Bible HebrewConstruct Chain
“The word of yəḥawwe”: how Hebrew says “the X of Y”.
“X of Y”: two nouns side by side
Put the nouns next to each other. The first one takes a shorter construct form and never has the article: דָּבָר word → דְּבַר יְהוָה “the word of yəḥawwe”.
Only the last noun can take the article, and it makes the whole phrase definite: בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ “the house of the king”.
| Change | Example |
|---|---|
| ־ִים → ־ֵי | בָּנִים → בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל sons of Israel |
| ־ָה → ־ַת | תּוֹרָה → תּוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה instruction of Moses |
| vowels shorten | דָּבָר → דְּבַר word of |
Check yourself
In דְּבַר יְהוָה, what does the form of the first word tell you?
✓ “word of …” (construct) · “the word” · “words” · “my word”
דָּבָר is “word”. דְּבַר has short vowels: that is the “of” form, “word of”.
In a construct plural, what happens to the ending ־ִים?
✓ it becomes ־ֵי · it becomes ־וֹת · it stays ־ִים · it becomes ־ָה
The ending ־ִים becomes ־ֵי: בָּנִים is “sons”, and בְּנֵי is “sons of”.
In “the word of the prophet”, which word takes the article?
✓ only the last (הַנָּבִיא) · only the first (הַדְּבַר) · both words · neither
דְּבַר הַנָּבִיא: the last noun makes the whole phrase definite.
How do you say “the house of the king”?
✓ בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ · הַבַּיִת הַמֶּלֶךְ · בַּיִת מֶלֶךְ · הַבֵּית מֶלֶךְ
The first noun takes its “of” form, בֵּית, and no article. הַ goes on the last noun.
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