Adjectives שֵׁם תֹּאַר shem to’ar
A Hebrew adjective has four forms, like a noun: masculine and feminine, singular and plural. It has two uses. After a noun, matching it in gender, number and the article, it describes it (“the great light”); standing without the article, it states something about it (“the gold is good”). This page shows how to tell the two apart, one by one in words actually used in the Bible.
“name of description” — תֹּאַר (to’ar) is “form, appearance”
Colour key blue = added at the front · orange = added at the end · purple = a mark inside (dot · doubled letter · changed vowel) · underline = the word this page is about
1What adjectives are
An adjective says what a noun is like (great, good, living). In Hebrew it is a separate word and takes the same endings as nouns.
There are two uses. (1) Attributive — it follows a noun and describes it: הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל “the great light” (1:16). (2) Predicative — it says “… is …”: וּזֲהַב הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא טוֹב “the gold of that land is good” (2:12).
Counted from the OSHB morphology, adjectives (not counting ordinals and numerals) occur 7,240 times in the Old Testament, 26 in Genesis 1–2, most often טוֹב (good): “God saw that it was good.”
2Where the name comes from — שֵׁם תֹּאַר shem to’ar
“Adjective” comes from Latin adiectivum, “added (word)”: a word added to a noun to describe it.
Hebrew grammars call it שֵׁם תֹּאַר (shem to’ar). שֵׁם (shem) is “name” (in grammar, the noun class), תֹּאַר (to’ar) is “form, appearance”: “the name that tells the appearance.” תֹּאַר is the Bible’s word for good looks (Rachel is יְפַת־תֹּאַר, “beautiful of form,” Gen 29:17).
Adjectives are counted among the “names” (nouns) because they take the same endings as nouns and can even stand alone as nouns (טוֹב וָרָע “good and evil”).
3At a glance — how to read an adjective
- The endings are the noun endingsmasculine singular — no ending (טוֹב), feminine singular ה (טוֹבָה), masculine plural ים (טֹבִים), feminine plural וֹת (טֹבֹת).
- Attributive = after the noun + three matchesSame gender, number and definiteness as the noun — הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל (Gen 1:16), נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה (Gen 1:20).
- Predicate = no articleA definite noun with an adjective lacking the article is a predicate — זֲהַב הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא טוֹב (Gen 2:12).
- Predicate = may come firstAn adjective before its noun is a predicate — לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם (Gen 2:18).
4Paradigm — four forms
The model טוֹב (good) barely changes its vowels; גָּדוֹל (great) shrinks its first vowel to a sheva when an ending is added. (The Bible often writes ֹ for וֹ: טֹבִים גְּדֹלִים.)
| Form | טוֹב good | Reading | גָּדוֹל great | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | טוֹב | tov | גָּדוֹל | gadol |
| feminine singular | טוֹבָה | tovah | גְּדוֹלָה | gedolah |
| masculine plural | טוֹבִים | tovim | גְּדוֹלִים | gedolim |
| feminine plural | טוֹבוֹת | tovot | גְּדוֹלוֹת | gedolot |
The endings are those of “Gender and number” for nouns. One difference: a noun has a fixed gender, but an adjective has all four forms and chooses the one that matches its noun.
5The four forms in Bible words
All are used in Genesis (checked with the tool). The text often writes ֹ instead of וֹ.
| Form | טוֹב | Where | גָּדוֹל | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | טוֹב | 1:4 | גָּדוֹל | 4:13 |
| feminine singular | טוֹבָה | 15:15 | גְדֹלָה | 15:12 |
| masculine plural | טֹבִים | 27:9 | גְּדֹלִים | 12:17 |
| feminine plural | טֹבֹת | 6:2 | גְּדֹלוֹת | Deut 27:2 |
The feminine plural of גָּדוֹל does not occur in Genesis, so it is taken from Deut 27:2 (אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת “great stones”), where the ending is written in full, וֹת.
6Attributive — after a definite noun (with the article)
If the noun has the article, so does the adjective (blue). Gender and number (orange) match too.
haggadol — the great
הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל “the great light.” The adjective follows the noun הַמָּאוֹר (the light, masculine singular, definite) and matches it in gender, number and definiteness: the masculine singular גָּדֹל with the article הַ and the dot in the first letter.
YLVAnd God made the two great lights — the great light for the rule of the day, and the small light for the rule of the night — and the stars.
haqqaton — the small
הַמָּאוֹר הַקָּטֹן “the small light,” the partner of הַגָּדֹל in the same verse. The noun is definite, so the adjective is too.
YLVAnd God made the two great lights — the great light for the rule of the day, and the small light for the rule of the night — and the stars.
haggedolim — the great (ones)
שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים “the two great lights.” The noun מְאֹרֹת ends in וֹת and looks feminine, but it is a masculine noun, so the adjective takes the masculine plural ים. An adjective follows the noun’s grammatical gender, not the look of its ending.
YLVAnd God made the two great lights — the great light for the rule of the day, and the small light for the rule of the night — and the stars.
hattovot — the good (f pl)
שֶׁבַע פָּרֹת הַטֹּבֹת “the seven good cows.” Matching the feminine plural noun פָּרֹת (cows), the adjective is feminine plural טֹבֹת with the article.
YLVThe seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one.
haqqatan — the youngest
בְּנוֹ הַקָּטָן “his small son,” that is, his youngest son. Hebrew has no “-est” form; an adjective with the article points to “the small one” of a group, the smallest. בְּנוֹ with its suffix is definite, so the adjective takes the article.
YLVAnd Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
7Why the three matches — the key to telling the uses apart
- 1. The adjective is the noun’s partnerAn attributive adjective forms one unit with its noun, so it repeats the noun’s marks — gender, number, definiteness — to show that it belongs to that noun.
- 2. Why even the articleEnglish “great” never changes, but Hebrew repeats definiteness: “the light, the great one” — הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל.
- 3. One mismatch makes a predicateAn adjective without the article after a definite noun is not its partner but a statement: הַמָּאוֹר גָּדוֹל (model) “the light is great.”
- 4. When the noun is indefiniteWhen neither noun nor adjective has the article (נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה), the shape alone allows both. Then order (after the noun, usually attributive) and context decide.
8Attributive — after an indefinite noun
ḥayyah — living
נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה “a living being.” נֶפֶשׁ is an indefinite feminine noun, so the adjective is feminine singular without the article: חַיָּה (masculine חַי). The same in 2:7 לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה (became a living being).
YLVAnd God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms, a living soul (nephesh); and let birds fly above the earth upon the face of the firmament of the heavens."
gedolim — great
נְגָעִים גְּדֹלִים “great plagues.” Matching the masculine plural נְגָעִים, masculine plural ים, neither with the article. The base is גָּדוֹל; with the ending the stress moves on and the first vowel shrinks to a sheva.
YLVAnd YHWH plagued Pharaoh with great plagues, and his house, because of the matter of Sarai, Abram's wife (ishah).
gedolah — great
אֵימָה חֲשֵׁכָה גְדֹלָה “a great, dark dread.” Two adjectives in a row describe the feminine noun אֵימָה (dread), both feminine singular ה. Several adjectives can follow a noun.
YLVAnd it came to pass, as the sun was going down, that a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a dread, a great darkness, was falling upon him.
9Attributive or predicate — at a glance
A model built from מָאוֹר (light) and גָּדוֹל (great). The first line occurs as is in Gen 1:16.
| Pattern | Model | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| noun (article) + adjective (article) | הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל | the great light | attributive |
| noun + adjective (neither has the article) | מָאוֹר גָּדוֹל | a great light | attributive (usually) |
| noun (article) + adjective (no article) | הַמָּאוֹר גָּדוֹל | the light is great | predicate |
| adjective + noun (article) | גָּדוֹל הַמָּאוֹר | great is the light | predicate (fronted) |
A predicate sentence needs no verb “to be” (see “Verbal and nominal clauses”). To mark the time, הָיָה (was) is used (וַיִּהְיוּ … עֲרוּמִּים 2:25).
10Predicate — real examples from the Bible
The adjective lacks the article, or comes first.
tov — good
וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב “God saw the light, that it was good.” After כִּי (that), the adjective states “(it is) good.” No verb “to be” is needed; the adjective alone makes the sentence.
YLVAnd God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided between the light and between the darkness.
tov — is good
וּזֲהַב הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא טוֹב “and the gold of that land is good.” The subject is definite, but the adjective טוֹב has no article. Definite noun + adjective without the article = predicate, “… is good.”
YLVAnd the gold of that land is good; there is the bdellium and the onyx stone.
tov — (not) good
לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ “it is not good that the man should be alone.” A predicate adjective may come before its subject; coming first shows it is a predicate, not an attribute (attributes always follow the noun).
YLVAnd YHWH God said, "It is not good for Adam to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart."
‘arummim — naked
וַיִּהְיוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם עֲרוּמִּים “and they were both naked.” With the verb וַיִּהְיוּ (and they were). The subject “the two of them” is plural, so masculine plural ים (a mixed group takes the masculine).
YLVAnd they were both naked, Adam and his woman (ishah), and they were not ashamed.
tovot — beautiful (good)
כִּי טֹבֹת הֵנָּה “that they were beautiful.” The feminine plural טֹבֹת stands as predicate before the pronoun הֵנָּה (they, f). טוֹב is “good,” and also “fair, beautiful.”
YLVthe sons of God saw the daughters of man (adam), that they were good; and they took for themselves women (ishah) of all whom they chose.
ra‘im — wicked
וְאַנְשֵׁי סְדֹם רָעִים “now the men of Sodom were wicked.” After the definite subject (with a name), an adjective without the article is a predicate — a verbless sentence “A is B.”
YLVAnd the men (ish) of Sodom were wicked and sinners against YHWH exceedingly.
11“More …, most …” and “very”
More … (comparative) — Hebrew adjectives have no comparative form. Adjective + מִן (than) is used: עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה (3:1, “more cunning than any beast of the field”).
Most … (superlative) — an adjective with the article points to “the one” in a group, so “the most …”: בְּנוֹ הַקָּטָן (9:24, “his youngest son”).
Very — the adverb מְאֹד (very) follows the adjective: טוֹב מְאֹד (1:31, “very good”).
As a noun — an adjective alone can mean “a … thing, a … one”: טוֹב וָרָע (2:9, “good and evil”). חַיָּה is “living” (adjective) in 1:20, but “beast” (the noun in חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ) in 1:24–25.
12Comparison · as a noun · construct — real examples from the Bible
‘arum — cunning (more than)
וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה “the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field.” Hebrew adjectives have no “-er” form; adjective + מִן (than) compares. It sounds like עֲרוּמִּים (naked) in 2:25 but is a different word.
YLVAnd the serpent was more cunning than every living thing (chai) of the field which YHWH God had made. And he said to the woman (ishah), "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
gadol — greater (than)
גָּדוֹל עֲוֺנִי מִנְּשֹׂא “my punishment is greater than I can bear.” The predicate adjective comes before the subject עֲוֺנִי (my punishment), and מִן + the infinitive נְשֹׂא (bearing) gives “more than.”
YLVAnd Cain said to YHWH, "My iniquity is too great to bear.
tov — good
עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Here טוֹב and רָע describe nothing; they stand like nouns, “what is good, what is evil.” An adjective alone can mean “a … thing, a … one.”
YLVAnd YHWH God made to sprout from the ground (adamah) every tree pleasant to sight and good for food, and the tree of life (chai) in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
yefat — fair of
אִשָּׁה יְפַת־מַרְאֶה “a woman fair of appearance.” An adjective can be construct like a noun: the ָה of יָפָה (fair, f) becomes ת, “fair in ….” The next word מַרְאֶה (appearance) says in what respect.
YLVAnd it came to pass, when he had come near to enter Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife (ishah): "Behold now, I know that you are a woman (ishah) beautiful of appearance.
13Easy to confuse
Ending and gender can differ — מְאֹרֹת (1:16) ends in וֹת yet is masculine, so it takes הַגְּדֹלִים (masculine plural). Since an adjective follows the noun’s grammatical gender, you can even tell a noun’s gender from its adjective. The reverse also happens: אֲבָנִים (stones) ends in ִים yet is feminine, so it takes גְּדֹלוֹת (feminine plural): Deut 27:2 אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת “great stones.”
יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי (1:31) — the ordinal “sixth” has the article but יוֹם (day) does not. This shape appears at times with numbered days; it is not a predicate but “the sixth day.” Ordinals are treated on the “Numerals” page.
A mixed group takes the masculine plural — שְׁנֵיהֶם עֲרוּמִּים (2:25) refers to the man and the woman, yet is masculine plural.
Pairs without the article — when neither word has the article (נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה), shape alone cannot decide. Hebrew normally reads it as attributive; predicates often put the adjective first (לֹא־טוֹב, גָּדוֹל עֲוֺנִי).
Construct adjectives — the final ת of יְפַת־מַרְאֶה (12:11) is the feminine construct, not a break in agreement.
14Where this appears in Genesis 1–2
All 26 places, found from the OSHB morphology. Tap one to go to that word’s notes.