his discourse by suddenly representing the nation as speaking in its in) Bethel he finds) בֵּית־אֵל יִמְצָאנּוּ וְשָׁם יְדַבֵּר עִמָּנוּ .own person, e. g him, and there he speaks with us, Hos. 12: 5., when they passed through the flood on foot, there did we rejoice in him, Ps. 66: 6., YUN (AUT) NoÓ DEU DIDED 778-by in he went (lit. in his going) through the land of Egypt, I heard a language I understood not, 81: 6. b. The contrary change, from the first person to the third, occurs for the most part only after instances like the preceding, that is to say, where the first person has been substituted for the third, e. g. 77 and I will drive thee from thy station, and מִמִּצְבָךָ וּמִמַּעֲמָדְךָ יֶהֶרְסֶךְ from thy state he shall pull thee down, Is. 22: 19., 728 7 TOT behold me, he shall lay a stone in Zion, i. e. I am he who shall lay, &c. ... soon have subdued their enemies, the haters of the Lord should have sub. mitted themselves to him, Ps. 81: 15, 16. 2. a. Sometimes one by or to whom a promise or threat is made, after being spoken of in the third person, is suddenly addressed directly in the second, which gives additional point to the declaration, e. g. for they shall be ashamed of the כִּי יֵבֹשׁוּ מֵאֵילִים אֲשֶׁר הַמַדְתֶּם וגו' he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast בִּמְצוּלוֹת יָם כָּל־חַטאתָם oaks that ye have desired, &c. Is. 1:29., big diba? into the depths of the sea all their sins, Mic. 7 : 19. (here, it will be perceived, is a double conversion, viz. from a third to a second person and shall praise the Lord that seek him; your heart shall live for ever, Ps. they יְהַלְלוּ יְהוָה דִּרְשָׁיו יְהִי לְבַבְכֶם לָעַד,(also from a first to a third I will go in the אָבוֹא בִגְבְרוֹת אֲדֹנָי יְהוָה אַזְכִּיר צִדְקָתְךָ .22:27 he would have fed him with! וַיֹּאכילהו מחלב המָּה וּמְצוּר דְּבַשׁ אַשְׁבִּיעֶךְ strength of the Lord God; I will commemorate thy righteousness, 71:16., the finest wheat, and with honey from the rock I should have satisfied thee, 81:17. (here too, besides the change from the third to the second, there is also one from the third to the first). b. The converse of the above also takes place, i. e. the second person is sometimes exchanged for the third, which is seldom the case except when such second person has been substituted for a third, e. g. seeing many things thou רָאוֹת רַבּוֹת וְלֹא תִשְׁמֹר פָּקַח אָזְנַיִם וְלֹא יִשְׁמַע . וּנְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ לֹא תִמְצָא behold I am about to hedge הִנְנִי־שָׁךְ אֶת־הַרְכֵּךְ heedest not; opening the ears, he hears not, Is. 42: 20. 54: 1. 61: 7., .... up thy way, so that she shall not find her paths, Hos. 2: 8., DAN D ye Ethiopians also, they shall be slain by my כּוּשִׁים חַלְלֵי חַרְבִּי הֵמָּה heed to yourselves, and to the wife of thy youth let him not act perfidiously, Israel, trust in the 0 יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּטַח בַּיהוָה עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוא .2:15 .Mal Lord; he is their help and their shield, Ps. 115: 9, 10, 11. (in these last instances it will be seen there is a change of number as well as of person). §769. There is another deviation from the usual employment of the persons which has its counterpart in most of the modern languages of Europe. This is the use of the third person instead of the second, through deferential politeness, e. g. let my lord hear us, Gen. 23: 6. 44: 19. Josh. 5:14. And also the use of the first person plural instead of the singular, indicative of majesty, dignity, e. g. DIN my let us make man in our image, Gen. 1:26. 11 : 7., according to all that we have heard with our כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְנוּ בְאָזְנֵינוּ ears, 2 Sam. 7:22.* CHAPTER IV. POSITION AND COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES. Position. § 770. We have already seen that an adjective forming the predi cate to a proposition differs from the same word employed as a qualificative with respect to its reception or non-reception of the article (§ 724). There exists another peculiarity by which a predicative is distinguished from a qualificative adjective, and this is its position with regard to the subject, viz. whether placed before or after it. דִי מִכַּת מַלְכָּא הוֹדַעְתָּנָא .The same use of the plural is found in Chaldee, e. g • for thou hast made known to us the king's matter, Dan. 2:23, 36. Ezra 4 : 18. Here we find the Hebrew usage to be precisely the reverse of that which prevails in the languages of modern Europe: a qualificative adjective being usually placed after the noun to which it refers, e. g. Da wise man, 1 Kings 2: 9., a beautiful woman, הַמָּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים .1:13 .rise men, Deut אֲנָשִׁים חֲכָמִים,.11:22 .Prov the great lights, Gen. 1: 16.; and a predicative one before it, e. g. 729 the famine (was) grievous, Gen. 12:10., good, Prov. 8:11., wisdom (is) the ways of the Lord (are) right, many (are) the afflictions of the right § 771. The reason of this appears to be as follows. When an adjec. tive serves as a qualificative, the idea it expresses is accessory to that of the noun it belongs to, which as the principal member of the com. pound term is placed first, by a constant law of the Shemitish languages, according to which the most important words assume the right of priority in the sentence. But when an adjective forms the predicate of a proposition, the case is different: for then, instead of being an appendage to a noun, it constitutes a most important part of the sentence; and accordingly is placed before the noun, at or near the commencement of the proposition, in compliance with the same general principle. § 772. The rule concerning the position of qualifying adjectives holds good with but very few exceptions with respect to nouns both definite and indefinite.* That which relates to predicative adjectives is most strictly observed when the. subject is indefinite; because their predicative nature is then left to be ascertained from the position and context alone. When the noun is definite, the position of the adjec • Occasionally a qualificative is placed emphatically before an indefinite noun, .16:16 .many hunters, Jer רַבִּים צַיָּדִים .e. g, רַבִּים as for instance the adjective Ps. 89:51. 1 Chron. 28: 5., "ny in many times, Neh. 9: 28.: and also when the noun is specified by a pronominal suffix, e. g. the righteous one my servant, i. e. my righteous servant, Is. 53: 11., so ring her treacherous sister, Jer. 3:7, 8, 10.; or by a noun in regimen, e. g. the mighty breakers of the sea, Ps. 93: 4. The adjectives in the following passage, although viewed by some as qualificatives, are in reality predicatives: "AY7" 13 for I know your transgressions (are) manifold רַבִּים פִּשְׁעֵיכֶם וַעֲצְמִים חַטאתֵיכֶם and your sins mighty, Amos 5:12. † A predicative adjective is rarely placed after an indefinite noun, and only when its nature is clearly evinced by the context, e. g. i for danger (is) near, Ps. 22; 12. tive is of less importance, since its precise nature can then be determined from the reception or non-reception of the article: for when a qualificative, it necessarily takes the article in order to agree with the noun ; but when a predicative, it must remain indefinite (§ 724). Consequently we find that a predicative adjective whose subject is definite either by signification, construction, or the reception of the article (716), assumes the following positions with respect to it. 1. According to the general rule, it is usually placed before the noun to which it refers, and which constitutes the subject of the proposition, e. g. Jehovah (is) good, Ps. 34: 9., DIN 7 E the wickedness of man (was) great, Gen. 6: 5. Ps. 111: 2., 19 bi his glory (is) great, Ps. 21:6. 119:96., 7 the land (is) good, Num. 14: 7. Deut. 1: 25. TT 2. Less frequently it follows the noun, when, as the adjective is without the article, the sense is still perspicuous, e. g. Jehovah (is) great in Zion, Ps. 99: 2., in his strength (is) great, Judg. 16:5, 6, 15. Jer. 50: 34. Ps. 99: 3. Prov. 23: 11., this city (is) near, Gen. 19:20. 29: 2, 7. 1 Kings 18:2. Ps. 104: 25. And especially when the substantive verb is employed as a ,and the slaughter was very great וַתְּהִי הַמַּכָּה גְדֹלָה מְאֹד .copula, e. g 1 Sam. 4:10. 14:52, 89 in and his sickness was very severe, 1 Kings 17: 17. §773. These constructions obtain also when the subject is a pronoun of the first or second person, which is likewise definite: thus before the subject, e. g. in I (am) black, Cant. 1:5., thou (art) righteous, Neh. 9: 8.; after the subject, e. g. (am) asleep, Cant. 5: 2., as yet I (am) strong this day, Josh. 14: 11., p and thou (art) righteous, Neh. 9: 33., behold thou (art) fair, Cant. 1: 14, 15. NI §774. The demonstrative pronouns follow the same rules with regard to position as adjectives. Thus, when used as qualificatives, they are placed with the article (§ 724. II. 2.) after the noun to which they refer, e. g. pen this place, Gen. 28: 17., this these things, Gen. 22:1.; but when as predicatives, they are placed without the article (§ 724. I. 2.) before city, Gen. 19: 20., the subject, e. g. Din of Adam, Gen. 5:1., DN this (is) the book of the generations in T this is the way of mankind, 2 Sam. 7:19. Zech. 14:12., these are the "T names of the children of Israel, Ex. 1:1. Comparison. §775. In Hebrew as in other languages, a quality may be attributed to an object with different degrees of intensity. When no intimation is made relative to this particular, it is said to be in the positive degree; when represented as existing in one object with greater or less intensity than in another, or with too great or too little intensity for a given purpose, it is said to be in the comparative degree; and lastly, when a quality is represented as existing in the individual object or objects spoken of with the greatest or least intensity as compared to the same quality in an entire class or assemblage of objects, it is said to be in the superlative degree. The construction of the simple or positive form of attributives has already been discussed; so that there remains for us to exhibit the modes by which the comparative and superlative degrees are indicated. Comparative Degree. §776. The comparative and superlative degrees of the quality denoted by an adjective are in different languages differently expressed. In some they are symbolically indicated by an extension of the form of the adjective consisting of an added termination, which appropri ately represents the increase of force intended to be conveyed, thus σόφος, σοφώτερος, σοφώτατος ; sapiens, sapientior, sapientissimus ; wise, wiser, wisest. While in others the adjective remains unchanged, and the comparison is denoted by separate particles; as is constantly the case in French, thus sage, plus sage, le plus sage; and frequently also in English, as tranquil, more tranquil, most tranquil. The relation too of the compared noun with that with which the comparison is made is usually indicated by a particle, as, quàm, que, than; or by an inflection of the latter noun, as for example the genitive case in Greek and the ablative in Latin. §777. In the Hebrew language, whose nouns both substantive and adjective are but sparingly inflected, the adjective undergoes no change of form for the purpose of indicating the degrees of comparison; this being effected by placing in contrast the noun compared and that with which the comparison is made. For this purpose is employed the preposition (§ 608), which being prefixed to the latter noun indicates that the former departs or differs from it in the intensity of |