Grammar:Person/0

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Person

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Change of Person

At times Tanakh switches from speaking in second person to third person (or vice versa) when it seems unwarranted, as there does not seem to be a switch in addressee. In many such cases,  commentators debate the verse's intent, questioning whether a new person is nonetheless being addressed1 or if  it is simply "the way of the text" to switch person mid-verse. Several.of many examples follow:

Archaic Form of Second Person

The second person feminine conjugation is normally marked by the "תְּ" ending (as in: "שָׁכָבְתְּ" or "עָבַרְתָּ"). The archaic form of the same conjugation had a "י" at the end ("שָׁכַבְתִּי").18 In several instances this older form is preserved in Tanakh, when a verse has a "קרי וכתיב", a word written one way but read another. See, for example, Yirmeyahu 2:33 (לִמַּ֖דְתְּ / למדתי), Yirmeyahu 3:4 (קָרָ֥את / קראתי), Ruth 3:3 (וְיָרַדְתְּ / וירדתי), or 3:4 (וְשָׁכָבְתְּ / ושכבתי).19  There are also several verses in which commentators debate whether a verse should be understood as preserving this archaic form, or if the first person, perfect conjugation is implied:

  • Yirmeyahu 2:20 – The verse reads, "כִּי מֵעוֹלָם שָׁבַרְתִּי עֻלֵּךְ נִתַּקְתִּי מוֹסְרוֹתַיִךְ". This is commonly understood to refer to Hashem speaking in first person, noting how He broke the yoke of bondage laid upon Israel by other nations (and how, nonetheless, Israel rebelled).  See, though, the opinion in Shadal, that "שָׁבַרְתִּי" and "נִתַּקְתִּי" should be understood in second person, and Hashem is telling the nations that they have always broken the yoke (of Torah).20
  • Shofetim 5:7 – In Devorah's song after her victory over Sisera, she tells of how there was a lack if security in Israel "עַד שַׁקַּמְתִּי דְּבוֹרָה שַׁקַּמְתִּי אֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל".  Bavli Pesachim 66b criticizes Devorah for praising herself, but M. Tzipor21 has suggested that perhaps the word "שַׁקַּמְתִּי" should be understood as the archaic form of the second person feminine, "שקמת" (you rose). If so, the song is responsive, and contains certain lines said by the audience, who here praise Devorah.

Ambiguous Person

Certain conjugations look identical leading to ambiguity in meaning.  For example, the future second person male and the future third person female have the same form, so without context "תלך" can mean either "Go" or "She will go".  Similarly, certain forms of the third person singular passive construction might look like a first person future plural. Thus "נברא" can mean either "it was created" or "we will create". Though often a verse will provide enough details to determine which is referred to, in several cases a verse is ambiguous:

Second Person Male vs. Third Person Female

  • Shofetim 13:13-14 – As the verbs תִּשָּׁמֵר, תֹאכַל etc. can be either second person male ("do not eat") or third person female ("she shall not eat"), it is unclear from the verse if the angel is telling Manoach what he should do or what he should ensure that his wife does.
  • Eikhah 3:17 – The poet says, "וַתִּזְנַח מִשָּׁלוֹם נַפְשִׁי". It is unclear if he is directly addressing Hashem, telling Him, "You have cast off my soul from peace", or if the subject of "וַתִּזְנַח" is the soul: "My soul has abandoned peace" (Ibn Kaspi).
  • Eikhah 3:20 – In this verse, too, it is ambiguous whether the poet is directly addressing Hashem in the second person: "Remember well that my soul bows down within me," or if the subject of "זָכוֹר תִּזְכּוֹר" is the soul itself: "My soul remembers well, and it is bowed down within me"

First Person Future Plural vs. Third Person Singular Passive

Miscellaneous