Wizardry

First of all, allow me to state for the record that I have next to no knowledge of Biblical Hebrew. Any and all signs of stupidity in my response are completely reflective of my knowledge of the subject.

That being said, I would like to take a stab at questions 2-5.

It would seem that many verbs (maybe all, but my knowledge of the language is not comprehensive by any stretch of the imagination) consist of of three Hebrew consonants. The first letter is said to be in position Pe, the second in the Ayin position, and the third in the Lamed position. Verbs are classified according to the location of certain sounds or letters. For example, if a gutteral (aleph, he, het, ayin, resh) is first letter of a verb, it is called a Pe gutteral verb. If it is the second letter, it would be termed an Ayin gutteral. Third: Lamed gutteral.

So to answer your questions:

2) What is a Pe-Yod verb?

A verb where the first letter is a yod (Y).

3) What is an Ayin-Waw verb?

A verb where the second letter is a waw (W).

4) What is a Lamed-He verb?

A verb where the final letter is a he (H).

5) How are the all related?

The all deal with the specific position of certain letters. Any further significance is lost on me though.

How did I do?

Rev. Joshua

I know what Pu'al and Pi'el are, but you've lost me on Po'el. Is it some hidden verb tense I've never heard of?

As for your transliteration - I suck at transliterated Hebrew. Can you send me a Gif/Jpeg of the actual Hebrew? My guess is something like "Before the King of Kings" or mayhap "I am the King of Kings" but I'm having trouble recognizing the first word.

Philosophus

'A+FH MELEK HAM:LFKIYM

"You, The King of the Amalekites" ???

Just a wild guess, I'm only starting on hebrew and koine greek. As for the other questions: the conection between the verbs you listed is that they all are weak verbs, I'm not typing the definition of each one as they can be found on any hebrew grammar such as Page H. Kelley's one. I haven't the faintest idea of the meaning of POEL, perhaps as I study more I´ll know.

Philosophus

Oops!! Just realised the final "k" in amalek is not a kaph but a qoph so if your transliteration is right I'm deadly wrong!!! That word must be some kind of plural of king. "You the king of kings"?. Anyway, I'm not guessing anymore...I better hit the books...

King Arthur

Good explanation.

True. They are all related to question number 1. They are all types of verbs. The word "POEL" means verb in Hebrew. The letters of this word are "Pe, Ayin, and Lamed". See the connection (Pe-Yod, etc...)?

Very good. Keep up the study! It is well worth it!

[ July 28, 2002: Message edited by: King Arthur ]</p>

King Arthur

POEL is the Hebrew word for Verb (i.e. not a verb pattern like Pu'al and Pi'el).

Here. I hate that kind of transliteration too. This one might be a little more intelligeable except that it is probably incorrect.

ATHA MELEK HA-MELAKIM

King Arthur

Just almost got it. The is is not represented in the Hebrew even though in English it would be there. The words am, are, and is are understood from the context. In other words, the present tense of "to be" is not expressed in Hebrew, so you have to add it in English.

Do that and you'll have my sentence perfectly. Thank you before hand for the flattery! And great job!

King Arthur

For those who really are interested in learning Hebrew. My favorite beginner's text has always been <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0801060419/qid=1027859618/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-3624004-7410248" target="_blank">Biblical Hebrew Step-By-Step</a>, 2nd Ed., by Menahem Mansoor. If you get the solution guide and tape and if you follow the exercises faithfully, you will learn Hebrew. Though it may just be my learning style, this was the best book that I have found.

Steven Carr

Interesting that the present tense of 'to be' is not expressed in Hebrew. Am I understanding correctly? I'm not sure what you mean. How would you express 'I am' in Hebrew? (as in Exodus 3:14) for example?

King Arthur

Good questions, though I think you're just trying to trap me.

A simple search would turn up many hits to answer this. Here is one of them:

<a href="http://www.bluethread.com/ehyeh.htm" target="_blank">The Name of God</a>