< Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu
This page needs to be proofread.

are made determinate by the article, when they are joined like adjectives (see §126u) with a determinate substantive, e.g. חָאִישׁ חַזֶּה this man; הָֽאֲנָשִּׁים הָאֵ֫לֶּה these men; בַּיָּמִים הָהֵ֫מָּה וּבָעֵת הַהִיא in those days, and in that time, Jo41. The demonstrative, however, even in this case, is frequently used without the article, as being sufficiently determinate in itself (cf. §126y).

§126. Determination by Means of the Article.

 [a]  1. The article (הַ·, הָ, הֶ, § 35) was originally, as in other languages (clearly in the Romance; cf. also ὁ, ἡ, τό in Homer), a demonstrative pronoun. The demonstrative force of the article, apart from its occasional use as a relative pronoun (see §138i), appears now, however, only (a) in a few standing phrases, and (b) in a certain class of statements or exclamations.

 [b]  (a) Cf. הַיּוֹם this day, hodie (§100c.); הַלַּ֫יְלָה this night, Gn1934; הַפַּ֫עַם this time, Gn223; הַשָּׁנָה this year (= in this year) Is3730, Jer2816.

(b) includes those instances in which the article, mostly when prefixed to a participle, joins on a new statement concerning a preceding noun. Although such participles, &c., are no doubt primarily regarded always as in apposition to a preceding substantive, the article nevertheless has in some of these examples almost the force of הוּא (הִיא, הֵ֫מָּה) as the subject of a noun-clause; e.g. ψ1910 the judgements of the Lord are true..., verse 11 הַנֶּֽחֱמָדִים וג׳ prop. the more to be desired than gold, i.e. they are more to be desired, or even they, that are more to be desired,[1] &c.; cf. Gn4921, Is4022 f., 44:27 f., 46:6, Am27, 57, ψ3315, 497 (הַבֹּֽטְחִים in the parallel half of the verse continued by a finite verb); ψ1043, Jb616, 284, 303, 4125 and frequently. When such a participle has another co-ordinate with it, the latter is used without the article, since according to the above it strictly speaking represents a second predicate, and as such, according to i, remains indeterminate; e.g. Jb510 who giveth (הַנֹּתֵן) rain, &c. and sendeth וְשֹׁלֵחַ &c.

 [c]  The article is sometimes used with similar emphasis before a substantive, which serves as the subject of a compound sentence (§140d); e.g. Dt324 הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּֽעֳלוֹ i.e. as a fresh statement (not in apposition to the preceding dative), really equivalent to he is a rock, perfect in his work (i.e. whose work is perfect); cf. ψ1831.

 [d]  2. The article is, generally speaking, employed to determine a substantive wherever it is required by Greek and English; thus:

(a) When a person or thing already spoken of is mentioned again, and is consequently more definite to the mind of the hearer or reader; e.g. Gn13 and God said, Let there be light: verse 4 and God saw the light (אֶת־הָאוֹר); 1 K324 fetch me a sword: and they brought the sword; Ec915. (In 2 S122 therefore לֶֽעָשִׁיר must be read.)

  1. On the analogous use of the article before participles which have a verbal suffix, as in ψ1833, &c., cf. above, §116f.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.