Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics

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Adversative: Biblical Hebrew
(382 words)

The idea of opposition or contrast may be expressed in Classical Hebrew by the lexemes אֲבָל ʾăḇå̄l and אוּלָם ʾūlå̄m. The adverb אֲבָל ʾăḇå̄l expresses the antithesis of a previously stated idea: אֲבָל֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתְּךָ֗ יֹלֶ֤דֶת לְךָ֙ בֵּ֔ן ʾăḇå̄l śå̄rå̄ ʾištǝḵå̄ yōlɛḏɛṯ lǝḵå̄ bēn ‘(No), but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son’ (Gen. 17.19) (Clines 1993 1:109; HALOT 1:7). Similarly the conjunction אוּלָם ʾūlå̄m may denote contrast either in a nominal clause (e.g., וְאוּלָ֛ם ל֥וּז שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה wǝ-ʾūlå̄m lūz šēm-hå̄-ʿīr lå̄-rīšōnå̄ ‘but Luz was the name of the city at f…

Cite this page
Arnold, Bill T., “Adversative: Biblical Hebrew”, in: Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, Edited by: Geoffrey Khan. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2212-4241_ehll_EHLL_COM_00000029>
First published online: 2013
First print edition: 9789004176423



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