Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jason Hare" <language_lover64801 AT yahoo.com>]

Reggie and others,

I think another note about the gender of the word is that when it is
attached with an adjective, it (the adj.) comes in the masculine form.  I
am wondering where the idea came from that 'LHYM is feminine.  Could it be
from the fact that (1) the Aramaic is 'ELAH. (note that the period
indicates a mappiq heh) and (2) the Arabic is 'allah?  Perhaps these would
be /apparent/ feminine forms, but regarding the Aramaic, the mappiq heh is
*not* a marker of the feminine gender but a true consonant.  And the marker
of the feminine in Arabic has the two dots over the "h" (I don't know
Arabic terminology, just what it looks like), which is not found on the
word 'allah.  Therefore, neither forms are feminine, and it follows that
the Hebrew is not either.

To recap, the Hebrew form appears to be masculine for these reasons:

*Nature*.  Seeing that God is seen as masculine by the Jews, it is the
natural gender.

*Verbs*.  Verbs used with 'LHYM are *always* masculine.

*Adjectives*.  Adjectives are masculine when applied to )LHYM.

*Cognates*.  Languages with similar background and roots have masculine
/singular/ forms.

Therefore, it would be my conclusion that )LHYM is masculine.  I belive
that it would take some strong evidence to prove otherwise.

Regards,
Jason


<<Dear Friends:
    The best guide to gender for *elohim* would seem to be verb forms used
with the noun.  When this noun is used (quite frequently!) of the God of
Israel, the corresponding verb is in a masculine singular form.  In 1 Kings
11:33, the noun is used of a female deity worshipped by Israel's neighbors.
In that same sentence (I Kings 11:33), the word "elohim" is used of male
non-Israelite deities, as well.
    But there would seem to be no evidence that the noun itself is
feminine.  This is how it looks to me, anyway.
     Rev. Reggie Ponder, Jr.
     Mt Tirzah United Methodist Church
     Timberlake, NC USA>>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason A. Hare
Ozark Christian College
1111 N. Main (Strong 220)
Joplin, MO  64801
(877) 207-3881