21st Century Bible Hebrew -- Construct State

Genesis 1:2.

 

ב וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם:

 

Translation:     The earth was empty and chaotic and dark above the depths; a spirit of Gd was wafting back and forth above the water.

 

Vocabulary in this lesson:

 

הָיְתָה	was (f.s.)
תֹהוּ	empty
בֹהוּ	chaotic
חשֶׁךְ	dark, darkness
עַל	on, over, above
תְהוֹם	depths
רוּחַ	spirit, wind
מְרַחֶפֶת	waft, 3rd f. s., piel form (repetitive)
עַל־פְּנֵי	above
פְּנֵי	face, construct state, masculine plural

 

All right, here’s the table for the construct state. Masculine and feminine nouns work differently and I’m going to give you both.

 

indefinite	construct	Person/gender
בֵּן	בֵּן	Masculine singular
בָּנים	בְּנֵי	Masculine plural
פָּרָה	פָּרַת	Feminine singular
פָּרוֹת	פָּרוֹת	Feminine plural

 

Notice the change in the feminine singular and the masculine plural construct.

 

I’m going to stop here so that you have a week to memorize this table. You will see forms like this over and over again and I refuse to rush you.

Next: a new aspect on things.

 

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