§ 134. Syntax of the Numerals.

Cf. the exhaustive statistics collected by Sven Herner, Syntax der Zahlwörter im A. T., Lund, 1893. E. König, 'Zur Syntax der Zahlwörter im A. T., ' AJSL. xviii. 129 ff.

a

1. The numerals from 2 to 10, as being originally abstract substantives,1 may be connected with their substantives in three different ways. They may stand either—

(a) In the construct state before the substantive (the object numbered being consequently in the genitive), e. g. ~ymiy" tv,lv. a triad of days, i. e. three days; ~yvin"a]h†' ynEv. the two men; or

b

(b) In the absolute state before it (the object numbered being in apposition, § 131 d), e. g. ~ynIb' hv'lv. a triad, viz. sons, i. e. three sons; ~yvin"a] ~yIn:òv. two men; or

c

(c) In the absolute state (likewise in apposition) after the object numbered, e. g. vAlv' tAnB'. So especially in long lists, since in these the substantives naturally come first, e. g. Gn 32:15. Nu 7:17, 28:19. Apart from such cases, the frequency of this order in the later Books is due to the fact that the character of the numeral tended more and more to become adjectival rather than substantival.2

d

Rem. In Lv 24:22, dx'a, follows the construct state jP;v.mi, but here as in Nu 15:16 jP'v.mi should be read. In Gn 42:19, dx'a, is in apposition to a substantive with a suffix (= one of you brethren; but verse 33 the one of you brethren). In Nu 31:28 dx'a, precedes the substantive in the Aramaic manner (= one each).—For hn"v'-ha†' me (Gn 17:17, &c.) we find regularly in the Priestly Code (except in Gn 17:17, 23:1) hn"v' ta;m. (Gn 5:3, &c.) an hundred years. On the connexion of abstract numerals with suffixes, as ~h,ynEv. their duality, i. e. they two, Gn 2:25, &c. (also with a strengthening separate pronoun, as Wnx.n:òa] WnynEòv. 1 S 20:42), cf. § 97 i.

e

2. The numerals from 2 to 10 take the object numbered in the plural,3 with very few exceptions, such as Ex 16:22 (where rm,[oñh' ynEv. = the double of an omer), 2 K 22:1, Ez 45:1, cf. 2 K 8:17 and 25:17 Keth. The numerals from 11 to 19 generally take the plural, but with certain substantives frequently used with numerals the singular is more common (see further, under f). The tens (from 20 to 90), when they precede, take the singular (in the accusative, cf. § 131 p) of certain nouns frequently used with numerals (@l,a,ñ a thousand, vyaià~AyàrKoàvp,n<ò³Ã lq,v,ñ— but only in Ezekiel and the Priestly Code), otherwise the plural, as ~ynIB'àtAnB'à~yrI[' (but cf. also Ju 11:33), &c.; on the other hand, the plural is necessary when they follow the object numbered in apposition (e. g. ~yrIf.[, tAMa; twenty cubits, 2 Ch 3:3f.; with the exception of 2 S 24:24, only in late Books). After ha'me and @l,a,ñ the substantive numbered may be used either in the singular or plural, see further under g.

f

Rem. 1. After the numerals from 11 to 19 the singular is used, as a rule, with ~Ay day, hn"v' year, vyai man, vp,n<ò soul (person), jb,veñ tribe, hb'Cem; pillar (Ex 24:4), sometimes with hM'a; cubit, vd,xoñ month, ry[i city, lq,v,ñ shekel (compare our four-year-old, ten pound), e. g. Dt 1:2 ~Ay rf'[' dx;a; (cf., however, such exceptions as Dt 1:23, Jos 4:2, &c.).—Substantives other than these are used in the plural with the numerals from 11 to 19, and the numeral may even follow the substantive, especially in later passages, as Nu 7:87 f., 1 Ch 4:27, 25:5.

g

2. After ha'me ¿ ta;m. [so almost exclusively in the Priestly Code, e. g. always @l,a,ñ ta;m.ÐàtAameà~yIt;ñam') and @l,a,ñ ¿ ~ypil'a]àypel.a;à~yIP;ñl.a;) the substantives vyaià@l,a,ñàhM'a; (except in Ez 40:27), ~Ayàylig>r;àdm,c,ò are regularly used in the singular, generally also hn"v'àrK'KoàrKoàlq,v,ñ (with the exception of Jos 7:21, 2 S 14:26, &c.); cf., moreover, Gn 33:19, 24:60 (hb'b'r> ypel.a;), Est 1:1, Ju 21:12, Dt 7:9, 1 K 5:12, 2 Ch 9:15.—Examples of the plural after ha'me are Gn 26:12, 1 S 18:25, 2 S 16:1, 1 K 18:4; after ta;m. Ex 38:27; after tAame Ju 15:4, 2 S 8:4, 1 K 10:17, Ez 42:17; after ~yIt;ñam' 1 S 25:18, 1 K 7:20; after @l,a,ñ 1 S 25:2, 1 K 3:4, 5:6, 2 K 3:4, y Ps 90:4; after ~ypil'a] 1 S 17:5, Jb 42:12; after ypel.a; Mi 6:7; after ~yIP;ñl.a; Is 36:8.—In Dn 12:11 the plural ~ymiy" precedes the numeral twelve hundred.

h

3. Numerals compounded of tens and units (like 21, 62) take the object numbered either after them in the singular (in the accusative), e. g. Gn 5:20 hn"v' ~yViviw> ~yIT;ñv. two and sixty years (hn"v' in the singular, according to e, since it conforms to the ten immediately preceding; but also hn"v' hn<mov.W ~yvilv. Dt 2:14), or before them in the plural, especially in the later Books, Dn 9:26, &c.; or the object is repeated (but only in 1 K 6:1, and the Priestly Code; sometimes even several times, e. g. Gn 23:1, 25:7, 17 thrice) in the plural with the units, and in the singular with the tens and hundreds, e. g. Gn 12:4 ~y[ib.viw> ~ynIv' vmex' hn"v' seventy and five years; Gn 23:1 ~ynIv' [b;v,ñw> hn"v' ~yrIf.[,w> hn"v' ha'me an hundred and twenty and seven years. Cf. Gn 5:6 ff.

i

Rem. 1. It may further be remarked with regard to the order, that the thousand or thousands always precede the hundreds, &c., and the hundreds almost always come before the smaller numbers (in Kings and Ezekiel sometimes, and in the Priestly Code usually, after the smaller numbers), the tens in the earlier Books (documents J and D of the Pentateuch, in Joshua 1–12, Judges, Samuel, Isaiah, and also in Ezra and Nehemiah) before the units, but in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Priestly Code, Joshua 13–24 after the units (see Herner, op. cit., p. 73). After the hundreds the smaller number is very frequently added without w>, especially in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel.
On the syntax of the cardinals in general:—

k

2. The cardinals are determined by the article, when they refer back (without being connected with the object numbered; cf., however, Lv 25:10 f., Nu 16:35, Jos 4:4, 2 S 23:13) to a number or list already mentioned, e. g. Gn 2:11!AvyPi dx'a,h†' ~ve the name of the one (the first) is Pishon; Gn 14:9 four kings against the five (enumerated in verse 2); cf. 1 Ch 11:20 f., and the determinate tens in Gn 18:29, 31 f. A demonstrative with the article may also be added to a numeral determined in this way, e. g. Dt 19:9 (but cf. also Gn 9:19, 22:23, where the numeral and demonstrative are practically determinate in themselves). In the case of the numerals from 11 to 19 the article may stand either before the unit (1 Ch 25:19, 27:15) or before rf'[' (Jos 4:4); it is used before all three members of a compound number (273) in Nu 3:46.

l

In apposition with any determinate substantive the cardinal number is used without the article, not only when it precedes the substantive, as in Jos 15:14 (qn"[]h†' ynEb. hv'Alv.-ta,, where hv'Alv. is equivalent to a substantive determinate in itself; cf. Gn 18:28, Jos 6:8, 22, 1 S 17:14, 1 K 11:31, and the passages discussed above in § 126 x, Gn 21:29, &c.), but also when it follows the substantive, e. g. 1 K 7:27, 43 f. rf,[, and hr'f'[]; the omission of the article may here, as in the cases noticed in § 126 z, be also due to the dislike of a hiatus, but cf. also ~yIn:òv. 2 K 25:16 after a determinate substantive. The fact that it is by nature determinate would also be a very simple explanation of dx'a, Nu 28:4, 1 S 13:17 f., Jer 24:2, Ez 10:9, instead of the more usual dx'a,h†', and of tx;a; 1 S 1:2 for tx;a;h†'.

m

Such cases as ~ymiY"h; t[;bevi Ju 14:17 (which is determined by a following determinate genitive) are explained from § 127 b; 1 Ch 9:25 perhaps from § 126 q; in Is 30:26 probably the light of all the seven days of the week is meant; on the other hand, in 1 S 9:20 and 25:38 the article is, with Wellhausen, to be omitted.

n

3. Certain specifications of measure, weight, or time, are commonly omitted after numerals, e. g. Gn 20:16 @s,K,ñ @l,a,ñ a thousand (shekels) of silver; so also before bh'z" Gn 24:22, 1 K 10:16, Is 7:23, cf. y Ps 119:72. Moreover, Ru 3:15 ~yrI[of. vve six (ephahs) of barley; 1 S 10:4 ~x,l,ñ-yTev. two (sc. loaves, see verse 3) of bread, cf. 17:17 ~x,l,ñ hr'f'[]; 2 S 16:1, where before !yIq;ñ a measure, or perhaps some term like cakes, is to be supplied.—The number of cubits is stated in the Priestly Code (Ex 26:2, &c.) and in 1 K 6 and 7 (otherwise only in Ez 40:5, 21, 47:3. Zc 5:2, 1 Ch 11:23, 2 Ch 4:2 f.) by the addition of hM'a;B†' prop. by the cubit. Also in Ex 27:11 the Samaritan and LXX read hM'a;B†' after %r,ao, and in 27:15 hM'a; after href.[,.

o

4. The ordinals above 10 have no special forms, but are expressed by the corresponding cardinals, which may then stand either before or after the object numbered, e. g. Gn 7:11 ~Ay rf'[' h['b.viB. on the seventeenth day; Dt 1:3 hn"v' ~y[iB'r>a;B. in the fortieth year; cf. Gn 14:5, 2 K 25:27, and, with repetition of hn"v' in a compound number, 1 K 6:1; such a cardinal occurs without B. (and therefore in the accus. temporis, according to § 118 k) in Gn 14:4 (the Samaritan, however, has XlXbw); with the article (but without a numbered object, see under k), 1 K 19:19.4—On the position of the numeral as a genitive following its noun, cf. e. g. 1 K 16:10 [b;v,w" ~yrIf.[, tn:v.Bi in the twenty and seventh year, and with a determinate numeral, Ex 12:18, Nu 33:38, Dt 15:9. In this case, however, hn"v' is very frequently repeated, e. g. Gn 7:11, 2 K 13:10; after a determinate numeral, Lv 25:10.5

p

Rem. In numbering days of the month and years, the cardinals are very frequently used instead of the ordinals even for the numbers from 1 to 10, e. g. ~yIT;v. tn:v.Bi 1 K 15:25; vlv' tn:v.Bi 2 K 18:1, &c., cf. Dt 15:9. The months themselves are always numbered by the ordinals (!AvarIB'àynIVeB;, &c., up to yrIyfi[]B†' ), but not the days of the month, e. g. vd,xoñl; dx'a,B. Gn 8:5, &c., h['B'r>a;B. vd,xoñl; Zc 7:1; vd,xoñl; hV'mix]B†; Ez 1:1, &c., vd,xoñl; h['b.viB. 2 K 25:8, vd,xoñl; h['v.tiB. Lv 23:32 (always, however, vd,xoñl; rf['B†, on the tenth day qf the month). On the omission of ~Ay in all these cases see under n; only in late passages is ~Ay added, e. g. 2 Ch 29:17 vd,xoñl; hn"Amv. ~AyB.; Ezr 3:6 vd,xoñl; dx'a, ~AYmi.—Finally, when the year is stated by tn:v.Bi governing a determinate ordinal, viz. 2 K 17:6 ty[iyviT.h; tn:v.Bi in the ninth year; 2 K 25:1 (in Jer 52:4 hn"v'B.), Jer 28:1 Keth., 32:1 Keth., 46:2, 51:59, Ezr 7:8; tn:v.Bi in such cases is again (see note 2 on o) to be explained according to § 128 k. This is supported by the fact that the Masora on Jer 28:1, 32:1 requires in the QereÖ hn"V'B; for tnXb.

q

5. Distributives are expressed either by repetition of the cardinal number, e. g. Gn 7:9, 15 ~yIn:ñv. ~yIn:ñv. two and two; 2 S 21:20 vvew" vve six each; with the numbered object also repeated, e. g. Jos 3:12 dx'a, vyai jb,V†' l; dx'a, vyai for every tribe a man; Nu 13:2, 34:18 (!mi dx'a,, as in Neh 11:1, one out of every ten); cf. § 123 d; or a periphrasis with l. dx'a, is used, Nu 17:18, Dt 1:23, cf. Is 6:2, dx'a,l. after six wings twice repeated; the simple distributive l. is, however, sufficient (as in ~yrIq'B.l;, § 123 c), e. g. ~ypil'a]l†; w> tAamel. by hundreds and by thousands.

r

6. The multiplicatives are expressed either (like the ordinals above 10, see under o) by the cardinals (in the feminine, probably owing to the omission of ~[;P;ñà~ymi['P.; so König, Lehrgeb., ii. 228), as ~yIT;ñv. twice, Jb 40:5; [b;v,ñ seven times, Lv 26:21, 24, Pr 24:16; cf. also tx;a; once, 2 K 6:10, Jb 40:5, for which in Jb 33:14 tx;a;B.6 along with ~yIT;ñv.Bi (the latter also in 1 S 18:21); or by the dual of the numeral, thus ~yIt;ñ['b.vi Gn 4:15 (in verse 24 along with the cardinal 77 for 77 times); Is 30:26, y Ps 12:7, 79:12; ~yIT+'[.B;r>a; 2 S 12:6; 7 or periphrastically by ~[;P;ñ a time (prop. a step, with the article, ~[;P;ñh; this time; cf. also taoWh; ~[;P;ñB;, with B., like tx;a;B. above), as tx;a; ~[;P;ñ once (Neh 13:20 ~yIT;ñv.W ~[;P;ñ once and twice), ~yIm;ñ[]N); twice, ~ymi['P' vlv' (for which in Ex 23:14, Nu 22:28, 32 ~ylig"r> vlv') three times; cf. Ez 41:6 thirty-three times; 2 S 24:3 an hundred times; Dt 1:11 a thousand times; 1 K 22:16 ~ymi['p. hM,K;-d[; until how many times, i. e. how often. Cf. also ~ynImo tr,f,ñ[] ten times, Gn 31:7, 14, and ~yTi[i tABr; many times, Neh 9:28.—In Gn 43:34, five times is expressed by tAdy" vmex' (prop. five hands),8 and in Ex 16:5 the double is expressed by -l[' hn<v.mi (prop. a repetition over and above that which, &c. ).—Of the ordinals tynIve is used as a numeral adverb, Gn 22:15, &c., a second time, cf. the Latin tertium consul; tviyliV.B; the third time, 1 S 3:8; tyviymih] ~[;P;ñ a fifth time, Neh 6:5; ty[ibiV.B; at the seventh (time), 1 K 18:44, and ~[;P;ñB; ä Vh; Jos 6:16.

s

Rem. The collocation of a numeral with the next above it (either in the same or in different sentences) is a rhetorical device employed in numerical sayings to express a number, which need not, or cannot, be more exactly specified. It must be gathered from the context whether such formulae are intended to denote only an insignificant number (e. g. Is 17:6, two or at the most three), or a considerable number, e. g. Mi 5:4. Sometimes, however, this juxtaposition serves to express merely an indefinite total, without the collateral idea of intensifying the lower by means of the higher number. Thus one and two are connected by w>, Dt 32:30, Jer 3:14, Jb 33:14, 40:5 without w>, y Ps 62:12); two and three, Is 17:6 (Sirac 23:16, 26:28, 50:25), and without w>, 2 K 9:32, Ho 6:2, Am 4:8; three and four, Jer 36:23, Am 1:3–11, Pr 30:18, 21:29 (Sirac 26:5), and without w>, Pr 30:15; four and five, without w>, Is 17:6; six and seven, Jb 5:19, Pr 6:16; seven and eight, Mi 5:4, Ec 11:2; (nine and ten, Sirac 25:7).

Footnotes:

1[3] Cf. § 97 a, where it is shown that the masculine is the original form of the numerals (used for both genders), and that the feminine was afterwards differentiated and used with masc. nouns, primarily in the second decade and then in the first as well.

2[4] From Herner's tables (op. cit., pp. 55–66) it appears, according to p. 68, that in the documents J, E, D of the Pentateuch, and in Jos 1–12, Judges, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Minor Prophets, Psalms, Megilloth, and Job, the numeral never, or very rarely, stands after its noun; in Kings and Ezekiel it stands several times after; in the Priestly Code nearly always after; in Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, nearly as often after as before the noun. In Ex 28:10 the Masora makes the numeral in the genitive follow the construct state of the substantive numbered; we should, however, read hV'Vih; tAmve-ta,w>; for the omission of the article before ä v, cf. § 126 w.

3[1] On examples such as Gn 46:27 (~yIn+'òv. vp,n<ò two souls), cf. § 132 g (collectives joined with the plural of the adjective).

4[1] Somewhat different from this is Ex 19:15 be ready ~ymiy" tv,lñv.li prop. after three days, i. e. on the third day (in verses 11 and 16 and in Ezr 10:8 the ordinal is used), also 1 S 30:13 hv'lv. ~AYh; ytiylix' yKi because three days agone I fell sick, prop. to-day three (days).

5[2] All these expressions may indeed be explained by supposing that, e. g. in Lv 25:10, the proper meaning is the year of he fifty years which it completed, i. e. the fiftieth year; but it is more correct to regard tn:v. or tn:v.Bi in such cases not as a real nomen regens, but simply as a connective form to be explained on the analogy of the cases mentioned in § 128 k.

6[1] But tx;a;B. Nu 10:4 is to be translated on one (trumpet).

7[2] Probably also ~yIl;ñp.Ki Jb 11:6 (from lp,K,ñ doubling) does not mean doubled but manifold.

8[3] But tAdY"h; [B;r>a; Gn 47:24 means the (other) four parts; cf. 2 K 11:7, Neh 11:1.