"Double-Accusative" Construction (Hebrew)¶

Definition¶

The Qal infinitive construct of נתן "to give" (H5414), realized most commonly as the bare form תֵּת tēt (Cst) / תֵת (Abs) or prefixed לָתֵת lātēt (with lamed of purpose), governs a characteristic double-complement pattern: object₁ (direct — what is given) + complement (the role, state, fate, or location into which it is given). The verb נתן is lexically tri-valent (giver + thing + recipient/predicate), and its infinitive construct preserves this valency while losing finite agreement. In classical grammars this is treated under "accusative of product/result" (GKC §117ii, Joüon-Muraoka §125w, IBHS §10.2.3c) or as "double accusative of person-and-predicate" when both slots are direct-marked.

Object + Locative/Instrumental complement — "give X into/under/through Y"; recipient/destination marked by preposition (בְּ־, לְ־, תַּחַת, בְּיַד).
Object + Predicative complement — "give X to be Y" or "give X as Y"; second slot is a bare noun or participle expressing the result-state (no copula in Hebrew).
Object + Purpose infinitive — "give X to do Y" (second lə--infinitive chains onto the first).
Compound (coordinated) object — the X-slot expands via וְ־ "and" to yoke two nouns under a single act of giving (e.g. qōḏeš wə-ṣāḇāʾ Dan 8:13).

Form Recognition¶

First word: נתן (Strong's H5414) tagged Verb.Qal.InfCon — morphology invariant (no person/number/gender affixation except optional pronominal suffix).
Parser code: sp=verb vs=qal vt=infc with lex=נתן
Spelling variants: bare תֵּת (most common; both Cst and Abs tags in BHSA), לָתֵת with prefixed lə-, בְּתִתּוֹ / כְּתִתְּךָ with prepositional prefix + pronominal suffix, rare נְתָן (Gen 38:9).
Diagnostic syntax: the infinitive is immediately followed (within 1–4 words) by (a) a nominal direct object — often marked with אֶת־ or a pronominal suffix, and (b) a second constituent that is not a second direct object of some other verb but supplies the destination, agent, or result-state of the giving.
Distinguish from finite נָתַן: the InfCon lacks person-affixes (no nātattî "I gave" shape); it is typically embedded under a main verb (עַד + infinitive, לְ + infinitive of purpose), a modal (יָכֹל, חָדַל, הוֹסִיף), or stands in construct to a governing noun/preposition.

Functions with Examples¶

1. Compound Object + Predicative Complement — Dan 8:13b as type-specimen¶

Reference	Hebrew	Parsing	KJV Translation
Dan 8:13	תֵּ֛ת וְקֹ֥דֶשׁ וְצָבָ֖א מִרְמָֽס	Qal.InfCon.Cst + Noun.ms.Abs + Conj + Noun.ms.Abs + Noun.ms.Abs	"to give [both] the sanctuary and the host [to be] trodden under foot"

The infinitive תֵּת governs a coordinated-nominal object (קֹדֶשׁ וְצָבָא — the two nouns yoked by waw under a single verbal act) plus a predicative complement מִרְמָס "a trampling / trampled thing" (Noun.ms.Abs, lexical H4823 √רמס "trample"). Hebrew has no copula in the result-slot; the semantic frame is "give [both] sanctuary and host as a trampled thing" — X₁, X₂ → Y. The KJV "to be trodden under foot" supplies a modal "to be" that the Hebrew does not write. The waw on וְקֹדֶשׁ is not a disjunctive introducing a new clause; it coordinates inside the verb's object-slot (construct-governance continues across the conjunction).

2. Object + Locative-Instrumental Complement (prepositional destination)¶

Reference	Hebrew	Parsing	KJV Translation
Deu 1:27	לָתֵ֥ת אֹתָ֛נוּ בְּיַ֥ד הָאֱמֹרִ֖י	lə + Qal.InfCon.Abs + DO-marker+1p + Prep + Noun.s.Cst + Adj.ms.Abs	"to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites"
1Ki 5:17 [Eng 5:3]	עַ֤ד תֵּת־יְהוָה֙ אֹתָ֔ם תַּ֖חַת כַּפֹּ֥ות רַגְלָֽי	Prep + Qal.InfCon.Cst + YHWH + DO-marker+3mp + Noun.ms.Cst + Noun.fp.Cst + Noun.fd.Abs+1s	"until the LORD put them under the soles of my feet"

1Ki 5:17 is the syntactic parallel to Dan 8:13: the same InfCon tēt governs an object (אֹתָם "them" = enemies) + a locative-predicative complement (taḥat kappōt raglāy "under my feet-soles"). Both verses deploy the same frame — InfCon of נתן + object + subjugation-predicate — with locative preposition תַּחַת in 1Ki 5:17 vs. bare noun מִרְמָס in Dan 8:13. Deu 1:27 shows the prepositional variant בְּיַד ("into the hand of") marking hostile transfer.

3. Object + Purpose-Infinitive Complement (double-infinitive chain)¶

Reference	Hebrew	Parsing	KJV Translation
Eze 15:6	נְתַתִּ֥יו לָאֵ֖שׁ לְאָכְלָ֑ה	Qal.Perf.1s+3ms + Prep + Noun + Prep + Noun.fs.Abs	"which I have given to the fire for fuel"

Though the Ezek 15:6 main verb is finite (perf. nətattîw), it displays the lexical semantic frame of נתן that the InfCon inherits: object (3ms suffix on the verb) + recipient (לָאֵשׁ "to the fire") + predicative purpose (לְאָכְלָה "for/as food/fuel"). When this frame is nominalized under InfCon, the same triple valency persists.

4. Object + Single Complement (simplex giving)¶

Reference	Hebrew	Parsing	KJV Translation
Gen 4:12	לֹֽא־תֹסֵ֥ף תֵּת־כֹּחָ֖הּ לָ֑ךְ	Neg + Hiphil.Impf.3fs + Qal.InfCon.Cst + Noun.ms.Abs+3fs + Prep+2ms	"shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength"
Exo 5:7	לֹ֣א תֹאסִפ֞וּן לָתֵ֨ת תֶּ֧בֶן	Neg + Hiphil.Impf.2mp + lə + Qal.InfCon.Abs + Noun.ms.Abs	"Ye shall no more give … straw"
Lev 20:4	בְּתִתֹּ֥ו מִזַּרְעֹ֖ו לַמֹּ֑לֶךְ	Prep + Qal.InfCon.Abs+3ms + Prep + Noun.ms.Abs+3ms + Prep+Noun	"when he giveth of his seed unto Molech"

The baseline pattern — object + indirect recipient marked by lamed (לְ־) — is the lexically unmarked use. Gen 4:12 fronts the object (כֹּחָהּ "her strength") before the recipient (לָךְ "unto thee"); Lev 20:4 shows InfCon + 3ms subject-suffix (בְּתִתּוֹ "in his giving") with partitive מִזַּרְעוֹ and dative לַמֹּלֶךְ.

Form	Function	Example
InfCon of נתן + object + predicate (this entry)	"give X [as / under / into] Y"	Dan 8:13; 1Ki 5:17
Finite נָתַן + double accusative	same frame, finite verb	Eze 15:6
Inf.Abs. + cognate finite נתן (paronomastic)	intensifies act of giving ("surely give")	Num 22:17; see infinitive-absolute-intensification
InfCon of any verb + לְ prefix	purpose / complement ("in order to")	general; see seal-command-syntax-daniel (לַחְתֹּם chain)
Bare predicate-nominal (verbless X = Y)	symbol decoding, copula-less equation	see symbol-decoding-predicate-nominal
Cognate accusative (verb + noun same root)	emphatic figure via noun, not InfAbs	1Sa 1:11 וַתִּדֹּר נֶדֶר

The predicative-complement slot of נתן (function 1) overlaps semantically with the predicate-nominal pattern but is verb-governed, not verbless: the "is/to be" sense is supplied by the giving-verb's result-role, not by an independent copular clause. The locative-instrumental slot (function 2) overlaps with the בְּיַד "into-hand-of" transfer idiom that recurs across the Deuteronomistic conquest/defeat vocabulary.

Recurrent Predicate-Complement Nouns Attested with נתן¶

Based on parser-verified occurrences of נתן (Qal finite + InfCon) governing a second-slot predicate-noun:

Predicate Noun	Strong's	Gloss	Example
מִרְמָס	H4823	"trampling / trodden thing"	Dan 8:13 (with תֵּת InfCon)
בְּיַד	H3027 + prep	"into the hand of" (subjugation)	Deu 1:27 לָתֵת…בְּיַד
תַּחַת + body-part	H8478	"under (feet/soles of)"	1Ki 5:17 תֵּת…תַּחַת כַּפּוֹת רַגְלָי
לְאָכְלָה	H402	"for food/fuel"	Eze 15:6 נְתַתִּיו לָאֵשׁ לְאָכְלָה
לְבַז	H957	"for a spoil/prey"	frame-parallel Num 14:3 יִהְיוּ לָבַז
לִשְׁמָמָה	H8047	"for a desolation"	lexical family cognate of שֹׁמֵם (Dan 8:13a)

The Dan 8:13 predicate-noun מִרְמָס ("a trampled thing") belongs to the same semantic class as "spoil, desolation, food-for-fire" — a result-state noun designating what the object is transformed into by the act of giving.

Grammatical Notes¶

InfCon governs verbally, not substantivally: even though morphologically a verbal noun, the InfCon retains the argument-structure of the finite verb. It takes a direct object (optionally אֶת-marked), not a genitival modifier (contrast with deverbal noun נְתִינָה which would take genitive). Dan 8:13 תֵּת governs קֹדֶשׁ וְצָבָא as verbal object, not as genitive "the giving of X."
Subject of the infinitive: can be (a) supplied from context (Dan 8:13 — horn of v.11–12, or the pôlmônî / speaker-supplied agent), (b) expressed as pronominal suffix (Lev 20:4 bə-tittô "in his giving"), or (c) overt noun following the InfCon (1Ki 5:17 tēt YHWH ʾōtām "the LORD's giving them"). Dan 8:13 leaves the subject unspecified — the construction is agent-occluded, parallel to the Hophal passives הוּרַם / הֻשְׁלַךְ of Dan 8:11 (see stem-hophal).
Waw-coordination inside the object slot: when the InfCon governs compound objects joined by waw (Dan 8:13 וְקֹדֶשׁ וְצָבָא), the coordination is internal to the verbal complement. The two nouns share a single act of giving; treatment of them as separate predications would require repetition of the governing InfCon or a new finite verb. This is the same coordination pattern as compound objects of finite verbs (see syntax-waw-conjunction for disjunctive-vs-conjunctive diagnostics).
Anarthrous predicate: the predicative complement מִרְמָס in Dan 8:13 is absolute (not definite) — consistent with Hebrew predicate-nominal grammar where the predicate slot is typically indefinite to distinguish it from the definite subject (cf. symbol-decoding-predicate-nominal).
Translation tradition: KJV supplies "to be" in English ("to be trodden under foot") even though Hebrew has no copula in the predicate-complement slot. LXX Dan 8:13 θ' renders καὶ τὸ ἅγιον καὶ ἡ δύναμις συμπατηθήσεται with a future passive (συμπατέω "trample together"), converting the infinitive-predicate construction into a finite passive clause.
ETCBC/BHSA tagging: InfCon is tagged unknownunknown for person/gender/number (the form is morphologically invariant); state is either Cst or Abs depending on whether a following noun is analyzed as construct-governed or absolute-apposed. Dan 8:13 tags תֵּת as Abs — the following nouns are treated as verbal objects, not genitival modifiers.

Generated from: hebrew_parser.py (--verse, --lemma, --search); parser-verified Dan 8:13, 1Ki 5:17 [Heb 5:17/Eng 5:3], Deu 1:27, Eze 15:6, Lev 20:4, Exo 5:7, Gen 4:12

Cross-references: infinitive-absolute-intensification, construct-state, symbol-decoding-predicate-nominal, stem-hophal, syntax-waw-conjunction

Last updated: 2026-04-20