Users Guide: Phrasal

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Phrase-Level Semantics

Psalm 19:5-6a Grammatical Diagram with Phrase-Level overlay

Our phrase-level notes address the meaning of word combinations, including construct phrases, prepositional phrases, nominal adverbs, phrase-level waw and hendiadys, appositional phrases, articles and quantifiers. Sometimes these word combinations (phrases) will produce a new meaning, and these are displayed in blue font, with the meaning of each individual word displayed in grey. Phrase-level analysis is overlaid on the grammatical diagram using different colours and symbols, allowing you to track these important word combinations. You can toggle the view of this by pressing “Phrase Ellipses” above the diagram.

Most analysis follows the terminology and categorisation found in BHRG,van der Merwe, C. H. J., J. A. Naudé, and J. H. Kroeze. 2017. A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar. 2nd ed. New York: Bloomsbury. with reference to other scholarly materials when needed. At the bottom of this page you can find appendices with detailed lists of different meanings for each kind of word combination.

Analysis & Visualization

Psalm 19:15 Grammatical Diagram with Phrase-Level overlay

Here is a general introduction to the Phrase-Level visualization, as presented in the Grammatical Diagram:

• Construct Phrases: Construct phrases are a common way of combining two (or more) nouns and can have many different meanings, including for example possession (“the house of the king”), subject-object relations (“the blessing of the LORD”), or equalising relations (“words of insight”). See appendix below for a detailed list. In English these are commonly known as “construct chains”, “construct phrases”, or “genitive phrases”. The Hebrew label is smīḵūt (סְמִיכוּת). Construct phrases are visualized in the diagram using a yellow circle.
• Prepositional Phrases: Prepositional phrases have a preposition (בּ, אֵל, etc…) as their head and a dependent (a nominal phrase following the preposition). Each preposition in Hebrew has a range of functions and usage, and every occurrence requires individual analysis. See appendix below for a list of resources for analysing prepositional phrases. In the diagram these are visualized with green circles.
• Nominal Adverbs (note dotted outline): Nominal adverbs, sometimes labelled as “adverbial accusatives”, are noun-phrases which function adverbially, and often overlap in meaning with prepositional phrases. Consider for example Ps 55:18, “evening, morning, and noon I cry out…”, where the nouns “evening, morning, and noon” specify the time. These adverbs do not have a special phrase-level visualization, but have specific formatting in the grammatical diagram (see Grammar tab for details).
• Phrase-level waw and Hendiadys: The conjunction waw (וְ) can join units of all sizes (words, phrases, clauses, paragraphs). In phrase-level analysis we focus on those waws which join words and phrases to form (larger) phrases. These are visualized with a purple circle.
• Apposition: When two words are co-referential, we have what we call apposition. For example, "King David" or "David, the king", both refer to the same person, using two different labels. These are usually two adjacent nouns with the same syntactic function, but some appositional constructions are more complex. See appendix below for a list of range of meanings for apposition. In terms of visualization these are connecting using an equal symbol (=) in the diagram and overlaid with a hollow red circle.
• Definite article: The definite article ( ּ הַ) give information about the identifiability or inclusiveness of the word to which they are attached, but it is sometimes important to clarify the specific meaning in certain cases. See appendix below for a range of possible functions and meanings. The article is visualised with a solid purple circle.
• Quantifier כֹּל: The word כֹּל has an important function defining the scope of the word to which it is attached. See appendix below for detailed explanation on the functions of כֹּל. We visualize this quantifier with a solid turquoise circle.

Appendices

Appendix A: Construct Relations

The following list is taken from section §25.4 of van der Merwe et al. (2017, 226–229). You should be able to find all you need here. If not, the relevant sections in the other grammars are: Gesenius §89a, §128g–y; Joüon & Muraoka §129; Waltke & O’Connor §9.4–§9.5

Relationships of Possession

(1) Possession (concrete object)–possessor

The house of the king בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ

(2) Possession (body part)–possessor

The lips of the king שִׂפְתֵי המֶּלֶךְ

(3) Possession (characteristic)–possessor

The majesty of the king הַדְרַת־המֶּלֶךְ

(4) Kinship/relationship–possessor

The sons of the king בְּנֵי המֶּלֶךְ

(5) Possessor–possession

The owner of the house בְּעַל הַבַּיִת

Subject and Object Relations

(1) Verbal notion–subject

The blessing of (or, by) the Lord בִּרְכַּת יהוה

(2) Verbal notion (passive)–agent

The murdered (ones) of the woman הֲרוּגֵי הָאִשָּׁה

(3) Verbal notion–object

The fear of (for) the Lord יִרְאָת יהוה

Partitive Relationships

(1) Part–divided whole

The members of (among) the prophet guild בְּנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים

(2) Superlative part–divided whole

The best (good) of (among) the sons טוֹב הַבָּנִים

(3) Specification of undivided whole

All of the sons כָּל־הַבָּנִים

Equalising Relationships

(1) Entity–synonym

Joy of (viz.) rejoicing שִׂמְחַת גִּיל

(2) Entity–class (genus)

A fool of (viz.) a person כְּסִיל אָדָם

(3) Entity–type (species)

Sacrifices of (viz.) peace offerings זִבְחֵי שְׁלָמִים

(4) Entity–name

The river of (viz.) the Euphrates נְהַר פְרָת

(5) Entity–characteristic (description, attribute, quality)

Words of (with) insight אִמְרֵי בִינָה

Adverbial Relationships

(1) Entity–aim, goal or result

Stones of (meant for) a sling אַבְנֵי־קֶלַע

(2) Entity–manner

Riches of (acquired through) injustice אוֹצְרוֹת רֶשַׁע

(3) Entity–cause or reason

Exhausted (ones) of (due to) hunger מְזֵי רָעָה

(4) Entity–means (instrument)

The wounded (ones) of (by means of) the sword חַלְלֵי־הַחֶרֶב

(5) Entity–duration of time

A son of a year בֶּן־שָׁנָה

(6) Entity–direction

The (ones) going down (into the) pit יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר

(7) Entity–origin

The loot of (from) the cities שְׁלַל הֶעָרִים

Other Relationships

(1) Product–material

Vessels of silver כְּלֵי כֶסֶף

(2) Product–author, creator, source, origin

The book of (by) the man סֶפֶר הָאִישׁ

(3) Characteristic–with regard/respect to (specification)

Foolish of (with respect to) lips אֱוִיל שְׂפָתַיִם

(4) Entity–interested (favoured/injured) party

The trap of (for, to the detriment of) a person מוֹקֵשׁ הָאָדָם

(5) Container–content

A bag of (full of) water חֵמַת מַיִם

Appendix B: Prepositions

A comprehensive list would be too big for these guidelines. We recommend that you consult BHRG §39 (and, if necessary, GKC §119g–§119ii; Waltke-O’ Connor §11.2–§11.3; Joüon-Muraoka §133; Hardy, The Development of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions[SBL 2022]). If a certain case of either בְּ, כְּ or לְ is still uncertain after checking these standard reference grammars, Jenni's analysis (1992, 1994, 2000) should be consulted.

Appendix C: Nominal Adverbs

Often called "adverbial accusatives," nominal adverbs are standard noun forms without any prepositional- or אֵת-marking that are used to modify a verbal event in terms of time, manner, or other semantic functions (see BHRG §33.2.3 and §33.3; GKC §118; Joüon-Muraoka §126).

Appendix D: Waw

The various functions of phrase-level waw are as follows.

1. Every entity (#a), groups of entities (#b) or only the last entity in the list (#c) to be added, is preceded by וְ. In negated clauses or conditional clauses, a list of “apparent” alternatives may be involved (#d).

a	כִּ֤י אָֽנֹכִי֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לָ֔הּ הַדָּגָ֖ן וְהַתִּיר֣וֹשׁ וְהַיִּצְהָ֑ר	that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine [lit. and the wine], and the oil (Hos. 2:10)
b	נֹתְנֵ֤י לַחְמִי֙ וּמֵימַ֔י צַמְרִ֣י וּפִשְׁתִּ֔י שַׁמְנִ֖י וְשִׁקּוּיָֽי	who give (me) my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink (Hos. 2:7)
c	כָּל־מְשׂוֹשָׂ֔הּ חַגָּ֖הּ חָדְשָׁ֣הּ וְשַׁבַּתָּ֑הּ	all her mirth, her feast(s), her new moon(s) and her sabbath(s) (Hos. 2:13)
d	לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶׂ֣֨ה כָל־מְלָאכָ֡֜ה אַתָּ֣ה ׀ וּבִנְךָֽ֣־וּ֠בִתֶּ֗ךָ עַבְדְּךָ֤֨ וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֜֙ וּבְהֶמְתֶּ֔֗ךָ וְגֵרְךָ֖֙ אֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽ֔יךָ	You shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, you manservant, or your maidsevant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates (Exod. 20:10).

Sometimes (#e) the phrases to be coordinated by וְ are split (called split coordination).

e

וְעָבְד֤וּ אֹתוֹ֙ כָּל־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וְאֶת־בְּנ֖וֹ וְאֶֽת־בֶּן־בְּנ֑וֹ

And they shall serve him, all the nations, and his son and the son of his son (Jer. 27:7).

Sometimes (#f) two words form a type of fixed compound. (If the word that is preceded by וְ is short then וָ is used instead of וְ.)

f

ט֣וֹב וָרָ֔ע

good and evil (Gen. 2:17)

2. Sometimes both the first and the second entity of a coordinated phrase are preceded by וְ. It is then regarded as a correlative conjunction.

וּבְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וּבָֽאָדָ֑ם

both in Israel and among all humankind (Jer. 32:20).

3. An apparently superfluous use of וְ (rare).

וַתֵּ֤שֶׁב תָּמָר֙ וְשֹׁ֣מֵמָ֔ה בֵּ֖ית אַבְשָׁל֥וֹם אָחִֽיהָ׃

So Tamar, [lit. and] a desolate woman, dwelt in the house of Absalom, her brother (2 Sam. 13:20).

Appendix E: Nouns in Apposition

The second member of the phrase elucidates the first in one of the following ways:

(1a) The second member designates the role/capacity of the first member.

שָׂרָ֥ה אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ Sarah, his wife (Gen. 20:2)

(1b) The second member designates the individual within the role/capacity of the first member.

הָ֝רִ֗יעוּ לִפְנֵ֤י׀ הַמֶּ֬לֶךְ יְהוָֽה Shout praise before the king, YHWH (Ps 98.6)

(2a) The second member specifies the status of the first member.

אִשָּׁה֩ אַלְמָנָ֨ה a woman, a widow (1 Kgs 7:14)

(2b) The second member specifies a characteristic action of the first member.

זֵדִ֣ים אֲרוּרִ֑ים הַ֝שֹּׁגִים מִמִּצְוֺתֶֽיךָ arrogant people, cursed, those who stray from your commandments (Ps 119.21)

(3a) The second member reveals a characteristic/quality of the first member.

אֲמָרִ֥ים אֱ֝מֶ֗ת words, truth (i.e. true words) (Prov. 22:21)

(3b) The second member reformulates the first member in terms of its effect.

הִ֝שְׁקִיתָ֗נוּ יַ֣יִן תַּרְעֵלָֽה you caused us to drink wine, staggering (Ps 60.5), i.e., wine, which causes us to stagger.

(4) The second member specifies the material from which the first member is made.

הַבָּקָ֥ר הַנְּחֹ֖שֶׁת the cattle, the bronze (i.e. the cattle made of bronze) (2 Kgs 16:17)

(5) The second member specifies the substance, a measuring unit or number of the first member.

סְאָֽה־סֹ֣לֶת ... וְסָאתַ֧יִם שְׂעֹרִ֛ים and a measure of fine meal... and two measures of barley (2 Kgs 7:1)

(6) The second member specifies the pronominal reference of the first member.

וַתִּרְאֵ֣הוּ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד And she saw him, the child (Exod. 2:6)

Appendix F: Determiners

Functions of the Definite Article

The following list is taken from van der Merwe et al. §24.4.4 unless otherwise noted. If none of these common functions fit, have a look at the following sections: Gesenius §126; Waltke & O’Conner §13.5.1–§13.5.2; Joüon & Muraoka §137f–§137n.

Note that 1–4 are known as the ‘semantic’ uses of the article (the article tells us something about the referent of the word to which it is attached), while 5–8 are ‘syntactic’ uses (the article combines with a noun in order to fill a particular role in the sentence). For the purposes of this visualisation, this distinction does not really matter, but it’s good to be aware.

Use	Explanation	Example	Comment
Identifiability - unique referent	The article is often used because the thing it’s attached to is the only one of its kind.	הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ ‘The Sun’	A speaker may expect the hearer to be able to identify the Sun because there is only one Sun in our world.
Identifiability - specific referent	The article is used on nouns that have been previously mentioned in a span of text.	וַיִּקַח…בֶן־הַבָּקָר ‘And he took…the calf’ (Gen 18.8).	The reader can identify the calf in question because it was introduced (without an article) in v. 7.
Identifiability - implication	The article can mark entities that we may infer are present in a situation (even if not previously mentioned).	וַתּעַר כַּדָּהּ אֶל־הַשֹּׁקֶת ‘And she emptied the jar into the trough’ (Gen 24.20).	The jar has to be emptied somewhere. That somewhere gets the article.
Inclusiveness - Class	The article is used to refer to all members of a certain class.	לֹא תואכְלוּ…אֶת־הַגָּמָל ‘Do not eat camels [lit., the camel]’ (Lev. 11.5).	No specific camel is in view here. Rather, all things that belong to the class ‘camel’.
Deixis (Demonstrative)	The article ‘points’ to something as especially relevant in the speech context	הַיוֹם lit. ‘the day (I am speaking)' > 'today' (Gen. 4.14).
Deixis (Vocative)	The article 'points' to single out an addressee.	חֵי נַּפְשְׁךָ הַמֶּלֶךְ ‘As surely as you live, O King’ (1 Sam 24.9)
Deixis (Anaphora)	The article can 'point' to an entity's identity as already mentioned and resume its discourse-active state.	לַיהוה הַנִּרְאֶה אֵלָיו ‘To the Lord, the one who had appeared to him’ (Gen 12.7).
Deixis (Superlative)	The article 'points' to an entity and singles it out from a given set regarding a certain characteristic attribute.	כִּי־אַתֶּם הַמְעַט מִכָּל־הָעַמִּים ‘You are the fewest of all the people’ (Deut. 7.7).

Functions of כֹּל

The noun כֹּל ‘all’ is used as a quantifier. Quantifiers specify the number of entities that satisfy the referent to which it is attached. The meaning of כֹּל depends on the definiteness and number of the noun to which it is attached. You will generally choose from the following four options, taken from van der Merwe et. al. (2017, 309–310)

With a singular and indefinite noun, כֹּל can be glossed ‘each; every individual’. That is the reference is to each discrete entity within an unidentifiable whole. So in the following example, God feels indignation each individual day for an unspecified length of time.

וְאֵ֗ל זֹעֵ֥ם בְּכָל־יֽוֹם׃

A God who feels indignation each/every day (Psa. 7.12)

With a plural and indefinite noun; כֹּל means ‘all; each and every one’. That is, the reference is to an unidentifiable whole that, of course, is composed of individual items. In the following example, notice that the verb is plural, because the reference is to the many tables that make up the unspecified whole.

כִּי כָּל־שֻׁלְחָנ֔וֹת מָלְא֖וּ קִ֣יא צֹאָ֑ה

All tables are filled with filthy vomit (Isa 28:8).

With a singular and definite noun; כֹּל can be glossed ‘all’. That is, the reference is to every member of an identifiable group. In the following example, Qohelet tells us each member of the group identifiable via common knowledge ‘mankind’ should eat, drink and be merry.

וְגַ֤ם כָּל־הָאָדָם֙ שֶׁיֹּאכַ֣ל וְשָׁתָ֔ה וְרָאָ֥ה ט֖וֹב בְּכָל־עֲמָל֑וֹ

And also all mankind should eat and drink and see good in all of his toil (Eccl. 3:13)

With a plural and definite noun; כֹּל can be glossed ‘all’. That is, the reference is to the totality of an identifiable group. In the following example, we find out the sum total of all the temple servants just listed. The temple servants are identifiable (they have the definite article) because they were previously mentioned in the text (v. 43).

כָּ֨ל־הַנְּתִינִ֔ים וּבְנֵ֖י עַבְדֵ֣י שְׁלֹמֹ֑ה שְׁלֹ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת תִּשְׁעִ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃

All (the total) of the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants—392 (Ezra 2:58).

(Click to expand)