Bible HebrewThe Definite Article
“The” is הַ on the front, and how it joins בְּ, לְ, כְּ.
“The” is a prefix
Add הַ to the front, and the next letter gets a dot: מֶלֶךְ “a king” → הַמֶּלֶךְ “the king”. There is no word for “a”.
Before א, ע and ר (letters that can't take the dot), the vowel gets longer instead: הָאִישׁ the man, הָעִיר the city, הָרֹאשׁ the head.
After בְּ לְ כְּ (in, to, like), the ה drops out and its vowel moves forward: בְּ + הַבַּיִת → בַּבַּיִת “in the house”, לַמֶּלֶךְ “to the king”.
An adjective describing a definite noun repeats the article: הַמֶּלֶךְ הַטּוֹב “the good king”. Without it, it's a sentence: הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב “the king is good”.
Check yourself
How do you say “a king”?
✓ מֶלֶךְ · הַמֶּלֶךְ · לַמֶּלֶךְ · בַּמֶּלֶךְ
Hebrew has no word for “a”; מֶלֶךְ alone means “a king”.
Which means “the city”?
✓ הָעִיר · הַעִיר · עִיר · בְּעִיר
ע can't take the dot, so the article's vowel lengthens: הָעִיר.
Which means “to the king”?
✓ לַמֶּלֶךְ · לְהַמֶּלֶךְ · הַמֶּלֶךְ · לְמֶלֶךְ
לְ “to” and הַ “the” join into לַ: לַמֶּלֶךְ “to the king”. לְמֶלֶךְ is “to a king”.
Which means “the land”?
✓ הָאָרֶץ · הַאָרֶץ · אֶרֶץ · לְאֶרֶץ
א can't take the dot, so the article's vowel lengthens: הָאָרֶץ.
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