Summary
An adjective is a word that describes a person(s), place(s), or thing(s).
Within a sentence, an adjective usually describes a noun.
However, in Biblical Hebrew an adjective itself can function as a noun or even as an adverb (to describe a verb).
Article
In Bibical Hebrew, adjectives match the noun they describe in
gender (masculine or feminine)
and number (singular or plural).
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. If a noun is dual,
its accompanying adjective will be plural. Also, the gender of some
nouns does not match their apparent form (as in נָשִׁים "women", which is
grammatically-feminine although it appears grammatically-masculine); in
these cases, an accompanying adjective will match the gender of the noun
itself rather than the apparent form. Similarly, for nouns with either collective singular
(as in עַם, meaning "people") or majestic plural (as in אֱלֹהִים, meaning "God"),
the accompanying adjective may match the implied number rather than the apparent form.
Function
Describes a noun
The most common use of adjectives is to describe a noun directly.
There are two kinds of adjectives that function in this way, attributive adjectives and predicative adjectives.
In Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic, an attributive adjective almost always immediately follows the noun that it describes and has the same form in gender, number, and definiteness.
Thus, if the noun is masculine, the adjective is also masculine. If the noun is singular, the adjective is also singular.
If the noun is definite, the adjective is also definite; and so on.
Note
When a cardinal or an
ordinal number functions as an attributive
adjective, sometimes it comes before the noun it describes
instead of after the noun.
Example: 1SA 18:17
| בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה |
| vitti haggedolah |
| my-daughter the-old |
| my older daughter |
Example: JOS 10:2
| כִּ֣י עִ֤יר גְּדוֹלָה֙ גִּבְע֔וֹן |
| ki ‘ir gedolah giv’on |
| for city great Gibeon |
| because Gibeon was a large city |
Predicative adjectives are adjectives that describe nouns using a linking verb.
Often the linking verb is not present in the Hebrew text and must be supplied when translating into English.
Like attributive adjectives, predicative adjectives usually have the same forms (in both number and gender) as the nouns
they describe. Unlike attributive adjectives, however, a predicative
adjective can be indefinite even if it describes a definite noun.
Note
Sometimes, predicative adjectives and attributive adjectives look
identical and must be distinguished from the context.
Example: 2SA 14:20
| וַאדֹנִ֣י חָכָ֗ם |
| wadoni hakham |
| And-my-lord wise |
| My master is wise |
Example: 2KI 20:19
| טֹ֥וב דְּבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבַּ֑רְתָּ |
| towv devar-yehwah 'asher dibbarta |
| Good word-of_Yahweh that you-spoke. |
| The word of Yahweh that you have spoken is good. |
Functions as a noun
A nominal adjective is an adjective that itself functions as a noun in the sentence rather than describing a noun.
Example: PSA 3:2
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי |
| rabbim qamim 'alay |
| many are-rising-up against-me |
| many people are rising up against me |
Example: ISA 30:12
| לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ קְד֣וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל |
| lakhen koh ‘amar qedosh yisra’el |
| Therefore thus he-says holy-of Israel |
| Therefore the Holy One of Israel says, |
Functions as an adverb
An adverbial adjective is an adjective that functions as an adverb,
meaning that it describes a verb instead of a noun.
Example: JOS 21:10
| כִּ֥י לָהֶ֛ם הָיָ֥ה הַגּוֹרָ֖ל רִיאשֹׁנָֽה |
| ki lahem hayah haggoral rishonah |
| for to-them it-was the-lot first |
| For the first casting of lots had fallen to them. |
Other uses of adjectives
adjectives that compare two or more items
A comparative adjective expresses a comparison between two or more items.
In Biblical Hebrew, comparative adjectives are often used either with the
preposition מִן ("from") or with the phrase מִכֹּל ("from all").
Example: JDG 14:18
| מַה־מָּת֣וֹק מִדְּבַ֔שׁ וּמֶ֥ה עַ֖ז מֵאֲרִ֑י |
| mah-mmathoq middevash umeh 'az me'ari |
| What_sweet than-honey and-what strong from-lion |
| What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion |
Example: GEN 3:1
| וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ הָיָ֣ה עָר֔וּם מִכֹּל֙ חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה |
| wehannahash hayah 'arum mikkol hayyath hassadeh |
| And-the-serpent was shrewd from-all beings-of the-field |
| Now the serpent was more shrewd than any other beast of the field |
adjectives with stronger meaning
An intensive adjective has a stronger degree of meaning than a typical adjective.
In Biblical Hebrew, the meaning of an adjective can be strengthened by
pairing it either with the word מְאֹד ("very") or with the phrase
לֵאלֹהִים ("to God").
Example: GEN 1:31
| וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד |
| wehinneh-tov me'od |
| And-behold_good very |
| Behold, it was very good |
Example: JON 3:3
| עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים |
| 'ir-gedolah lelohim |
| city_great to-God |
| a very large city |
adjectives with strongest meaning
A superlative adjective has a meaning strengthened to its greatest degree.
Biblical Hebrew can use different ways to make an adjective superlative.
Usually, the superlative meaning of an adjective must be determined from the context.
Example: 1SA 16:11 –– adjective with the definite article
| עֹ֚וד שָׁאַ֣ר הַקָּטָ֔ן |
| 'owd sha'ar haqqatan |
| Still remains the-young |
| There remains yet the youngest |
Example: MIC 7:4 –– adjective with a pronominal suffix
| טוֹבָ֣ם כְּחֵ֔דֶק |
| tovam kehedeq |
| good-their like-brier |
| the best of them is like a brier |
Example: SNG 1:8 –– adjective with a prepositional phrase
| הַיָּפָ֖ה בַּנָּשִׁ֑ים |
| hayyafah bannashim |
| the-fair among-women |
| the fairest among women |
