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Grammar Analysis: Genesis 7:2-3

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Hebrew (v.2): מִכֹּ֣ל׀ הַבְּהֵמָ֣ה הַטְּהֹורָ֗ה תִּֽקַּח־לְךָ֛ שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשְׁתֹּ֑ו וּמִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֡ה אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹ֣א טְהֹרָ֥ה הִ֛וא שְׁנַ֖יִם אִ֥ישׁ וְאִשְׁתֹּֽו׃

Hebrew (v.3): גַּ֣ם מֵעֹ֧וף הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה זָכָ֣ר וּנְקֵבָ֑ה לְחַיֹּ֥ות זֶ֖רַע עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כָל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

KJV (v.2): Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that [are] not clean by two, the male and his female.

KJV (v.3): Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Word-by-Word Parsing

Genesis 7:2

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 מִ מן Prep from
2 כֹּ֣ל כל Noun.ms.Cst whole
3 הַ ה Art.+NAN the
4 בְּהֵמָ֣ה בהמה Noun.fs.Abs cattle
5 הַ ה Art.+NAN the
6 טְּהֹורָ֗ה טהר Adj.fs.Abs pure
7 תִּֽקַּח לקח Verb.Qal.Impf.2ms take
8 לְךָ֛ ל Prep.+2ms to
9 שִׁבְעָ֥ה שׁבע Noun.fs.Abs seven
10 שִׁבְעָ֖ה שׁבע Noun.fs.Abs seven
11 אִ֣ישׁ אישׁ Noun.ms.Abs man
12 וְ ו Conj.+NAN and
13 אִשְׁתֹּ֑ו אשׁה Noun.fs.Abs.+3ms woman
14 וּ ו Conj.+NAN and
15 מִן מן Prep from
16 הַ ה Art.+NAN the
17 בְּהֵמָ֡ה בהמה Noun.fs.Abs cattle
18 אֲ֠שֶׁר אשׁר Conj.+NAN relative
19 לֹ֣א לא Neg.+NAN not
20 טְהֹרָ֥ה טהר Adj.fs.Abs pure
21 הִ֛וא היא PersPron.3fs.+NAN she
22 שְׁנַ֖יִם שׁנים Noun.d.Abs two
23 אִ֥ישׁ אישׁ Noun.ms.Abs man
24 וְ ו Conj.+NAN and
25 אִשְׁתֹּֽו אשׁה Noun.fs.Abs.+3ms woman

Genesis 7:3

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 גַּ֣ם גם Adv.+NAN even
2 מֵ מן Prep from
3 עֹ֧וף עוף Noun.ms.Cst birds
4 הַ ה Art.+NAN the
5 שָּׁמַ֛יִם שׁמים Noun.mp.Abs heavens
6 שִׁבְעָ֥ה שׁבע Noun.fs.Abs seven
7 שִׁבְעָ֖ה שׁבע Noun.fs.Abs seven
8 זָכָ֣ר זכר Adj.ms.Abs male
9 וּ ו Conj.+NAN and
10 נְקֵבָ֑ה נקבה Noun.fs.Abs female
11 לְ ל Prep to
12 חַיֹּ֥ות חיה Verb.Piel.InfCon.Cst be alive
13 זֶ֖רַע זרע Noun.ms.Abs seed
14 עַל על Prep upon
15 פְּנֵ֥י פנה Noun.mp.Cst face
16 כָל כל Noun.ms.Cst whole
17 הָ ה Art.+NAN the
18 אָֽרֶץ ארץ Noun.s.Abs earth

Key Grammatical Features

1. הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהֹורָה / אֲשֶׁר לֹא טְהֹרָה הִוא — adjectival clean/unclean contrast

  • Form: בְּהֵמָה is feminine singular absolute; טְּהֹורָה / טְהֹרָה are feminine singular absolute adjectives agreeing with it. The first expression uses attributive adjective syntax with repeated article (the cattle, the clean), while the second uses a relative/adjectival clause: אֲשֶׁר לֹא טְהֹרָה הִוא, "which is not clean."
  • Significance: The clean/unclean distinction is carried by adjective agreement and by a relative clause, not by a separate noun-class term. The grammar marks two categories of בְּהֵמָה: positively described clean animals and negatively described animals that are not clean.
  • Grammar reference: construct-state, syntax-waw-conjunction.

2. שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה — repeated cardinal quantity

  • Form: Two identical feminine singular absolute cardinal nouns stand together without a preposition.
  • Significance: The repetition functions as a distributive/enumerative quantity inside the object phrase: the clean animals and the birds are to be taken in "seven, seven" units. The parser treats the whole numerical expression with אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ / זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה as the object of תִּקַּח in v.2 or as the object of the elliptical clause in v.3.
  • Grammar reference: no dedicated cardinal-reduplication entry exists in the grammar library; compare the broader category of distributive marking in distributive-lamed-ratio, though this passage does not use lamed-ratio syntax.

3. תִּקַּח־לְךָ — Qal imperfect command-like instruction

  • Form: תִּקַּח is Qal imperfect 2ms of לקח, with the 2ms pronominal complement לְךָ.
  • Significance: The imperfect occurs in direct instruction to Noah. The addressee is singular throughout the command frame, while the animals are grouped by coordinated pair language.
  • Grammar reference: qal-imperfect.

4. אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ / זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה — coordinated pair expressions

  • Form: אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ is a coordinated noun pair, literally "man and his woman/wife," used here for animal pairing. Verse 3 uses זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, masculine adjective/noun plus feminine noun.
  • Significance: Both expressions are syntactic pair markers. They qualify the counted groups as paired male/female units without changing the numeric head.
  • Grammar reference: syntax-compound-object-waw, syntax-waw-conjunction.

5. לְחַיֹּות זֶרַע — infinitive construct purpose clause

  • Form: לְ + Piel infinitive construct חַיֹּות governs זֶרַע as object.
  • Significance: The infinitive clause gives the purpose/result of the bird preservation command: keeping seed/offspring alive upon the earth.
  • Grammar reference: no dedicated Hebrew lamed-infinitive purpose entry exists; compare infinitive treatment in infinitive-construct-natan-predicative.

Clause Structure

Genesis 7:2

  • Clause 1: xYq0, question/directive domain. Complement מִ כֹּל הַ בְּהֵמָה הַ טְּהֹורָה; predicate תִּֽקַּח; supplement לְךָ; object שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ.
  • Clause 2: Elliptical coordinate clause. Complement וּמִן הַבְּהֵמָה; object שְׁנַיִם אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ. The verb "take" is supplied from Clause 1.
  • Clause 3: Adjectival relative clause: אֲשֶׁר לֹא טְהֹרָה הִוא, with negation, predicate complement adjective, and 3fs subject pronoun.

Genesis 7:3

  • Clause 1: Elliptical clause with complement גַּם מֵעֹוף הַשָּׁמַיִם and object שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה.
  • Clause 2: Infinitive construct clause: לְחַיֹּות זֶרַע עַל פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץ, with infinitive predicate, object, and location.

Construct Chains

  • כֹּל הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהֹורָה — כֹּל in construct governs the following definite noun phrase.
  • עֹוף הַשָּׁמַיִם — "birds of the heavens/air."
  • פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץ — "face of all the earth," with nested construct relationship.

Cross-References