All Questions
Tagged with grammar or grammar-dikduk
659 questions
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Why does the Gemara sometimes use the word Ben and sometimes use the word Bar?
Why does the Talmud sometimes refer to someone as Ploni ben Ploni, and other times as Ploni bar Ploni?
Classic example:
In Bava Batra 14b the gemara says Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai
In Bar Ilan's ...
- 1,096
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votes
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answers
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Final Nun vs. Final Mem in "Madlikin"
In the Hanerot Halalu that we recite when lighting the Hanukkah candles, it says "anachnu madlikin." Why madlikin and not madlikim? Why is a final nun used and not a final mem? I have searched ...
- 61
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נַ֣חְנוּ נַעֲבֹ֧ר Is the Torah using slang
In Bamidbar 32:32, The Torah tells us in reference to Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven that נַ֣חְנוּ נַעֲבֹ֧ר, we will cross over.
Also, the only other times that the Tanach uses the word נַ֣חְנוּ is in:
...
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The dagesh in "elo-ha" means what?
I'm not so clear on the use of the dagesh as a point of definition -- I understand some fo the pronunciation issues but not all of them either so I would appreciate any help here.
I recall learning ...
- 38.7k
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Bamidbar or Bemidbar?
What is the name of this week's parsha? What about the sefer?
The text clearly says "Bemidbar" (or B'midbar), but many call it Bamidbar. Is this a grammatical or traditional difference? Could one ever ...
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What is the difference between adonai and adoni?
I'm sure I've missed something quite obvious here, but I've always been told that adonai is "my Lord", and so I always assumed that it was adon with 'my' stuck to it. But, that would be adoni, with a ...
- 121
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What's the difference between LaZman and LeZman?
In the Mishnah Brurah (676:1) it says:
והגיענו לזמן הזה הלמ"ד בחיר"ק ולא בפת"ח
That in the Bracha of Shehechiyanu, the Lamed in the word Lazman should be said with a Hiriq and not with a Patach.
...
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Dagesh on final letter kaf
When reciting Psalm 81 on Thursdays, I'm always puzzled how can we decide whether the last letter ך of the psalm should get a dagesh or not. In the Aleppo Codex it is clearly written without dagesh:
...
- 8,117
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Gender in Vayishlach 33:6-7
In Vayishlach (Bereishis 33:6-7), Yaakov's wives and children bow to Esav. With regard to the maidservants and their sons, the verse states וַתִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶיןָ - in the feminine, whereas by Leah and ...
- 8,313
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Shva na and shva nach on almost the same word in מגילת אסתר?
Esther 2:3 ends with the word תמרקיהן. Esther 2:9 contains the word תמרוקיה.
The question is about the sh'va under the mem. My source, via Kinnor software, says that this sh'va is na in the first ...
- 213
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Dagesh after an interrogative hey
Bereshit 18:21
אֵֽרְדָה-נָּ֣א וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה הַכְּצַֽעֲקָתָ֛הּ הַבָּ֥אָה אֵלַ֖י עָשׂ֣וּ | כָּלָ֑ה וְאִם-לֹ֖א אֵדָֽעָה:
I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry ...
- 23.1k
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Why is Sefer Tehillim called Tehillim and not Tehillos?
Tehillim is plural of Tehilla (תהלה). Tehilla looks like a feminine noun, which is why there's a word called תהלות.
So why is the sefer called Sefer Tehillim?
- 40.8k
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Why singular "וְלֹא הָיָה מַיִם" in Bamidbar 20:2?
The word מַיִם is, as far as I know, pretty consistently grammatically plural in Chumash (and, incidentally, in more modern Hebrew also). That is, the adjectives that modify it are plural adjectives, ...
- 73.9k
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On schwa following word-initial "וּ"
Mishna B'rura 61:36 specifies that we should be careful to pronounce a sh'va na (mobile schwa) as na and a sh'va nach (quiescent schwa) as nach in "Sh'ma". Unfortunately, there's a class of sh'va I'm ...
- 73.9k
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Two-letter shorashim and phonetic shorashim?
I have heard many times in the name of Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch that every Hebrew shoresh (usually defined with three letters) has a more basic root of two letters. I also heard in his name that ...
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יִבָּנֶה הַמִּקְדָּשׁ עִיר צִיּוֹן תְּמַלֵּא — why not תִּמָּלֵא?
The Shabas table song "Tzur mishelo achalnu" contains the following line:
יִבָּנֶה הַמִּקְדָּשׁ עִיר צִיּוֹן תְּמַלֵּא
yibane hamikdash ir Tziyon t'male
the Temple should be built; you ...
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"Hayom yom X b'shabas" or "bashabas"?
A sidur I used this morning had the introductory line of the shir shel yom as "hayom yom sheni b'shabas". When I checked the two sidurim I trust the most for excatitude in these matters, one had "...
- 24k
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Grammatical difficulty in root אשר (happy)
The root אשר seems to act weirdly in relation to number.
On the one hand, it takes on plural morphology in situations that are clearly singular, here in the form of a plural (const.) noun (...
- 152
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Why does Rashi call tzeirei and segol "kamatz katan" and "patach katan"
Rashi often refers to tzeirei as "kamatz katan" and segol as "patach katan". Why? In what sense are they smaller versions of kamatz and patach?
I understand that kamatz and tzeirei are תנועות ...
- 9,421
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What are the differences between "Olam" "Netzach" "Selah" "Va'ed" "Adey Ad"?
What are the differences between "Olam" "Netzach" "Selah" "Va'ed" "Adey Ad"?
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Yeraeh el HaAdon, or Yeraeh es HaAdon
The mitzvah of aliya leregel, the thrice-yearly pilgrimage festival, appears a few times in the Torah.
In Exodus 23:17 it's written:
שָׁלֹ֥שׁ פְּעָמִ֖ים בַּשָּׁנָ֑ה יֵרָאֶה֙ כָּל־זְכ֣וּרְךָ֔ אֶל־...
- 20.2k
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When did siddurim first start showing sheva na - nach differently?
Some (most?) widely used siddurim today give the reader some pronunciation information that is not obvious in standard Hebrew lettering: when a sheva is pronounced (e.g., by making the sheva na bold, ...
- 8,383
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Hakeves echad and not hakeves haechad?
On Rosh Chodesh we read in Bamidbar 28:4"et hakeves echad..." Shouldn't the grammar dictate there be a definite article on adjectives that modify definite nouns? Later in the pasuk it says "hakeves ...
- 837
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246
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Why the person switches in Shemos 14:2-4?
Shemos 14:2-4:
דבר, אל-בני ישראל, וישובו ויחנו לפני פי החירות, בין מגדול ובין הים: לפני בעל צפון, נכחו תחנו על-הים.
ואמר פרעה לבני ישראל, נבוכים הם בארץ; סגר עליהם, המדבר.
וחיזקתי את-לב-פרעה, ורדף ...
- 59.1k
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Verbs or Nouns in the Amidah
In the second brakhah of the amidah, מחיה is vocalized with a segol under the yud in some siddurim--making it a present-tense verb (1); and with a tzere in other siddurim--making it a noun in ...
- 5,024
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The torah sometimes uses "olah tamid" and sometimes "olat tamid" but they seem to mean the same thing; what's the difference?
I know that in Biblical Hebrew (and presumably other varieties), we see the construct "noun adjective", with the noun unodified, such as "parah adamah" (red heifer). We also see the noun-chain ...
- 57k
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Why is א-להי נשמה not א-להי הנשמה?
In the morning blessing of א-להי נשמה the first few words read א-להי ,נשמה שנתת בי.
To me this literally translates as 'My G-d, soul that you put in me...'
It sounds strange.
Why not say, א-להי ,...
- 483
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Ascending or descending order when mentioning units in a number?
I noticed an apparent conflict when the Torah uses units of a large number. It seems to occur with mentioning someone's age.
Examples:
Breishit 23:1 Sarah lived 100 years and 20 years and 7 years
...
- 71.5k
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Understanding Wording in Bamidbar 16:6
Numbers 16:6 says:
זאת עשו קחו לכם מחתות קרח וכל עדתו.
This do: take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
I'm struggling to understand the last three words which are in the third person when the ...
- 61
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What does מִלְמַעְלָה in Gen 7:20 mean?
Genesis 7:20, describing the flood, says:
חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה מִלְמַעְלָה, גָּבְרוּ הַמָּיִם; וַיְכֻסּוּ, הֶהָרִים.
Almost everybody translates the first clause as some approximation of "...
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Is ראשית really in construct?
There are those who translate בראשית (from Gen 1:1) as "In the beginning of...", saying that ראשית must be in construct form (smikhut). Perhaps most famously, Rashi writes:
שֶׁאֵין לְךָ ...
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What is the proper voweling (Nikud) for Metatron?
I have seen many variations of this and wonder if anyone could tell me which is the most correct?
These variations include:
מֶטָטְרוֹן (Meṭāṭ'rōn)
מְטַטְרוֹן (Măṭaṭ'rōn)
מֵיטַטְרוֹן (Mēyṭaṭ'rōn)
...
- 359
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Why is there no דגש in the כ״ף of הכזונה in פרשת וישלח לד:לא?
I know that the rule of ה״א התימה is that it usually takes a הֲ unless it precedes a שוא, such as here in הַכְזוֹנָה, where it then just takes a הַ and the following letter doesn't have a דגש in order ...
- 301
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633
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Gomel chasadim tovim - are there bad chasadim?
In the first b’racha of the amidah, Avos, we say "גומל חסדים טובים"... which is normally translated something like- “who does good deeds...” but literally, “Gomel chasadim” by itself means “does good ...
- 5,064
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how to pronounce ריש גלותא
I always thought was pronounced "galuta".
However I just noticed in my sidur today in יקום פורקן , the words there are "reshei galvata".
Is that just the plural of "galuta&...
- 1,013
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329
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Which word is said under the chuppah - זוֹ or זוּ?
The groom tells the bride under the chuppah:
הרי את מקודשת לי בטבעת זו כדת משה וישראל
Is the word זו pronounced with a cholam (וֹ) as in "zo" or with a shuruk (וּ) as in "zu"? I have seen both ...
- 51
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לא (lamed-aleph) vs אל (aleph-lamed)
Hebrew beginner, here. I was asking why the prefix for "not" was usually לא but occasionally אל. Some kind Hebrew students told me אל was only used for future tense, saying not to do something.
One ...
- 101
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Shifting subjects and objects in Gen 12:15
There are three statements in Genesis 12:15:
וַיִּרְאוּ אֹתָהּ שָׂרֵי פַרְעֹה וַיְהַלְלוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה וַתֻּקַּח הָאִשָּׁה בֵּית פַּרְעֹה
And Pharaoh's princes saw her, and they praised her to ...
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331
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Mil'al vs. Milra on "Lamah"
In a few places in the Torah, the word למה is pronounced מלעיל (accent on 1st syllable) and in other places מלרע (accent on 2nd syllable.)
I viewed Bemidbar 11:11 which has both in the same verse. ...
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How do you pronounce Hashem's name when there is a prefix?
When you have a prefix, such as a lamed, before the name YKVK people pronounce it la | donai instead of la | a | donai. Why?
5
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2
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158
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Re-articulate a sound repeated after a maqaf?
When the same sound is called for on both sides of a maqaf, does this call for a single, prolonged version of that sound, or a second articulation of that sound? E.g. אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ׃ in Gen 6:6.
In ...
- 199
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2
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155
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ברכות switch between 2nd and 3rd person
Why in a ברכה for a commandment (for example, hand washing, Tefillin etc.) do we switch between 'You' ברוך אתה and 'His' במצותיו ?
Why don't we say במצותיך ?
- 483
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ולא תתורו: kadma veazla or azla-geresh?
In the third parashah of Shema' (maftir from P' Shelach) we have a divergence of cantillation on the words ולא תתורו. In R' Wolf Heidenheim (see Koren for a contempary example) these words are ...
- 13.3k
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1
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"Good trees" grammar in the blessing on trees
I see* various versions of the blessing on seeing trees: most seem to refer to good trees as "אילנות טובות", while some refer to them as "אילנות טובים".
(Grammatically, as far as I know, "טובים" is ...
- 73.9k
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1
answer
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Same phrase in two places, one uses dageish and one doesn't -- why?
In the seventh aliyah of Parshat Noach, the passage about the tower of Bavel contains the phrase עַל-פְּנֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ three times. Twice it is written כָל and once כָּל and I would like to ...
- 57k
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1
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504
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Why shva nach when it should be a chataf patach?
Shmot 31:4 says
לַחְשֹׁב, מַחֲשָׁבֹת; לַעֲשׂוֹת בַּזָּהָב וּבַכֶּסֶף, וּבַנְּחֹשֶׁת
Why does the word לחשוב have a shvah under the chet when normally a Peh-Gronit shoresh in the Pa'al binyan has a ...
- 25.1k
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1
answer
125
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Neḥemia 8:7 - Six pazers?
Neḥemia 8:7
וְיֵשׁ֡וּעַ וּבָנִ֡י וְשֵׁרֵ֥בְיָ֣ה ׀ יָמִ֡ין עַקּ֡וּב שַׁבְּתַ֣י ׀ הֽוֹדִיָּ֡֡ה מַעֲשֵׂיָ֡ה קְלִיטָ֣א עֲזַרְיָה֩ יוֹזָבָ֨ד חָנָ֤ן פְּלָאיָה֙ וְהַלְוִיִּ֔֔ם מְבִינִ֥ים אֶת־הָעָ֖ם ...
user13937
5
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4
answers
750
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Pronunciation in MO schools
I am curious about the Hebrew pronunciation taught in many Modern Orthodox schools. It doesn't seem to conform to real Israeli pronunciation, nor is it the "standard Yiddish" or Polish pronunciation ...
- 5,420
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1
answer
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Why does the Rambam change language?
In Hilchos Megillah V'Chanukah, the Rambam writes in 2:15
טו. כיצד חובת סעודה זו שיאכל בשר ויתקן סעודה נאה כפי אשר תמצא ידו,
ושותה יין עד שישתכר וירדם בשכרות
Why does the Rambam switch from ...
- 4,707
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2
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180
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Eliphaz and Bildad Zophar
Iyov 42:9:
וַיֵּלְכוּ אֱלִיפַז הַתֵּימָנִי וּבִלְדַּד הַשּׁוּחִי צֹפַר הַנַּעֲמָתִי וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶם ה׳
In the JPS translation:
So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the ...
- 73.9k