Bet-Prefix + Kol + ʾăšer + Verb — Permissive Enumeration Construction (Hebrew)¶
Definition¶
The fixed phrase בְּ + כֹל + אֲשֶׁר + finite verb — literally "in/for all-that (which) [verb]" — is a syntactic slot that converts an open-ended relative clause into a nominal PP adjunct modifying an imperatival/volitive main verb. The bet is not merely locative but specifying/distributive ("in the sphere of," "for the range of," "pertaining to"); kōl (const.) universalizes the relative's reference; ʾăšer heads a headless/free relative clause whose verb is typically a 2ms/3fs yiqtol of desire, movement, or seeking. When the matrix verb is imperatival (imperative, 2ms yiqtol of command, or weqatal of legal obligation), the whole PP functions as a permissive enumeration — authorizing the addressee's action across the full range opened by the embedded verb.
- Permissive-enumerative (with volitive/imperatival matrix) — "for whatsoever X desires/asks/chooses"; grants covenant-addressee discretion within the law (Deut 12:15, 12:20–21, 14:26).
- Locative-universal (with verbs of going/turning) — "wheresoever X goes/turns"; open-ended spatial quantification (Josh 1:7; 1 Sam 14:47; 1 Ki 2:3 construct variant).
- Descriptive-totalizing (with verbs of doing) — "in everything X does"; summative, not permissive (Gen 39:3 without בְּ; 1 Ki 2:3 with אֵת instead of בְּ).
Form Recognition¶
- Prefixed particle: בְּ (rarely בַּ־; with waw וּבְ־) — glossed "in" by parser; here marks sphere/range, not location.
- Universal quantifier: כֹל in construct state (
Noun.ms.Cst) — never absolute, because אֲשֶׁר-clause is its nomen rectum. - Relative: אֲשֶׁר (
Conj.) tagged<relative>by parser; here headless — antecedent is the content of the embedded verb. - Embedded verb: prefix conjugation (
Verb.*.Impf.*), almost always 2ms / 3fs (subject = the soul / the addressee's desire), sometimes with pronominal object suffix. - Maqqef: אֲשֶׁר frequently joined by maqqef to the following verb (אֲשֶׁר־תְּאַוֶּה) — diagnostic of tight binding.
- Parser signature: sequence
Prep(ב) + Noun.ms.Cst(כל) + Conj(אשר) + Verb.*.Impf.*
Morpheme-by-Morpheme Analysis (Deut 14:26 pivot)¶
בְּכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁר־תְּאַוֶּ֨ה נַפְשְׁךָ֜
| Morpheme | Form | Parsing | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| בְּ | ב | Prep | specifying/sphere-marker ("pertaining to") — not locative |
| כֹל | כל | Noun.ms.Cst | universal quantifier, construct-bound to the אֲשֶׁר-clause |
| אֲשֶׁר | אשׁר | Conj. <relative> |
headless relative introducing the content-range |
| תְּאַוֶּה | אוה | Verb.Piel.Impf.3fs | embedded verb of desire — subject is נֶפֶשׁ |
| נַפְשְׁךָ | נפשׁ + 2ms | Noun.fs.Abs.+2ms | subject of embedded verb; the 2ms suffix ties the construction to the addressee |
The construct-chain logic is: [sphere-marker] [all] [of-what] [your-soul-craves] → "for-the-full-range-of-what-your-soul-craves." The matrix verb וְנָתַתָּה ("and thou shalt give/bestow," weqatal as legal-imperatival — see weqatal-legal-imperatival) governs the silver-PP (הַכֶּסֶף) and receives the בְּכֹל־אֲשֶׁר PP as a specification of disposition. The addressee is commanded to spend the tithe-money, and the בְּכֹל־אֲשֶׁר clause defines the legally permitted object-domain.
Functions with Examples¶
1. Permissive-Enumerative (imperatival matrix)¶
| Reference | Hebrew | Matrix Verb | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 14:26 | וְנָתַתָּה הַכֶּסֶף בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־תְּאַוֶּה נַפְשְׁךָ … וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁאָלְךָ נַפְשֶׁךָ | וְנָתַתָּה Qal.Perf.2ms (weqatal-legal) | "thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after … or for whatsoever thy soul desireth" |
| Deut 12:20 | בְּכָל־אַוַּת נַפְשְׁךָ תֹּאכַל בָּשָׂר | תֹּאכַל Qal.Impf.2ms (permissive yiqtol) | "thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after" |
| Deut 12:21 | וְאָכַלְתָּ … בְּכֹל אַוַּת נַפְשֶׁךָ | וְאָכַלְתָּ Qal.Perf.2ms (weqatal-legal) | "and thou shalt eat … whatsoever thy soul lusteth after" |
| Deut 12:15 | בְּכָל־אַוַּת נַפְשְׁךָ תִּזְבַּח | תִּזְבַּח Qal.Impf.2ms (permissive yiqtol) | "thou mayest kill … whatsoever thy soul lusteth after" |
Note on the Deut 12 variant: 12:15, 12:20, 12:21 substitute the cognate noun אַוַּת (Noun.fs.Cst, from √אוה) for the finite-verb relative clause. Same semantic slot — אֲשֶׁר־תְּאַוֶּה ("that which [the soul] craves," Piel Impf.) is compressed into the construct noun אַוַּת נַפְשׁ ("craving-of soul"). Deut 14:26 is the syntactically fullest member of the set, where the relative clause is unfolded. The entire Deut 12–14 food-law paragraph thus contains four iterations of the same permissive frame, with 14:26 as the expanded climax.
2. Locative-Universal (verb-of-motion matrix)¶
| Reference | Hebrew | Embedded Verb | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh 1:7 | תַּשְׂכִּיל בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תֵּלֵךְ | תֵּלֵךְ Qal.Impf.2ms (הלך) | "that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest" |
| 1 Sam 14:47 | וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יִפְנֶה יַרְשִׁיעַ | יִפְנֶה Qal.Impf.3ms (פנה) | "whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them" |
Same morphological skeleton (בְּ + כֹל + אֲשֶׁר + yiqtol), but because the embedded verb is motion/direction rather than desire, the universalized range is spatial ("wherever") rather than object-of-desire ("whatsoever"). The matrix verb is not necessarily imperatival in 1 Sam 14:47 (narrative Hiphil imperfect יַרְשִׁיעַ).
3. Descriptive-Totalizing (contrast — not permissive)¶
| Reference | Hebrew | Parsing note | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 39:3 | וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־הוּא עֹשֶׂה יְהוָה מַצְלִיחַ | no בְּ prefix; כֹל is subject, not specification | "the LORD made all that he did to prosper" |
| 1 Ki 2:3 | תַּשְׂכִּיל אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה וְאֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר תִּפְנֶה | direct-object marker אֵת, not בְּ | "thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest" (KJV "in" is supplied; MT has אֵת) |
In Gen 39:3 the כֹל אֲשֶׁר clause is the subject of a divine-causing Hiphil (מַצְלִיחַ) — totalizing but not permissive. In 1 Ki 2:3 the construction uses the direct-object marker אֵת instead of בְּ, marking the relative clause as a direct object of Hiphil תַּשְׂכִּיל ("prosper in/cause to understand"). The KJV's "in all that thou doest" adds a preposition not in the Hebrew; the construction is syntactically distinct from the Deut 12–14 permissive frame.
Contrast with Related Forms¶
| Form | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר + yiqtol (this entry) | permissive/locative universal specification | Deut 14:26; Josh 1:7 |
| בְּכָל־אַוַּת נַפְשׁ | compressed construct variant (noun for rel.-clause) | Deut 12:15, 12:20, 12:21 |
| אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר + yiqtol | direct-object universal; not specification | 1 Ki 2:3 |
| כֹל אֲשֶׁר + finite verb (no prep) | headless relative as subject/predicate nominal | Gen 39:3 |
| כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר + finite verb | comparative "according to all that" | Josh 1:7a כְּכָל־הַתֹּורָה אֲשֶׁר |
| אִישׁ כָּל־הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו | permissive idiom without כֹל אֲשֶׁר | Deut 12:8; Judg 17:6; 21:25 |
The Deuteronomic permissive-enumeration slot is one of several grammatical devices for extending an imperatival verb over an open range. It is distinguished by: - the בְּ-prefix (specification, not object-marking, not subject-position), - the headless relative (אֲשֶׁר without a nominal head — contrast construct-chain אַוַּת נַפְשׁ), - matrix-verb volitivity (imperative, permissive yiqtol, or weqatal-legal — see weqatal-legal-imperatival).
When all three features coincide, the PP grants the addressee discretionary latitude within the legal frame.
Common Embedded Verbs in This Slot¶
| Verb | Strong's | Stem/Tense | Semantic class | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אוה | H183 | Piel.Impf.3fs | desire | Deut 14:26 תְּאַוֶּה |
| שׁאל | H7592 | Qal.Impf.3fs.+2ms | ask/request | Deut 14:26 תִּשְׁאָלְךָ |
| הלך | H1980 | Qal.Impf.2ms | go/walk | Josh 1:7 תֵּלֵךְ |
| פנה | H6437 | Qal.Impf.3ms | turn | 1 Sam 14:47 יִפְנֶה |
| עשׂה | H6213 | Qal.Impf.2ms | do (descriptive variant with אֵת) | 1 Ki 2:3 תַּעֲשֶׂה |
Cross-References¶
- weqatal-legal-imperatival — the matrix-verb form (Deut 14:26 וְנָתַתָּה, וְאָכַלְתָּ) that carries the imperatival force the PP modifies.
- imperative-mood — when the matrix verb is a true imperative (e.g., Josh 1:7 חֲזַק וֶאֱמַץ).
- qal-imperfect — permissive/modal yiqtol (Deut 12:15 תִּזְבַּח, 12:20 תֹּאכַל).
Generated from: hebrew_parser.py --verse (Deut 14:26; 12:15; 12:20; 12:21; Josh 1:7; 1 Sam 14:47; 1 Ki 2:3; Gen 39:3) Last updated: 2026-04-19