§ 87. Of the Plural.

Brockelmann, Grundriss, i. 4:26 ff., and on the feminines, p. 441 ff.; M. Lambert, 'Remarques sur la formation du pluriel hebreu,' REJ. xxiv. 99 ff., and 'Les anomalies du pluriel des noms en Hebreu,' REJ. xliii. 206 ff.; P. LajcÛiak, Die Plural-u. Dualendungen im semit. Nomen, Lpz. 1903; J. Barth, 'Beiträge zur Pluralbildung des Semit.,' ZDMG. 1904, p. 431 ff., i. 'the ai of the constr. st.'

a

1. The regular plural termination for the masculine gender is ~y¤i always with the tone, e. g. sWs horse, plur. ~ysiWs horses; but also very often written defectively ~¤i, especially when in the same word one of the vowel letters, w or y precedes, e. g. Gn 1:21 ~nIyNIT;. Nouns in y¤i make their plural in ~yYI¤i, e. g. yrIb.[i a Hebrew, plur. ~yYIrb.[i (Ex 3:18); but usually contraction takes place, e. g. ~yrIb.[i ’ ~ynIv' crimson garments, from ynIv'.

b

Nouns in h¤, lose this termination when they take the plural ending, e. g. hz<xo seer, plur. ~yzIxo (cf. § 75 h).— In regard to the loss of the tone from the ~¤i in the two old plurals ~yIm;ñ water and ~yIm;ñv' heaven, cf. § 88 d and § 96.

c

The termination ~y¤i is sometimes assumed also by feminines (cf. ~yvin" women, § 96 under hV'ai ’ ~ynIv' years, from hn"v' ’ ~ylixer> ewes, from lxer'), so that an indication of gender is not necessarily implied in it (cf. also below, m–p).— On the use of this termination ~y¤i to express abstract, extensive, and intensive ideas, cf. § 124.

d

The ending iÖm is also common in Phoenican, e. g.~ndc Sidonii; Assyrian has aÖni ( acc. to P. Haupt originally aÖmi, cf. § 88 d ); Aramaic has iÖn; Arabic uÖna (nominative) and iÖna (in the oblique cases, but in vulgar Arabic iÖn is also used for the nominative); Ethiopic aÖn. Cf. also the verbal ending !W the 3rd plur. perf. ( § 44 l ) and in the 3rd and 2nd plur. impf. ( § 47 m ).1

e

Less frequent, or only apparent terminations of the plur. masc. are — ( a) !y¤i, as in Aramaic,2 found almost exclusively in the later books of the O. T. (apart from the poetical use in some of the older and even the oldest portions), viz. !ykil'm. kings, Pr 31:3, !ynIdoc)i 1 K 11:33, !ycir' the guard, 2 K 11:13, !yJixi wheat, Ez 4:9; defectively !YIai islands, Ez 26:18; !ymiy" days, Dn 12:13. Cf. also !yDImi carpets, Ju 5:10, in the North-Palestinian song of Deborah, which also has other linguistic peculiarities; !yYI[i heaps, Mi 3:12 (before t; cf. § 44 k); !yLimi words (from the really Aram. hL'mi), Jb 4:2, and twelve other places in Job ( beside ~yLimi, ten times in Job ); further, !yYIx; Jb 24:22, !yrIxea] 31:10, and !ymimeAv La 1:4, !yNIT; 4:3.— The following forms are doubtful:

f

(b) y¤i (with the ~ rejected, as, according to some, in the dual yd;y" for ~yId;ñy" Ez 13:18, cf. § 88 c), e. g. yNImi stringed instruments, y Ps 45:9 for ~yNImi (unless it is to be so written)3; yMi[; peoples, y Ps 144:2, and, probably, also La 3:14 (in 2 S 22:44 it may be taken as yMi[; my people; cf. in the parallel passage y Ps 18:44 ~['; also in Ct 8:2 the iÖ of ynIMorI is better regarded as a suffix); see also 2 S 23:8 as compared with 1 Ch 11:11, and on the whole question Gesenius, Lehrgebäude, p. 524 ff. More doubtful still is —

g

(c) y¤; ( like the constr. state in Syriac), which is supposed to appear in e. g. yr;f' princes, Ju 5:15 ( perhaps my princes is intended: read either the constr. st. yref', which also has good authority, or with LXX ~yrIf'); for sw yn"ëALx; Jer 22:14 (according to others dual, see § 88 c, or a loan word, cf. ZA. iii. 93) read !Aps' wyn"ALx;. On yb;AG and yr;Ax, which have also been so explained, see above, § 86 i. —yp;Wfx] Is 20:4 (where the right reading is certainly ypeWfx]) must be intended by the Masora either as a singular with the formative syllable y¤; = bareness or, more probably, as a constr. st. with the original termination ay (cf. § 89 d ) to avoid the harsh combination hasuÖfeÖ sÛeÓt4; in yn"doa] the Lord ( prop. my lord, from the plur. majestatis, ~ynIdoa] lord ), the ay was originally a suffix, § 135 q.

h

(d) ~¤' a supposed plural ending in ~N"Ki = ~yNIKi gnats (or lice), and ~L'su ladder (supposed by some to be a plur. like our stairs ); but cf. on the former, § 85 t.

i

2. The plural termination of the feminine gender is generally indicated by the termination tA (often written defectively t·¤, e. g. hL'hiT. song of praise, psalm, plur. tALhiT. (only in post-biblical Hebrew ~yLihiT., as in the headings of the printed editions, as well as tALhiT. rp,señ the Book of Psalms); tr,G<Ðai a letter, plur. tArG>ai ’ raeB. a well, plur. tAraeB.. Feminines in ty¤i form their plural in tAY¤i, e. g. tyrIc.mi an Egyptian woman, plur. tAYrIc.mi; and those in tW either make tAY¤u, as tWkl.m; kingdom, plur. tAYkul.m;, Dn 8:22 (cf. tAYnUx] cells, Jer 37:16), or are inflected like tAd>[†e testimonies (pronounced ÇeÒdhewoÖth for ÇeÒdhuÁwoÖth).

k

It is only from a mistake or disregard of these feminine endings tA¤i and ty¤i that some words ending with them form their plural by the addition of ~y¤i or tA¤, e. g. tynIx] spear, plur. ~ytiynIx] and tAtynIx] ’ tWnz> whoredom, plur. ~ytiWnz> ( by the side of ~ynIWnz> ); ~ytiWnm.l.a; widowhood; tAtyxiv. pits, tAts'K. amulets ( if connected with Assyr. kaÖsu, to bind ), &c.

l

The termination -oÖth stands primarily for -aÖth (which is the form it has in Arab., Eth., in the constr. st. of Western Aramaic, in Eastern Syriac, and also in Assyrian; on the change of aÖ into an obscure oÖ, see § 9 q). On the other hand, it is doubtful whether this aÖth is to be regarded as a lengthened and stronger form of the singular fem. ending aÁth (cf. § 80 b).

HoÌw the changeable vowels of a noun are shortened or become S–ewaÖ in consequence of the addition of the plural endings is explained in §§ 92–5).

m

3. Words which in the singular are used both as masculine and feminine ( § 122 d ), often have in the plural parallel forms with the masculine and feminine terminations, e. g. b[' cloud, plur. ~ybi[' and tAb['; and each form may be treated either as masculine or feminine, according to the usage of the particular word. — But even those words, of which the gender is invariable, sometimes have both plural forms, e. g. rAD masc. a generation, plur. ~ydIAD and tArAD ’ hn"v' fem. a year, plur. ~ynIv' and tAnv' (see the Rem.). In these words the gender of both plural forms remains the same as in the singular, e. g. yrIa] masc. a lion, plur. tAyr'a] masc., Zp 3:3, tArAD masc., Jb 42:16.

n

Sometimes usage makes a distinction between the two plural forms of the same word. Thus, ~ymiy" days, ~ynIv' years are the usual, but tAmy" (only twice, in the constr. st. Dt 32:7, y Ps 90:15) and tAnv' (also only in the constr. st. and before suffixes) are rarer poetic forms.

o

A difference of meaning appears in several names of members of the body, the dual (see § 88) denoting the living members themselves, while the plur. in tA expresses something like them, but without life (§ 122 u), e. g. ~yId;ñy" hands, tAdy" artificial hands, also e. g. the arms of a throne; ~yIP;ñK; hands, tAPK; handles (Lat. manubria); ~[;P;ñ foot, tAm['P. artificial feet (of the ark), ~yIn:Ðr>q; horns, tAnr'q. horns (of the altar); ~yIn:Ðy[e eyes, tAny"[] fountains; cf. also ~yyIr'a] lions, tAyr'a] the figures of lions on Solomon's throne, rm'T' palm, hr'moT†i a palm-like column, plur. ~yrImoT†i and tArmoT†i

p

4. A considerable number of masculines form their plural in tA while many feminines have a plural in ~¤i. The gender of the singular, however, is as a rule retained in the plural.

Undoubted instances of masculines with (masculine) plural tA¤ are: ba' father, rc'Aa treasure, raoB and rAB cistern, bn"z" tail, ~Alx] dream, aSeKi throne, ble and bb'le heart, x;Wl tablet, lyIl;ñ and hl'y>l;ñ night, x;Bez>mi altar, ~Aqm' place, raon skin-bottle, rnE, lamp, rA[ skin, lAq voice, !x'l.vu table, ~ve name, rp'Av trumpet.

q

Feminines ending in h¤' which take in the plural the termination ~y¤i are hl'ae terebinth, hm'yae terror ( but also tAmyae), hl'beD> a cake of figs, hJ'xi wheat, hn"bel. a brick, hL'mi (only in poetry) a word, ha's. seaÒ, a dry measure, hr'A[f. barley, and the following names of animals hr'AbD> a bee and hn"Ay a dove; also, for ~yciyBe fem. eggs, a singular hc'yBe is to be assumed. hM'lua] sheaf and hn"v' year (see above, n) take both ~y¤i and tA; cf. finally tl,Boñvi an ear of corn, plur. ~yliK\vi and, without the fem. termination in the singular vg<l,ñyPi concubine, plur. ~yvig>l;yP†i

r

5. A strict distinction in gender between the two plural endings is found, in fact, only in adjectives and participles, e. g. ~ybiAj boni, tAbAj bonae, ~ylij.q†o masc., tAlj.q†o fem. So also in substantives of the same stem, where there is an express distinction of sex, as ~ynIB' filii, tAnB' filiae; ~ykil'm. reges, tAkl'm. reginae.

s

Rem. 1. In some few words there is added to the plural ending tA a second (masculine) plural termination (in the form of the constr. st. y¤e, cf. § 89 c), or a dual ending ~yI¤ñ, e. g. hm'B' a high place, plur. tAmB' constr. sÇ. yteAmB†' (also ytem\B†' baÒmotheÖ, Is 14:14, Jb 9:8, &c., sometimes as QereÖ to the KethiÖbh ytwmb; see § 95 o); lWav' ytevoa]r;me from Saul's head, 1 S 26:12; hm'Ax wall, plur. tAmAx moenia, whence dual ~yIt;ñmoAx double walls. This double indication of the plural appears also in the connexion of suffixes with the plural ending tA (§ 91 m).

t

2. Some nouns are only used in the singular (e. g. ~d'a' man, and collectively men); a number of other nouns only in the plural, e.g. ~ytim. men (the old sing. Wtm. is only preserved in proper names, see § 90 o; in Eth. the sing. is meÁt, man); some of these have, moreover, a singular meaning (§ 124 a), as ~ynIP' face. In such cases, however, the same form can also express plurality, e. g. ~ynIP' means also faces, Gn 40:7, Ez 1:6; cf. ~yhil{a/ God, and also gods (the sing. H;l{a/, a later formation from it, occurs only ten times, except in Jobforty-one and in Daniel four times).

Footnotes:

1[1] On the connexion between all these endings see Dietrich's Abhandl. zur hebr. Gramm., Leipzig, 1846, p. 51 ff.; Halevy, REJ. 1888, p. 138 ff. [cf. also Driver, Tenses, § 6, Obs. 2).

2[2] So also always in the MeÖsÛÔa‘ inscription, e. g. line 2 !XlX thirty; line 4 !klm kings; line 5 !br !my many days, &c.

3[3] According to some this iÖ is simply due to a neglect of the point (§ 5 m), which in MSS. and elsewhere marked the abbreviation of the plur. ending.

4[4] Prätorius, ZDMG. 1903, p. 525, regards yp;Wfx] as an instance of the affix of endearment (cf. ym;Wxa]; yb;WlK.) transferred to. an appellative, but such an explanation is rendered unlikely by the meaning of this isolated instance.