Summary
An adjective is a word that describes a person(s), place(s), or thing(s). Within a sentence, usually an adjective 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 always 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 in Biblical Hebrew is to describe a noun.
There are two kinds of adjectives that function in this way, attributive adjectives and predicative adjectives.
In almost all instances, an attributive adjective 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 |
| |
| 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, a predicative adjective usually has the same form as the noun it
describes in both gender and number. 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 simply 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
Rather than describing a noun, sometimes an adjective itself functions as a noun in the sentence. This is called a nominal adjective.
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 |
| |
| Therefore thus he-says holy-of Israel |
| Therefore the Holy One of Israel says, |
Functions as an adverb
Sometimes an adjective functions as an adverb, meaning that it describes a verb instead of a noun. This is called an adverbial adjective.
Example: JOS 21:10
| כִּ֥י לָהֶ֛ם הָיָ֥ה הַגּוֹרָ֖ל רִיאשֹׁנָֽה |
| |
| for to-them it-was the-lot first |
| For the first casting of lots had fallen to them. |
Other uses of adjectives
compares two or more items
In Biblical Hebrew, adjectives are often used with either the
preposition מִן (“from”) or the phrase מִכֹּל (“from all”) to express a
comparison between two or more items. This is called a comparative adjective.
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
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”). This is called an intensive adjective.
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
Biblical Hebrew utilizes different ways to strengthen an adjective to
its greatest degree (“the smallest”, “the greatest”, etc.). This is called a superlative adjective.
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 |