§ 73. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

FORCE and impressiveness appear to be the chief aims of Hebrew composition, and they are attained by an unstudied ease of style not seldom bordering on childlike simplicity. The ideas are allowed the completest freedom of natural expression; each word or notion takes the place certain to secure its proper weight; and the language appears as the faithful mirror of the thought precisely as it develops itself in the writer's mind. These considerations prevail over every other requirement, especially over symmetry and order, often even. over distinctness and perspicuity, and always over strictness of grammatical connection. Hence repetitions are introduced where attention is spontaneously arrested; genders and numbers, tenses and persons, are often chosen with regard to the sense rather than to exactness of verbal relation; changes of construction, whether by interruption or inversion, by anticipation or explanatory insertion, are freely adopted whenever suggested by the progress of the idea, or deemed likely to

enhance the strength of its embodiment. The connection between periods or their parts is in general eminently loose, and is chiefly left to the reader's judgment and intelligence; a few conjunctions, singularly wide and undefined in meaning, serve to indicate the endless relations that are possible between different propositions; and figures of speech, sometimes of surprising boldness, are readily adopted wherever they convey the idea with more directness or greater impressiveness. Hence the Hebrew language, as preserved in the Books of the Old Testament, is indeed more specially adapted for the loftier utterance of prophecy and poetry; yet it possesses sufficient clearness for historical narrative and practical teaching, and, to a certain degree, even flexibility enough for philosophical argument.

The following sections will prove the range and application of the characteristics here sketched, and we shall attempt to deduce from them various and important peculiarities of Hebrew Syntax.

§ 74. THE ORDER OF WORDS COMPOSING A PERIOD. The words follow each other in their natural or logical order, and according to their relative weight and value. Hence

1. The noun always precedes its adjective, since an object is necessarily in the mind before it can be qualified; e.g. great town (properly a town-a great one). But

i

a

2. If the adjective is the predicate, it generally stands before the noun, because it is then considered as the more important notion;

רַב שְׁלוֹם בָּנַיִךְ ; Eccl. vii. 11) wisdom is desirable) טוֹבָה חָכְמָה .e.g

(Isai. liv. 13) the peace of thy children is great, though it may, in that case also, follow the noun; e. g. D''' (Prov. xv. 15) the days of the poor are evil.b

The demonstrative pronouns (I, NI, N, etc., § 79), the ordinal numbers, and, one, are, with regard to their position,

this הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת; this man הָאִישׁ הַזֶּה .treated like adjectives; e. g

law; one house; a second son. (About the other numerals, see § 90).

3. As a substantive in the construct state is so closely connected with the dependent genitive, as almost to form with it one notion, the

adjective, even if properly belonging to the former, stands only after

4. An ordinary sentence, with no particular stress on any part, begins with the subject, after which follows the predicate, then, if the latter is a transitive verb, the objective case, and, lastly, any

יְהוָה יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־עַמּוֹ בַּשָׁלוֹם .complement required by the sense; e. g

(Psalm xxix. 11) the Lord will bless His people with peace.-But wherever the verb is preceded by conversivum, it necessarily begins the proposition; e.g. WNE TAAD-ON Jobo (Lev. xiii. 50) and

וַיַּאֲסְפוּ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים אֶת־ ;the priest shall burn the garment in fire

nenbes (1 Sam. xvii. 1) and the Philistines assembled their

armies to the battle.-Particles with suffixes stand generally close after the verb, e.g. 7 by n (2 Sam. ix. 3) I shall show kindness to him, while the adverbs of negation (,) are, as a rule,

לֹא־־תִשְׂנָא אֶת־־אָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ .placed immediately before it; e.g

(Lev. xix. 17) thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart;

(ver. 31) do not turn to the sooth-sayers.

5. However, this natural succession of words may in every respect be abandoned, if demanded by their logical relation, so that almost any part of the period may occupy any place, according to the peculiar variety of shades which the idea admits; e.g. in: yoy (Ps, vi. 10) the Lord has indeed listened to my supplication; N (Isai. vi. 5) it is the King that my eyes have seen; "ANS "AN? EN? (Judg. xiv. 16) not even to my father and my mother have I told it; P (Job i. 12) only against

לא

T

לֹא יְהוָה פָּעַל כָּל־זֹאת; his person thou shalt not stretch out thy hand

(Deut. xxxii. 27) not the Lord has done all this (but our own hand).©

The verb especially, being one of the most weighty elements of the period, has a tendency to precede the subject; and this is nearly always the case if the proposition is introduced by a conjunction or

(20 .Sam. i 2) פֶּן־תִּשְׂמַחְנָה בְנוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים .begins with an adverb; e.g שָׁם נִגְעַל מָגֵן גִּבּוֹרִים ; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice

ba

(ver. 21) there the shield of the heroes was basely thrown away.

§ 75. MODES OF ENHANCING THE EMPHASIS OF WORDS, CHIEFLY BY REPETITION.

Since prominence of position alone is, in many instances, deemed insufficient to secure a proper stress, the principle of repetition is, These two expedients-position in a variety of forms, resorted to. and repetition are chiefly adopted in the following cases:

1. If the nominative or subject possesses particular emphasis, it is

,הוא) either repeated, or is succeeded by the demonstrative pronoun .or both these means are employed together; e. g ,(הֵן הֵם הִיא