HSC Classical Hebrew Continuers (NSW) flashcards

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Waw-consecutive imperfect

The form וַיִּקְטֹל, an imperfect prefixed by waw with pattach and dagesh. In narrative prose it normally expresses completed past action and is translated with the simple past.

Construct chain

A sequence of nouns where all but the last are in the construct state. The final noun is absolute and the chain translates with 'of': דְּבַר יְהוָה means 'the word of the LORD'.

Direct object marker אֶת

The particle אֶת (or אֵת with a pronominal suffix) precedes a definite direct object. It is never translated as 'with' in this function and has no English equivalent.

Hiphil stem

The causative stem, usually marked by a ה prefix (הִ, הַ, הֵ) and a characteristic vowel pattern. It means 'cause to do' the Qal action, e.g. הִמְלִיךְ 'make someone king'.

Piel stem

A stem with dagesh forte in the second radical. It is often intensive or factitive, turning a stative Qal into a transitive verb, e.g. קִדֵּשׁ 'sanctify' beside קָדַשׁ 'be holy'.

Hollow roots

Roots whose middle radical is yod or waw, such as קום, שיר and בוא. The middle radical often disappears in inflected forms, producing long vowels instead (יָקוּם, וַיָּבֹא).

III-he roots

Roots ending in ה, such as בנה, עשה and היה. The final ה frequently becomes yod or waw or is lost before suffixes, so forms like בָּנָה and וַיִּבֶן must be recognised together.

Pronominal suffixes

Endings attached to nouns, prepositions or verbs that mark person, gender and number. On nouns they show possession; on prepositions and verbs they mark the object.

Inseparable prepositions

The particles בְּ (in), לְ (to, for) and כְּ (like) attach directly to the following word. מִן (from) also attaches but assimilates its nun before labials and gutturals.

Niphal stem

Usually the passive or reflexive counterpart of Qal, marked by a נ prefix or a dagesh in the first radical. It commonly means 'be done' or 'do oneself'.

Perfect versus imperfect aspect

The perfect presents an action as complete or whole; the imperfect presents it as incomplete, habitual or future. English tense must be inferred from context, not from the form alone.

Noun gender and number

Hebrew nouns are masculine or feminine and singular, dual or plural. Feminine singular often ends in ה or ת; masculine plural ends in ים and feminine plural in ות.

Idiom: נָשָׂא פָנִים

Literally 'lift the face', meaning to show favour to someone or to be partial. It functions as a single lexical unit and should not be translated word by word.

Idiom: חָרָה אַף

Literally 'the nose burned', meaning to become angry. The phrase uses אַף ('nose') as the seat of anger and translates as a single idiom.

Rendering the divine name

The four-letter name יְהוָה is conventionally translated 'the LORD' in small capitals. The title אֲדֹנָי means 'my Lord' or 'master' and is a separate word.

Translating the article

The prefixed הַ (with dagesh in the next consonant) marks definiteness. In a construct chain only the absolute noun may carry it, but English applies 'the' to the whole chain.

Translating infinitives

The infinitive construct with לְ expresses purpose ('in order to') or serves as a verbal noun. The infinitive absolute intensifies the finite verb, often rendered 'surely' or 'indeed'.

Translating the participle

The active participle denotes ongoing or habitual action and can function as a noun ('the one who keeps'). In narrative it often marks progressive or imminent action.

Clause-first translation method

Identify subject, verb and object from Hebrew word order before recasting into English. Reordering too early causes misassigned subjects, especially with fronted prepositional phrases.

Quotation with reference

An interpretation answer should quote the exact Hebrew words, in script or transliteration, and give the chapter and verse or line. Paraphrase without quotation earns limited credit.

Speaker and addressee

Before interpreting a passage, establish who speaks and to whom. Hebrew direct speech opens abruptly, with vocatives, imperatives or cohortatives signalling the shift from narrative.

Content versus significance

A content question asks what the text states; a significance question asks what it implies about theme, character or purpose. The second requires a claim plus textual evidence.

Parallelism in Hebrew poetry

Two or more cola balance each other. The second may restate the first (synonymous), oppose it (antithetic) or complete it (synthetic), so meaning must be read across the whole line.

Character evidence in answers

State a trait only after citing the action or speech that reveals it. For example, a character's plea for others may show loyalty; the trait must be tied to that specific detail.

Repeated keyword as theme

A root or word recurring across a passage is a deliberate structural signal. Tracking its repetitions and shifts in stem or context supplies evidence for the passage's central concern.

Scanning an unseen passage

First locate proper nouns, the wayyiqtol chain and repeated roots. These fix the narrative spine and the participants before detailed translation begins.

Using parallelism for glosses

When an unknown word appears in one colon of a poetic line, its partner colon often supplies a synonym. Compare the two halves to infer the sense.

Margin glosses

A glossary note applies to that occurrence only. The same root in a different stem carries a different sense, so check each form separately against the stem pattern.

Narrative versus direct speech

Narrative uses wayyiqtol chains and third-person reference. Direct speech uses imperatives, cohortatives, vocatives and first or second person, marking a change of speaker.

Masoretic Text and vocalisation

The consonantal text was vocalised and annotated by Tiberian Masoretes, notably the Ben Asher family, between roughly the seventh and tenth centuries CE. The consonants are much older.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Manuscripts from Qumran, mostly from about the third century BCE onward, including Hebrew biblical copies roughly a thousand years older than the great medieval codices. They preserve textual variants.

Deuteronomistic narrative frame

In Genesis to 2 Kings the narrative evaluates kings and Israel by covenant fidelity, especially centralised worship and obedience. This framing shapes how episodes are presented and judged.