Biblical Hebrew Word Construction

The Biblical Hebrew Study Dictionary on this site focuses on word construction in order to better understand the language found in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Once the meanings of the individual letters as they were understood by the the Biblical writers were discovered, it became apparent that not all Biblical words were constructed in the same manner.

Because Hebrew is a very ancient language and because the language evolved over a very long time, during which the scriptures were written, there are actually three ways in which the biblical words were constructed.  These three (with examples given) appear to have occurred in the following order:

 

I.  Words Constructed Via Letter Meanings Alone

The majority of the most common words in the Scriptures are of this variety.  This construction method can at times be blatantly obvious while at other times it is poetic and clever.

 

An example of the Obvious Sort:

דרך     DRK     road

construction:   ‘path through… body… carry’

 

An example of the Clever Sort:

עפר   OPhR     dust / dry earth       

construction:   ‘seen… wind… body’

 

 

II.  Words Consisting of Root Words Plus Some Letter Meanings

The ancient brilliance of the Biblical language often shines clear in words constructed in this manner.

 

למען     LMON      for sake of

construction:       ל  = for + מ  = physical + ענה  = answer

 

קרס     QRS     clasp / hook / bend  

construction:        קרב   = draw near + ס  = pieces

 

 

III.   Words Constructed Using Rules of Grammar

There are basic ways in which a Hebrew root word can be modified in order to change its meaning.  Since most root words are verbs, one of the most common modifications was to convert a three-letter verb (action word) into a four-letter noun by adding the letter ו Waw or י  Yod in the 3rd letter position.

For example, the word  רכוש  meaning  ‘goods’ was created from the word רכש meaning ‘collect / store up’.

 

Other common modifications include:

  • A letter ו Waw or י  Yod was added as the 2nd letter, to convert a word into a person.

Ex.  יועץ  (counselor) is from יעץ  meaning ‘advise’ or ‘counsel’.

 

  • The letter ה He was added as the last letter, to convert the word into a noun.

Ex.  חלקה  (portion) is from חלק  meaning ‘divide’.

 

  • The letter מ Mem was added as the first letter, to convert a verb into a noun.

Ex.  מתן  (gift) is from נתן  meaning ‘to give’.     [ מ = physical  + נתן = give]

 

  • The letters ו Waw and נ  Nun were added as the last two suffixes which together conventionally mean ‘of it’ and individually mean ‘add to… ahead’.

Ex.  יתרון  (profit) is from יתר  meaning ‘exceed/remain over’.

 

  • A י Yod was converted into ו  Waw or vice versa.

Ex.  תושב  (sojourner) is from ישב  meaning ‘to dwell’.

 

  • The first letter of י Yod was dropped or changed.

Ex.   הדעת  (knowledge) is from ידע  meaning ‘know’.

 

  • The first letter נ Nun was dropped or changed.

Ex.  מכה  (wound) is from נכה  meaning ‘to strike’.