Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Paul Zellmer <zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph>]

Wesley Hu wrote:

> Dear List,
>
> Can someone please help me with the 'bet' in Prov. 8:2? BDB (p. 108) says
> it is the fem. form of the prep. 'ben'. But do prepositions also have
> grammatical genders? If yes, how do they function?
>

Wesley, let's first take the case in point.  The text (using the suggested
transliteration scheme for the list) is:

B.:RO)$-M:ROWMIYM (:AL"Y-DFREK: B."YT N:TIYBOWT NIC.FBFH

One option for the word you are asking about, B."YT, is that it is the 
construct form
of the noun normally translated "house."  It would be convenient if there 
were another
beth attached to the front, but there's not.  Apparently, therefore, the 
scholars tend
to take this as the preposition.

The feminine form of a preposition would agree with its noun in gender, and be
translated just like the unmarked (or masculine) form.  It is *extremely* 
rare, since
the unmarked form is normally used regardless of gender.  In this case, it's
apparently an idiomatic use (similar to a place name), since there is not a 
second
B.AYIN form like is the normal case.

HTH,

Paul
--
Paul and Dee Zellmer, Jimmy Guingab, Geoffrey Beltran
Ibanag Translation Project
Cabagan, Isabela, Rep. of Philippines

zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph