Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Silberman, Alfred" <alfred.silberman AT lmco.com>]

Dear Harold:
The absolute form for the word ark is written 'aron with a qametz on the
Aleph (see 25:14). The construct form found in Ex 25:10 is written with a
xataf-patax on the Aleph. The absolute form for the word table is shilxan
with a qametz on the Xeth as it is in Ex 25:23. The construct form would be
with a patax on the Xeth. 

As long as I'm elaborating we can also look on the word for lamp in Ex 25:31
which is in the construct form with a Tav at the end of the word instead of
a Heh.

I am quite certain that the correct form in these sentences requires the
absolute form not the construct form. 

A Jewish commentator wrote that the lamp's formal name seems to be
"HamMenorah HatTehorah" as in Ex 31:8 (but not in Ex 30:27) so that the
construct form here implies the second part of the name "Menorath Tahor". I
still don't understand why that would use the construct form.

However, the formal name of the ark is definitely "'aron Ha`eduth" and the
word 'aron may simply be the appreviated form of the formal name.

Al Silberman

=============================================================

Dear Al,

You ask:

>Could someone explain why the noun form for "ark" is construct in Exodus
>25:10 while the noun form for "table" in Ex 25:23 is in absolute?

Al, unless I am missing something, the forms for the nouns "ark" and
"table" are the same for the absolute and the construct. So how can one say
that "ark" is construct and "table" is absolute in these verses? They are
both followed and preceded by the same phrases (or nearly the same). So if
one is construct, the other is. Or if one is absolute, the other is. My own
guess is that they both may be absolute in these verses, even though BDB
disagrees about Exod 25:10, since the verb "to make" often takes two
accusatives to describe that something is made out of something else (see
BDB, p. 794d, right column, section g). Here both nouns are preceded by
this verb of making and followed by the substance from which the nouns are
made.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard
                                Dallas, TX