The Verbless Clause in Genesis:

An Analysis

Nauff Zakaria

NELG 40301

Prof. Hasselbach-Andee

31 May 2016
 Zakaria 1

The Verbless Clause in Genesis: An Analysis

The verbless clause1 in Biblical Hebrew (BH) has been the subject of numerous studies

from Semitists, linguists and biblical scholars; research topics have included designation of

clause types based on function, the impact of prepositional phrases, emphasis and topicalization,

word order and many others. It is important to clarify, at the onset, what is meant by verbless

clause; for the purposes of this study, C. Miller’s definition is most helpful: “The term verbless

clause (or nonverbal clause) designates the category on the basis of a syntactic feature that is not

present; that is, predication is achieved without a verb.”2 Tamar Zewi extends this definition by

describing what can be included in verbless clauses; she lists two basic types of verbless clauses

based on their constituents: “(1) simple nominal-clause patterns consisting of just two main

members, subject and predicate, without any additional member to express the predicative

relation, and (2) extended nominal-clause patterns that include a pronominal element. This

element is sometimes interpreted as a resumptive pronoun, or alternatively as a copula

representing the predicative relation.”3 Clauses of this type occur almost two thousand times

within the Hebrew Bible. While there are certain syntactical rules that can be deduced, most of

which are indeed beneficial, the flexibility BH demonstrates regarding the word order of verbless

clauses undoubtedly contributes to the ongoing interest in the topic. The present study focuses

on the impact of definiteness on word order in verbless clauses; the corpus for this work is the

book of Genesis.

1
The term verbless clause is not without controversy. In the introduction to the book, The Verbless Clause in
Biblical Hebrew, Cynthia Miller details the issue of nonverbal clauses being designated as nominal or verbless.
Miller, Cynthia L. “Pivotal Issues in Analyzing the Verbless Clause,” inThe Verbless Clause in Biblical
Hebrew: Linguistic Approaches, edited by Cynthia Miller, (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 3-18.
2 Ibid., 8-9
3 Zewi, Tamar, “Prepositional Phrases as Subjects in Several Semitic Languages,” In Language and Nature:

Papers Presented to John Huehnergard on the Occasion of This 60th Birthday, eds. Rebecca Hasselbach and
Na'ama Pat-El, (Chicago, IL: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2012), 466.
 Zakaria 2

Francis Andersen is credited for producing one of the most comprehensive studies of the

verbless clause in the Pentateuch. His work, The Hebrew Verbless Clause in the Pentateuch,

offers an exhaustive collection of the Pentateuchal verbless clauses and his analysis of their

construction and narrative functions. The impact of Andersen’s work has been tremendous; his

conclusions are cited in multiple Hebrew syntax grammars as the authoritative understanding of

verbless clauses.4 However, Andersen’s division of identification clauses and classification

clauses oversimplifies the various factors that should be considered when examining these

clauses. Moreover, the exceptions to the rules laid out by Andersen should be studied and

understood as fully grammatical sentences possibly showing emphasis, focus, or markedness.

The clauses which break away from the dominant patterns display the elasticity BH allows in

clause structure.

After providing a brief overview of the different approaches to verbless clauses that

preceded him, Andersen explicitly states his goal. “…existing descriptions of the verbless clause

in biblical Hebrew are unsatisfactory. They are uncertain as to what are normal patterns.

Explanations of exceptions to the supposed rule S [Subject] – P [Predicate] are often given in

terms of concepts like emphasis or importance, which have no empirical status.”5 Accordingly,

Andersen seeks to generate normalized patterns in which verbless clauses can be distinguished

and patterned.

4
Examples include Bill Arnold and John Choi’s A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, p. 165 and Bruce Waltke
and Michael Patrick. O'Connor’s An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, p. 130. Andersen’s description
of identification and classification clauses is also accepted by scholars such as Tamar Zewi, Cynthia Miller,
Mats Eskhult and others.
5 Andersen, Francis I, The Hebrew Verbless Clause in the Pentateuch, (Nashville: Published for the Society of

Biblical Literature by Abingdon Press, 1970), 18.

 Zakaria 3

Andersen places significant importance on the definiteness of the constituent elements of

verbless clauses. Based on the empirical data he gathers from the Pentateuch, he reaches the

following judgements: “Generalizations emerge when three main degree of definiteness are

distinguished. (i) When the predicate is definite, the preferred sequence is S-P. (ii) When the

predicate is indefinite, the preferred sequence is P-S. (iii) When the predicate is Ns [suffixed

noun] or an expansion, the occurrences of both sequences are of the same order…”6 These

conclusions lead Andersen to the following categorizations of verbless clauses as either clauses

of classification or clauses of identification:

These patterns are so consistent that they may be made the basis of grammatical rules or
of the recognition of two kinds of predication. When both S and P are definite, the
predicate has total semantic overlap with the subject; that is, each has exactly the same
referent. The predicate supplies the identity of the subject. This may be called a clause
of identification. The nuclear sequence is S-P. When S is definite and P is indefinite (in
the typical and commonest case P is and indefinite noun, Ni [indefinite noun]), the
predicate has partial semantic overlap with the subject; that is, it refers to the general
class of which the subject is a member. The predicate states the class of the subject. This
may be called a clause of classification. The nuclear sequence is P-S.7

This presentation from Andersen has become the definitive understanding of verbless clauses in

BH. The conclusions drawn from Andersen are based on an extensive corpus, as the data

gathered by Andersen covers the entirety of the Pentateuch. While the present study examines

only the book of Genesis, the goal of this work is to examine the clauses which do not adhere to

the rules put forth by Andersen; the purpose of doing so is to allow for a consideration of other

factors that may have an impact of the word ordering of verbless clauses.

6
Ibid., 32
7
Ibid., 32
Italics are from Andersen
 Zakaria 4

Genesis contains approximately two hundred and thirteen verbless clauses. Of these, one

hundred and thirty-six contain either an independent personal pronoun or a demonstrative

pronoun. The role of the pronoun in verbless clauses must be addressed before focusing on these

clauses. Because the personal pronoun plays such a critical role in verbless clauses, Tamar Zewi

devotes the first portion of her discussion of the verbless clause to an understanding of its

function. “A correct understanding of the role of the independent personal pronouns in the

biblical nominal sentence as well as in that of many other Semitic languages is crucial for a

proper classification of the nominal sentence patterns.”8 Zewi goes on to propose three

explanations for understanding the personal pronoun in BH verbless clauses; one explicates the

pronoun as a copula, one connects the pronoun with the notion of emphasis, and the third regards

the pronoun as either a subject or predicate depending on its position in the clause and on the

position off the other components of the clause.9 While it would be pleasing to identify

dominant function of the pronoun which may be ascribed to the majority of its occurrences, the

understanding of the pronoun as a subject or a predicate appears to be the most productive

understanding of its function in verbless clauses.

Of interest to the present study is the ordering of constituents in verbless clauses

containing an independent pronoun. The data reveals the following regarding word order: 96 of

the verbless clauses containing a pronoun place the pronoun in the first position (70.5%); the

remaining 29.5% of clauses place the pronoun in the second/final position of the clause. When

the pronoun is not the first element of a clause, it may still serve as the subject of the clause;

specifically, this occurs when the clause constituents are a suffixed noun followed by a pronoun.

8
Zewi, Tamar, “The Nominal Sentence in Biblical Hebrew,” in Semitic and Cushitic Studies, ed. by Gideon
Goldenberg and Shlomo Raz, (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1994), 146.
9 Ibid., 146-148
 Zakaria 5

Examples:

‫ ַכל ָּ֖תֹו ִ֑הוא‬She is his daughter-in-law 38:16

‫ בָּ נַ ַ֣י ֵ֔הם‬They are my sons 48:9

There are occurrences, however, when the pronoun serves as the subject of the clause, yet it is

not placed the beginning. In these instances, it seems clear the information being provided by

the predicate is of greater importance to the narrative at the discourse level. This primarily

occurs when the clause construction is a noun in construct with a proper noun followed by a

pronoun. These clauses are clear clauses of identification, as the predicate gives the identity of

the subject and both constituents are definite; however, the order is P – S, not the expected S – P

prescribed by Andersen.

Examples:

‫ֱֹלהים אַ תָּ ה‬
ִ֤ ‫ נְ ִׂ֨שיא א‬You are a prince of God 23:6

‫תּואל אָּ ִ֑נכי‬

֖ ְ‫ בַ ת־ב‬I am the daughter of Bethuel 24:24

‫ עֶ ֶ֥בֶ ד אַ בְ ָּר ָּה֖ם אָּ ֹֽנכי‬I am the servant of Abraham 24:34

‫ בֶ ן־רבְ ָּ ֖קה ִ֑הּוא‬He is the son of Rebekah 29:12

Andersen explicitly addresses clauses consisting of a suffixed noun and pronoun; for him,

these clauses speak to the questionable definiteness of pronominally suffixed nouns.

“The apparent equivocation in the behavior of Ns as P with definite S may be explained

in terms of the intermediate definiteness of a suffixed noun. An indefinite noun like bēn,
‘[a] son,’ refers to any member of a general class. The definite habbēn, ‘the son,’ refers
to a specific individual. The form of the suffixed noun benō may refer to any one of
them but does not establish the identity of any one of them; benō is then indefinite,
although not as indefinite as bēn. If a man has only one son, benō refers to that
 Zakaria 6

individual and so is definite. We conclude that a suffixed noun may either identify the
subject in sequence Pr [pronouns] - Ns or classify the subject in sequence Ns - Pr.”10

The sequence pronoun – suffixed noun occurs eight times in Genesis; each time, the designation

of the clause as a clause of identification seems to be the best reading. The inverse construction,

suffixed noun – pronoun, proves to be more complicated. As mentioned by Andersen,

definiteness of the constituents should be considered in any examination of these clauses. There

are sixteen clauses that are constructed suffixed noun – pronoun, in each of these clauses the

order prima facie is S – P; however, as Andersen correctly points out, “When P [the predicate] is

Ns [a suffixed noun] or one of its expansion, a semantic analysis of each case shows that such a

predicate may serve either to identify or to classify the subject. This depends in part on the

referent, in part on the intention of the speaker to highlight either the identity of the character of

the subject. The proper sequence may be chosen for one or the other of these effects.”11

Consequently, it is the context and authorial intent which plays the determining factor in

delineating the subject from the predicate in each clause.

Thus far, the analyses have focused on verbless clauses in which a pronoun serves as a

constituent. Yet, seventy-seven of the verbless clauses in Genesis do not contain a pronoun. Of

these, the dominant order is S – P; yet there are a couple of clear examples of a P – S word order.

Examples:

‫הּודה‬
ָּ ֵ֔ ְ‫ גִ֤ ּור אַ ְריה י‬Judah is the cub of a lion Gen 49:9

‫יהם‬
ֹֽ ֶ ‫ כְ לֶ֥י חָּ ָּ ֖מס ְמכרת‬Their weapons are tools of violence. Gen. 49:5

10
Andersen (1970), 33
11 Ibid., 32
 Zakaria 7

Noteworthy is the fact that in both of these clauses, the first constituent is indefinite while the

second is definite; yet, the expected order of S – P is not found. Furthermore, theses clauses

highlight the difficulty of determining the subject and predicate of clauses lacking any verbal

form. Zewi echoes the trouble of distinguishing the subject from the predicate in verbless

clauses, based on grammaticality.

Determining which of the two main components of a nominal clause plays the role of
subject and which that of predicate is difficult, and often controversial. The main point
to consider in this respect is that, except for nominal clauses with adjective or participle
predicates, nominal clauses are in act indifferent to the distinction between logical and
grammatical subjects and predicates., as grammatical agreement between subject and
predicate is regularly not required or marked in them. So many logical subjects and
predicates in a nominal clause can be interpreted and presented as grammatical subject
and predicate.”12

Zewi underscores the flexibility inherent in BH syntax; grammatical rules offer little clarity

when attempting to determine a clear subject and a clear predicate. Modern linguistics offers

some support in this question; Barry Bandstra concisely summarizes the contributions of modern

linguistics in understanding the presentation of information when the subject and predicate are

difficult to discern. “Modern studies in text linguistics and discourse analysis suggest that word

order may be motivated beyond authorial whim. In fact, modern linguistic studies of word order

in various natural languages suggest that word order is one of the devices which code how a

speaker or writer intends the communication to be received. It turns out to be one of the most

important devices for maintaining comprehensibility on the part of the reader or hearer.”13 In

12
Zewi, Tamar, “Prepositional Phrases as Subjects in Several Semitic Languages,” In Language and Nature:
Papers Presented to John Huehnergard on the Occasion of This 60th Birthday, ed. Rebecca Hasselbach and
Na'ama Pat-El, 465-476, (Chicago, IL: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2012), 466.
13 Bandstra, Barry, “Word Order and Emphasis in Biblical Hebrew Narrative: Syntactic Observations on

Genesis 22 from a Discourse Perspective.” In Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew. (Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 1992), 110.
 Zakaria 8

other words, the assumed human processing of information plays a role in the construction of

comprehensible clauses; accordingly, the structures of clauses in a syntactically flexible language

such as BH must take stylistic choices such as fronting and emphasis into account. Beyond

these, Janet Dyk and Eep Talstra point out other factors that should be considered:

Occasionally the relative length of the S seems to be the reason that the P occurs initially,
since, as is generally true in languages, ‘heavy’ or longer NPs tend to ‘sink,’ that is, occur
later in the sentence. …Stylistic factors, such as chiasm, also determine the word-order,
particularly in poetic portions…. Further, account should be taken of the effect, for
example, of particles like ky that appear to have a preference for a P-S word order…. In
addition, one should allow for the possibility that certain genres may betray a preference
for one word order above another.14

Each of these factors merit a detailed individual study; the goal of this work is to present these

alternatives in addition to attested empirical evidence in order to raise the possibility for deeper

understanding of verbal clauses in BH.

The remaining pages of this study presents the gathered verbless clauses from the book of

Genesis in an attempt to illustrate the dominant orders as well as other attested constructions.

Great care has been taken to categorize these verbless clauses in as much detail as possible; thus,

the constructions are identified by each constituent. As Miller accurately states, this question

cannot be fully answered based on typologies.

... is there a basic, default order of subject and predicate in verbless clauses? This is a
question that cannot ultimately be solved merely by a statistical analysis of the most
frequent word order, since it relates to theoretical issues of language typology and
pragmatics. Nonetheless, how one answers this question is important, for the answer
determines whether a particular order of constituents should be considered pragmatically
neutral as opposed to other orders which are pragmatically marked.”15

14
Dyk, Janet W. and Eep Talstra, “Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Features in Identifying Subject and
Predicate in Nominal Clauses,” in The Verbless Clause in Biblical Hebrew: Linguistic Approaches, ed.
Cynthia L. Miller (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 183.
15 Miller, Cynthia L. “Pivotal Issues in Analyzing the Verbless Clause,” inThe Verbless Clause in Biblical

Hebrew: Linguistic Approaches, edited by Cynthia Miller, (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 13.
 Zakaria 9

The evidence from the corpus of Genesis easily buttresses the claim that S – P is the preferred

order for verbless clauses; nevertheless, the data also reveals the variation that occurs. As a

result, Andersen’s designation of clauses as clauses of classification or of identification based on

word order and definiteness is not without reproach. Andersen’s claim that when the subject and

predicate are both definite, the clause is one of identification and thus ordered S – P is called into

question by clauses found in 23:6; 24:24; 24:34 and 29:12. Moreover, the order of S – P is not

universally applied to clauses not containing a pronoun, such as the clauses found in 49:5 and

49:9.

Despite the overwhelming literature available on verbless clauses in BH, the need for

further study is undeniable. In order for this to be accomplished, the standardization of these

clause types must allow for various linguistic factors to be considered.

 Zakaria 10

Data Key

Subjects and predicates are separated by a spaced hyphen

Word-order is identified in brackets when determinable

In the description of the clause: Ex:

the subject is in bold Pronoun – Def. Noun

the predicate is in italics

ABBREVIATIONS

Const. N Construct Noun

Def. N Definite Noun

Prop. N Proper Noun

N Noun

Indef. N Indefinite Noun

Suff. N Suffixed Noun

Def. Definite

Adj. Adjective
 Zakaria 11

Data Set A: Clause Constructions with Biblical References

Verbless Clauses Containing a Pronoun

Pronoun – Adjective [S – P] Adjective – Pronoun [P – S]

(2 occurrences) (7 occurrences)
25:29 25:21
38:25 25:30
26:7
42:19
42:21
42:33
42:34

Pronoun – Prop. N [S – P] Prop. N – Pronoun [P – S]

(21 occurrences) (1 occurrence)
14:2 49:8
14:7
14:8
15:7
16:13
17:1
23:19
23:2
23:19
27:19
28:13
31:13
35:11
35:19
35:27
35:6
36:1
36:43
45:3
45:4
46:3
48:7
 Zakaria 12

Pronoun – Const. N/Def. N [S – P] Const. N/Def. N – Pronoun [P – S]

(14 occurrences) (2 occurrences)
2:4 41:25
9:12 42:11
9:17
10:1
10:32
14:3
14:17
25:4
36:10
36:15
36:30
36:40
42:13
46:8

Pronoun – Const. N/Prop. N [S – P] Const. N/Prop. N – Pronoun [P – S]

(39 occurrences) (4 occurrences)
6:9 23:6
10:20 24:24
10:31 24:34
11:10 29:12
11:27
19:37
19:38
25:4
25:12
25:13
25:16
26:24 Const. N/Suff. N – Pronoun (1 occurrence)
35:26 29:12
36:1
36:5
36:12
36:13
36:16
36:16
36:17
36:17
36:17
36:18
36:18
36:19
36:21
 Zakaria 13

Pronoun – Const. N/Prop. N (continued)

36:23
36:24
36:25
36:26
36:29
36:30
36:43
36:9
37:2
46:15
46:18
46:22
46:25

Pronoun – Indef. N [S – P] Indef. N – Pronoun [P – S]

(5 occurrences) (7 occurrences)
5:1 3:7
15:1 3:19
18:27 6:2
37:2 20:7
41:44 23:4
42:31
43:12

Pronoun – Const. N/Indef. N [S – P]

(1 occurrence)
34:30

Pronoun – Def. N [S – P] Def. N – Pronoun (1 occurrence)

(6 occurrences)
6:4 41:26
10:12
20:13 Def. N – Def. Pronoun (1 occurrence)
36:31 34:21
41:28
48:18
 Zakaria 14

Pronoun – Suff. N [S – P] Suff. N – Pronoun [P – S]

(8 occurrences) (16 occurrences)
17:10 12:12
24:65 12:13
25:16 12:18
27:24 12:19
27:32 20:13
39:9 20:2
40:12 20:5
40:18 20:5
21:13
24:60
26:7
26:9
37:27
38:16
48:9
49:3
 Zakaria 15

Verbless Clauses Without a Pronoun

Suff. N – Prop. N [S – P] Prop. N – Suff. N [P – S]

(1 occurrence) (1 occurrence)
35:10 17:15

Const. N/Indef. N – Prop. N [P – S] Prop. N – indef. N [S – P]

(1 occurrence) (6 occurrences)
49:9 6:9
29:31
49:5
Const. N/Indef. N – Suff. N (1 occurrence) 49:14
49:5 49:21
49:27

Suff. N – Def. N (7 occurrences) Def. N – Suff. N (3 occurrences)

16:1 31:43
22:24 31:43
24:29 31:43
25:1
38:1
38:2
38:6

Prop. N – Def. N (1 occurrence)

48:14

Adj. – Const. N/Prop. N [P – S] Prop. N – Adj. [S – P]

(1 occurrence) (2 occurrences)
28:8 13:2
18:11

Def. N – Adj. [S – P] (5 occurrences)

8:21
24:16
33:13
37:24
43:1

Suff. N – Adj [S – P] (2 occurrences)

19:31
27:11
 Zakaria 16

Const. N/ Prop. N – Prop. N (27 occurrences) Def. N – Const. N/ Prop. N (3 occurrences)

2:11 26:33
10:2 27:22
10:3 27:22
10:4
10:6
10:7
10:7
10:22
10:23
11:29
25:4
35:24
35:25
35:26
46:9
46:10
46:11
46:12
46:13
46:14
46:16
46:17
46:17
46:19
46:21
46:23
46:24

Def. N – Indef. N [S – P]
(2 occurrences)
19:20
31:48

Const. Def. N/ Prop. N – Const. N/ Indef. N [S – P]

(1 occurrence)
14:10
 Zakaria 17

Const. Def. N/ Prop N – Prop. N [S – P]

(2 occurrences)
4:22
36:22

Const. N/ Suff. N – Prop. N (6 occurrences)

4:21
10:25
36:32
36:35
36:39
36:39

Const. N/Def. N – Prop. N (5 occurrences)

4:19
4:19
10:25
29:16
29:16
 Zakaria 18

Data Set B: Biblical Reference with Transliterations and Glosses

Verbless Clauses Containing a Pronoun

Pronoun – Adjective (2 occurrences) [S – P] Adjective – Pronoun (7 occurrences) [P – S]

25:29 wəhū ‘āyêp̄ 25:21 ‘ăqārāh hî
And he was faint/weary Barren is she
38:25 ’ānōḵî hārāh 25:30 āyêp̄ ’ānōḵî
I am pregnant Faint; weary am I
26:7 ṭōwḇaṯ mar’eh hî
Of good appearance is she
42:19 kênîm ’attem
Honest men you are
42:21 ’ăšêmîm ’ănaḥnū
Guilty are we
42:33 ḵênîm ’attem
Honest men are you
42:34 ḵênîm ’attem
Honest men are you

Pronoun – Prop. N (21 occurrences) [S – P] Prop. N – Pronoun (1 occurrence) [S – P]

*14:2 hî- ṣō‘ar 49:8 yəhūḏāh, ’attāh
It is Zoar Judah you are
*14:7 hî qāḏêš
It is Kadesh
*14:8 hî- ṣō‘ar
It is Zoar
15:7 ’ănî Yahweh
I am Yahweh
16:13 ’attāh ’êl
You are God…
17:1 ’ănî- ’êl šadday
I am God Almighty
*23:2 hî ḥeḇrōwn
It is Hebron
*23:19 hî ḥeḇrōwn
It is Hebron
27:19 ’ānōḵî ‘êśāw
I am Esau
28:13 ’ănî Yahweh
I am Yahweh
 Zakaria 19

Pronoun – Prop. N continued

31:13 ’ānōḵî hā’êl bêṯ- ’êl
I am the God of Bethuel
35:11 ’ănî ’êl šadday
I am God Almighty
*35:19 hî bêṯ lāḥem
It is Bethlehem
*35:27 hî ḥeḇrōwn
It is Hebron
*35:6 hî bêṯ- ’êl
It is Bethel
36:1 hū ’ĕḏōwm
He is Edom
36:43 hū ‘êśāw
He is Esau
45:3 ’ănî yōwsêp̄
I am Joseph
45:4 ’ănî yōwsêp̄
I am Joseph
46:3 ’ānōḵî hā’êl
I am God
*48:7 hî bêṯ lāḥem
It is Bethlehem

Pronoun – Const. N/Def. N Const. N/Def. N – Pronoun

(14 occurrences) [S – P] (2 occurrences) [P – S]
*2:4 ’êlleh ṯōwlḏōwṯ haššāmayim 41:25 ḥălōwm par‘ōh ’eḥāḏ hū
These are the generations of the heavens The dream of Pharaoh is one
*9:12 zōṯ ’ōwṯ- habbərîṯ 42:11 kullānū bənê ’îš- ’eḥāḏ nāḥənū
This is a sign of the covenant The sons of one man we all are
*9:17 zōṯ ’ōwṯ- habbərîṯ
This is a sign of the covenant
*10:1 wə’êlleh tōwlḏōṯ bənê- nōaḥ
These are the generations of the sons of Noah
*10:32 ’êlleh mišpəḥōṯ bənê- nōaḥ
These are the families of the sons of Noah
*14:3 hū yām hammelaḥ
That is the Sea of Salt
 Zakaria 20

Pronoun – Const. N/Def. N continued

*14:17 hū ‘êmeq hammeleḵ
That is the valley of the king
*25:4 ūḇənê miḏyān
And these are the sons of Midian
*36:10 ’êlleh šəmōwṯ bənê- ‘êśāw
These are the names of the sons of Esau…
*36:15 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê ḇənê- ‘êśāw
These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau
*36:30 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê haḥōrî
These are the chiefs of the Horite…
*36:40 wə’êlleh šəmōwṯ ’allūp̄ê ‘êśāw
And these are the names of the chiefs of Esau
42:13 ’ănaḥnū bənê ’îš- ’eḥāḏ
We are the sons of one man…
*46:8 wə’êlleh šəmōwṯ bənê- yiśrā’êl
And these are the names of the sons of Israel

Pronoun – Const. N/Prop. N Const. N/Prop. N – Pronoun

(39 occurrences) [S – P] (4 occurrences) [P – S]
*6:9 ’êlleh tōwlḏōṯ nōaḥ 23:6 nəśî ’ĕlōhîm ’attāh
These are the generations of Noah A prince of God are you
*10:20 ’êlleh ḇənê- ḥām 24:24 baṯ-bəṯū’êl ’ānōḵî
These are the sons of Ham The daughter of Bethuel am I
*10:31 ’êlleh ḇənê- šêm 24:34 ‘eḇeḏ ’aḇrāhām ’ānōḵî
These are the sons of Shem Servant of Abraham am I
*11:10 ’êlleh tōwlḏōṯ šêm 29:12 ḇen- riḇqāh hū
These are the generations of Shem The son of Rebekah he is
*11:27 wə’êlleh tōwlḏōṯ teraḥ
And these are the generations of Terah
19:37 hū ’ăḇî- mōw’āḇ
He is the father of Moab
19:38 hū ’ăḇî ḇənê- ‘ammōwn Const. N/Suff. N – Pronoun
He is the father of Ben-Ammon (1 occurrence) [P – S]
*25: 4 ’êlleh bənê qəṭūrāh. 29:12 ăḥî ’āḇîhā hū
‘…These are the sons of Keturah He is the brother of our father
*25:12 wə’êlleh tōləḏōṯ yišmā‘êl
‘These are the generations of Ishmael…’
 Zakaria 21

Pronoun – Const. N/Prop. N continued

*25:13 wə’êlleh, šəmōwṯ bənê yišmā‘êl
‘These are the names of the sons of Ishmael…’
*25:16 ’êlleh hêm bənê yišmā‘êl
These, even these, are the sons of Ishmael…
26:24 ’ānōḵî ’ĕlōhê ’aḇrāhām ’āḇîḵā
I am the God of Abraham, your father
*35:26 ’êlleh bənê ya‘ăqōḇ
These are the sons of Jabob
*36:1 wə’êlleh tōləḏōwṯ ‘êśāw
These are the generations of Esau
*36:5 ’êlleh bənê ‘êśāw
These are the sons of Esau
*36:12 ’êlleh bənê ‘āḏāh
These are the sons of Adah
*36:13 wə’êlleh bənê rə‘ū’êl
And these are the sons of Reuel
*36:16 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê ’ĕlîp̄az
These are the chiefs of Eliphaz
*36:16 ’êlleh bənê ‘āḏāh
These are the sons of Adah
*36:17 wə’êlleh, bənê rə‘ū’êl
And these are the sons of Reuel
*36:17 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê rə‘ū’êl
These are the chiefs of Reuel
*36:17 ’êlleh bənê ḇāśəmaṯ
These are the sons of Bashemath
*36:18 wə’êlleh, bənê ’āholîḇāmāh
And these are the sons of Aholibamah
*36:18 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê ’āholîḇāmāh
These are the chiefs of Aholibamah
*36:19 ’êlleh ḇənê- ‘êśāw
These are the sons of Esau
*36:21 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê haḥōrî
These are the chiefs of the Horites
*36:23 wə’êlleh bənê šōwḇāl
And these are the sons of Shobal
*36:24 wə’êlleh ḇənê- ṣiḇ‘ōwn
And these are the sons of Zibeon
*36:25 wə’êlleh ḇənê- ‘ănāh
And these are the sons of Anah
 Zakaria 22

Pronoun – Const. N/Prop. N continued

*36:26 wə’êlleh bənê ḏîšān
And these are the sons of Dishon
*36:29 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê haḥōrî
These are the chiefs of the Horite
*36:30 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê haḥōrî
These are the chiefs of the Horite
*36:43 ’êlleh ’allūp̄ê ’ĕḏōwm
These are the chiefs of Edom
*36:9 wə’êlleh tōləḏōwṯ ‘êśāw
And these are the sons of Esau
*37:2 ’êlleh tōləḏōwṯ ya‘ăqōḇ
These are the generations of Jacob
*46:15 ’êlleh bənê lê’āh
These are the sons of Leah
*46:18 ’êlleh bənê zilpāh
These are the sons of Zilphah
*46:22 ’êlleh bənê rāḥêl
These are the sons of Rachel
*46:25 ’êlleh bənê ḇilhāh
These are the sons of Bilhah

Pronoun – Indef. N Indef. N – Pronoun

(5 occurrences) [S – P] (7 occurrrences) [P – S]
*5:1 zeh sêp̄er 3:7 ‘êrummim hêm
This is an account Naked are they
15:1 ’ānōḵî māḡên 3:19 ‘āp̄ār ’attāh
I am a shield Dust you are
18:27 wə’ānōḵî ‘āp̄ār wā’êp̄er 6:2 ṭōḇōṯ hênnāh
And I am dust and ashes Fair are they
37:2 wəhū na‘ar 20:7 nāḇî hū
And he is a youth A prophet is he
41:44 ’ănî p̄ar‘ōh 23:4 gêr- wəṯōwōšāḇ ’ānōḵî
I am Pharaoh A sojourner and a settler am I
42:31 kênîm ’ănāḥənū
Honest men are we
Pronoun – Const. N/Indef. N 43:12 mišgeh hū
(1 occurrence) [S – P] A mistake it was
34:30 wa’ănî məṯê mispār
And I am few in number
 Zakaria 23

Pronoun – Def. N Def. N (determined noun) – Pronoun

(6 occurrences) [S – P] (1 occurrence) [P – S]
6:4 hêmmāh haggibbōrîm 41:26 ḥălōwm ’eḥāḏ hū
They are the heroes One dream it is
10:12 hî hā‘îr haggəḏōlāh
That is the chief city
*20:13 zeh ḥasdêḵ Def. N – Def. Pronoun
This is the kindness (1 occurrence) [P – S]
*36:31 wə’êlleh hamməlāḵîm 34:21 hā’ănāšîm hā’êlleh
These are the kings These are the men
41:28 hū haddāḇār
That is the thing
*48:18 zeh habbəḵōr
This is the firstborn

Pronoun – Suff. N Suff. N – Pronoun

(8 occurrences) [S – P] (16 occurrences)
*17:10 zōṯ bərîṯî 12:12 ’ištōw zōṯ
This is my covenant This is his wife
24:65 hū ’ăḏōnî 12:13 ’ăḥōṯî ’āt
He is my master My sister are you
25:16 wə’êlleh šəmōṯām 12:18 ’ištəḵā hî
And these are their names Your wife is she
27:24 ’attāh zeh bənî ‘êśāw 12:19 ’ăḥōṯî hî
You are my son, Esau My sister is she
27:32 ’ănî binḵā 20:13 ’āḥî hū
I am your son… My brother is he
39:9 ’at- ’ištōw 20:2 ’ăḥōṯî hî
You are his wife My sister is she
40:12 zeh piṯrōnōw 20:5 ’ăḥōṯî hî
This is its interpretation My sister is she
40:18 zeh piṯrōnōw 20:5 ’āḥî hū
This is its interpretation My brother is he
21:13 zar‘ăḵā hū
Your seed is he
24:60 ’ăḥōṯênū ’at
Our sister are you
26:7 ’ăḥōṯî hî
My sister is she
26:9 ’ištəḵā hî
Your wife is she
37:27 ’āḥînū ḇəśārênū hū
Our brother, our flesh is he
38:16 ḵallāṯōw hî
His daughter-in-law is she
 Zakaria 24

Suff. N – Pronoun continued

48:9 bānay hêm
My sons are they
49:3 bəḵōrî ’attāh
My firstborn are you
 Zakaria 25

Verbless Clauses Without a Pronoun

Suff. N – Prop. N [S – P] Prop. N – Suff. N [P – S]

(1 occurrence) (1 occurrence)
35:10 šimḵā ya‘ăqōḇ 17:15 śārāh šəmāh
Your name is Jacob Sarah is her name

Prop. N – indef. N [S – P] Const. N/Indef. N – Prop. N [P – S]

(6 occurrences) (1 occurrence)
6:9 nōaḥ, ’îš ṣaddîq 49:9 gūr ’aryêh yəhūḏāh
Noah is a righteous man A lion cub is Judah
29:31 wərāḥêl ‘ăqārāh
And Rachel is barren
49:5 šim‘ōwn wəlêwî ’aḥîm
Simeon and Levi are brothers
49:14 yiśśāšḵār ḥămōr gārem Const. N/Indef. N – Suff. N [P – S]
Isaachar is a strong donkey (1 occurrence)
49:21 nap̄tālî ’ayyālāh 49:5 kəlê ḥāmās məḵêrōṯêhem
Naphthali is a doe Tools of violence are their weapons
49:27 binyāmîn zə’êḇ yiṭrāp̄
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf

Suff. N – Def. N Def. N – Suff. N

(7 occurrences) (3 occurrences)
16:1 ūšəmāh hāḡār 31:43 habbānōwṯ bənōṯay
And her name is Hagar The daughters are my daughters
22:24 ūšəmāh rə’ūmāh 31:43 wəhabbānîm bānay
And her name is Reumah And the sons are my sons
24:29 ūšəmōw lāḇān 31:43 wəhaṣṣōn ṣōnî,
And his name is Laban And the animals are my animals
25:1 ūšəmāh qəṭūrāh.
‘… and her name is Keturah.’
38:1 ūšəmōw ḥîrāh
And his name is Hirah
38:2 ūšəmōw šūa‘
And his name is Shuah
38:6 ūšəmāh tāmār
And her name is Tamar

Prop. N – Def. N
(1 occurrence)
48:14 mənaššeh habbəḵōwr
Manasse is the firstborn

Adj. – Const. N/Prop. N
(1 occurrence)
28:8 rā‘ōwṯ bənōwṯ kənā‘an
Evil are the daughters of Canaan
Const. N/ Prop. N – Prop. N
(27 occurrences)
2:11 šêm hā’eḥāḏ pîšōwn
The name of the first is Pishon
10:2 bənê yep̄eṯ
The sons of Japeth are …
10:3 ūḇənê gōmer
And the sons of Gomer are…
10:4 ūḇənê yāwān
And the sons of Javan are…
10:6 ūḇənê ḥām
And the sons of Ham are…
10:7 ūḇənê ḵūš
And the sons of Kush are…
Zakaria 26
[P – S] Prop. N – Adj. [S – P]
(2 occurrences)
13:2 wə’aḇrām kāḇêḏ mə’ōḏ
Abraham is very important
18:11 wə’aḇrāhām wəśārāh zəqênîm
Abraham and Sarah were old
Def. N – Adj. [S – P]
(5 occurrences)
8:21 lêḇ hā’āḏām ra‘
The heart of the man is evil
24:16 wəhanna‘ărā, ṭōḇaṯ mar’eh mə’ōḏ
And the youth is very good of appearance
33:13 haylāḏîm rakkîm
The children are frail
37:24 wəhabbōwr rêq
And the pit is empty
43:1 wəhārā‘āḇ kāḇêḏ
And the famine is severe
Suff. N – Adj [S – P]
(2 occurrences)
19:31 ’āḇînū zāqên
Our father is old
27:11 ‘êśāw ’āḥî ’îš śā‘ir
Esau, my brother, is a hairy man
Def. N – Const. N/ Prop. N
(3 occurrences)
26:33 šêm- hā‘îr bə’êr šeḇa
The name of the city is Beer-Sheba
27:22 haqqōl qōwl ya‘ăqōḇ
The voice is the voice of Jacob
27:22 wəhayyāḏayim yəḏê ‘êśāw
The hands are the hands of Esau
 Zakaria 27

Const. N/ Prop. N – Prop. N (continued)

10:7 ūḇənê ra‘māh
And the sons of Raamah are…
10:22 bənê šêm
The sons of Shem are…
10:23 ūḇənê ’ărām
And the sons of Aram are…
11:29 šêm ’êšeṯ- ’aḇrām śārāy
The name of the wife of Abram…
25:4 ūḇənê miḏyān, …
‘and the sons of Midan are: …
35:24 bənê rāḥêl
The sons of Rachel are…
35:25 ūḇənê ḇilhāh
And the sons of Bilhah are...
35:26 ūḇənê zilpāh
And the sons of Zilpah are…
46:9 ūḇənê rə’ūḇên
And the sons of Reuben are…
46:10 ūḇənê šim‘ōwn
And the sons of Simeon are…
46:11 ūḇənê lêwî
And the sons of Levi are…
46:12 ūḇənê yəhūḏāh
And the sons of Judah are…
46:13 ūḇənê yiśāšḵār
And the sons of Issachar are…
46:14 ūḇənê zəḇūlun
And the sons of Zebulun are…
46:16 ūḇənê ḡāḏ
And these are the sons of Gad…
46:17 ūḇənê ’āšêr
And these are the sons of Asher…
46:17 ūḇənê ḇərî‘āh
And these are of sons of Beriah
46:19 bənê rāḥêl
The sons of Rachel are…
46:21 ūḇənê ḇinyāmin
And the sons of Benjamin are…
46:23 ūḇənê- ḏān
The sons of Dan are…
46:24 ūḇənê nap̄tālî
And the sons of Naphtali are…
 Zakaria 28

Def. N – Indef. N [S – P]
(2 occurrences)
19:20 hā‘îr hazzōṯ qərōḇāh
This city is near
31:48 haggal hazzeh ‘êḏ
This heap is a witness

Const. Def. N/ Prop. N – Const. N/ Indef. N [S – P]

(1 occurrence)
14:10 wə‘êmeq haśiddîm, be’ĕrōṯ be’ĕrōṯ ḥêmār
The valley of Siddim is pits of bitumen

Def. const. N/ Prop N – Prop. N (2 occurrences)

4:22 wa’ăḥōwṯ tūḇal- qayin na‘ămāh
The sister of Tubal-Cain is Naamah
36:22 wa’ăḥōwṯ lōwṭān timnā‘
The sister of Lotan is Timna

Const. N/ Suff. N – Prop. N (6 occurrences)

4:21 wəšêm ’āḥîw yūḇāl
The name of his brother is Jubal
10:25 wəšêm ’āḥîw yāqəṭān
And the name of his brother is Joktan
36:32 wəšêm ‘îrōw dinhāḇāh
And the name of his city is Dinhabah
36:35 wəšêm ‘îrōw ‘ăwîṯ
And the name of his city is Avith
36:39 wəšêm ‘îrōw pā‘ū
And the name of his city is Pau
36:39 wəšêm ’ištōw məhêṭaḇ’êl
And the name of his wife is Mehetabel

Const. N/Def. N – Prop. N (5 occurrences)

4:19 šêm hā’aḥaṯ ‘āḏāh
The name of the first is Adah
4:19 wəšêm haššênîṯ ṣillāh
And the name of the second is Zillah
10:25 šêm hā’eḥāḏ peleḡ
The name of the first is Peleg
29:16 šêm haggəḏōlāh lê’āh
The name of the older is Leah
29:16 wəšêm haqqəṭannāh rāḥêl
And the name of the younger is Rachel
 Zakaria 29

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Dyk, Janet W. and Eep Talstra, “Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Features in Identifying Subject

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 Zakaria 30

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