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b-hebrew - RE: [b-hebrew] Construct State

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  • From: "Maurice A. O'Sullivan" <mauros AT iol.ie>
  • To: "Kevin Riley" <klriley AT alphalink.com.au>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] Construct State
  • Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 11:17:47 +0100

At 06:51 26/08/2004, Kevin Riley wrote:

The construct is usually referred to by that name, but I have seen it
referred to as the 'genitive' in at least one old grammar,

A useful definition of the construct state can be found in:
Waltke, B. K., & O'Connor, M. P. (1990). An introduction to biblical Hebrew syntax. Includes indexes. . Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns.

>>In the language antecedent to Biblical Hebrew, the genitive relation was indicated by a final vowel marker, -i in the singular and [long i ] - in the plural. After the loss of the case system (8.1), the noun in the genitive was left unmarked. If a noun preceded a noun in the genitive, however, that noun often came to be marked; such a "pregenitive" noun stands in the construct state. Formation of the construct is a matter of sound and rhythm: in order to bind the pregenitive to the genitive, the pregenitive may be shortened.<<




Maurice A. O'Sullivan [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros AT iol.ie






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