# Chapter 7 — Adjective Usage Drill

**Topic:** Hebrew Adjectives — Attributive, Predicate, and Substantival Uses
**Chapter:** BBH Chapter 7

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## Instructions

For each Hebrew phrase:

1. **Use** — Identify the adjective use: Attributive (Def. or Indef.) / Predicate / Substantival / Comparative / Superlative
2. **Adjective** — Give the adjective in the form shown (pointed Hebrew)
3. **Agreement** — State the gender and number of the adjective (ms / fs / mp / fp) and note whether it agrees as expected
4. **Translation** — Translate the phrase into English

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## Part A — Attributive Adjectives (Definite)

*Items 1–5: The adjective follows the noun; both noun and adjective bear the definite article.*

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל | | | | |
| 2 | הָאִשָּׁה הַטּוֹבָה | | | | |
| 3 | הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה | | | | |
| 4 | הָאֲנָשִׁים הַגִּבּוֹרִים | | | | |
| 5 | הַדְּבָרִים הַטּוֹבִים | | | | |

---

## Part B — Attributive Adjectives (Indefinite)

*Items 6–10: No article on noun or adjective.*

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל | | | | |
| 7 | אִשָּׁה טוֹבָה | | | | |
| 8 | אֶרֶץ גְּדוֹלָה | | | | |
| 9 | עַם קָדוֹשׁ | | | | |
| 10 | דָּבָר חָדָשׁ | | | | |

---

## Part C — Predicate Adjectives

*Items 11–18: The adjective makes a statement about the noun. The noun may be definite; the adjective is not.*

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | הַמֶּלֶךְ גָּדוֹל | | | | |
| 12 | גָּדוֹל הַמֶּלֶךְ | | | | |
| 13 | הָאִשָּׁה טוֹבָה | | | | |
| 14 | טוֹב הַדָּבָר | | | | |
| 15 | הָאָרֶץ טוֹבָה | | | | |
| 16 | הַגִּבּוֹרִים חֲזָקִים | | | | |
| 17 | יָשָׁר הַדֶּרֶךְ | | | | |
| 18 | כָּבֵד הַדָּבָר | | | | |

---

## Part D — Substantival Adjectives

*Items 19–22: The adjective stands alone as a noun without an explicit head noun.*

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | הַטּוֹב | | | | |
| 20 | הָרָע | | | | |
| 21 | הַקְּדֹשִׁים | | | | |
| 22 | רַבִּים | | | | |

---

## Part E — Comparative and Superlative

*Items 23–25: Adjective used in comparison.*

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | טוֹב מִדְּבַשׁ | | | | |
| 24 | הַקָּטֹן | | | | |
| 25 | עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה | | | | |

---

## Answer Key

### Part A — Attributive Adjectives (Definite)

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל | Attributive (def.) | הַגָּדוֹל | ms; agrees with מֶלֶךְ (ms) | the great king |
| 2 | הָאִשָּׁה הַטּוֹבָה | Attributive (def.) | הַטּוֹבָה | fs; agrees with אִשָּׁה (fs) | the good woman |
| 3 | הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה | Attributive (def.) | הַגְּדוֹלָה | fs; agrees with עִיר (fs — feminine noun) | the great city |
| 4 | הָאֲנָשִׁים הַגִּבּוֹרִים | Attributive (def.) | הַגִּבּוֹרִים | mp; agrees with אֲנָשִׁים (mp) | the mighty men |
| 5 | הַדְּבָרִים הַטּוֹבִים | Attributive (def.) | הַטּוֹבִים | mp; agrees with דְּבָרִים (mp) | the good words/things |

> **Notes:**
> - Item 3: עִיר (city) is **feminine** in Hebrew despite no explicit feminine ending. The adjective correctly takes the feminine form גְּדוֹלָה.
> - Items 1–5: Both noun and adjective carry הַ — this is the definitive signal for attributive definite.

### Part B — Attributive Adjectives (Indefinite)

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל | Attributive (indef.) | גָּדוֹל | ms; agrees with מֶלֶךְ (ms) | a great king |
| 7 | אִשָּׁה טוֹבָה | Attributive (indef.) | טוֹבָה | fs; agrees with אִשָּׁה (fs) | a good woman |
| 8 | אֶרֶץ גְּדוֹלָה | Attributive (indef.) | גְּדוֹלָה | fs; agrees with אֶרֶץ (fs) | a great land |
| 9 | עַם קָדוֹשׁ | Attributive (indef.) | קָדוֹשׁ | ms; agrees with עַם (ms) | a holy people |
| 10 | דָּבָר חָדָשׁ | Attributive (indef.) | חָדָשׁ | ms; agrees with דָּבָר (ms) | a new word / a new thing |

> **Notes:**
> - Item 8: אֶרֶץ (land/earth) is **feminine** in Hebrew. The adjective correctly appears in the feminine form גְּדוֹלָה.
> - Items 6–10: Neither noun nor adjective has the article — both are indefinite, and the adjective follows the noun.

### Part C — Predicate Adjectives

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | הַמֶּלֶךְ גָּדוֹל | Predicate | גָּדוֹל | ms; agrees with מֶלֶךְ (ms); no article | The king is great |
| 12 | גָּדוֹל הַמֶּלֶךְ | Predicate | גָּדוֹל | ms; adjective-first word order; no article | The king is great |
| 13 | הָאִשָּׁה טוֹבָה | Predicate | טוֹבָה | fs; agrees with אִשָּׁה (fs); no article | The woman is good |
| 14 | טוֹב הַדָּבָר | Predicate | טוֹב | ms; adjective-first; no article | The word/matter is good |
| 15 | הָאָרֶץ טוֹבָה | Predicate | טוֹבָה | fs; agrees with אֶרֶץ (fs); no article | The land is good |
| 16 | הַגִּבּוֹרִים חֲזָקִים | Predicate | חֲזָקִים | mp; agrees with גִּבּוֹרִים (mp); no article | The warriors are strong |
| 17 | יָשָׁר הַדֶּרֶךְ | Predicate | יָשָׁר | ms; adjective-first; no article | The way is straight/upright |
| 18 | כָּבֵד הַדָּבָר | Predicate | כָּבֵד | ms; adjective-first (stative pattern); no article | The matter is heavy/serious |

> **Notes:**
> - Items 12, 14, 17, 18: Adjective precedes the noun (verb-initial / adjective-initial word order). This is common in Hebrew predicate constructions. The meaning is identical to noun-first order.
> - Item 18: כָּבֵד is the stative form of the root כבד. It functions as an adjective here but is etymologically a stative Perfect 3ms verb form. Both readings (adjective and stative verb) are grammatically valid.

### Part D — Substantival Adjectives

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | הַטּוֹב | Substantival | הַטּוֹב | ms with article | the good (one/thing); that which is good |
| 20 | הָרָע | Substantival | הָרָע | ms with article | the evil (one/thing); that which is evil |
| 21 | הַקְּדֹשִׁים | Substantival | הַקְּדֹשִׁים | mp with article | the holy ones; the saints |
| 22 | רַבִּים | Substantival | רַבִּים | mp without article | many (people); a multitude |

> **Notes:**
> - Items 19–20: The article on the adjective with no head noun signals substantival use. Context determines whether "good/evil thing" or "good/evil person."
> - Item 21: Plural substantival adjective with article; a common OT designation for those set apart for God (Psa 34:10, Dan 7:18).
> - Item 22: רַבִּים without the article is very common as an indefinite substantival — "many (people)."

### Part E — Comparative and Superlative

| # | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | טוֹב מִדְּבַשׁ | Comparative | טוֹב | ms; compared with דְּבַשׁ (honey) via מִן | better than honey; sweeter than honey |
| 24 | הַקָּטֹן | Superlative | הַקָּטֹן | ms with article; no head noun | the youngest; the smallest |
| 25 | עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה | Comparative (superlative in context) | עָרוּם | ms; compared via מִכֹּל ("than all") | more crafty than any beast of the field (Gen 3:1) |

> **Notes:**
> - Item 23: Pattern = adjective + מִן + comparison noun. מִן causes the following noun to lose the article and take dagesh (מִדְּבַשׁ = מִן + דְּבַשׁ).
> - Item 24: Definite adjective without a head noun = superlative. Context (e.g., among brothers) makes the "most/youngest" reading clear. See 1Sa 17:14: וְדָוִד הוּא הַקָּטֹן.
> - Item 25: מִכֹּל ("than all") converts a comparative to a de facto superlative. See Gen 3:1: וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה.

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## Reflection Questions

1. Items 1 (הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל) and 11 (הַמֶּלֶךְ גָּדוֹל) use the same noun and adjective roots but have different meanings. What single feature distinguishes them, and what rule does it illustrate?

2. Items 3 (הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה) and 8 (אֶרֶץ גְּדוֹלָה) both use nouns that are grammatically feminine even though they lack the feminine ending ָה on the noun itself. How does the adjective's form reveal the grammatical gender of the noun? Why does this matter for reading Hebrew?

3. In items 23 and 25, both use מִן to express comparison, but item 25 (עָרוּם מִכֹּל) functions more like a superlative ("the most crafty") even though it uses the comparative construction. How does Hebrew achieve a superlative meaning without a dedicated superlative form?
