Sentence patterns Genesis 1–2
The 32 sentence patterns that build Genesis 1–2. Each shows what it does, why it is built that way, how to spot it, and the actual sentences. “Pattern n” on the Genesis pages links here.
1The two paths of a Biblical Hebrew sentence
Biblical Hebrew narrative is built from two kinds of sentences. Once you know them, you can see why every sentence in Genesis 1 looks the way it does.
① Sentences that move the story forward
The verb comes first (a wayyiqtol, וַיֹּאמֶר): “and he did → and he did,” events happening in order. The order is verb → subject → object.
② Sentences that pause the story
Something other than the verb comes first (a subject, a time phrase, an object). The story does not move on; the sentence opens the account, paints the background, or highlights something. The verb then cannot be a wayyiqtol.
One key rule: a wayyiqtol can stand only at the very start of its clause. So whenever anything is placed before the verb, the verb becomes a perfect or a participle, or drops out altogether. All five verses of Day One are built on this rule.
2The 32 patterns
The actual sentences on this page (6)
1:4
וַיַּרְאverbאֱלֹהִיםsubjectאֶת הָאוֹרobjectכִּי טוֹבcomplement
YLVAnd God saw the light, that it was good;
1:4
וַיַּבְדֵּלverbאֱלֹהִיםsubjectבֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְplace
YLVand God divided between the light and between the darkness.
- What it does
- The backbone of the story: “and he did → and he did,” events following one another in order.
- Why it is built this way
- Biblical Hebrew tells past events in sequence with this form. It looks like an imperfect (with a person marker such as י in front), but it is actually built on the short form (יִרְאֶה → וַיַּרְא, יִהְיֶה → וַיְהִי). With the וַ it means the next past event. Because it stands only at the start of its clause, the order is always verb → subject → object.
- How to spot it
- The word begins with וַ (patach) and the next letter has a dagesh (יּ); if yod has a shewa the dagesh drops (וַיְהִי).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- nearly every event of 1:1–2:3; “and God said” (וַיֹּאמֶר) alone occurs ten times (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29).
The “X + perfect” sentence
Term: X-qatal (fronted element + perfect) · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (2)
1:1
בְּרֵאשִׁיתtimeבָּרָאverbאֱלֹהִיםsubjectאֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץobject
YLVIn beginning (bereshit) God created the heavens and the earth.
- What it does
- A sentence that stands outside the story chain. It can open the account (verse 1) or highlight the word placed first (verse 5, “the darkness …”).
- Why it is built this way
- Because a wayyiqtol can stand only first, once a word such as “in beginning” or “the darkness” is placed before the verb, the verb cannot be a wayyiqtol; it is written as a perfect (בָּרָא, קָרָא). What is placed first carries the weight of the sentence.
- How to spot it
- The clause does not start with a verb, and the verb is a perfect (person shown by its ending; the bare form = “he”).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:10, “the gathering of the waters he called Seas” (וּלְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם קָרָא) · 1:27, “in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (בָּרָא twice)
The “and + subject” descriptive sentence
Term: disjunctive waw · circumstantial clause · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (3)
1:2
וְהָאָרֶץsubjectהָיְתָהverbתֹהוּ וָבֹהוּcomplement
YLVAnd the earth was formlessness and emptiness,
1:2
וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִיםsubjectמְרַחֶפֶתverbעַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִםplace
YLVand the spirit (ruach) of God was hovering upon the face of the waters.
- What it does
- It pauses the story to paint the scene or background: “now the earth was…”
- Why it is built this way
- “And” (וְ) is attached to a noun (the subject), not to the verb. It looks different from the wayyiqtol וַ (patach + dagesh in the next letter), and it works differently — it does not advance the events but hangs a picture beside them.
- How to spot it
- Begins וְ (shewa) + noun — not “וַ + dagesh.”
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- Gen 3:1, “And the serpent was more cunning…” (וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם) — the same pattern, describing a character before the story moves on.
The verbless sentence
Term: nominal (verbless) clause · pauses the storysubjectpredicate (noun · adjective · place)
The actual sentences on this page (1)
- What it does
- It says what something is or how it is.
- Why it is built this way
- Biblical Hebrew does not write “is / was” (present or past) as a separate word; it simply puts the two parts side by side. So a clause with no verb at all is a complete sentence. Context decides the time.
- How to spot it
- No verb anywhere in the clause.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- “that it was good” (כִּי טוֹב, 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25), and 1:31, “behold, it was very good” (וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד)
The participle sentence
Term: participial predicate · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (1)
1:2
וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִיםsubjectמְרַחֶפֶתverbעַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִםplace
YLVand the spirit (ruach) of God was hovering upon the face of the waters.
- What it does
- It pictures something “going on” — not an event but an ongoing state.
- Why it is built this way
- A participle is a verb that agrees with its subject in gender and number, like an adjective (ruach is feminine → ־ֶת). It has no person marker and sets no time of its own; in verse 2 it sits inside a past scene: “was hovering.”
- How to spot it
- Piel and Hiphil participles begin with מְ / מַ; the ending shows gender and number (feminine singular ־ֶת, etc.).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:6 מַבְדִּיל (“dividing”) · 1:11–12 מַזְרִיעַ (“yielding seed”), עֹשֶׂה (“bearing fruit”)
The actual sentences on this page (3)
- What it does
- It pairs God’s word with its fulfilment.
- Why it is built this way
- A wish or command to a third person (“let there be”) uses the jussive, a shortened imperfect (יִהְיֶה → יְהִי). The fulfilment answers with a wayyiqtol of the same verb, showing in the letters that it happened as spoken.
- How to spot it
- A short-form verb (with י or ת in front) right after “and God said.”
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- jussive commands: 1:6, 9, 11, 14, 22, 24, 26 (וְיִרְדּוּ). Fulfilment “and it was so” (וַיְהִי־כֵן): 1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30 — six times. Only Day One says instead “there was light” (וַיְהִי־אוֹר), repeating the very word of the command.
“Saw … that it was good” — see + object + כִּי
Term: verb of perception + object + כִּי clause · moves the storyוַיַּרְא he sawsubjectאֶת + objectכִּי + what he saw
The actual sentences on this page (1)
1:4
וַיַּרְאverbאֱלֹהִיםsubjectאֶת הָאוֹרobjectכִּי טוֹבcomplement
YLVAnd God saw the light, that it was good;
- What it does
- It names what was seen, then what was seen about it.
- Why it is built this way
- After verbs like “see” or “know,” כִּי introduces “that ….” Hebrew first sets the object (אֶת־הָאוֹר), then adds with כִּי what was seen about it. Inside, טוֹב is a verbless clause (pattern 4).
- How to spot it
- וַיַּרְא … אֶת־ … כִּי־טוֹב.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- “that it was good” (כִּי טוֹב): 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25. In 1:31 “behold” (וְהִנֵּה) replaces כִּי: “very good.”
The sentence that closes a day
וַיְהִי + noun subject · followed by the day’s name · moves the storyוַיְהִי־עֶרֶב there was eveningוַיְהִי־בֹקֶר there was morningday name (verbless)
The actual sentences on this page (3)
- What it does
- It closes the day.
- Why it is built this way
- The wayyiqtol of hayah, וַיְהִי, with a noun subject means “there was / it became.” Two of them set evening and morning in order, and the following יוֹם אֶחָד counts that evening and morning together as “day one” — a phrase standing without a verb (YLV “day one”).
- How to spot it
- וַיְהִי־ twice + the day’s name.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 — six times. The seventh day (2:1–3) has no such sentence.
The actual sentences on this page (1)
1:6
וִיהִיverbמַבְדִּילcomplementבֵּין מַיִם לָמָיִםplace
YLVand let it divide between waters and waters."
- What it does
- Inside the speech of the speaker (here God), it adds one more “and let it …” to a preceding wish or command. It is not an event but a wish not yet fulfilled.
- Why it is built this way
- Inside speech the narrative rule (wayyiqtol) is not used. To add another wish after a jussive or imperative, Hebrew uses the ordinary “and,” וְ (not patach + dagesh) with an imperfect or jussive. So with the very same verb, וַיְהִי (wayyiqtol, “there was”) and וִיהִי (“let it be”) differ by their first vowel alone. Grammars also read such a second wish as what follows from the first (purpose or result) (Joüon–Muraoka §116).
- How to spot it
- Inside speech (after “and God said”): וְ, וִ or וּ + a verb with a person marker in front — not וַ + dagesh (wayyiqtol).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:9, “and let the dry land appear” (וְתֵרָאֶה הַיַּבָּשָׁה, after the jussive יִקָּווּ) · 1:26, “and let them rule over the fish of the sea” (וְיִרְדּוּ, after נַעֲשֶׂה)
The relative clause with אֲשֶׁר
Term: relative clausehead nounאֲשֶׁרclause (with or without a verb)
The actual sentences on this page (1)
1:7
וַיַּבְדֵּלverbבֵּין הַמַּיִםplaceאֲשֶׁר מִתַּחַת לָרָקִיעַcomplementוּבֵין הַמַּיִםplaceאֲשֶׁר מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַcomplement
YLVand divided between the waters which were under the firmament and the waters which were above the firmament;
- What it does
- It uses a whole clause to say which one the noun before it is — “the waters which were under the firmament.”
- Why it is built this way
- אֲשֶׁר never changes for gender or number, and it always comes after the noun it describes. What follows אֲשֶׁר is a complete clause — it may have a verb (1:21 אֲשֶׁר שָׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם, 1:31 כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה) or none (1:7 אֲשֶׁר מִתַּחַת לָרָקִיעַ, pattern 4). אֲשֶׁר itself does not say whether the noun is subject, object or place within the clause, so when needed a pronoun suffix inside the clause points back to it (1:11 אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ, literally “which its seed is in it”).
- How to spot it
- A noun followed by אֲשֶׁר (always the same form) + a clause.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 16 times in Genesis 1–2: 1:7 (twice), 11, 12, 21, 29 (twice), 30, 31; 2:2 (twice), 3, 8, 11, 19, 22. E.g. 1:11–12, “in which is its seed” (אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ) · 1:31, “all that he had made” (כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה)
Niphal verb (perfect נִ- · imperfect יִ + doubled first letter)subject = the one acted upon(the doer is usually not named)
The actual sentences on this page (2)
1:9
יִקָּווּverbהַמַּיִםsubjectמִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמַיִםplaceאֶל מָקוֹם אֶחָדplace
YLV"Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place,
- What it does
- The subject is not the one who acts but the one acted upon — “be gathered,” “be seen, appear.” Who does the action is usually not written.
- Why it is built this way
- Hebrew does not make active and passive with helping words; it changes the stem of the same root. Qal (basic) רָאָה “he saw” → Niphal נִרְאָה “he was seen”; Piel → Pual; Hiphil → Hophal. The Niphal adds נ to the root; in the imperfect that נ is absorbed into the first root letter and remains as a dagesh (יִנְקָווּ → יִקָּווּ). If the first letter cannot take a dagesh, as with א, ע or ר, the vowel before it usually lengthens instead (תִ → תֵרָאֶה). The person markers are the same as in the Qal — י…־וּ “they,” ת “she.”
- How to spot it
- Niphal: perfect and participle begin with נִ / נֶ (נֶחְמָד); imperfect and jussive have the prefix vowel ִ + a dagesh in the first root letter (יִקָּווּ), or usually ֵ before א, ע or ר (תֵרָאֶה). Pual: first vowel ֻ (qibbuts) + a dagesh in the second root letter (וַיְכֻלּוּ).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1 the only Niphals are these two words of 1:9. Chapter 2: 2:1 וַיְכֻלּוּ (Pual, “were finished”) · 2:4 בְּהִבָּרְאָם (Niphal infinitive, “when they were created”) · 2:9 נֶחְמָד (Niphal participle, “pleasant”) · 2:10 יִפָּרֵד (Niphal, “it parted”) · 2:23 יִקָּרֵא (Niphal, “it shall be called”) and לֻקֳחָה (Pual in OSHB, “was taken”).
Participles and adjectives that modify a noun
Term: attributive participle · attributive adjectiveThe actual sentences on this page (3)
1:11
תַּדְשֵׁאverbהָאָרֶץsubjectדֶּשֶׁאobjectעֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַעobjectעֵץ פְּרִי עֹשֶׂה פְּרִיobjectלְמִינוֹcomplement
YLV"Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind,
1:12
וַתּוֹצֵאverbהָאָרֶץsubjectדֶּשֶׁאobjectעֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַעobjectלְמִינֵהוּcomplementוְעֵץ עֹשֶׂה פְּרִיobject
YLVAnd the earth brought forth vegetation, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree making fruit,
- What it does
- Placed after a noun, it says what kind of thing it is — “herb yielding seed,” “tree making fruit.” It does not make a sentence; it modifies one noun.
- Why it is built this way
- Hebrew modifiers come after the noun, the reverse of English and Korean, and they agree with it in gender, number and article: after עֵשֶׂב (masculine singular, no article) comes מַזְרִיעַ (masculine singular, no article); after a noun with the article, a modifier with the article (1:16 הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל). A participle is also a verb, so while modifying it can take its own object: מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע (“yielding seed”), עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי (“making fruit”). In pattern 5 (1:2 מְרַחֶפֶת) the participle was the predicate of a clause; in pattern 12 it is a modifier inside a noun phrase. A noun and a participle both without the article could be either, so context decides — in 1:11–12 they stand in the object list of תַּדְשֵׁא / וַתּוֹצֵא, so they are modifiers.
- How to spot it
- Right after the noun · same gender and number (masculine singular עֵשֶׂב → masculine singular מַזְרִיעַ) · same article.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:16 הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל (“the great light”) · 1:21 הַתַּנִּינִם הַגְּדֹלִים (“the great sea-creatures (tannin)”) · 1:29 עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע (Qal participle, “herb yielding seed”) · 2:9 עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה (Niphal participle, “pleasant to sight”). Ordinals stand in the same place — 1:13 יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי.
לְ + infinitive construct, “to …”
Term: infinitive of purposeThe actual sentences on this page (5)
1:14
לְהַבְדִּילverbבֵּין הַיּוֹם וּבֵין הַלָּיְלָהplace
YLVto divide between the day and between the night;
1:18
וּלֲהַבְדִּילverbבֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְplace
YLVand to divide between the light and between the darkness;
- What it does
- It tells what the preceding action is for: “let there be — to divide,” “he set — to give light, to rule, to divide.”
- Why it is built this way
- The infinitive construct is a “to-do” form that carries only the meaning of the verb — no person marker for “who,” and no time. Add לְ (“to, toward”) and it means “toward doing,” that is, “to …, so as to ….” Who does it is set by the preceding clause (on Day Four, the lights). Being a verb, the infinitive takes its own objects and phrases (בֵּין, עַל, בְּ), and several can be chained with וְ (verse 18).
- How to spot it
- לְ (לִ before a shewa) + a verb with no person letters. Qal: לִ + the קְטֹל shape (לִמְשֹׁל); Hiphil: לְהַ…ִי… (לְהַבְדִּיל, לְהָאִיר) — the Hiphil ה, which drops out in the imperfect, stays visible.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- On this page: 1:14 לְהַבְדִּיל, 1:15, 17 לְהָאִיר, 1:18 וְלִמְשֹׁל and וּלֲהַבְדִּיל. In Genesis 2: 2:3 לַעֲשׂוֹת, 2:5 לַעֲבֹד, 2:10 לְהַשְׁקוֹת, 2:15 לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ (with “it” attached), 2:19 לִרְאוֹת. The speech-opening לֵאמֹר (1:22, 2:16) is treated separately as pattern 16.
the first verb of the speech (jussive · imperative · imperfect)וְ (shewa) andperfect form (person at the end)rest
The actual sentences on this page (2)
1:14
וְהָיוּverbלְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים וּלְיָמִים וְשָׁנִיםcomplement
YLVand let them be for signs (ot) and for appointed times (moadim), and for days and years;
1:15
וְהָיוּverbלִמְאוֹרֹתcomplementבִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִםplace
YLVand let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens,
- What it does
- In speech about what is to come, it links the next steps after the first verb (jussive, imperative or imperfect) with וְ + the perfect form: “let there be → and let them be → and let them be.”
- Why it is built this way
- It mirrors the narrative wayyiqtol. The sequence of past events is וַ + the imperfect form (wayyiqtol); the sequence of what is to come is וְ + the perfect form (weqatal) — as if the forms had traded places. A weqatal does not set its own time; it takes over the time and force of the verb before it: after a jussive, “let …”; after an imperfect about the future, “will ….” So וְהָיוּ in 1:14 has the form “they were” but means “and let them be.” Like the wayyiqtol, it stands first in its clause.
- How to spot it
- The clause begins with וְ (shewa — not וַ + dagesh) + a perfect with its person ending (־וּ “they,” ־תָּ “you” …), with a jussive, imperative or imperfect earlier in the same speech.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- On this page: וְהָיוּ twice, 1:14 and 15 — the only two in Genesis 1. In Genesis 2, וְהִשְׁקָה (2:6) is a repeated background in narrative (pattern 25), and וְדָבַק and וְהָיוּ (2:24) express what always holds (pattern 31).
The imperative — “you, do!”
Term: imperative — second person onlyimperative — no prefix · ending ־וּ (you pl.)object · rest
The actual sentences on this page (3)
- What it does
- Words spoken directly to the hearer: “do ….” In Genesis 1 the first place where God addresses creatures as “you” is 1:22.
- Why it is built this way
- The imperative is the 2nd-person imperfect with its prefix ת removed (תִּפְרוּ “you will be fruitful” → פְּרוּ “be fruitful”). So nothing in front tells “who”; it shows only at the end: masculine singular has no ending (the bare form), feminine singular ־ִי, masculine plural ־וּ. If removing the prefix would leave two shewas at the start, the first becomes a vowel (תִּמְלְאוּ → מִלְאוּ). The imperative exists only in the second person — a wish for a third person uses the jussive (patterns 6 and 9), and the first person “let us …” is pattern 17. Several commands are chained with וּ (“and”).
- How to spot it
- No prefix letter (י ת א נ) in front, but an ending ־וּ or ־ִי. The perfect 3rd plural also ends in ־וּ, so look at the first vowel: perfect שָׁרְצוּ (1:21, first vowel qamats, “sha-”) — imperatives פְּרוּ, מִלְאוּ (first vowel shewa, hireq).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:28 פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ · וְכִבְשֻׁהָ · וּרְדוּ — the same three commands plus two more (וְכִבְשֻׁהָ has “it” ־הָ attached). Genesis 1–2 has eight imperatives in all: three in 1:22 and five in 1:28.
The actual sentences on this page (1)
- What it does
- It stands between the verb and the words that follow and opens a direct quotation: “here are the words.” It does the work of quotation marks.
- Why it is built this way
- When לְ is attached to the infinitive construct אֱמֹר, the א falls silent and the vowel of לְ lengthens to tsere: לֵאמֹר (lemor). לְ + infinitive is learned as “in order to” in pattern 13, but לֵאמֹר is almost always the fixed “saying.” An infinitive has no person marker, so the “who” is the subject of the verb before it. Biblical Hebrew has no quotation marks, and this word takes their place. Even when the verb before it is not “said” (1:22 “blessed,” 2:16 “commanded”), it shows that the act was done in words and opens those words.
- How to spot it
- The single word לֵאמֹר, usually at a major pause (here atnach), with the words spoken right after it.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 2:16 וַיְצַו יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים עַל־הָאָדָם לֵאמֹר — the verb before it is “commanded,” and לֵאמֹר again carries the atnach. These are the only two in Genesis 1–2. In 1:28 the same blessing is opened not with לֵאמֹר but with a second verb, “and God said to them” (וַיֹּאמֶר).
נ (we) + verbobjecthow · rest
The actual sentences on this page (1)
1:26
נַעֲשֶׂהverbאָדָםobjectבְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּcomplement
YLV"Let us make man (adam) in our image, after our likeness;
- What it does
- The speaker includes himself: “let us …, we will ….” It states a resolve or proposal. Until now the divine words of Genesis 1 were third person (“let there be,” “let the earth bring forth” — jussives) or second person (“be fruitful,” 1:22 — imperatives); verse 26 brings the first first-person form.
- Why it is built this way
- The imperfect and wayyiqtol show “who” with a letter in front: י he · ת she/you · א I · נ we. So the נ of נַעֲשֶׂה is “we.” A first-person wish (“let us”) is usually the cohortative, with ־ָה added (11:7 נֵרְדָה, “let us go down”), but a verb whose root ends in ה (עָשָׂה) cannot show that ending, so it looks like the imperfect — OSHB tags 1:26 as imperfect and the identical form וְנַעֲשֶׂה in 11:4 as cohortative. The sense comes from its place first in the speech: “let us make.” A following wish is joined with וְ + jussive (וְיִרְדּוּ, pattern 9).
- How to spot it
- A verb at the head of the speech beginning with נ (1st plural) — singular “I” is א (2:18 אֶעֱשֶׂהּ).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2 the only 1st plural verb is in 1:26. 1st singular א (“I”): 2:18 אֶעֱשֶׂהּ (“I will make”). The same “let us …”: 11:3, 4, 7.
Pronoun suffixes on verbs, prepositions and אֵת
Term: pronominal suffixverb · preposition · אֵת · noun+ suffix (him · to him · his …)
The actual sentences on this page (10)
1:25
וַיַּעַשׂverbאֱלֹהִיםsubjectאֶת חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ לְמִינָהּobjectוְאֶת הַבְּהֵמָה לְמִינָהּobjectוְאֵת כָּל רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה לְמִינֵהוּobject
YLVAnd God made the living thing (chai) of the earth after its kind, and the beast after its kind, and every creeping thing of the ground (adamah) after its kind;
1:26
נַעֲשֶׂהverbאָדָםobjectבְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּcomplement
YLV"Let us make man (adam) in our image, after our likeness;
1:27
וַיִּבְרָאverbאֱלֹהִיםsubjectאֶת הָאָדָםobjectבְּצַלְמוֹcomplement
YLVAnd God created the man (adam) in his image;
1:29
הִנֵּה נָתַתִּיverbלָכֶםcomplementאֶת כָּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץobjectוְאֶת כָּל הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ פְרִי עֵץ זֹרֵעַ זָרַעobject
YLV"Behold, I have given to you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;
- What it does
- Pronouns such as “him, to them, our” are not written separately but attached to the end of a word. On אֵת the suffix is the object “him”; on a preposition, “to him, in it”; on a noun, “his”; on a verb, the verb’s object.
- Why it is built this way
- Biblical Hebrew always uses a suffix when a pronoun is an object, the object of a preposition, or a possessor. The suffix shows gender, number and person in its letters: ־וֹ, ־הוּ his/him · ־ָהּ, ־הָ her · ־ָם, ־הֶם them · ־כֶם you (pl.) · ־נוּ us/our · ־ִי me/my. The base word’s vowels may change (אֵת → אֹתוֹ, צֶלֶם → צַלְמוֹ). The suffix’s gender follows the word it refers to — לְמִינָהּ (f.) and לְמִינֵהוּ (m.) in 1:25, וְכִבְשֻׁהָ (“her” = the earth) in 1:28. A short pronoun object often stands right after the verb, before the subject (1:28 וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם אֱלֹהִים).
- How to spot it
- Endings ־וֹ, ־הוּ, ־ָהּ (ה with a dot), ־ָם, ־הֶם, ־כֶם, ־נוּ, ־ִי.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- On אֵת: 1:17, 22, 27, 28 אֹתָם (“them”); 1:27 and 2:3 אֹתוֹ (“him/it”). On prepositions: 1:11, 12, 29, 30 and 2:3 בּוֹ (“in it”); 1:28 לָהֶם; 1:29 לָכֶם twice; 2:17 מִמֶּנּוּ. On nouns: 1:11 לְמִינוֹ; 1:26 בְּצַלְמֵנוּ; 2:2 מְלַאכְתּוֹ. On verbs: 1:28 וְכִבְשֻׁהָ; 2:15 וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ; 2:22 וַיְבִאֶהָ.
The actual sentences on this page (3)
1:29
הִנֵּה נָתַתִּיverbלָכֶםcomplementאֶת כָּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץobjectוְאֶת כָּל הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ פְרִי עֵץ זֹרֵעַ זָרַעobject
YLV"Behold, I have given to you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;
1:30
וּלְכָל חַיַּת הָאָרֶץcomplementוּלְכָל עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִםcomplementוּלְכֹל רוֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּהcomplementאֶת כָּל יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂבobjectלְאָכְלָהcomplement
YLVAnd to every living thing (chai) of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, in which is a living soul (nephesh), I have given every green herb for food";
- What it does
- הִנֵּה draws the hearer’s eyes to what is right there: “behold, here it is.” Inside speech, a perfect after הִנֵּה does not narrate a past event; it settles and declares something at the moment of speaking: “Behold, I have given to you (it is now yours).”
- Why it is built this way
- The perfect shows “who” at the end. The ending ־תִּי (-ti) of נָתַתִּי = “I” (1st common singular) — the root’s last נ (נ-ת-ן) merges with the ת of the ending (assimilation), hence the dagesh in תּ. For the first time God says “I.” Since the perfect presents an act as complete, in a declaration it makes the thing already settled as spoken. In narrative too, וְהִנֵּה after “see” shows the scene through the eyes of the one seeing (1:31, “he saw …, and behold, it was very good” — followed there by a verbless clause).
- How to spot it
- הִנֵּה + perfect inside speech (especially 1st person ־תִּי). In narrative: “see” + וְהִנֵּה + a verbless clause.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- הִנֵּה occurs twice in Genesis 1–2: 1:29 (in speech, + the perfect נָתַתִּי) and 1:31 (in narrative, וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד). The only 1st singular perfect ־תִּי in these two chapters is נָתַתִּי in 1:29; verse 30 carries it on without a verb of its own.
The actual sentences on this page (1)
2:3
כִּי בוֹtimeשָׁבַתverbמִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹתplace
YLVbecause in it he shabbatted from all his work which God created to make.
- What it does
- It attaches the reason for what was just said: “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it — because in it he shabbatted.” It does not add another event; it hangs a reason on the events before it.
- Why it is built this way
- כִּי always stands at the head of its clause. Since a wayyiqtol can stand only first in its clause, with its וַ, a כִּי clause cannot contain a wayyiqtol — a past event is written as a perfect (שָׁבַת). In 2:3 בוֹ (“in it”) is also placed before the verb, highlighting “in it he shabbatted.” The same כִּי means “that” after “see, know” (pattern 7) and “because” after a statement of what was done — what comes before decides its meaning.
- How to spot it
- A preceding clause that is not “see / know” + כִּי + (a fronted word) + perfect or imperfect.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 2:5 כִּי לֹא הִמְטִיר, “for YHWH God had not caused it to rain upon the earth” · 2:17 כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ, “for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (בְּיוֹם fronted) · 2:23 כִּי מֵאִישׁ לֻקֳחָה־זֹּאת, “because from Man (ish) this one was taken” (מֵאִישׁ fronted). The six כִּי of chapter 1 are all pattern 7.
The heading “These are the generations of …” אֵלֶּה תוֹלְדוֹת
Term: toledot formula · demonstrative + noun (verbless clause) · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (1)
2:4
אֵלֶּהsubjectתוֹלְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץcomplementבְּהִבָּרְאָםtime
YLVThese are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
- What it does
- A sentence that divides Genesis into its large sections, naming “whose generations” they are.
- Why it is built this way
- Subject אֵלֶּה (“these”) and predicate תּוֹלְדוֹת … (“the generations of …”) are set side by side: a verbless clause (pattern 4). תּוֹלְדוֹת is a plural noun from the root י-ל-ד “to beget,” so the pronoun is plural, אֵלֶּה, and the noun is a construct bound to the following name. With no verb, it stands outside the wayyiqtol chain, a label set where the story pauses (the second path). Elsewhere in Genesis the account of those who came from the named one follows this sentence; in 2:4 which way it belongs is debated (Going deeper).
- How to spot it
- (וְ)אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת + a name — no verb.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2, only here. In all of Genesis, אֵלֶּה or וְאֵלֶּה + תּוֹלְדֹת appears in 6:9, 10:1, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:19, 36:1, 36:9 and 37:2 (ten times with 2:4), and 5:1 has “This is the book of the generations of Adam” (זֶה סֵפֶר תּוֹלְדֹת).
בְּ + infinitive construct: “when …”
Term: temporal infinitive clauseבְּ in · בְּיוֹם in the day ofinfinitive constructwho — a following noun or an attached suffixobject · rest
The actual sentences on this page (2)
2:4
אֵלֶּהsubjectתוֹלְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץcomplementבְּהִבָּרְאָםtime
YLVThese are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
2:4
בְּיוֹםtimeעֲשׂוֹתverbיְהוָה אֱלֹהִיםsubjectאֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִםobject
YLVin the day that YHWH God made earth and heavens.
- What it does
- It sets the time of the main sentence: “when …, in the day that ….”
- Why it is built this way
- An infinitive construct is a “verbal noun” with no person marker and no tense (“making,” “being created”). With בְּ (“in”) in front, “in making” = “when … made.” “Who” is shown as with a construct noun: by a noun after it (עֲשׂוֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, “the making of YHWH God”) or by a suffix (בְּהִבָּרְאָם, “in their being created”). בְּיוֹם (“in the day of”) in front does the same. Since no finite verb stands first, it does not move the story forward.
- How to spot it
- בְּ or בְּיוֹם + infinitive construct (verbs ending in ה take ־וֹת: עֲשׂוֹת).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 2:17 בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ, “in the day you eat of it” (suffix ךָ = “you”). Compare לְ + infinitive (pattern 13): לְ is “to, so as to,” בְּ is “when.”
“Not yet” and “there is no”: טֶרֶם · אַיִן
Term: טֶרֶם + imperfect · particle of non-existence אַיִן · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (3)
2:5
וְכֹל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶהsubjectטֶרֶםtimeיִהְיֶהverbבָאָרֶץplace
YLVAnd every shrub of the field was not yet in the earth,
2:5
וְכָל עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶהsubjectטֶרֶםtimeיִצְמָחverb
YLVand every herb of the field had not yet sprouted,
2:5
וְאָדָםsubjectאַיִןcomplementלַעֲבֹדverbאֶת הָאֲדָמָהobject
YLVand there was no man (adam) to work (avad) the ground (adamah).
- What it does
- It paints the background by naming what did not yet exist before the story begins.
- Why it is built this way
- טֶרֶם is an adverb, “not yet,” and the verb after it is usually an imperfect, even of past events. So טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה is not “will not be” but “was not yet”; context sets the time. אַיִן is not a verb but a word meaning “there is not” (the opposite of יֵשׁ “there is”), so its clause is verbless (pattern 4). Neither is a wayyiqtol, so the story stays paused (the second path).
- How to spot it
- טֶרֶם directly followed by an imperfect (י, ת … in front) · אַיִן in place of a verb (אֵין before a noun).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2 only in 2:5 (טֶרֶם twice, אַיִן once).
הָיָה לְ: “become”
Term: הָיָה + lamed of resulta form of הָיָה (וַיְהִי, וְהָיוּ, יִהְיֶה)subject (what)לְ + what it becomes
The actual sentences on this page (1)
- What it does
- It says what something became.
- Why it is built this way
- הָיָה alone means “be, there was” (1:3 וַיְהִי־אוֹר, “there was light”). When לְ (“to, into”) is attached to the following noun, that noun becomes the state reached: “become.” So וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה is “the man became a living soul.” The sense “become” is carried not by the verb but by לְ. The verb can be a wayyiqtol, a waw-perfect or an imperfect, as the sentence requires.
- How to spot it
- A form of הָיָה + לְ before the following noun.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:14 וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת · 1:15 וְהָיוּ לִמְאוֹרֹת · 1:29 יִהְיֶה לְאָכְלָה (“to you it shall be for food”) · 2:10 וְהָיָה לְאַרְבָּעָה רָאשִׁים (“became four heads”) · 2:24 וְהָיוּ לְבָשָׂר אֶחָד (“they shall become one flesh (basar)”).
“And + subject + imperfect”: repeated background
Term: disjunctive waw + yiqtol (past repeated or continuing action) · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (2)
- What it does
- It paints something that happened again and again or went on within a past scene — not a single event.
- Why it is built this way
- As in pattern 3, וְ is attached to the subject, so this is background. But the verb slot holds neither a perfect nor a participle but an imperfect (יַעֲלֶה, with no וַ + dagesh). An imperfect inside a past scene does not mean the future; it pictures “used to, kept on ….” The next clause continues the same repetition not with a wayyiqtol but with a waw-perfect (וְהִשְׁקָה, pattern 14) — so the events do not move forward.
- How to spot it
- וְ + noun + a verb beginning with י, ת … (not וַ + dagesh), then וְ + perfect.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2, “and + subject + imperfect” first appears in 2:6. An imperfect within past narrative also appears in 2:10 וּמִשָּׁם יִפָּרֵד (“and from there it parted” — with “from there,” not a subject, in front).
The verbless sentence linked by the pronoun הוּא
Term: nominal clause with a pronoun (tripartite nominal clause) · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (4)
2:11
הוּאsubjectהַסֹּבֵבverbאֵת כָּל אֶרֶץ הַחֲוִילָהobject
YLVit is the one surrounding all the land of Havilah,
2:13
הוּאsubjectהַסּוֹבֵבverbאֵת כָּל אֶרֶץ כּוּשׁobject
YLVit is the one surrounding all the land of Cush.
2:14
וְהַנָּהָר הָרְבִיעִיsubjectהוּאsubjectפְרָתcomplement
YLVAnd the fourth river, it is the Euphrates.
- What it does
- It identifies: “it is the one …, it is ….” It picks up what was just mentioned with a pronoun and attaches a description to it.
- Why it is built this way
- Biblical Hebrew has no separate verb “is,” so it sets two parts side by side (pattern 4). But when the predicate is itself definite (הַסֹּבֵב, “the one surrounding”), both parts are definite and the boundary between them blurs. Then the 3rd-person pronoun הוּא is set in the subject slot (or between subject and predicate) to make the boundary clear: “it — is — ….” The pronoun follows the gender and number of the noun it refers to — נָהָר (river) is masculine, so הוּא. When a noun is placed first, as in verse 14, “the fourth river — הוּא — the Euphrates,” הוּא picks up that noun and becomes the link to the predicate.
- How to spot it
- הוּא, הִיא or הֵם without the article stands first in the clause (or right after a noun), followed by a predicate with no verb. הַהוּא, הַהִוא with the article, after a noun (verse 12, “that land”), means “that” and describes the noun — not this pattern.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 2:11, 13, 14 (twice). The end of 2:19, “that was its name” (הוּא שְׁמוֹ), is also a sentence in which הוּא links subject and predicate.
Article + participle: “the one that …”
Term: substantival participleThe actual sentences on this page (3)
2:11
הוּאsubjectהַסֹּבֵבverbאֵת כָּל אֶרֶץ הַחֲוִילָהobject
YLVit is the one surrounding all the land of Havilah,
2:13
הוּאsubjectהַסּוֹבֵבverbאֵת כָּל אֶרֶץ כּוּשׁobject
YLVit is the one surrounding all the land of Cush.
- What it does
- It names something by what it does — “the one surrounding,” “the one going.” It can stand as a predicate (“it is the one that …”), a subject, or a modifier.
- Why it is built this way
- A participle is a verb form that can also act as an adjective or noun (pattern 5). With the article הַ it becomes “the one who/that …,” working almost like the relative אֲשֶׁר. It still keeps its verbal force, so it takes an object (אֵת + the land) or a direction (קִדְמַת אַשּׁוּר). A participle has no “who” marker and no tense of its own; it pictures what continually goes on — the river that keeps surrounding and flowing. Its gender and number follow what it refers to (a masculine singular river).
- How to spot it
- The article (הַ + dagesh in the next letter; before gutturals הַ or הָ) + a participle. A Qal participle has the o–e pattern (סֹבֵב, הֹלֵךְ, יֹצֵא); Piel and Hiphil participles begin with מְ / מַ; Niphal participles with נִ / נֶ.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 2:11 הַסֹּבֵב, 2:13 הַסּוֹבֵב, 2:14 הַהֹלֵךְ (as predicates). Describing a noun (pattern 12): 1:21, 28 הָרֹמֶשֶׂת and 1:26 הָרֹמֵשׂ (“that creeps”).
Infinitive absolute + imperfect — emphasis
Term: infinitive absolute + finite verb of the same rootinfinitive absolute אָכֹל · מוֹתimperfect of the same root (ת = you)
The actual sentences on this page (2)
- What it does
- The same verb twice — “eating eat, dying die” — stresses that the action is certain. In a permission it means “freely, fully”; in a warning, “surely.”
- Why it is built this way
- The infinitive absolute names the action itself, with no person and no time (in the Qal the vowels “a – o,” קָטֹל → אָכֹל; in a root with ו in the middle, מוֹת). Placed before a finite verb of the same root, it sets the action up once more and gives it weight. So “who” and “when” are told by the imperfect that follows (תֹּאכֵל, תָּמוּת, ת = you), while the infinitive only adds force. Its vowels differ from the infinitive construct (אֱכֹל → אֲכָלְךָ, לֵאמֹר): the construct goes with לְ, בְּ or a suffix; the absolute stands alone.
- How to spot it
- Two words of the same root side by side — first an infinitive absolute with no person marker, prefix or suffix; then a finite verb with its person marker (here an imperfect).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2 only at 2:16 אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל and 2:17 מוֹת תָּמוּת. In 3:4 the serpent puts לֹא before the same two words of 2:17: “You shall not surely die” (לֹא־מוֹת תְּמֻתוּן).
The actual sentences on this page (1)
2:17
וּמֵעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָעobjectלֹא תֹאכַלverbמִמֶּנּוּobject
YLVbut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it,
- What it does
- “You shall not …” — a prohibition. The commandment “You shall not murder” (לֹא תִּרְצָח, Exod 20:13) uses the same pattern.
- Why it is built this way
- Biblical Hebrew does not negate the imperative. So “do not …” puts a negative before an imperfect or a jussive — לֹא + imperfect, or אַל + jussive. Grammars commonly describe לֹא + imperfect as a firm, lasting prohibition and אַל + jussive as a prohibition for the situation at hand. The permission תֹּאכֵל (2:16) and the prohibition לֹא תֹאכַל (2:17) are the same verb, the same person and the same imperfect; the only difference is לֹא.
- How to spot it
- לֹא directly before a 2nd-person imperfect (prefix ת) — in speech, addressed to the hearer.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2 only at 2:17. 2:25 וְלֹא יִתְבֹּשָׁשׁוּ is also לֹא + imperfect, but it is 3rd plural inside the narrative, so it is no prohibition: “they were not ashamed.” In 3:17 God repeats this prohibition in the same letters (לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ).
The sentence with an infinitive as subject
Term: infinitive construct as subject + predicate (nominal clause) · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (1)
- What it does
- It passes judgment on an action or state itself: “it is (not) good that …”
- Why it is built this way
- The infinitive construct is a verb form that works like a noun, so it can stand as subject without any preposition. It has no person marker, so “who” is given by the noun that follows (הָאָדָם): “Adam’s being.” The judgment word טוֹב comes first and there is no finite verb — the same build as pattern 4 (the verbless sentence). The negative לֹא in front of the adjective makes “not good.”
- How to spot it
- A judging word (adjective) + an infinitive construct with no preposition in front (הֱיוֹת).
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2 this is the only infinitive standing as subject. The others come with לְ or בְּ (1:14 לְהַבְדִּיל, 2:4 בְּהִבָּרְאָם, 2:19 לִרְאוֹת) or are bound to the word before (2:4 בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת), and the infinitive absolutes add force to an imperfect (2:16 אָכֹל, 2:17 מוֹת).
עַל־כֵּן + imperfect · weqatal — what is always so
Term: “therefore” remark + imperfect of what habitually happens · pauses the storyThe actual sentences on this page (3)
2:24
עַל כֵּןtimeיַעֲזָבverbאִישׁsubjectאֶת אָבִיו וְאֶת אִמּוֹobject
YLVTherefore a man (ish) shall leave his father and his mother
- What it does
- It steps out of the story for a moment to say what is always so because of what has just happened.
- Why it is built this way
- עַל (“upon, because of”) + כֵּן (“so”) = “therefore.” Because it stands before the verb, no wayyiqtol is possible, and the verb is an imperfect — here not a single event but what happens again and again. The verbs that follow, וְ + perfect (weqatal, pattern 14), carry the same “always so” on step by step.
- How to spot it
- The clause opens with עַל־כֵּן (maqaf) + imperfect, followed by וְ + perfect.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- In Genesis 1–2 it occurs only here. In all of Genesis עַל־כֵּן, “therefore,” occurs 18 times (OSHB; not counting the four of כִּי־עַל־כֵּן). With an imperfect: 10:9 עַל־כֵּן יֵאָמַר, “therefore it is said …”; 32:33 עַל־כֵּן לֹא־יֹאכְלוּ, “Therefore the sons of Israel do not eat … until this day.” With a perfect it names a single past event (11:9 עַל־כֵּן קָרָא שְׁמָהּ בָּבֶל).
A short poem (verse) — paired lines
Term: parallelism · chiasm · pauses the storyזֹאת “this one”line ① עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי bone — from my bonesline ② וּבָשָׂר מִבְּשָׂרִי flesh — from my fleshname and reason אִשָּׁה ↔ אִישׁ
The actual sentences on this page (3)
2:23
זֹאתsubjectהַפַּעַםtimeעֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי וּבָשָׂר מִבְּשָׂרִיcomplement
YLV"This now is bone of my bones and flesh (basar) of my flesh (basar);
- What it does
- It sets a short poem spoken by a person inside the narrative, binding the words together in paired lines.
- Why it is built this way
- Biblical Hebrew poetry is built less on rhyme than on pairing line with line. ① Two lines of the same shape — “noun + מִן + the same noun + my (־ַי, ־ִי)”: עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי / וּבָשָׂר מִבְּשָׂרִי. ② A repeated word — זֹאת (“this one”) three times: beginning, middle, end. ③ A mirror (chiasm) — “to this one · shall be called · ishah” / “from ish · was taken · this one.” The grammar rules still hold inside the poem: a verbless clause (pattern 4), and fronted words that give an imperfect or perfect instead of a wayyiqtol.
- How to spot it
- Inside speech the wayyiqtols disappear; lines of the same shape and repeated words appear; the accents put a major pause at each line.
- Where it returns in Genesis 1
- 1:27, “And God created the man (adam) in his image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” — three lines, each paired by the same verb ב-ר-א (וַיִּבְרָא, בָּרָא, בָּרָא, “he created”).
3When, and in which combinations
The patterns are not used one by one in isolation; they are combined in set ways, depending on what is being said. These are the combinations seen most often in Biblical Hebrew narrative.
| When | Which combination | Examples in Genesis 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Opening a story | “X + perfect” (2) or “and + subject” (3) sets the stage first → then the wayyiqtol (1) chain begins | 1:1 → 1:2 → 1:3 |
| Events following one another | wayyiqtol (1) → wayyiqtol (1) → … (as long as nothing is placed before the verb) | 1:3–5, seven times |
| Inserting background or a state | “and + subject” (3) with a perfect, a participle (5) or no verb (4) in the verb slot | 1:2, three clauses |
| Setting a pair side by side (contrast) | a wayyiqtol (1) clause + an “X + perfect” (2) clause — the second does not extend the chain but mirrors the first | 1:5 · 1:10 · 1:27 |
| Reporting speech | wayyiqtol “said” (1) + inside the speech: jussive, imperative, imperfect (the rules of speech) | 1:3 · 6 · 9 · 22 · 28 |
| A word being fulfilled | jussive → wayyiqtol of the same verb, or וַיְהִי־כֵן “and it was so” (6) | 1:3 · 7 · 9 · 11 · 15 · 24 · 30 |
| Seeing and judging | wayyiqtol “saw” + object + כִּי + verbless clause (7) | 1:4 · 10 · 12 · 18 · 21 · 25 |
| Closing a span of time | וַיְהִי + two noun subjects + the day’s name (8) | 1:5 · 8 · 13 · 19 · 23 · 31 |
How to read: at every clause, first ask, “Is the verb first?” If it is (a wayyiqtol), one more event has happened; if not, the clause is a stage, background or contrast. The text below is explained verse by verse in this order.