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Noun Patterns: King, Kings

מֶלֶךְ “king”, מְלָכִים “kings”, אִישׁ “man”, אֲנָשִׁים “men”: find the word you know when its vowels change.

When the vowels change, read the letters

In Noun Gender & Number you met the plural endings ־ִים and ־וֹת. In Construct Chain you met the “of” form: בָּנִים “sons”, בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל “the sons of Israel”. Many nouns also change their vowels when they take these endings. English does this too: man, men. The letters stay the same, so look at the letters to find the word you know.

King, kings. Many short nouns have two syllables, with the stress on the first, and often the vowel ֶ: מֶלֶךְ “king”. Grammar books call them segolates, after the name of that vowel. In the plural the vowels move: וּמְלָכִים מִמְּךָ יֵצֵאוּ “and kings will come from you” (Genesis 17:6). In the “of” plural, a short a comes back on the first letter: מַלְכֵי־אֶרֶץ “the kings of the earth” (Psalm 2:2). The same short base takes “my, his”: בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָה “Bless yəḥawwe, O my soul” (Psalm 103:1).

One	More than one	“Of” form (more than one)
מֶלֶךְ king	מְלָכִים kings	מַלְכֵי kings of
דֶּרֶךְ way, road	דְּרָכִים roads	דַּרְכֵי ways of
נֶפֶשׁ soul, life	נְפָשׁוֹת souls, lives	נַפְשׁוֹת souls of
דָּבָר word	דְּבָרִים words	דִּבְרֵי words of

Word, words. A noun with two long vowels, like דָּבָר “word”, shortens the first one in the plural: אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים “These are the words” (Deuteronomy 1:1). In the “of” plural the first vowel becomes ִ: דִּבְרֵי עָמוֹס “the words of Amos” (Amos 1:1). It is the same shortening you saw in דְּבַר יְהוָה “the word of yəḥawwe”.

Learn these as pairs. A few of the most common nouns change more than their vowels: a letter drops out, or a new one comes in.

One	More than one	“Of” form
אִישׁ man	אֲנָשִׁים men	אַנְשֵׁי men of
אִשָּׁה woman, wife	נָשִׁים women, wives	נְשֵׁי wives of
בַּיִת house	בָּתִּים houses	בָּתֵּי houses of
עִיר city	עָרִים cities	עָרֵי cities of
יוֹם day	יָמִים days	יְמֵי days of
בֵּן son	בָּנִים sons	בְּנֵי sons of
אָב father	אָבוֹת fathers	אֲבוֹת fathers of

So אַנְשֵׁי סְדֹם is “the men of Sodom” (Genesis 13:13), and כָּל־יְמֵי אָדָם is “all the days of Adam” (Genesis 5:5). Even here the main letters stay: ע and ר in עִיר and עָרִים, י and מ in יוֹם and יָמִים.

Check yourself

What does מְלָכִים mean (Genesis 17:6)?

✓ kings · a king · queens · a kingdom

מֶלֶךְ “king” with the plural ending ־ִים. The vowels move, and the letters מ ל כ stay.

A noun changes its vowels in the plural. How do you find the word you know?

✓ look at the letters: they stay the same · look at the vowels · look only at the last letter · you can’t: every form is a new word

מֶלֶךְ and מְלָכִים share the letters מ ל כ.

Which word means “the words of”, as in “the words of Amos” (Amos 1:1)?

✓ דִּבְרֵי · דְּבָרִים · דְּבָרוֹ · מַלְכֵי

דָּבָר “word”: the plural is דְּבָרִים, and the “of” plural is דִּבְרֵי. מַלְכֵי is “the kings of”.

Which is the plural of אִישׁ “man”?

✓ אֲנָשִׁים · נָשִׁים · בָּנִים · יָמִים

אִישׁ has the plural אֲנָשִׁים. נָשִׁים is “women”, the plural of אִשָּׁה.

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