Thursday, November 6, 2014

Bit at a time Biblical Hebrew -- Genesis 2:5

Genesis 2:5

ה וְכֹל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ וְכָל־עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִצְמָח כִּי לֹא הִמְטִיר יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהִים עַל־הָאָרֶץ וְאָדָם אַיִן לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה:

Transliteration: V’-khol siach ha-sadeh terem yihyeh ba-arets v’-khal-esev ha-sadeh terem yitsmach ki lo himtir **** elohim al-ha-arets v-adam ain la-avod et-ha-adamah.

Translation:    All the growth of the field did not yet exist on land and all grass of the field had not yet sprouted for **** Gd had not yet cause it to rain on the earth and there was no man to work the earth.

Vocabulary in this lesson:

שִׂיחַ
growth
טֶרֶם
Not yet
יִצְמָח
sprout
הִמְטִיר
Caused to rain
אַיִן
There was none
לַעֲבֹד
To work

Quick quiz.  How do I know that himtir means “caused?”

Notice that the infinitive “to work,” la-avod, has patach under the lamed instead of a chiriq as in limshol.  The ayin at the start of avod cannot take a shva the way the mem of mshol can; it is one of those letters called “weak”.  It has to take an “ah” sound and for that it uses a chataf patach – a patach combined with a shva.  Then the lamed needs a corresponding sound.

In the same sort of way the infinitive of “to be” is lihyot.  The infinitive of “to say” is lemor or in a different binyan, lomar.  You’ll see all of these and I’ll emphasize them when we get to them.

“Growth,” siach is the same sort of feminine gender noun as ruach.  So what do you think its plural is?

Answer to the first quiz: The heh at the start and the yod in the middle are signs that this is a causative hifil.  The verb hibaram that you had in lesson 48 does NOT have the yod in it.  That’s a sign that it is NOT hifil.

Answer to the second question: sichot.  Notice that once again, the “ah” sound disappears.

© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights Reserved

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