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4. J
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AN
.<^
EASY INTRODUCTION
TO THE
KNOWLEDGE
OF THE
HEBREW LANaUAGE
WITHOUT THE POINTS.
BY JAMES P. WILSON, D- p-
Pastor of the Fir^ Presbyteriaii Church in theoityc^Philadelphia.
qpts
PHILADELPHIA;
PUBLISHED BY VARRAND, IKXPKINS, ZANTZINGER, AND CO.
Fry anid Kammerer, Printers.
^ 1812,
Hebrew ['.,,.., , :
iigitized by VjOOQIC
"V
V<?iJ ic?6
HAIVAID OOLLEOi UUUtf
GIFT Of
LUCmS MTHAM UTTAIflDI .
' District of PeousylvuiUi to wit;
:•••••••••• Be XT Rememberbb, ThiC on the thirteenth day of
• T Q • ^y» in the 35th year of the Independence of the United
5 • ^* 5 States of Amelica, A.D. 1811, James P. Wilson, D. Di of the
*««•••«•••* >^d district, hath deposited in this office, the tiUe of a book,
the right whereof he claims as author, in the words following, to wit:
An Kaay IvtrodncUon to the Knowledce of the Hebrew Language without
the points. By Janies P. Wilson; D. D. Pastor oCtfae First Presbyterian
Church in the City of Philadelphia.
In conformity to die pot of the Congress of the Uiuted States, intitled, " An
act for the encouragi|ment of learning, by^ securing the copies of Maps, Charts,
and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times
therein mentioned." — And also to the act, entitled, *' An Act supplementary
to an Act, intituled, ** An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing
the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such
copies during the time tHeiein m e ntianffd/ * and extending the benefits thereof
to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints.*'
D.CALDWELL,
OerkiftheDiatrictqfBamiyivQnia.
*
- 1.
â– Digitized byCjOOQlC-
PREFACE.
X HE object of this book is chieSy to encourage and facilit
progress of those, who hate not the advantage of instructors,
have attempted to learn the Hebrew, who, foiled by the lab
the di£iculty attending the ^vestigation of the roots, in a 1m
wherein the bcginningiof the words are subjected to aim
many changes as their terminations, suid where the uncerta
a third radical might disappoint theth for half a dozen trials
thrown aside their lexicons in despair.
Such are scdicited to make another effort. Here every word
plained, as they proceed; here they Will experience no such t
and uncertainty; and ^-often as the word again occurs, the
' ^is again referred numerically to the place of such explanatic
much also of the s^crg^ text is thus passed through, with cc
reference by numbe%tp the rules of the grammar placed in tl
of the book, as that the attentive reader will be hereby madf
ciently acquain^d with the grammar, without committing
memory, and enabled without difficulty to parse and construe
the ordinary helps, ev^ry other part of the Hebrew Scriptures.
The ministers of the Fresbyterian church in the United
sdmost universally read and understand the Greek scriptun
themselves; they can judge of the speculations of various clas
men on the New Testament, and decide without danger; they ]
their Greek Concordances to all the commentaries of thrles
why then should they be^ at a loss for the -very same helps t6 it
derstanding of the OI4 Testament, which would be so sleisfa
and to which they may so easily attsdn? But a thirst for this e^
of knowledge has been excited, has progressed rapidly ^among t
within a few years, and augurs prosperity to Zion.
The labour submitted torn compilkig this tjijoi^sm pprform
(which has been the more, because, having been taught originsdly
the points, I am self-taught in the Hebrew without the^ points,
been sweetened by the fond imaguuition o^ioi subserviency t(
<:ause of our Redeemer. * '
^^ JAMES P. WILSO
.%/
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A^N
EASY INTRODUCTION, ^c.
THE HEBREW ALPHABET.
FT
•n
<
K
a
a
broad
a
broad
a
mute
the
spiritus
tenuis
sound
bh
bh
bh or
v&b
)aleth
hud
haid
hard
haid
haid
g
hard
gi'
gh
gh
&g|
d
dh
dh
dh orj
andd
tf-
n
as in
where
e as
a in
rare
h*the
asper
h,'
Tau
Eain
ith
ou
uas
00'
uas
00
u oi*
V
w
z
soft
z /^ z
ds
li
or 4
z,s in
miser
hh
ch
hh or
ch
hh
hh
Tetk
Jod
/. *•
th,^.
th
th
th
lor
ee
Jjee
ory
1 or
y
y &no
sound
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ft
Hf BRievv: alphabet, cok'Mnued.
>.•
cr
<^^.
1^
â– 4-'
I
I
T
u
If.
'1'
.V
t
St
Caph
Lamed
Meift
-i";
Nun
Sam^^O
i«^-T
D
^
^H
I
c
baxtl
<^iM k
?1
••5Rs
m
m
r^m^^
TT
t?^^
^fr-TP
%
kh
V
.:«S* ?
m»
^hx
Bsiii
eo.e
1 ^
m
,^h
m m
-T-f
Nn
Oin
Pe
por
ph
P
O
lODg
gn;
hhb
8^2
fiid
ph^ p
>or
Tsadll.
r
ts "^
tz
p6f
4h
Ifi
i*>^^L°^
and,
soft
1
soft
ts
^'t^
tz
tz
Quoph
qu
q ^
qica*
qu
quor
q
Resh
r
.r
â– ^1
Schin
ti;
6h
ors
sh
•^^;'i;
scor
8cs
Tau
t
th th t •" t t th th
* NOTE.
jVbich^ shows the judgment of tl
^.
tin
5c tj
The part'-of this^able^Vbich^hoWs the judgment of the Masoxku
upon the Hebrew letters, presents & strange phenoinenoti> a language
•f igitized by Vj\JU* '"'
Short Towels in our own language are frequently almost lost
speaking; and there are many words, which, if written without thei
would become, by a littje experience, as intelligible, and be as easi
read by us, as those Hebrew words and syllables, which are destitul
of vowels, were by ancient Jewish readers.
It is probable, that diphthongs, though discovered by no characte
were nevertheless made in the original pronunciation of the lai
guage; but as uniformity in reading will be greatly promoted, if s
will agree to omit them, as it is at bpt a work of mere conjectur
and as the raoica] letters will be n^oJlb diseerm^e withoUt such coi
binations, the reader is advised to pronounce the vowels also distinctl
The Hebrew language was anciently w^tten without spaces b
tween the words, each scbtence -was therefore free from evjery sto
unless we except that with which it terminated, the * soph passy
But the reader must have be^n.much aided in dividing the words,
we can suppose any one who knew the language, to have stood i
need of such help, by the use of the five final letters •n, Q, t, ft, ai
^9 which almost never fiul to indicate the end of the word, to whic
they respectively belong. The custom also of always terminating tl
line with an imbroken word, was another help; and lest the senten<
should seem divided too much by a space at the end of the line, n<
large enough for the next word, they extended to a greater widi
H> n> H' V> O' ^^^ f1' ** ^^^^^ *^ either of those letters terminal
the preceding word, under such circumstances*
B
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GENESIS I.
uat fishemim at Al5im bera Berashit
uheshek ubeu teu eite uearets carets
1. n^K^inn /» the beginning. 2 in^ is a particle, vide rule 148.*
From HD hollow, n'B^Ni Me beginnings is a noun feminine) vide rule
1 6, from the noun Vnr^ the heady beginnings firincifialj &c. This word>
being restricted by no adjunct, can only mean the beginning of time^
:>r of the creation.
2. ma created. It is in the third person singular, masculine, pretet,
tense in Kal. Vide rule 66. This word e^cpresses the production of
substances, not a change of form, in this place; for it appears afterwards
hat the matter thus created was without form.
3. D^nSx God. That this noun, which is not unintentionally here
joined with the singular verb m3 (vide rules 127, 133) is neverthe-
less really plural, appears not merely rfom its termination D* (vide
rule 19) but by its being frequently joined with adjectives, pronouns,
and verbs in the plural; as, " Let ue make nii^J man, in our image
rjobva,** 8cc. Gen. i. 26. It seems probable that it comes from the
Arabic wordnSx to reverence. Some think' from hSk to swear. Others
from 4« and n^ the mighty God. Vid. num. 154, post.
4. HK. This particle following an active verb, and going before a
^oun which has the servile n emphatic (vid. rule 151) prefixed, ad^
[nits of no translation, unless we render it the substance qf. Here the
sense will allow it, which is rarely the case. This idea perhaps ori-
ginated from the circumstance, that HK is composed of the first and
last letters of the alphabet. It sometimes maybe rendered toj towards
^r ftdthj and comes from nm to afifiroach. Vide rule 200. Vid.
[lum. 85. 382. It was by the Masoretic grammaiians termed the sign
j{ the Accusative case. ^
— ft ■{
* See the grammar at the end of the book.
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GlSNfiSlS 1.
1 IN Uie beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form and void^ and darkness nms upon
3. O^OBrn the heavem, H they is emphatic. Vide rule 151. b^Der is a
noun mascul. found only in the plural. Vid. rule 19. Perhaps the root
is DB^, vid. rule 199, to/iut or filace; ori from the particle tXf there^ and
O^D waters; or from TW} to remit, and D*D the 'waters.
6. nw jlnd. 1 andy is a conjunctive particle. Vide rule 157. For n«
vid. num. 4.
7. y^xn the earth. X\ the. Vide rule 151. pK earthy is a noun com-
pounded of K fbrmative, rule 147, and p a verb, to break in /lieces.
8. pKniancfMtf em-th, 1 and. Rule 157. t\ the. Rule Ul. pr*
earth. Vid. num. 7.
^^
9. nn^ was. It is the third pers. fern. ting, preter. Kal of the
verb riTl to be. Rule 103. It would be, if regular, nn^n, but it
changes its n or last radical letter into n before the servile n of the
fern. Vid. rule 102. It agrees with pK in gender, number, and per-
son. Vid. rule 127.
* * '
10. inn void. This word often occurs in the Scriptures, scnne-
times as an adjective, in other infjances as a substantive, but in the
same form, except the ustial prefixes. Perhaps the root is Ttn nxfaste^
with the formative 1. Rule 162.
11. n^l and without shafie. 1 andi Rule 157. in^ occurs only here
and in Isa. xxxiv. 1 1. and Jer. iv. 23. It is oir\^ hollowy and 1 foima-
tive. Vide rule 162.
12. yinv\ and darkness. ) and. Rule 157. "pfi^ as a verb signifies, to
tremble or hidty as a noun, darkness* yoxiDy 1 andy S the. iron, tht
darkness. Rule 1 50.
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12
merebepet Aleim uruhe teum peni 51
aur iei AlSim Uiamer •Smim peni ol
13. V itftonj is a particle from vhp to ascend, hp is also above^ con'
cermngy bendesy to^ neat^ vnthy &c. and sometimes ybr the sake of.
14. ^Id the face qf. It b a noun mascul. found in the plural only.
It is here in construction, vide rule 24, for xs'ykface^ or facey and
derived from n^fi to behold. Vid. rule 200.
15. Dirm the dee/i. T\ is formadve of the noun. Vide rule 189. The
formative 1 is also to be rejected. Vide rule' 195. The fern, noun Dirm
comes from non to tumuituatcy vid. R. 200 and num. 18.
16. TDiD and the ^irit. )and. Rule 157. m^l as a verb, to inhale^ as
a noun, air in motion j the 80ul of many the Holy ^nrity whose existence
like the air is certain, though he be invisible.
17. ndh*iD causing a motioHy is the participle Benoni fem. in Hiphil,
vid. rule 75, of *]m to shake y the ^ as frequently, is here omitted.*
Vid. rul. 81. It agrees in gender and number with nn. Vid. ruU
115. 113, For the omission of nn'H wasy vid. rule 144.
.18. 0*?Dn the waters, n the. R. 151. D*D waters is by contraction for
0^'D the plural of the mascul. noun ^D water. This word and D" the
^eay in the plur. O^D^ seasy and also DV a day, in the plural D'D^ daysy
are all derived from non to make a noise.
19. liOin and God said, ) andy is in this case conversive. Vide rules
57. 136. and the note infra.* ^IDK'' Vairf, is^ the third jierson masc.
sing. fut. Kal of n^K to sfieak. Vid. rule 194. Postea'TOJtS sayingy has
been called a gerund, the infinitii|k>f Kal, and by others the participle
Benoni Kal, the 1 being dropped, as is very usual. Vid. rule 78. The
h is a prefix. Rules 175. 142.
20. Tl' there shall be^ It is the third pers. m. sing. fut. Kal, for
n^rt' dropping n final in the future, being a verb defective in Lamed
He. See rule 102. From HTI to exist.
21. -^W Hght. A noun, by rule 195, from IK to flow. For 1 inserted,
see rule 158. It is used with n emphatic in the next verse. Rule 150.
Vide num. 23, 398. '
* ^ is tern^ed merely covjimctivcy when it connects similar tenses
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• 13
the face of the, deep: and the Spirit of .God moved upoir the face of
the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: suid there was light. ]
in the same sense; or when it supplies the place of signs of persons,
moods, tenses, and numbers. Vide rule 139. It is said to be convert ^
nvCf when it changes the dgnification of a future, into that of a pre-
ter tense; or the sense of a preter into that of a future.
The five following rules . are taken from Granville Sharfiy and
supported by numerous examples. Their accuracy is submitted to
the critical reader.
Rule I.
" 1 prefixed to future tenses converts them to perfect tenses; and
when prefixed to verbs in the perfect tense, it regularly converts
them to the future tense. This is the necessary construction for both
cases (not only « interdum^* sometimes^ as the grammarians tell us,
but) always^ constantly and regularly, in every sentence^ that is inde-
pendent of the three particular circumstances described in the sub-
sequent three rules, or genetal exception,
" The only instance of irregularity or particular exception^ respec-
thigl, that I have been able to find, is in that portion of the 1 19th
Psalm, wherein 1 is the leading letter of each sentence, as an acrostic
or alphabetical psalm; which probably ought to be considered merely
as ^poetical license for that kind of composition.
Rule II.
§. « When 1 is prefixed to a verb, which immediately follows another
verb of the same tense^ without a prefixed 1, and in the same sentence^
the 1 in that case is merely conjunctive^ and the second verb to which
it is prefixed (and even a third or fourth, if they are of the same
tense, and follow in the same sentence with a prefixed 1 to each,)
must be construed according to its proper tense ^ whether future or
imperative^ and often also the perfect tensej but not always; as there
are a ffefw instances of exception.
Rule III.
" A prefixed 1 does not afie'ct, or convert any verb, in the imperu*
tive mood, nor any verb, or verbs in the future tense, which follow
an imperative mood in the same sentence. But to perfect tenses the
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14
ki Caur at AMm Uin xat uiei
Sheshek ubin eaur bin Algim inbedel thub
'SJIBTTH 28 pi 21 'llttn 28 p 3 B»r6K 27 ^131 26 2'^
quera uleheshek ium laur Aleim Uiquera .'''
29 Kip 12 ^{Jtn'jl 30 QV 21 nwS 3 tD^n^K 39 ^^^pt^ 5
ahed ium bequer uiei oreb uiei \ lile
34 imVi 30 Of 33 *ip2 22 iTV) 32 a-^y 22 tni 31 hW^ ' '
22. TTn axe/ rA^tf wa*. 1 conversive. See num. 19. Fof Ti' see
num. 30,
23. nw light. See num. 21. Caloric or latent heat has been suppqsed
tp be here principally intended. As a verb it is most frequently ren- *
dered to shine^ or enlighten^ also to kindle^ to set on fir e^ to he glorious s
as a x^xm^Ught^ the eunj fire^ the mornings lightningj urim^ herba^
&c. ni«S, S for ^ the.
prefixed 1 is conversive without hindrance from a preceding imfiera"
^fvffverb.
Rule IV.
^ After an interrogation, either of the emphatical n, or of the £«•
terrogatory relatives 'D or HD, the prefixed ) doth not influence any
verb, or verbs of theyi^^re tense, or the fireaent tense; but mfierfe&t
lenses, the Vis regularly conversive^ and is not influenced by a pre-
f^ eding interrogation . «
RuleV. *
" it di future tense put for a preterperfect tense'* (which must be by
having a prefixed t) " precedes a preter tense/' (having also a pre-
fixed 1) "the latter is (iherely) copulative." The use of this rule,
most probably, will y^vj seldom occur, but the following example
has been found in 1 Sam. vii. 16. *7K1DB^ DSts^"*! (a fiiture tense
converted to a preter tense) and Samuel judged Israel all the days of
his life: fSm and he went from year to year, 33D1 and he circuited
Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mispehy (the Vaus prefixed to the two last
verbs are merely copulative^ because the precedbg verb is a convert-
ed future, and the next verb which follows is also a converted future)
m'^^Uind he judged Israel in all these places.
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15
4 And God saw tht light tbat it was good; and God dixiddl the
light from the darknesa. >
5 And God called the light day^ and the darkness he called night, t^ )
And the evening and the morning were the first day* 1
24. im iwMf God saw. \ convers. Vide num. 19. >^T for hrt 3d"pers*
masc. sing. fut. Kal of mn to $ee. It drops the n final in the future. See
rule 102, '^
25. *? that. By rule 202. TTTD to restrain^ is the root. Vide num.
393, It is rendered, yea^ though^ bccauscy auretyj but^ when^ therefort^
lad often interrogatively.
26. iXQgood. By rule 195 is found yti to be good. Hence ^U9 masc.
nax) fern. good. Rule 158. num. 538.
27. Sna^ atid God divided, y cpnversive. Vide num. 19. h^T is the
^ pers. m. sing. fut. Kal of Sna to divide. As a noun, a part separated.
Also 13 is separatty and naS afiart.
28. pa between. From p to divide. Rule 195. The repetition of this
P^cle in this verse is not singular, nor an idiom peculiar to the He-
brew language. Postea I'^il^/^om between. Rules 176. 145. p31 andjk'
(veen. Rule 157.
29. mp'i anrfGod called. ) and convers. Num. 19. «Y ^^ the Sd
pers. masc. sing. fut. Kal of Knp to call. See num. 412.
30. Qi> day. Rule 195, from HDH to make a noise. The plural is
^' vid. num. 18. 558. D>'*n by day. Barker observes that adverbs in
Hebrew « arc formed from every part of speech, and are as various
li there ace circumstances of an action."
31. ryh'h night. A noun fem. Rules 16. 153. The root by rule 195
'ST7 ro move round. Also nS^S by night.
33. a*^ evening. A noun masc. sing, from T^j; to mix. The twilight
is a mixture of Ugfat and darkness.
33. ipa morning. A noun made. sing, from Ip3 to survey^ or look
•w; the morning looks out of the east*
34. TTW one. See num. 486. Rej#ct the formative K. Rule 147. the
«»t b irr /o i^m^f .Rule 196.
r-
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16
emim bctuk requio i€i AlSim Uiamcr
emim bctufe reqmo i« Aieim uiamcr
AlSim Uiosh .lemim mim bin mebedil uiei
metebet asber Smim bin uibedel Srequio at
41 nnna 40 ^t£^t< is o^on 28 p 39 ^^y) ss ytp^n ^ n»
lerequio mol asber emim ubin lerequio
42 ytpnb 43 tjyg 40 ^yff^ 18 ta^on 28 ^^^ ^sytpSS
uiei sbemim lerequio Aleim Uiquera ^^.ken uiei
22 tnn 5 cD^jotjf 42 y»p^«7 3 avnha 29 nnp^ 44 jp 22 tnn. »
ARim Uiamer .sbeni ium bequer ui5i oreb
3 &T\bn 19 i»Kn 45 j»ittf 30 tav 33 np322 ♦nn 32 i^^y 9
mequum al esbemim metebet tmita iquuu
48 a\pD 4r «jtt 5 D^otufn 41 nnna,i8 cyon 46 npt
35. jrp') an exfiafise. - is formative. Rule 165. The root isi^l /o
expand. Rule 194. Postea with n empbatic.
36. *]im in the midst of. ^ ma prefix. Rule 148. *]in a noun, /^
middle; 1 is formative. Rules 158, 9. It is from ^n to cut or divide.t
Rule 195. •
37. Sn3D causing a division. Ririe 73. Masc. sing. part. Ben. Hi-
phil of Sna. Num. 27. Rule 75.
38. Wjrx and God made. ) convers. Num. 19. wy^ for rw^P' is the 3d
pers. m. sing. fut. Kal of nts^ to make. It is a verb in Lamed He, and
drops its n final in the future. Vide rule 102.
39. Sn3*1 and he divided. T^convers. Num. 19. ViT is the 3d pers. m.
sing. fut. Kal of Via to divide. Ante num. 27. 37. As on the first day,
light was separated from the chaos, so on the second was air; and
this division was effected by an expansion, as J^i signifies;, there is
obvious impropriety therefore in the use of the term firmament here,
as if the heaven/^vere a solid body, and the stars and planets attached
to it.
40. 'MffH which. Also whoy whomy thai, A relative of every gender, num«
ber, and person. Vide rules 134, 135, As9,Yevb^ogo btforeytoftros"
fiery to esteem. As a noun, a stefiy firogressy success. As a particle,
7vheref becatUcy thaty asy wlien.
41. nnnD under. D at or from. Rules 176. 145. nnn under. Reject
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17
6 And God sasd^ L^t there be a firmamel^t in the midst of the wa-
ters, and let it divide the waters frcrtn the waters.
7 And God made the firmament and divided the waters which roer^
under the firmament from the watera which were above the firma-
ment; and it was so. "jP
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And th<? evening and the
moming^ were the second day.^ '
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered to-
gether into one place and let the dry Mnrf appean and it was so^
also the formative n prefixed. Rule 189. \94. then place ^ before the
two radicals, vid. rule 200, and the root will be fiiund to be nm ^
descend,
42. ^y^^ the exfianse^ S prefixed, vid. rule 175, sometimes has the
sense of a pronoun or article, that or they and seems to be abridged
from Ss«, which is used in the same sense, and as a verb signifies to