# BBH Chapter 6 — Hebrew Prepositions

## Files

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch6-preposition-parsing/ | 25-item prepositional phrase parsing drill — identify preposition, base form, vowel change, object, and translation

### Flashcards

File | Format | Description
--- | --- | ---
ch6-vocab-deck.md | Markdown | Vocabulary deck — 17 prepositions plus direct object marker and כֹּל with OT frequency
ch6-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Anki File → Import (19 cards)
ch6-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Flashcards Deluxe import (19 cards)

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
Hebrew Prepositions | Hebrew preposition frequency and infinitive-construct governing analysis

Basics of Biblical Hebrew, Pratico & Van Pelt
Chapter 6: Hebrew Prepositions

## 1. Introduction

Hebrew prepositions express the spatial, temporal, and logical relationships between words and clauses. They fall into two structural types: (1) independent prepositions (separate words that precede their object) and (2) inseparable prepositions (single consonants prefixed directly to the following word). Understanding both types — and the systematic vowel changes each undergoes — is essential for reading virtually any verse in the Hebrew Bible.

Prepositions are among the most frequent words in Biblical Hebrew. The inseparable prepositions בְּ לְ כְּ and the particle מִן appear tens of thousands of times in the OT and are recognizable in almost every chapter of narrative and poetry.

## 2. The Inseparable Prepositions

Three Hebrew prepositions are inseparable — they are never written as independent words but always attach directly to the word they govern. They each consist of a single consonant:

Preposition | Consonant | Primary Meaning
--- | --- | ---
בְּ | ב | in, by, with, at, through
לְ | ל | to, for, belonging to
כְּ | כ | like, as, according to

### 2a. Standard Form

The default form is the consonant + vocal shewa (ְ):

> בְּדָבָר — "in/with a word"
> לְמֶלֶךְ — "to/for a king"
> כְּאִישׁ — "like a man"

### 2b. Vowel Changes — Summary Table

Context | Vowel Under Prep | Example | Rule
--- | --- | --- | ---
Normal consonant (default) | Sheva (ְ) | בְּדָבָר | Standard form
Following consonant has a sheva | Hireq (ִ) | בִּשְׁמוּאֵל | Two consecutive shevas are not permitted; sheva → hireq
Following consonant has hateph patach (ֲ) | Patach (ַ) | בַּאֲדָמָה | Prep matches vowel class of the composite sheva
Following consonant has hateph seghol (ֱ) | Seghol (ֶ) | בֶּאֱמֶת | Prep matches vowel class of the composite sheva
Following consonant has hateph qamets (ֳ) | Qamets (ָ) | כָּחֳלִי | Prep matches vowel class of the composite sheva
Preceding the definite article הַ | Article drops; prep takes article vowel + dagesh forte in next consonant | בַּמֶּלֶךְ | Article-fusion: הַ disappears, vowel transfers to prep

### 2c. Before the Definite Article — Article Fusion

When an inseparable preposition precedes a word that has the definite article הַ, the ה of the article drops and the preposition takes the article's vowel (patach) plus the dagesh forte that would have stood in the first consonant of the noun.

Standard article-fusion forms:

Noun class | Prep + Article | Fused Form | Example
--- | --- | --- | ---
Normal consonant | בְּ + הַ | בַּ | בַּמֶּלֶךְ (in the king)
Normal consonant | לְ + הַ | לַ | לַמֶּלֶךְ (to the king)
Normal consonant | כְּ + הַ | כַּ | כַּמֶּלֶךְ (like the king)
Guttural (א ה ח ע) or ר — no dagesh forte possible | בְּ + הָ | בָּ | בָּהָר (in the mountain)
Guttural (א ה ח ע) or ר — no dagesh forte possible | לְ + הָ | לָ | לָהָר (to the mountain)
Guttural (א ה ח ע) or ר — no dagesh forte possible | כְּ + הָ | כָּ | כָּהָר (like the mountain)

> Key diagnostic: If you see בַּ, לַ, כַּ followed by a dagesh forte in the next letter, the article has been absorbed. The dagesh forte is the trace of the missing ה.

## 3. The Preposition מִן

The preposition מִן (from, out of, away from; also comparative: "more than") appears in two forms:

### 3a. Independent Form

מִן — written as a separate word, usually before words with the definite article:

> מִן הַמֶּלֶךְ — "from the king"
> מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם — "from the heavens"

### 3b. Prefixed Form — Before Non-Guttural Consonants

When מִן is prefixed directly to a word, the נ assimilates (disappears) into the following consonant via dagesh forte:

> מִ + מֶּלֶךְ = מִמֶּלֶךְ — "from a king"
> מִ + יַד = מִיַּד — "from the hand of"

The hireq (ִ) under מ is retained.

### 3c. Before Gutturals and Resh — Compensatory Lengthening

Gutturals and ר refuse the dagesh forte. When מִן would prefix to a word beginning with a guttural or ר, the nun's dagesh forte is rejected and the preceding hireq lengthens to tsere (ֵ) as compensation:

Before | Result | Example | Gloss
--- | --- | --- | ---
הָ (guttural) | מֵהָ | מֵהָאָרֶץ | from the earth
הַ (guttural) | מֵהַ | מֵהַהָר | from the mountain
אֱ (guttural) | מֵ | מֵאֱלֹהִים | from God
עַ (guttural) | מֵ | מֵעַם | from a people
רֹ / רֶ etc. | מֵ | מֵרֹאשׁ | from the head

> The tsere (ֵ) before a guttural is the diagnostic marker for מִן + compensatory lengthening.

## 4. The Particle אֵת — Direct Object Marker

אֵת is not a preposition but is introduced in this chapter as an important particle. It is the definite direct object marker (DOM) — it marks the definite direct object of a verb. There is no English equivalent; it is simply a signal that a definite noun follows as the direct object.

Key rules:
- Used only with definite objects (nouns with the article, proper nouns, or objects with pronominal suffixes)
- Never translated into English
- Written with a maqqeph as אֶת־ before the following word in many texts

Examples:

> בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
> "God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen 1:1)

> אָהַב יִצְחָק אֶת־עֵשָׂו
> "Isaac loved Esau." (Gen 25:28)

Note: A homonym אֵת means "with" (a preposition of accompaniment). Context distinguishes: the DOM precedes the direct object of a transitive verb; "with" accompanies a subject or indirect object.

### Pronominal Suffixes on אֵת

When the direct object is a pronoun, the suffix attaches to אֹת- (or אוֹת-):

Suffix | Form | Gloss
--- | --- | ---
1cs | אֹתִי | me
2ms | אֹתְךָ | you (ms)
2fs | אֹתָךְ | you (fs)
3ms | אֹתוֹ | him/it
3fs | אֹתָהּ | her/it
1cp | אֹתָנוּ | us
2mp | אֶתְכֶם | you (mp)
2fp | אֶתְכֶן | you (fp)
3mp | אֹתָם | them (m)
3fp | אֹתָן | them (f)

## 5. Independent Prepositions

These prepositions stand as separate words. They do not change form based on the following consonant (though many take pronominal suffixes).

Preposition | Hebrew | Meaning | Approx. OT Frequency
--- | --- | --- | ---
אֶל | אֶל | to, toward, into | ~5,500
עַל | עַל | on, upon, over, about, against | ~5,800
עִם | עִם | with, together with | ~1,100
עַד | עַד | until, as far as, during | ~1,260
מִן | מִן | from, out of, more than (see §3) | ~7,500
בֵּין | בֵּין | between, among | ~400
תַּחַת | תַּחַת | under, below, instead of | ~510
אַחַר / אַחֲרֵי | אַחַר / אַחֲרֵי | after, behind | ~840
לִפְנֵי | לִפְנֵי | before, in front of, in the presence of | ~1,100
מִפְּנֵי | מִפְּנֵי | from before, because of, away from | ~150
אֵצֶל | אֵצֶל | beside, next to | ~80

> Note on אֶל vs. עַל: These are commonly confused. אֶל (to/toward) expresses motion toward a goal. עַל (on/upon/about) expresses position above, contact, or topic. In poetry and later Biblical Hebrew, they occasionally overlap.

## 6. Prepositional Phrases as Adverbs

Hebrew regularly uses prepositional phrases where English would use a single adverb. Learning these fixed phrases aids reading speed:

Hebrew | Literal | Idiomatic | Note
--- | --- | --- | ---
בַּיּוֹם | in the day | by day / during the day | Fused: בְּ + הַיּוֹם
בַּלַּיְלָה | in the night | by night / at night | Fused: בְּ + הַלַּיְלָה
לְעוֹלָם | to eternity | forever / always | Common in Psalms
עַד עוֹלָם | until eternity | forever / for ever and ever | Parallel to לְעוֹלָם
בֶּאֱמֶת | in truth | truly / faithfully | Prep before composite sheva
מִדֵּי יוֹם | from each day | day by day / daily | Distributive use
לַבֹּקֶר | in the morning | in the morning | Fused: לְ + הַבֹּקֶר
לָעֶרֶב | in the evening | in the evening | Fused: לְ + הָעֶרֶב

## 7. Frequency Data

Prepositions are among the most frequent items in the Hebrew OT. The figures below are approximate token counts (includes all forms and suffixed variants):

Preposition | Approx. Tokens | Notes
--- | --- | ---
לְ (inseparable) | ~20,000 | Most frequent single grammatical item in the OT
בְּ (inseparable) | ~15,400 | Second most frequent
אֵת / אֶת (DOM) | ~11,000 | Includes suffixed forms (אֹתִי etc.)
מִן | ~7,500 | Includes both independent and prefixed forms
עַל | ~5,800 |
אֶל | ~5,500 |
כְּ (inseparable) | ~3,400 |
עַד | ~1,260 |
עִם | ~1,100 |
לִפְנֵי | ~1,100 | Compound: לְ + פָּנִים
תַּחַת | ~510 |
בֵּין | ~400 |
אַחַר / אַחֲרֵי | ~840 |

> Taken together, the three inseparable prepositions (בְּ לְ כְּ) account for roughly 38,800 tokens — nearly 10% of all word tokens in the Hebrew OT. Mastering their vowel changes is one of the highest-return investments in early Hebrew study.

## 8. Key Terms

Term | Definition
--- | ---
Inseparable preposition | A preposition consisting of a single prefixed consonant (בְּ לְ כְּ); never written as a free-standing word
Independent preposition | A preposition written as a separate word (אֶל, עַל, עִם, etc.)
Article fusion | The process by which בְּ לְ כְּ absorb the definite article הַ; the ה drops, the vowel transfers, and dagesh forte appears in the following consonant
Compensatory lengthening | When a dagesh forte is rejected by a guttural or ר, the preceding short vowel lengthens: hireq → tsere (ִ → ֵ), patach → qamets (ַ → ָ)
Composite sheva (hateph vowel) | A reduced vowel used under gutturals in place of a simple vocal shewa: ֲ (hateph patach), ֱ (hateph seghol), ֳ (hateph qamets)
Direct object marker (DOM) | אֵת / אֶת — a particle marking the definite direct object; untranslated in English
Assimilation | The disappearance of נ in the prefixed form of מִן; it merges into the following consonant via dagesh forte
Construct chain | A grammatical structure in which a noun is in the construct state to express possession or relationship — often used with prepositions (preview for Ch8–9)

## 9. Practice

Resource | Description
--- | ---
Preposition Parsing Drill | 25 Hebrew prepositional phrases — identify the preposition, base form, vowel change and reason, object, and translation. Answer key included.