^^ i^ np-^i lo 
 : inn K^ -iDif n nj^i ini;i n^ip*? i-inn t^^'^K 
 
 : Dnni^ Dni^ n:y^i DnjDn ^71; tD"'i?n ttt " 
 
 : vhv n^D3 n^n:i nn::^n hid^k nam 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 269 
 
 6 And he believed in Jehovah, who reckoned 
 
 it to him as righteousness.* 
 
 7 And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that 
 ' brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, 
 
 [Heb. Aur of the Casdim,] to give thee 
 this land to inherit it. 
 
 8 And he said. Lord Jehovah, by what shall 
 
 I know that I am to inherit it ? 
 
 9 And he said to him^ Take me an heifer of 
 
 three years old,f and a she-goat of the 
 same age, and a ram of the same age, 
 with a turtle-dove and a young pigeon. 
 
 10 And he took unto him all these, and divided 
 
 them in the midst, and laid each piece one 
 against another ; but the birds he divided 
 not : 
 
 11 And when the fowls of prey attempted to 
 
 alight upon the carcases, Abram drove 
 them away. 
 
 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep 
 
 sleep seized Abram, and, lo, a horror and 
 great darkness came upon him. 
 
 * t, e. A noble instance of piety and obedience. 
 + Some render it three heifers, and so of the other 
 animals. 
 
270 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : nniD 
 nD»n ii;? 0^71:' ^^^ o n^n uit:^"^ v^m nm le 
 
 : n^n n;; 
 
 jti^y ni^n n:m n^1 n2o^;;i nj^n ii;f2^n \ti 17 
 : n'ji^n onrjn pi nay n^^K t^K Ta*7i 
 
 iDi^^ nnn diij^ ni^ m.T mi ^^^^^ Dvn is 
 IV Dn^D nn^D n^rn pi^n nK ^nn: inr^ 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 271 
 
 13 And he said to Abram^ Know for a certainty, 
 
 that thy progeny shall be strangers in a 
 land not theirs, and shall serve the people 
 of that land, who shall afflict them four 
 hundred years.* 
 
 14 And also that nation whom they shall serve, 
 
 will 1 judge, and afterwards they shall 
 come out with great riches. 
 
 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace : 
 
 Thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 
 
 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come 
 
 hither again ; for the iniquity of the A- 
 morites is not yet full. See Matthew 
 xxiii. 32. and 1 Thes. ii. 16. 
 
 17 And when the sun went down, and it became 
 
 dark^ lo a smoking furnace and a burning 
 lamp appeared to pass between those 
 pieces. 
 
 18 In that same day Jehovah ratified a covenant 
 
 with Abram, saying. Unto thy progeny 
 have I given this land, from the river of 
 Egypt,t to the great river, the river 
 Euphrates. 
 
 * i. e. Nearly to the four hundredth year from this 
 period. 
 
 + A small river on the confines of Egypt, called else- 
 where SiAor. 
 
272 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 EXODUS XXXIII. IT. :i^ 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 273 
 
 19 The Kenites,* and the Kenizites^f and the 
 
 Kadmonitesjj 
 
 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizites^ and the 
 
 Rephaims, 
 
 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and 
 
 the Girgasites, and the Jebusites. 
 
 * Kenites, i. e. The Midianites. See Num. xxiv. 21. 
 Judges i. 16. 1 Sam. xv. 6. 
 
 + Kenizites— Probably the Idumaeans. See Genesis 
 xxxvi. 15. 42. Duke Kenaz. See also Deut. ii. 4. and 
 2 Sam. viii. 14. 
 
 X Kadmonites — The Orientals, i, e. the Arabians. See 
 Judges vi. 3. and vii. 12. D*fp "^iJ^ the Children of the 
 East. 
 
 EXODUS XXXIII. 17. 
 
 17 And Jehovah said unto Moses^ This thing 
 
 also will I do that thou hast spoken ; for 
 thou hast found favour in my sight, and 
 1 know thee hi/ name* 
 
 18 And he said, I beseech thee shew me thy 
 
 glory. 
 
 * ». e. In a very peculiar manner. 
 
 s 
 
<i74 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 •^jiDH-n l^^^ it^^« n« ^n^m ^^32i^ mn*» Dt^^n 
 
 : 'i^)sn hi; nnv^i ^n^^ DipD n^n m<T -)»«'>i 21 
 
 •Ti^t:^! nivn mpn T^Dtt^T nnD -ini/n n^•^^ 22 
 : n3;; tj; ^hi^ "^m 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 275 
 
 19 And he said^ I will make all my goodness* 
 
 pass before thee, and I will proclaim Je- 
 hovah by name before thee, and I will be 
 gracious to whom I choose to be gracious, 
 and will shew mercy to whom I choose 
 to shew mercy. f 
 
 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face, for 
 
 there shall no man see me and live. 
 
 21 And Jehovah said, Behold there is a place 
 
 by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock ; 
 
 22 And while my glory passeth by, I will put 
 
 thee in a cleft of a rock, and will cover 
 thee with my hand while I pass by. 
 
 23 And I will remove my hand, and thou shalt 
 
 see what is behind me [or what followeth 
 me,] but my face shall not be seen. J 
 
 * Or beauty. 
 
 + 2. e. According to the conduct and character of the 
 persons whom I select as objects of mercy. Attend to the 
 7th Terse of the next passage. 
 
 J Perhaps the Angel that personated Jehoyah was in 
 some manner made manifest to him. See Gen. xWiii. 16. 
 ** The Angel that redeemed me from all evil." Also, 
 Exod. iii. 2. and Isaiah Ixiii. 9. "The angel of his presence 
 saved them." 
 
 sS 
 
276 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 EXODUS XXXIV. 5. T? 
 
 Dtt'i K-)p^i t^^ M2P nvwi \:iJ2 mn^ nTi & 
 Dim *7K mn'' mn*> iS-ip^i r^a hv m.T na;;^^ « 
 
 
 : innt2/^i nvi>^ np**! nia^D inu^ 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 277 
 
 . EXODUS XXXIV. 5. 
 
 d And Jehovah descended in a cloudy and stood 
 with him there, and proclaimed Jehovah 
 by name. 
 
 6 And Jehovah passed by before him, and pro- 
 
 claimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, God, mer- 
 ciful and gracious, slow to anger, and 
 abundant in benignity and truth ; 
 
 7 Retaining benignity for thousands of gene- 
 
 rations, forgiving iniquity, and transgres- 
 sion, and sin, yet who will by no means 
 hold as innocent the obstinate trans- 
 gressor ;* but will visit the iniquity of 
 fathers upon children, and upon children's 
 children, unto the third and the fourth line 
 of descent. 
 
 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head 
 
 towards the earth, and worshipped. 
 
 * These words in Italics are supplied, but the context 
 and the sense sufl&cientiy shew both the necessity and the 
 propriety of the supplement. 
 
278 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 JOB XXXVIII. 1. n^ 
 
 * 
 
 : in^nn b^1v^ ^t:/2b p;; ^oit^^n » 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 270 
 
 JOB XXXVIII. 1. 
 
 1 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the 
 
 whirlwind^ and said, 
 
 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words 
 
 without knowledge ? 
 
 3 Gird up now thy loins like a valiant man ; 
 
 for I will ask of thee, and thou must 
 answer me. 
 
 4 Where wast thou when I founded the earth ? 
 
 declare if thou knowest understanding, 
 i. e. if thou hast any source of informa- 
 tion. 
 
 5 Who placed the measures of it, if thou 
 
 knowest ; or who stretched his line upon 
 it? 
 
 6 Into what are the sockets of it sunk ; or who 
 
 laid the corner stone thereof ? 
 
 7 When the morning stars sang together, and 
 
 all the sons of God shouted for joy, 
 
 8 Who shut up the sea with doors, when it 
 
 burst forth as if it had issued from a 
 womb ? 
 
 9 When I made clouds its clothing, and thick 
 
 darkness its swaddling band ; 
 
280 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : niioD DU/t:^n iii/i^'i p^n ma^Da nn>^^ 13 
 
 : latt^n nrji i)r\^^ d-iik D^ts^n^ wa**! »^ 
 
 :nDSnnn ainn npnni d^ '^Dni Ty ni^nn i« 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. ^81 
 
 10 When I established my decree over it, and 
 
 fixed bars and doors, 
 
 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no 
 
 farther^ and here shall the pride of thy 
 waves be stayed. 
 
 12 Hast thou commanded the morning [i. e. 
 
 the sun-rising] since thy days, and caused 
 the dawn to know its place. 
 
 13 That it might spread itself to the extremities 
 
 of the earth, and make the wicked run 
 away from its sight :* 
 
 14 That by it the earth might assume various 
 
 forms, like impressions of a seal on clay, 
 or appear like a garment of different co- 
 lours : 
 
 15 That their light might be withdrawn from 
 
 the wicked, and the arm of violence 
 broken, f 
 
 16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the 
 
 sea ; or hast thou walked over the bottom 
 of the great deep ? 
 
 * See John iii. 20. " Every one that doeth evil hateth 
 <'the light," &c. The translation of the 13th, 14th, and 
 15th verses of this chapter, in our English version, is ob- 
 scure and embarrassed. 
 
 -f- Meaning by the discoveries which day shall make of 
 their crimes. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : n^in niD^^ n;;tt^i mo ^nm ih ^h:^T] n 
 
 : llJ2rhf2^ nip uvb iv nub ^riD^i^n -it:^i^ 23 
 :pK ''bi; D'-np p^ -nx p^rr* innn nr •>« 2* 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 283 
 
 17 Have the gates of death been opened unto 
 
 thee; or hast thou seen the gates of the 
 shadow of death. 
 
 18 Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the 
 
 earth ? declare it if thou knowest it all. 
 
 19 Where is the way to the abode of light ; and 
 
 where is the dwelling place of darkness ? 
 
 20 That thou mightest go, and conduct it to the 
 
 end of its course ; and that thou shouldest 
 know the paths to the house thereof. 
 
 21 Knowest thou because thou wast then born ; 
 
 or because the number of thy days is 
 great ?* 
 
 22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the 
 
 snow ; or hast thou seen the granaries of 
 the hail ? 
 
 . 23 Which I reservef against the time of hosti- 
 lity, against the day of conflict and battle. 
 24 By what way are the flashes of lightning 
 separated; or how is the burning east 
 wind spread over the earth ? 
 
 * The original will admit of a different rendering in this 
 verse, viz. " Didst thou know when thou shouldst be born, 
 '^ or whether the number of thy days should be great?'* 
 
 + Which I keep as in magazines, or armouries, to defeat 
 all the designs of my enemies. See Exod. ix. 24. Joshua 
 X. 11. Isaiah XXX. 30. 
 
284 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : m^p prn^ i-)*n nbi:n ^^\t;b ^% >o 25 
 
 :n^*» *»» D^ZDt:^ ns^rji nipti i^)i> ^d ]tonD 29 
 
 innan 
 : Drcn H'^in *?;? u/^v^ in;/3 niitD i^^i^nn 32 
 
 : Yi^2 ntott^D D^t:^n d^^ D^Dty mpn iiji/TH ss 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 285 
 
 25 Who hath divided conduits for the overflow- 
 
 ing of waters ; or paths for the flashes of 
 thunders ? 
 
 26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no 
 
 man is ; or on the wilderness where theire 
 is no inhabitant : 
 
 27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, 
 
 and to cause the bud of the tender herb 
 to spring forth. 
 
 28 Hath the rain a father ; or who hath be- 
 
 gotten the drops of the dew ? 
 
 29 Out of whose womb came the ice ; and the 
 
 hoary frost of heaven^ who hath gendered it? 
 
 30 Which causeth the waters to be hidden and 
 
 hardened as a stone, and the surface of the 
 deep to be fastened. 
 
 31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Ple- 
 
 iades, [Heb. CI ME, the seven stars], or 
 loose the bands of Orion ? [Heb. cesil.] 
 
 32 Canst thou bring forth Mazaruth at his 
 
 season, or guide Arcturus [Heb. oish] 
 with his sons ?* 
 
 33 Dost thou know the ordinances of the 
 
 heavens ; canst thou set the dominion (5f 
 them in the earth ; 
 
 * See Note at the end of the translation of this chapter. 
 
286 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 npiT D'^n:!-)! pviD^ -id;; npvn ^s 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 287 
 
 34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, 
 that abundance of waters may cover thee ? 
 
 85 Canst thou send lightnings that they may go, 
 and say unto thee, Here we are ? 
 
 36 Who hath put wisdom in the interior part of 
 
 man ; or who hath given understanding 
 to his mind ? 
 
 37 Who can multiply the cloudy vapours ; or 
 
 stay the bottles of heaven ? 
 
 38 So that the dust may grow into hardness^ 
 
 and the clouds cleave fast together. 
 
 39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion, or 
 
 support the life of the young lions ? 
 
 40 When they couch in their dens, and abide 
 
 in the covert to lie in wait. 
 
 41 Who provideth his food for the raven, when 
 
 his young ones cry unto God, when they 
 wander for want of meat } 
 
 Observations on the Slst and 32d Verses, 
 
 The interpretation of these verses is exceedingly 
 various in all the versions, whether ancient or modern; 
 and the commentators differ much in their opinions 
 respecting the true sense. Tlie three words no»a cimS, 
 ^DD cesil, and rtt^ osh or pur oish, are used in the ninth 
 chapter of this same book, and 9th verse, but in an in- 
 
^88 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 verted order, viz. osh, cesil, cimd, and rendered by the 
 Septuagint, or Greek version, UKtix^a xxi lo-ws^ov x»i a^x- 
 Tafov ; tbe Pleiades, the Evening Star, and A returns.* 
 
 By the Vulgate, " Qui facit Arcturum, et Onona, 
 " et Hyades, et interiora Austri:" Who maketh Arc- 
 turus, and Orion, and the Hyades, and the interior 
 parts of the south ; i. e. the constellations of the south- 
 ern hemisphere. 
 
 In the first, or Greek translation, 
 
 Osh is the Pleiades, 
 
 Cesil is the Evening Star, and 
 
 Cime is Arcturus. 
 
 In the second, or Vulgate, 
 Osh is Arcturus, 
 Cesil is Orion, and 
 , Cime is the Hyades. 
 
 Our English version of verse 9th, " Which maketh 
 Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of 
 the south," nearly imitating the Vulgate. 
 
 In Amos, v. 8. our version has '• Seek him that 
 '^ maketh the Seven Stars and Orion." Heb. That 
 maketh Cime and Cesil; which words, it is very 
 remarkable, the Septuagint does not translate at all. 
 Aquilas renders A^Km^ov xxi u^ium, Arcturus and Orion ; 
 and Symmachus, nxsix^xs xxt uvrqxy the Pleiades and 
 the Stars. 
 
 The Vulgate, Arcturus and Orion. 
 
 The Septuagint translates the above mentioned Slst 
 and S2d verses of the 28th chapter in this manner : 
 
 ♦ The largest and most remarkable star in the constel- 
 lation of the Bear, 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAit. - 289 
 
 " Canst thou fasten the band of the Pleiades (Cim^) 
 " or open the inclosure, the locJc^ of Orion ? (Cesil). 
 
 " Canst thou display [xx^a^uQ (Mazuroth) in his 
 « season, and lead on the Evening Star (Oish) with his 
 " flowing rays ?" Lit. hair. 
 
 The Vulgate—" Canst thou join together the spark- 
 *' ling stars of the Pleiades (Cime) or break the circle, 
 " i. e. disturb the revolution of Arcturus (Cesil) ? Canst 
 " thou b:ing forth Lucifer, i. e. the Morning Star (Heb. 
 " Mazuroth) at his time; or make the Evening Star 
 " Oish) rise on the sons of the earth." 
 
 Notwithstanding this strange intermixture, it would 
 appear, in general, that all the interpreters believed, 
 that these names designed either some constellations, 
 or some very bright stars that had long attracted the 
 attention of mankind : That Cime is most frequently 
 translated the Pleiades, and Cesil, Orion : That Osh 
 or Oish is sometimes said to be the Pleiades, sometimes 
 the Evening Star, and sometimes, or most frequently, 
 Arcturus. 
 
 With respect to Mazaruth^ ncHt translated by the 
 Seventy, but converted into Greek letters, /xa^sf^Q,* 
 Chrysostora, in his Commentaries, says, that the word 
 means the systems of the stars or constellations that 
 appear in the zodiac, or that it is a Hebrew term which 
 signifies the Dog Star. 
 
 It is well known, that in different regions of the 
 earth, the appearance of certain stars or constellations, 
 before sun-rise, or after sun-set, marks the distinction 
 
 * The root is probably n^jj^ azr, to bind, encompass, 
 surround. The zodiac surrounds the earth as it were with 
 a broad belt. 
 
290 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 of seasons, and regulates the labours of the husbandman. 
 The motions and revolutions of these luminaries, con- 
 ducted by general laws, in due order and arrangement, 
 loudly proclaim the wisdom and goodness of their 
 Omnipotent Author, and lead all pious minds to culti- 
 vate a sense of their continual dependence upon God, 
 for all the enjoyments of life. . 
 
 The sweet influences of the Pleiades, are the pleasant 
 effects of the genial heat of the sun, to re-animate 
 nature, and promote the purposes of vegetation, when 
 in the spring that constellation assumes a certain place 
 in the heavens.* 
 
 The hands of Orion, are the frosts, the snows, and 
 the tempests, introduced by the appearance of the col- 
 lection of stars so named, and which, during the winter 
 months, suspend the labours of husbandry, and prevent 
 the earth from receiving or nourishing seeds or plants. 
 
 The bringing forth of Mazaruth, or the guiding of 
 Arcturus with his sons, the lesser stars of his groupe, is 
 the regular succession of the difterent seasons of the 
 year, as the sun traverses the zodiac, or the uninter- 
 rupted revolutions of the stars that form the constel- 
 lations around the North Pole, many of which never 
 set or disappear from our horizon. All these, in their 
 motions and effects, are independent of us. Our duty 
 is submission to the Supreme Director, to admire and 
 adore, 
 
 * The Latin name of the Pleiades, or Seven Stars, is 
 VergilicBy from Ver^ the spring. See Goguet's Antiquities, 
 dissert, iii. tom. i. p. 396. Bailly's History of Antient 
 Astronomy, p. 474. 478, and Grotius, Diodati, and Hou- 
 bigant on the passage. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 291 
 
 PSALM VIII. 
 
 Title. 
 
 To the Chief Musician, or Director of the 
 Sacred Music : A Psalm of David on the 
 Gittith.* 
 
 * The same is the title of the 81st and S4th Psalms. It 
 is very difficult to determine the meaning of this, and of 
 many other titles of the Psalms. Some say that Gittith 
 signifies a particular kind of tune or air, well known at that 
 time. According to the reading of the Seventy and of the 
 Vulgate, it means a psalm to be sung in the time of the 
 vintage^ as JlJ gath, signifies a wine-press. Others allege, 
 that it was the name of a harp or musical instrument that 
 David brought from Gath, or on which he celebrated his 
 victory over Goliah of Gath, where, as he sings in this 
 psalm, the Divine strength was manifested, in enabling 
 a stripling to kill a giant, the insulting enemy of the host of 
 Israel. The last meaning may apply to the 8th Psalm, but 
 I cannot see' any relation it has to the other two Psalms 
 where Gittith appears. 
 
 t3 
 
^92 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM Via. 
 
 iw^ )('\)^r\ ^D3 "^T^m TiK r\D ^T:n^ mn'' i 
 
 T"iii^ 11^^^ W nno^ o^n xn'hh^v ''^12 2 
 : rhr\ nnn nnt:^ '?d t^t ^1:^;;^ in^^::^Dn • 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 293 
 
 1 O Jehovah our Lord, how excellent (or ad- 
 
 mirable) is thy name in all the earth ! 
 Thou hast set thy glory above the heavens. 
 
 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings 
 
 thou hast strengthened praise ; to defeat 
 thine enemies, to restrain the most en- 
 raged foe. 
 
 3 When I look up to thy heavens^ the work of 
 
 thy fingers, to the moon and to the stars 
 which thou hast established, 
 
 4 What is man that thou sliouldst be mindful 
 
 of him ; or a son of man,* that thou 
 shouldst visit him ? 
 
 5 Thou hast made him a little lower than the 
 
 angels ;f thou hast crowned him with 
 glory and honour ; 
 
 6 Thou hast given him dominion over the 
 
 works of thy hands; thou hast put all 
 things under his feet ; 
 
 * Or, a son of the dust. 
 
 + The original word, Aleim, commonly rendered God, 
 is here, and in Psalm xcvii. 7. rendered by the Seventy, 
 Angels. 
 
294 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 : D^D'' mn-ii^ -lay D^^ '•ji-n d^di:^ "nsi^; « 
 : pKH ^03 lo::^ ttk hd im^^ m.T 9 
 
 PSALM XXIV. 
 
 : nn ua^^i San nxi'^Di p^n hiitS j 
 
 : wnp Dip^n' Dip^ ^Di niiT nnn nS;;^ ^'D s 
 ic^Di i^wS k::/: k'? n::^i< anS nm rz3*»£)D •»pi 4 
 
 : vtr^"^ ^'^S^^D npl)s^ mn'' n>^D nana j^i^'' 3 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAU. 295 
 
 7 Sheep and oxen, all of them^ yea also the 
 
 beasts of the field ; 
 
 8 The birds of the air, and the fishes of the 
 
 sea, and whatsoever passeth through the 
 paths of the seas. 
 
 9 O Jehovah our Lord, how excellent is thy 
 
 name in all the earth. 
 
 PSALM XXIV. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 1 The earth and its stores belong unto Je- 
 
 hovah, the world and all who dwell in it : 
 
 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and 
 
 established it upon the floods, (or rivers). 
 
 3 Who shall ascend unto the hill of Jehovah ; 
 
 who shall stand in his holy place ? 
 
 4 He that is clean in hands, and pure in heart, 
 
 who has not set his affection upon vain 
 idols, nor sworn to deceive. 
 
 5 He shall receive the blessing from Jehovah, 
 
 and mercy from the God of his salvation. 
 
S96 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 nuj n^n'> -n3ji nr;; mn^ nuon f)D nr "^d « 
 ^2^1 d'?!;; •^nriD \st:^i CDD^t:^^-) n^i^n:; i«cr^ 9 
 
HEBitliW GUAM MA II. 297 
 
 6 This is the generation of them that seek him, 
 
 that request thy face [favour] as did 
 Jacob. Selah.* 
 
 7 Lift up your heads^ O ye gates, and be ye 
 
 lift up, ye durable doors, that the King of 
 glory may enter in. ». u 
 
 8 Who is this King of glory ? Jehovah, strong'' 
 
 and mighty ; Jehovah, mighty in battle. 
 
 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates, lift them up, 
 
 ye durable doors, that the King of glory 
 
 may enter. 
 10 Who is this King of glory? Jehovah the 
 
 God of Ilo«ts, he is the King of glory. 
 '"'" Selah. 
 
 * See Observations on Selah, at the end of the book. ^' 
 
 ■ • . ; ■ 4'i'w u ,■] '' \ WiA v3 
 
 Notes on Psalm XXI K 
 
 Ver. 2. Upon ike seas^ and upon the rivers, — The 
 original word, or preposition *?r ol, may also be rendered 
 against, meaning that God had so consolidated or con- 
 firmed the dry land, as not to be worn away or dissolved 
 by the seas or the rivers. At the same time it must be 
 acknowledged, that it seems to be the opinion of the 
 
298 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Sacred Writers, or a principle of Hebrew cosmogony, 
 that the Deity has spread the earth over a vast body of 
 wa'ers in its centre, reserved for particular purposes. 
 See Gen. vii. U. Psalm xxxiii. 7. and cxxxvi. 6. 
 
 Ver. 5. And merci/—pi'^ and npiX do not properly 
 signify strict justice; but righteousness, equity, and 
 mercy conjoined. Tzedeke is rendered often by J«- 
 Kxioa-vvv), which, in the New Testament, often signifies 
 mercy ^ kindness^ and even charily^ or alms-giving. 
 See Deut. xxiv. 13. Psalm cxii. 3, 4. 6. and Matth. 
 vi. 1. 
 
 Ver. 6. Litt. did Jacob, — This rendering requires 
 only the supply of the letter caph, signifying like or 
 as, to complete the sense, which seems plainly to refer 
 to an eminent instance of the Divine favour shewn to 
 Jacob, as recorded in Gen. xxxii. 24—30. " Jacob 
 " called the name of the place Penial^'' i. e. the face 
 of God. 
 
 The Septuagint and Syriac versions supply the words, 
 O God i " that seek thy face, O God of Jacob." It is 
 well observed by H oubigant, in this place, " Certe, 
 ^'faciem tuam^ O Jacoh^ vix ferendum. Quaerunt viri 
 " sancti/flTCzem Dei^ nonfaciem Jacob.^^ — ** Surely, thy 
 ^^face, O Jacob, is not admissible here. Good men 
 " seek the face of God, not the face of Jacob.'''' 
 
 Ver. 7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates — In antient 
 times the portals, or tops of the gates, were moveable ; 
 and when a grand procession was introduced, they 
 were elevated with solemnity. 
 
 Ibid. The King of glory — i. e. The Ark, the symbol 
 of the divine presence of the King of glory. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 299 
 
 Ver. 10. The God of hosts — »3X signifies a large col- 
 lection of any kind, and the title Alei tzebaoth^ properly 
 signifieys God of all creatures, God of the universe. By 
 the hosts of heaven is commonly to be understood the 
 angels and the stars. 
 
S(K) HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM XLVI. 
 
 m nonn ^:b D^n^« i 
 
 pi^ TDHi i^-)'^:3 t^h \3 hv 2 
 : D^D'^ n^n onn toiDm 
 
 : -ip3 m3DV D^n'7i^ mr;;'' 
 
 mrj^DD icoD D'^u ion e 
 : p^^ Ji2:n I'^ipa jn: 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM XLVI. 
 
 301 
 
 To the Chief Musician, to the Sons of Korah on 
 Olamuth : A Song. 
 
 1 God is our refuge and our strength, we have 
 
 found him a present help in all our trou- 
 bles. 
 
 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth 
 
 should change its place, and though the 
 mountains should be moved into the heart 
 of the sea : 
 S Though its waters should roar and be turbu- 
 lent, though the mountains should tremble 
 by its proud waves. Selah. 
 
 4 There is a river, its streams shall gladden the 
 
 city of God, the holy place of the taber- 
 nacles of the Most High. 
 
 5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be 
 
 moved ; God shall help her at the spring 
 of dawn. 
 
 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were 
 
 moved ; he uttered his voice, the earth 
 melted. 
 
 7 Jehovah the God of Hosts is with us, the 
 
 God of Jacob is our high tower. 
 
SB2 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 n^2r\ pp^ 12^^ n^p 
 ; pxa DUX D''ija diik 
 
HEBREW GRi^MMAR. 303 
 
 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what 
 
 desolations he can make in the earth. 
 
 9 He causeth wars to cease unto the end of 
 
 the earth ; he breaketh the bow, and 
 cutteth the spear in sunder, he burneth 
 the chariot in the fire. 
 
 10 Be still, and know that I am God ; I will be 
 
 exalted among the heathen, I will be 
 exalted in the earth. 
 
 1 1 Jehovah the God of Hosts is with us, the 
 
 God of Jacob is our high tower. Selah. 
 
 Notes on Psalm XL VI. 
 On olamuth. — The same obscurity hangs over this 
 word, as over many others in the titles of the Psalms. 
 The root is thouglit io be xhv which signifies to hide or 
 conceal from view, and accordingly the Seventy render 
 r^oSi? b^ vm^ ruv K^v^iuvy upoti OT for things concealed; 
 but what these hidden things are, they inform us not. 
 nD*?!? is frequently rendered a virgin, a 7/oung woman, 
 therefore some understand this title to be a direction for 
 the psalm to be sung, and accompanied with music, by 
 virgins. See 1 Chron. xv. 20. Others are of opinion, 
 that the term means a particular tune or air, or a mu- 
 sical instrument. 
 

 304 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 There is plainly a rhythmus, measure, or appearance 
 of musical feet in this psalm, nearly approaching to our 
 rhyme. I have endeavoured to preserve it in the ar- 
 rangement of the lines, which may be converted into 
 our characters, and read after the following manner : 
 
 I. 
 
 Al^im lenu mahaze «oz 
 Ozere betzaruth nimtza mad 
 
 IJ. 
 
 Ol cen la nira bemir aretz 
 Ubemut erira beleb imim 
 
 in. 
 
 lemu ihmeru mimiu 
 Iroshu erim begauthu, &c. 
 
 There is a considerable variation in the rendering of 
 the latter part of the 4th verse by the Seventy, and by 
 the Vulgate, which, in the Psalms, almost constantly 
 copies the Greek verbatim. What we translate, " The 
 " holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High," the 
 Seventy render, -^yiaae ro crKvtvuiAoc avm v-^icrros — the Vul- 
 gate, Sanctificaret tabernaculum suum allissimus ; 
 " The Most High has sanctified his tabernacle." They 
 had read ij^tro his tabernacle, with the affix, instead of 
 'J3tt^ in the genitive of position, tabernacles of, making 
 imp a verb active in Kal. If the full signification of 
 kadash be attended to, the translation is very just, and 
 the connection natural : Kadash not only signifies to be 
 or to make holi/, but also to separate, set apart, place 
 in safety or security out of the reach of danger, to 
 preserve holy, pure, uncontaminated. Then the sense 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 305 
 
 runs thus: " The Most High will place his tabernacle 
 " in safety. — God is in the midst of his city, she shall 
 ** not be moved; God. will help her at the appearance 
 " of the morning." See Psalm xxx. 5. and cxxvi. 5. 
 Also Isaiah xxxvii. 36. 
 
3Q6 U£BR£Vr GRAMMAR. 
 
 PSALM LXXII. 
 
 : npnva ni;/ajn o;;'? Di'?a' onn isa« » 
 : pmp «3n^i ivas ija"? ;?^b'v d;; ^^jj/ toaa/"' * 
 
 : HT i'7a nj? mW aii pnv va^3 niB^ » 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 307 
 
 PSALM LXXII. 
 
 For Solomon, in honour of, or concerning Solo- 
 mon. 
 
 1 O God, give the knowledge of thy judgments 
 
 (laws) to the King, and thy mercy to the 
 King's son ; 
 
 2 That he may judge thy people with righte- 
 
 ousness, and thy poor with equitable deci- 
 sion : 
 
 3 That the mountains and the hills may pro- 
 
 duce prosperity to the people, during his 
 mild administration. 
 
 fci », .^ »♦ %- . 
 
 4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he 
 
 shall save the sons of the indigent, and 
 break in pieces the oppressor. 
 
 5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and 
 
 moon endure, throughout all generations. 
 
 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown 
 ! grass^ as showers that water the earth. 
 
 7 In his days shall the just man flourish; and 
 
 there shall be abundance of peace, till the 
 moon cease to exist. 
 u2 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 >^nt:^ "^D^D iTt:^^ nniD a^^^^^ :^'»t£^-in ^d^q i»' 
 : innp** i:i^^ i^noi 
 
 : 1^ -ir;; ]^«i •»3;;i v^^d ]V2i^ ^'»v'' •»3 12 
 ip^ii/v 0-^:^2^ r^^^^:^ \v2i^) hi bv on^ 13 
 
 : vrw dj::^^ ")p^^T cit^^^:! ^^^:i^ ddhdi iiriD i* 
 ^:) Ton r\V2 hh^T\^^ ^2u; nnro i*? \rv^ •rtn i^ 
 
 pn^D t^j/T ann tr^^^"l3 p«n la nosi \t i« 
 : )(i^r) 2^2 TifD iv^vn riD 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 309 
 
 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, 
 - and from the river unto the ends of the 
 
 earth. 
 
 9 Uncultivated nations shall bow before him^ 
 ' '" and his enemies shall lick the dust. 
 
 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall 
 r bring presents; the kings of Sheba and 
 
 Seba shall offer gifts. 
 
 1 1 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, 
 
 all nations shall serve him : 
 
 J 2 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth, 
 the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 
 
 13 He shall have compassion on the wretched 
 
 and on the indigent, and shall save the 
 souls of the needy. 
 
 14 He shall, redeem their soul from deceit and 
 
 violence, and precious shall their blood be 
 in his sight. 
 
 15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given 
 
 of the gold of Sheba ; prayer also shall be 
 made for him continually, and daily shall 
 he be praised. 
 
 16 There shall be plenty of corn in the land, 
 
 even on the tops of mountains; its fruit 
 shall wave like the cedars of Lebanon. 
 The inhabitants of the city shall flourish 
 like the grass of the field. 
 
510 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR, 
 
 m 
 
 17 His name shall endure for ever, his name 
 
 shall be continued as long as the sun ; and 
 men shall be blessed in him : all nations 
 shall celebrate him as blessed. 
 
 18 Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, 
 
 who alone doth wondrous things ; 
 
 19 And blessed be the name of his glory for 
 
 ever ; may his glory fill the whole earth. 
 Amen and amen. 
 30 Here end, or are finished, the prayers of 
 David the son of Jesse. 
 
 Notes on Psalm LXXII. 
 
 The title of the Psalm is for Solomon, and it is ge- 
 nerally thought to have been composed by David, in 
 honour of his son Solomon, when raised to the throne, 
 and declared his father's successor. Sec 1 Kings, 
 Chap. i. 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to observe, that a greater 
 than Solomon is here. All commentators, both Jewish 
 and Christian, apply this Psalm to Jesus Christ, the 
 true Messiah, and consider it as a prophecy of the 
 nature and blessings of his government, and of the 
 supreme happiness to b« eternally enjoyed by all his 
 faithful subjects. 
 
312 
 
 HEBREW GRAMMAR, 
 
 Ver. 3. — The turn (hat I Iiave given to the words in 
 this verse, seems to express a more complete sense than 
 the common version ; DlVar does not signify peace only, 
 but all good things, both temporal and spiritual. 
 
 The general meaning is, the most barren and uncul- 
 tivated parts of the country shall, npi:^3 during the 
 mild and equitable government of this wise and good 
 king, be productive of all good things. The mountains 
 and hills, formerly barren and unfertile, the haunts of 
 robbers and oppressors, shall now be cultivated, and 
 become the abodes of peace, and the scenes of festivity 
 and abundance. 
 
 Ver. b. Thei/ shall fear thee — If the true reading 
 be, as in our present copies, '^1^n» the translation? 
 " They shall fear thee," is just; but it appears, from 
 the rendering of the Seventy, that they had read ^nxn 
 from the root "^li* to be long^ in Hiphil, to lengthen or 
 prolong ; for they translate tlie verse thus : 
 
 Ka; a'Vfi.Trx^aiJisvsi tu "nKiu kxi iiqo Ttis asXvivyis yevsocs ysviuv. 
 
 The Vulgate— Et per maneb it cum sole et ante lunam 
 in generalione et generation em. 
 " And he shall continue with the sun, and before the 
 " moon, from generation to generation." 
 
 This interpretation produces a good meaning, re- 
 moves the obscurity arising from a sudden change of 
 the person, and is in perfect conformity with other pas- 
 sages of Scripture, that describe the glory and perpe- 
 tuity of the Messiah's reign. See Psalm xlv. and 
 Isaiah liii. 10. where the same word ^n^?» is used. — '' He 
 " shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord 
 " shall prosper in his hand." 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 313 
 
 Ver. 6. He shall come down like rain — Or rather, 
 his government, the felicity of his administration, shall 
 be as when rain descends upon mown grass. 
 
 How beautifully is the same subject embellished and 
 illustrated, by an assemblage of pleasing images, 2 Sam. 
 xxiii, S. " The God of Israel said — He that ruleth 
 ** over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God, 
 " that he may be as the light of the morning when the 
 " sun riseth, a morning without clouds, as the tender 
 *' grass springeth out of the earth, by clear shining 
 " after rain." 
 
 Ver. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea 
 — I. €. From the Red Sea or Arabic Bay to the Mediter- 
 ranean, and from the Euphrates to the Great Desert ; 
 or from one end of the earth to the other. 
 
 Ver. 10. The kings of Tarshish — Tarshish or Tharsis 
 signifies the sea in general, or the Mediterranean, best 
 known to the Jews. Kings of Tarshish are the kings 
 of those countries which border on the Mediterranean ; 
 Sheba, Ethiopia; Seba, Arabia the Happy. See 
 2 Chron. ix. The Queen of Sheba, elsewhere called 
 the Queen of the South, gave to King Solomon one 
 hundred and twenty talents of gold, great abundance 
 of spices, and precious stones. ^ 
 
 Ver. 20. Here end the prayers — An observation of 
 the collector of the Psalms, intimating that this was 
 either the last, or among the last of David's sacred com- 
 positions, oj: public prayers. 
 
314 HEBREW GRAMMAR. 
 
 Observations on Selah. 
 
 This Hebrew word has occasioned much criticism 
 and speculation ; and after all the true meaning of it is 
 perhaps not yet fully understood. It is used seventy- 
 three times in the Psalter or book of Psalms, and 
 no where else in Scripture, except in the song of Ha- 
 bakkuk, never appearing unless in metrical compositions, 
 or songs set to music ; hence it has been a general 
 opinion, that it is a musical note or sign. Some explain 
 it by the terms, Fox pauscB et attentionis, a word inti- 
 mating a pause to raise attention; others, Elevatio 
 vocis, a raising of the voice in music, as forte is used 
 in modern times. Some translate it in seculum^ for 
 ever ; and the Seventy by S/a%I/aX/*a, which some render 
 a pause in singing ; but which, I think, may with more 
 probability be understood as a solemn intimation or 
 direction, that all the musical instruments should sound 
 at once in company with the singers ; or that the instru- 
 mental and vocal music should unite, in one grand 
 chorus. 
 
 Aben Ezra* says, the word is entirely to be referred 
 to music, when employed in Divine service : That it is 
 a direction to the singers and players to unite their 
 voices and instruments in one concentus^ or one uni- 
 versal combination of sounds. 
 
 * Aben Ezra was one of the most learned and intelligent of 
 all the Jewish rabbies : He lived in the twelfth century, and 
 has left some very judicious commentaries on various books 
 of the Old Testament. 
 
HEBREW GRAMMAR. 315 
 
 David Kimhi* is of opinion, that it signifies elevatiotiy 
 or expression of loud sound ; but hints, at the same 
 time, that it contains a direction to the worshippers to 
 raise their minds, and elevate their thoughts to the 
 Supreme Being, and the adoration of his perfections. 
 To this \iew of the matter, no serious reader of the 
 Psalms will find cause to object. 
 
 The Chaldee Paraphrast, in this Targum, or inter- 
 pretation of the Psalms, renders Selah by poSl^ le 
 olemin, in ceternum, for ever. 
 
 The Latin Vulgate never translates it at all, and 
 places no word in its room. 
 
 The modern Jews, at the conclusion of their public 
 prayers or hymns, say. Amen, Selah. See 1 Chron. 
 xvi. 36. 
 
 It is surprising, that among all the writers on this 
 subject, none of them have ventifred a conjecture, which 
 seems highly probable, and, I think, accounts better 
 for the use and propriety of the term, than any suppo- 
 sition that has hitherto been formed. 
 
 The root of the word appears evidently to lie in the 
 two first letters Sd which is in contraction for \hD to raise, 
 to exalty to magnify. The n at the end I would con- 
 sider as an abbreviation for n»i so that the word Selah 
 hSd is a contracted form of n^te celebrate ye je- 
 
 HOVAH, or, EXALT YE THE LORD, viz. in SOUgS of 
 
 praise, accompanied with musical instruments, and is 
 
 ♦ D. Kimhi was a Jewish Rabbi of the 13th century, 
 a Scripture critic of some reputation, and that one of all 
 the rabbies most followed by Christians, in the composition 
 of their Hebrew grammars and dictionaries. 
 
316 HEBREW GRAJVIMAR. 
 
 nearly of the import of n»"iSVn Laudate Dominunif 
 Praise ye the Lord^ or, in our characters, Hallelujah, 
 in Greek letters, AXXyiXHia. This conjecture receives 
 strong confirmation from the 4th verse of the 68th 
 Psalm, latter part of the verse, iot2^ no nmrD 221^ iVd 
 common translation, "Extol him that rideth upon tlie 
 " heavens by the name J ah." 
 
 It is higlily probable, that the meaning here assigned 
 to Selah is the true one, as it corresponds to the dignity 
 and chief end of devotional music, in which the singers 
 and players were frequently reminded of the sacred 
 intention of their solemn prayers, praises, and adora- 
 tions. All were designed to magnify the name, the 
 nature, the perfections, excellencies, and works of 
 Jehovah the only true God. In this sublime exercise, 
 the church on earth are fellow worshippers, in perfect 
 concord with the churck in heaven : Rev. xix. 1—3. 
 " And after these things, I heard a great voice of much 
 " people in heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation, and 
 " glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our 
 <' God, for true and righteous are his judgments. And 
 "again they said, Alleluia. And the four and twenty 
 " elders, and the four living creatures fell down and 
 " worshipped God, saying, Amen, Alleluia. And 
 " a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our 
 " God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him both 
 " small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of 
 " a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, 
 " and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 
 " Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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