Lesson 35
The ְ‫ ו‬Conjunction
The Predicators of Existence:
‫אֵ ין‬and ‫יֵׁש‬
The ְ‫ ו‬Conjunction
In Hebrew 131, we learned that the ְ‫ ו‬conjunction can be translated as a variety of
English conjunctions: and, but, or, also, or even.
In each case, the
ְ‫ ו‬conjunction connects two clauses.
There are two primary types of relationships between clauses connected with the
conjunction: conjunctive and disjunctive.
ְ‫ו‬
The rules regarding conjunctive and disjunctive clauses are somewhat complicated. For
the purposes of Hebrew 132, we will focus on the instances when it is most appropriate
to translate the ְ‫ו‬conjunction as and, but, or, also, or even.
The ְ‫ ו‬Conjunction
Conjunctive relationship: The conjunctive relationship is sequential. The action of the
first clause comes before the action of the second clause either logically or temporally. In
English we might say, “I went to the store, and I bought some bread.” The action of the
first clause, “I went to the store,” occurs before the action of the second clause, “I bought
some bread.”
Disjunctive relationship: The disjunctive relationship is non-sequential. The relationship
between the two clauses is not based on a logical or temporal order. In English we might
say, “I went to the store, and they went to the park.” The action of the first clause and the
action of the second clause are not sequential.
Non-action clauses, which feature a but or another disjunction are also disjunctive. For
example, “She was tired, but there was no time to rest.” The first clause (she was tired) and
the second clause (there was no time to rest) are not actions and do not follow a sequential
order.
The ְ‫ ו‬Conjunction
The best way to distinguish between a conjunctive and disjunctive relationship is to
examine the word order immediately after the ְ‫ ו‬conjunction. A conjunctive relationship
always has a verb immediately after the ְ‫ו‬conjunction. A disjunctive relationship rarely has a
verb immediately after the ְ‫ו‬conjunction.
Negative clauses that begin with
‫ ֹלא‬are disjunctive. For example:
ְ‫אְהּואְׁשם‬
ָׁ
ֹֽ‫ִהיאְפֹּהְוֹל‬
ְ‫ָׁרעֲבָׁ הְוֹלֹֽ א־מָׁ צָאה ֹּאכֶל‬
She is here, but he is not there.
She was hungry, but she did not find food.
We will now examine types of clauses within the conjunctive and disjunctive
categories.
The ְ‫ ו‬Conjunction
Conjunctive clauses fit into two categories: narrative sequences and imperative sequences.
Narrative sequences have one of the following three patterns:
ְ‫ו‬
perfect- -imperfect
ְ‫ו‬
imperfect- -perfect
ְ‫ו‬
non-verbal clause- -perfect
‫עָׁ מַ דְאֵ צֶ לְאֶ ת־הַ בַ יִתְְַויִק ָׁראְלִ י‬
ְֹּ‫יִמצָׁ אְאֶ ת־הַ בַ יִתְוְבְָׁאְלו‬
‫זָׁקֵ ןְוְנָׁפַ ל‬
He stood near the house, and
he called to me.
He will find the house, and he
will enter into it.
He was old and he fell.
Remember that to determine if a clause is conjunctive or disjunctive, we look at the clause after the
ְ‫ו‬
conjunction. A non-verbal clause can be part of a conjunctive sequence if it precedes the ְ‫ו‬conjunction.
Therefore, non-verbal clause- ְ‫ ו‬-perfect is defined as a conjunctive relationship.
Non-verbal clauses can refer to the near future. In these cases, a non-verbal clause followed by a perfect
clause imitates the imperfect- ְ‫ ו‬-perfect pattern and is classified as conjunctive.
The ְ‫ ו‬Conjunction
Despite some overlapping, the following four categories cover the most common uses of disjunctive
clauses.
Contrastive: The clauses are in contrast to each other. Usually “but” is the best translation of the ְ‫ו‬
conjunction between contrastive clauses. For example:
‫חְסּוסים‬
ִ
ַ‫לָׁקַ חְהָׁ עֶ בֶ דְגמַ לִ יםְוְֹלֹֽ א־לָׁק‬
The servant took camels but he did not take
horses.
Circumstantial: The second clause describes circumstances prior to or contemporary with events of
the first clause. For example:
ְ‫ְֶךְׁשם‬
ָׁ ‫בָׁ אּוְהֵ יכָׁ לָׁהְוְהַ מֶ ל‬
We came to the palace, and the king was there.
Explanatory: The clause breaks the narrative to provide needed information. For example:
‫שדֶ ה וסָׁ רנּו‬
ֹּ ָׁ ָׁ‫בָׁ אנּוְהַ בַ יתָׁ ה ו ִהיאְב‬
We came to the house, but she was in the field, so we departed.
Initial or Terminative: The clause indicates the beginning or ending of an episode. Often chapter
divisions in the Hebrew Bible begin with a terminative disjunctive clause that introduces a new episode.
‫ֱֹלהיםְאֶ ת־נֹּחַ ְואֶ ת־בָׁ נָׁיו‬
ִ ‫ְַויבָׁ ֶרְךְא‬
ְ‫ְׁשםְחָׁ םְ ָׁויָׁפֶ ת‬
ֵ ַ‫וְאֵ לֶהְתֹּולדֹּתְבנֵי־נח‬
And God blessed Noah and his sons… (Gen 9:1)
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah,
Shem, Ham, and Japheth… (Gen 10:1)
The ְ‫ ו‬Conjunction
Confused?
The disjunctive clause types can be confusing. For now, just focus on
when it is most appropriate to translate the ְ‫ ו‬conjunction as and, but,
or, also, or even.
The Predicators of Existence:
‫אֵ ין‬and ‫יֵׁש‬
‫ אֵ ין‬is a predicator of non-existence, translating with the meaning of “there is not.”
example: ‫ אֵ ין מֶ לְֶך‬which translates to “there is no king.”
‫ יֵׁש‬is a predicator of existence, meaning “there is.”
For example: ‫ֵׁשְאיׁש‬
ִ ‫ י‬which translates to “there
is a man.”
1cs
2ms
2fs
‫ אֵ ין‬and ‫ יֵׁש‬are without tense and while acting similar to
3ms
a verb, they are not verbs. Both can be inflected for gender
and number with the inclusion of a pronominal suffix.
3fs
The use of pronominal suffixes is common for ‫ אֵ ין‬but rare
for ‫יֵׁש‬.
1cp
2mp
‫אֵ ין‬
‫יֵׁש‬
‫אֵ י ֶננִי‬
‫יֶׁשָך אֵ ינָך‬
‫אֵ ינְֵך‬
‫יֶׁשנְֹּו אֵ ינֶנּו‬
‫אֵ י ֶננָׁה‬
‫אֵ ינֶנּו‬
‫יֶׁשכֶם אֵ ינכֶם‬
2fp
3mp
3fp
For
‫אֵ ינָׁם‬
The Predicators of Existence:
‫אֵ ין‬and ‫יֵׁש‬
‫אֵ ין‬with a pronominal suffix has three common usages.
1. With a pronominal or nominal subject, ‫ אֵ ין‬negates existence. For example:
‫אֵ ינָׁם‬
‫הַ נעָׁ ִרים אֵ ינָׁם‬
2. With a participial predicate,
The servants are not (here).
‫ אֵ ין‬negates the predicate.
‫ִיְיׁשב‬
ֵ ‫אֵ י ֶננ‬
ְְ‫אֵ י ֶננָׁהְק ֵֹּראתְאֶ תְהַ ֶילֶד‬
3. Less common,
They are not. (They do not exist.)
For example:
I am not sitting.
She is not calling the boy.
‫אֵ ין‬negates the adverbial or adjectival predicate.
‫הָׁ ִא ָׁשהְאֵ י ֶננָׁהְאֵ צֶ לְהַ נָׁהָׁ ר‬
‫הַ בַ יתְאֲ ֶׁשרְאֵ ינֶנּוְגָׁדוֹּל‬
The woman is not near the river.
The house which is not great.
Most forms of ‫ יֵׁש‬with a pronominal suffix are found after
‫ִאם־אֵ ינָׁם ע ִֹּשיםְאֶ ת־חֶ סֶ ד‬
For example:
If they act with kindness
‫( ִאם‬if).
For example: