Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu/491

 is a substantival participle (a lurker, a coucher). In  remains undefined in gender (masc.), although the noun precedes for the sake of emphasis; so also in, , , 32, , , ,  ( as if the sentence began afresh, and servants born in my house... there fell to my lot this possession also). In  may (unless  is regarded as masculine, ) be taken impersonally, fire, without its being blown upon.—In  and  the predicate in the singular is explained from the collective character of  (see h above); on the other hand, the masculine form of the predicate is abnormal in, , , , ,.

1. When the subject is composed of a nomen regens (in the construct state) with a following genitive, the predicate sometimes agrees in gender and number not with the nomen regens, but with the genitive, when this represents the principal idea of the compound subject. Thus, as if it were the mighty men with their bow are broken; , ,  (but the text is clearly very corrupt), 17:16, , , , , , ,  ( equivalent to many years); 38:21; with the predicate preceding, , unless it is to be explained according to.

Rem. 1. The cases in which (voice, sound) with a following genitive stands at the beginning of a sentence, apparently in this construction, are really of a different kind. The is there to be taken as an exclamation, and the supposed predicate as in apposition to the genitive, e.g.  the voice of thy brother’s blood, which crieth (prop. as one crying)...!=''hark! thy brother’s blood is crying'', &c.;,. In an independent verbal-clause follows the exclamation the voice of thy watchmen!; in  and  an independent noun-clause; in   i.e. ''hark! there is one crying'' is followed immediately by direct speech; in  may be used disconnectedly (cf. the almost adverbial use of  in ) and  be taken as the subject to.

2. When the substantive  entirety is used in connexion with a genitive as subject of the sentence, the predicate usually agrees in gender and number with the genitive, since  is equivalent in sense to an attribute (whole, all) of the genitive; hence, e.g. with the predicate preceding, , &c. (in 5:23, 9:29, ; but the Samaritan reads here also); ; with the predicate following,, &c. Exceptions are, e.g. (but cf. ),, , ,. On the other hand, in such cases as the agreement of the