God speaks solemnly of Himself, Gen. 15:1; 26:24; 28:13. After nom. pendens the resumptive pron. with indef. pred. is unemphatic; 34:21; 40:12, 18; 41:25–27; 42:11.
(c) Naturally the pred. is emphatic in interrogative sentences of whatever kind. Gen. 24:65 מִי הָאִישׁ הַלָּזֶה who (pred.) is yonder man? 1 S. 17:43 הֲכֶלֶב אָנֹֽכִי am I a dog? Gen. 18:17. הַֽמְכַסֶּה אֲנִי shall I hide? Gen. 4:9, Jud. 2:22, 1 S. 16:4; though emphasis may alter this order, Ex. 16:7, 8 וְנַחְנוּ מָה what are we? In answers the order of question is generally retained; Gen. 29:4 … מֵאַיִן אַתֶּם מֵֽחָרָן אֲנַחְנוּ from where are ye? from Haran we, 24:23, 24, 2 K. 10:13. But great variety appears in use of the pron.; cf. Gen. 24:65.
The prep. ל with noun or pron. when meaning to be to, to have, often stands first; Gen. 26:20 לָנוּ הַמַּים the water is ours; 29:16 וּלְלָבָן שְׁתֵּי בָנוֹת and L. had two daughters. 19:8; 31:16; 48:5, Ex. 2:16, Jud. 3:16, 1 S. 1:2; 17:12; 25:2, 2 S. 14:6. And so adverbial expressions, Gen. 2:12.
In the nominal sentences above the predication is expressed by the mere juxtaposition of subj. and pred. without any copula. The time also to which the predication belongs is left unexpressed.
2. The Verbal Sentence
§ 105. In the verbal sent. the idea expressed by the verb is the emphatic element, and in ordinary calm discourse the order is — pred., subj. Gen. 4:26 וּלְשֵׁת יֻלַּד־בֵּן a son was born. And with the conversive tenses universally, which must stand at the head of the clause, Gen. 3:2 וַתֹּאמֶר הָֽאִשָּׁה and the woman said. This kind of sentence is far the most common in prose narrative.
When, however, any emphasis falls on the subj. it may precede the verbal pred. This emphasis may be of various kinds, though generally due to some kind of antithesis,
