Grammar:Gender/0

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Gender

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Dual Gendered Nouns

There are several words In Tanakh which are treated as both masculine and feminine, at times taking a masculine verb or adjective and at other times taking a feminine one. R. SaadiaCommentary Bereshit 19:23About R. Saadia Gaon suggests that in such cases one must conclude either that these words are dual gendered, or that the verse is assuming a missing word and it is that word which conforms with the gender of the verb or adjective that follows.1 

  • ארון – Though the word is usually treated as masculine, at times it takes feminine modifiers as well. See Shemuel I 4, where verse 11 reads, "וַאֲרוֹן אֱלֹהִים נִלְקָח", while verse 17 reads, "וַאֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים נִלְקָחָה".‎2  See RadakShemuel I 4:17Shemuel I 6:12Yechezkel 37:7About R. David Kimchi there for discussion.
  • ארץ - Compare Bereshit 1:2 (הָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה), where "ארץ" is feminine (as is usually the case), with Yechezkel 21:24 (מֵאֶרֶץ אֶחָד), where it is masculine.3  See also Yeshayahu 33:9 where the word takes both a feminine and masculine adjective (אָבַל אֻמְלְלָה אָרֶץ). See Ibn EzraYeshayahu 33:9About R. Avraham ibn Ezra there who notes this, but compare ShadalYeshayahu 33:9About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto who suggests that the verse should be understood as if written: "אָבַל יושב האָרֶץ ואֻמְלְלָה אָרֶץ".
  • אש – Compare Shemot 22:5 where it takes a feminine verb (כִּי תֵצֵא אֵשׁ)4  with Yirmeyahu 48:45 where it takes a masculine one (כִּי אֵשׁ יָצָא).5  See also Iyyov 20:26 where it takes both masculine and feminine modifiers in the very same verse (תְּאׇכְלֵהוּ אֵשׁ לֹא נֻפָּח).6
  • בית – Compare Mishlei 2:18 where it is feminine (כִּי שָׁחָה אֶל מָוֶת בֵּיתָהּ) with Devarim 8:12 (בָתִּים טֹבִים) where it is masculine (like most occurrences).7
  • גן – Compare Bereshit 2:15 where it takes a feminine referent (וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן עֵדֶן לְעׇבְדָהּ וּלְשׇׁמְרָהּ),8 with Shir HaShirim 4:12, where it takes a masculine adjective ("גַּן נָעוּל").9  Ibn EzraYeshayahu 33:9Bereshit Lexical Commentary 2:15Bereshit First Commentary 2:15Bereshit First Commentary 30:38About R. Avraham ibn Ezra further notes that the plural form of the verb also sometimes appears with a masculine ending (גנים)10 and sometimes with a feminine one (גנות).11
  • גפן – This word is treated as feminine in almost all verses,12 with the exception of Hoshea 10:1 (גֶּפֶן בּוֹקֵק יִשְׂרָאֵל).
  • דרך – Compare Bereshit 28:20 where it is masculine ("וּשְׁמָרַנִי בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה")13 with Shemot 18:20 where it is feminine ("הַדֶּרֶךְ יֵלְכוּ בָהּ").14 See also Yeshayahu 35:8 where it us treated as both masculine and feminine in one verse (וָדֶרֶךְ וְדֶרֶךְ הַקֹּדֶשׁ יִקָּרֵא לָהּ לֹא יַעַבְרֶנּוּ).15
  • חצר – Though it usually acts as a feminine noun, as in Melakhim I 6:36 (הֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִית),16 see Yechezkel 40:19-23 where it takes a masculine adjective ("לֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִי"). See also Shemot 35:17 where in the same verse, it is referred to as both feminine and masculine ("אֵת קַלְעֵי הֶחָצֵר אֶת עַמֻּדָיו וְאֶת אֲדָנֶיהָ").17 
  • יד – Compare Bereshit 26:25 where it is feminine ("וְיָדוֹ אֹחֶזֶת")18 with Shemot 17:12 where it is masculine ("וִידֵי מֹשֶׁה כְּבֵדִים").19  See also Yechezkel 2:9 where it takes both forms in the same verse, "וְהִנֵּה יָד שְׁלוּחָה אֵלָי וְהִנֵּה בוֹ".‎20
  • מחנה – Compare Bereshit 33:8 where it is treated as masculine (הַמַּחֲנֶה הַזֶּה)21 with Tehillim 27:3 where it is treated as feminine (תַּחֲנֶה עָלַי מַחֲנֶה).22 See also Bereshit 32:923 where in the very same verse it takes both a feminine and masculine adjective (הַמַּחֲנֶה הָאַחַת וְהִכָּהוּ... הַמַּחֲנֶה הַנִּשְׁאָר).
  • מלאכה –Though normally treated as feminine, in several verse it takes a masculine verb or adjective.  See, for example, Shemot 12:16, "כׇּל מְלָאכָה לֹא יֵעָשֶׂה בָהֶם".‎24  See also Shemuel I 15:9 where it takes both a feminine and masculine adjective in one verse: "וְכׇל הַמְּלָאכָה נְמִבְזָה וְנָמֵס".
  • מקום – The word is usually masculine, but see Ibn Ezra Bereshit 2:15 Bereshit Lexical Commentary 2:15About R. Avraham ibn Ezra
  • עיניים – Though often feminine (see Bereshit 27:11 or Bereshit 29:17), it can also take a masculine referent. See, for instance, Yeshayahu 2:11 and RadakYeshayahu 2:11About R. David Kimchi there, Zekharyah 3:9Zekharyah 4:10 andMishlei 4:25,.
  • עַם – Though usually masculine, see Shofetim 18:7 (הָעָם... יוֹשֶׁבֶת לָבֶטַח) or Yirmeyahu 8:5 (שׁוֹבְבָה הָעָם) where it treated as feminine. See also Ibn Ezra and Shadal on Shemot 5:16.
  • רוח – Compare Bereshit 1:2 where it is takes a feminine verb ("יוְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת")25 with Bemidbar 11:31 where it takes a masculine verb ("וְרוּחַ נָסַע").  See also Melakhim I 19:1126 and Iyyov 1:1927 in each of which it acts as both masculine and feminine in the very same verse.28
  • שמש – Compare Bereshit 15:17 where it takes a feminine verb (הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בָּאָה)29 and Bereshit 19:23 where it takes a masculine verb (הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ יָצָא).30  See, though, R. Saadia that in the latter cases perhaps the verses mean "אור השמש יצא".

Androgynous Verbs

Sometimes a verb will combine a masculine and feminine form. For example:

Nonconformity between Verb and Gender


Often the root "היה" will not conform with the gender (or number) of the subject. Many commentators32 note the phenomenon and suggest that it should be recognized as "the way of the text", normal for Biblical Hebrew.

  • Ibn Ezra explains that  the lack of conformity might stem from the word's prevalence. Shadal compares it to the Italian "impersonale" construction, often used to express a non specific subject ("one", "they" etc) which similarly does not always conform to number.
  • Cf. Rashbam who agrees that the nonconformity is simply "the way of the text" but adds that if one nonetheless wanted to look for conformity, one might suggest that in all such cases there is an assumed subject which is implied by the text: "מעשה" and it is this which conforms to the verb. Thus, such verses would read as if written: "and [an event] happened, that..."
  • Examples of the phenomenon: Bereshit 24:14, (וְהָיָה הַנַּעֲרָ אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיהָ), Bereshit 24:43 (וְהָיָה הָעַלְמָה הַיֹּצֵאת לִשְׁאֹב), Devarim 20:3 (וְהָיָה הָעִיר הַקְּרֹבָה), Devarim 22:23 (כִּי יִהְיֶה נַעֲרָ בְתוּלָה), Yeshayahu 33:6 (וְהָיָה אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ), Kohelet 11:2 (מַה יִּהְיֶה רָעָה)

Double Feminine

Sometimes a word will have two feminine markers. Radak Yehoshua 6:17Shemuel I 4:17Shemuel I 6:12Shemuel II 1:26Yechezkel 37:7Tehillim 3:3Tehillim 120:1About R. David Kimchisuggests that in such cases, the doubling serves as an intensifier

Indefinite Subject or Object

In Biblical Hebrew, when referring to an indefinite subject / object, the feminine is generally used. For example, in Bereshit 50:20, Yosef tells the brothers: "וְאַתֶּם חֲשַׁבְתֶּם עָלַי רָעָה אֱלֹהִים חֲשָׁבָהּ לְטֹבָה". The "matter" that Hashem thought of for good is not specific, and could be either male of female, but is marked as feminine. ShadalBereshit 50:20About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto notes that this is a general rule: "כנוי הנקבה חוזר אל הדבר... כל מקום שמשמיטין מלת דָבָר אומרים לשון נקבה".

 Several examples follow:

  • Bereshit 15:6 – "וְהֶאֱמִן בַּי״י וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ צְדָקָה"
  • Bereshit 42:7 – "וַיְדַבֵּר אִתָּם קָשׁוֹת"
  • Shemot 10:11 – "וְעִבְדוּ אֶת יְהֹוָה כִּי אֹתָהּ אַתֶּם מְבַקְשִׁים"
  • Shemot 17:14 – "כְּתֹב זֹאת זִכָּרוֹן בַּסֵּפֶר"
  • Vayikra 5:22 – "עַל אַחַת מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה הָאָדָם לַחֲטֹא בָהֵנָּה"
  • Bemidbar 22:18 – "לֹא אוּכַל לַעֲבֹר אֶת פִּי י״י אֱלֹהָי לַעֲשׂוֹת קְטַנָּה אוֹ גְדוֹלָה"
  • Bemidbar 27:11 – "וְהָיְתָה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְחֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט"
  • Yehoshua 10:13 – "הֲלֹא הִיא כְתוּבָה עַל סֵפֶר הַיָּשָׁר"
  • Shemuel I 10:12 – "עַל כֵּן הָיְתָה לְמָשָׁל"
  • Shemuel I 11:2 – "בְּזֹאת אֶכְרֹת לָכֶם בִּנְקוֹר לָכֶם כׇּל עֵין יָמִין"
  • Shemuel i 18:23 – "וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד הַנְקַלָּה בְעֵינֵיכֶם הִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ"
  • Yeshayahu 7:7 – "לֹא תָקוּם וְלֹא תִהְיֶה"

Pausal Form

Words sometimes slightly change their form when they appear at the end of a semantic unit (at the end of a verse or clause).36  This is known as the pausal form since in many cases the vocalization is slightly elongated, causing the reader to pause.  After the prepositions בְ, לְ, אֵת the suffix ־ְךָ in pausal form becomes ־ָךְ, (for example: בָּךְ, לָךְ, אִתָּךְ). Though these words appear as "feminine", they are simply the pausal forms of their male counterparts.