than you; Hos. 2:9 בִּי טוֹב לִי אָז מֵעָֽתָּה it was better for me then than now; 1 S. 9:2 גָּבֹהַּ מִכָּל־הָעָם taller. Jud. 14:18, 1 S. 24:18, 2 S. 19:8. With better the subj. is often a clause (inf.), Gen. 29:19, Ps. 118:8, 9, Pr. 21:3, 9 (§ 89).
(b) The quality (tertium comp.) is often expressed by a verb, Gen. 41:40 אֶגְדַּל מִמֶּֽךָּ I will be greater than thou; 29:30 וַיֶּֽאֱהַב אֶת־רָחֵל מִלֵּאָה he loved R. more than L., 2 S. 1:23 מִנְּשָׁרִים קַלּוּ מֵֽאֲרָיוֹת גָּבֵרוּ they were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions. Gen. 19:9 עַתָּה נָרַע לְךָ מֵהַם now will we treat thee worse than them. Gen. 37:4; 48:19, Deu. 7:7, Jud. 2:19, 1 S. 18:30, 2 S. 6:22; 18:8; 20:5, 6, 1 K. 5:10, 11; 10:23; 14:9.
§ 34. The superlative is expressed by the simple adj. with Art., or followed by gen. of a noun or pron., 1 S. 17:14 וְדָוִד הוּא הַקָּטָן and David was the youngest; 18:17 בִּתִּי הַגְּדוֹלָה my eldest (elder) daughter, Deu. 21:3. — 2 K. 10:6 גְּדֹלֵי הָעִיר the greatest men of the city; Jer. 6:13 מִקְּטַנָּם וְעַד־גְּדוֹלָם from the least of them, &c. Gen. 9:24; 10:21; 29:16; 42:13; 43:29, Jud. 6:15; 15:2, 1 S. 9:21, Mic. 7:4, Jon. 3:5, 2 Chr. 21:17, Ps. 45:13, Job 30:6 (§ 32, R. 5). Absolute superlativeness is expressed by מְאֹד very (a noun in acc.), Jud. 3:17 בָּרִיא מְאֹד very fat, Gen. 12:14; 41:31, which may be intensified by prep. עַד, 1 K. 1:4 הַנַּֽעֲרָה יָפָה עַד־מְאֹד the girl was extremely pretty, 2 S. 2:17, Gen. 27:33; in later style בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד Ez. 9:9; or מ׳ is repeated without prep., Nu. 14:7.
Rem. 1. In form a few words correspond to the Ar. elative (˒afdalu), as אַכְזָר cruel, אַכְזָב deceptive, אֵיתָן perennial. But in Ar. many adj. of this form have no compar. sense, ’ahmaru, red; ’ahmaqu, foolish.
Rem. 2. The adj. or verb with מן may often be rendered by too, or rather than. Gen. 18:14 הֲיִפָּלֵא מֵֽי׳ דָּבָר is anything too hard for Je.? (Deu. 17:8, Jer. 32:17, 27), Jud. 7:2, רב מִתִּתִּי too many for me to give, 1 K. 8:64 קטן מֵֽהָכִיל too small
