Lesson 20: Singular Nouns in the Construct State
Vocabulary
| work | עֲבוֹדָה |
| request | שְׁאֵלָה |
| prayer | תְּפִלָּה |
| joy, rejoicing | שִׂמְחָה |
| queen | מַלְכָּה |
| animal, beast, living thing | חַיָּה |
| province | מְדִינָה |
| hero, mighty one | גִּבּוֹר |
| love | אַהֲבָה |
| cup (f) | כּוֹס |
| servant, slave | עֶבֶד |
| sea | יָם |
| room | חֶדֶר |
| street, broad place | רְחוֹב |
| table | שֻׁלְחָן |
| silver | כֶּסֶף |
| judge | שׁוֹפֵט |
| gold | זָהָב |
| name | שֵׁם |
| garment | בֶּגֶד |
All Hebrew nouns occur in one of two states: absolute or construct. The absolute state is the normal state of a noun. The construct state is the state it takes when it is in a construction with another noun. "Of" is expressed in Hebrew by placing a noun in the construct state in front of a noun in the absolute state. A noun in the construct state will never take a definite article. However, if the noun it is in construct with has a definite article, then the noun in the construct state is also definite. If the noun it is in construct with does not have a definite article, then the noun in the construct state will likewise not be definite.
“the horse of the king” =
סוּס־הַמֶּלֶךְ
“a horse of a king” =
סוּס־מֶלֶךְ
Feminine singular nouns ending in ה ָ often form the construct by replacing the ה ָ with ת ַ, accompanied by appropriate vowel changes.
“the law of Yahweh” = תּוֹרַת יְהוָה
Nouns in the construct state will sometimes have the same form as they do in their absolute state. Others will change in the construct state. For instance:
| “the king’s word” | דְּבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ | "a word" | דָּבָר |
And
Nouns vocalized like בַּיִת have the construct form בֵּית.
Reading
Please read pages 174-176 in Biblical Hebrew Step-by-Step.
Exercises
1. Memorize the vocabulary and paradigms.
2. Do the Exercises on pages 176-178.