Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Isaac Fried" <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Let’s consider some of the affixed personal pronouns in the words of Genesis
2:16-17:
כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ--מוֹת תָּמוּת
אֲכָלְ+ךָ=אֲכָלְךָ, where the suffixed ךָ is a curtailed אכה, which is a
variant of אתה, ‘you’. This pronoun is obsolete as a stand alone, but is
very much alive in compounds. The corresponding feminine is אך, for the
distinct את. The pronoun refers to Adam.
תָּמוּת= תָּ+מוּת, where  תָּ is a curtailed אתה referring also to Adam.
מִמֶּנּוּ= מִמֶּנּ+וּ, where וּ is a curtailed הוא ‘he’. This pronoun refers
to the tree.

The moral of this story is that knowledge will never save us from death. 
Isaac Fried