as proper names, and which consequently never take the article, belong also certain archaic words mostly used only by poets, such as שְׁאוֹל Hades, תֵּבֵל world, תְּהוֹם ocean, of the body of water which encircles the earth, Gn 1, &c.; but Is 63, ψ 106 בַּתְּהֹמוֹת through the depths, viz. of the Red Sea.[1]
[h] 2. When nouns which the usage of the language always treats as proper names occasionally appear to be connected with a following genitive, this is really owing to an ellipse whereby the noun which really governs the genitive, i.e. the appellative idea contained in the proper name, is suppressed. So evidently in the case of יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת Yahweh (the God) of hosts; the fuller form יהוה אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת 2 S 5, &c., or יהוה אֱלֹהֵי הַצְּבָאוֹת Am 3, &c., is a secondary expansion of the original יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת; אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת in ψ 59, 80, 20, 84:9 is due to the mechanical substitution of אֱלֹהִים for יהוה affected in the 2nd and part of the 3rd book of the Psalms. So also in geographical names such as אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים Ur (the city) of the Chaldees, Gn 11; אֲרַם נַֽהֲרַ֫יִם Aram (the region) of the two rivers; בֵּית לֶ֫חֶם יְהוּדָה Bethlehem (the city) of Judah; אָבֵל בֵּית מַֽעֲכָה 2 S 20, &c., to distinguish it from אָבֵל מַ֫יִם Abel by the water, 2 Ch 16; יָבֵישׁ גִּלְעָד 1 S 11, &c.; יַרְדֵּן יְרֵחוֹ Nu 22, 26, 63, &c.; on Ju 8 cf. § 128 c; צִיּוֹן קְדֹוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל the Zion of the Holy One of Israel, Is 60; but in 1 S 1 for צוֹפִים read צוּפִי a Zuphite. Some of these examples (cf. also Am 6) come very near to the actual construct state (cf. above, גִּבְעַת שָׁאוּל), since e.g. the addition of the genitive serves to distinguish the place from four others called Aram (see the Lexicon), or from another Bethlehem. Aram, Bethlehem, &c., are accordingly no longer names found only in one special sense, and therefore also are no longer proper names in the strictest sense.
[i] 3. Of the pronouns, the personal pronouns proper (the separate pronouns, § 32) are always determinate in themselves, since they can denote only definite individuals (the 3rd person, also definite things). For the same reason the demonstrative pronouns (§ 34) are also determinate in themselves, when they stand alone (as equivalent to substantives), either as subject (Gn 5) or as predicate (e.g. זֶה הַיּוֹם this is the day, Ju 4; אֵ֫לֶּה חַדְּבָרִים these are the words, Dt 1), or as object (e.g. אֶת־זֹאת 2 S 13), or as genitive (מְחִיר זֶה 1 K 21), or finally when joined to a preposition (לְזֹאת Gn 2; בָּזֶה 1 S 16, see § 102 g).
[k] So also the personal pronouns הוּא, הִיא, הֵם, הֵ֫מָּה, הֵ֫נָּה when they are used as demonstratives (=is, ea, id, ille, &c.) are always determinate in themselves, e.g. הוּא הַדָּבָר that is the thing, Gn 41. They
- ↑ That various other words, such as אֱנוֹשׁ man, צַלְמָ֫וֶת deep darkness, רֹזֵן prince, שָׁדַי field, תּֽוּשִׁיָּה effectual working, are always found without the article is not to be attributed to any special archaism, but is to be explained from the fact that they belong solely to poetic language, which avoids the article; in other cases, such as תַּרְדֵּמָה deep sleep, there is no occasion for the article in the passages we possess.
