Bible HebrewAdjectives
“A great city”, “the good word”, “it is good”: where adjectives go and how they match.
Adjectives: after the noun, and matching it
An adjective comes after its noun and matches it in gender and number: לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל “into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2), עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה “a great city” (Jonah 3:3). עִיר is feminine, so its adjective takes ־ָה even though עִיר itself doesn't.
| “great” | Goes with |
|---|---|
| גָּדוֹל | masculine singular |
| גְּדוֹלָה | feminine singular |
| גְּדֹלִים | masculine plural |
| גְּדֹלוֹת | feminine plural |
It matches “the” too: a definite noun takes a definite adjective, אֶת־הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל “the great light” (Genesis 1:16). In הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים “the great lights” (1:16) the adjective has ־ִים: it follows the noun's gender, which is masculine, not the look of its ending.
Describing, or saying something? When the adjective has no article, it makes a sentence with “is”, often with the adjective first: טוֹב הַדָּבָר “The word is good” (1 Kings 2:38). So also כִּי־טוֹב “that it was good” (Genesis 1:4).
As a noun: an adjective can stand for a person: צַדִּיק עִם־רָשָׁע “the righteous with the wicked” (Genesis 18:23).
“Better than”: Hebrew has no “-er” ending. It says “good from”, with מִן: טוֹב לַחֲסוֹת בַּיהוָה מִבְּטֹחַ בָּאָדָם “It is better to take refuge in yəḥawwe than to trust in man” (Psalm 118:8).
Check yourself
Where does an adjective usually go?
✓ after the noun it describes · before the noun · at the end of the sentence · joined to the front of the noun
לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל “into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2)
Why is it עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה “a great city” (Jonah 3:3), with ־ָה?
✓ עִיר is feminine, so the adjective is too · the city is plural · it means “the” · it is a question
The adjective matches the noun’s gender, even when the noun has no ־ָה.
Which is the feminine plural of “great”?
✓ גְּדֹלוֹת · גְּדֹלִים · גְּדוֹלָה · גָּדוֹל
־וֹת marks feminine plural on adjectives, as on nouns.
What does הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל mean (Genesis 1:16)?
✓ the great light · The light is great. · a great light · the light of the great one
The article on both words: “the great light”.
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