Adjective

Summary

An adjective is a word that describes a person(s), place(s), or thing(s). Within a sentence, an adjective usually describes a noun.

However, in Biblical Aramaic an adjective itself can function as a noun or even as an adverb (to describe a verb).

Article

In Bibical Aramaic, adjectives follow the noun they describe and match that noun in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). However, there are some exceptions to this rule. If a noun is dual, its accompanying adjective will be plural. Also, the gender of some nouns does not match their apparent form (as in אֶבֶן, meaning “stone,” which is grammatically-feminine although it appears grammatically-masculine). In these cases, an accompanying adjective will match the gender of the noun itself rather than the apparent form. Also, for nouns with collective singular (as in עַם, meaning “people”), the accompanying adjective may match the implied number rather than the apparent form.

Form

The forms of the adjective closely resemble the forms of the common noun.

Paradigm

Adjective Paradigm

Parsing	Aramaic	Transliteration	Gloss
masculine singular absolute	טָב	tobh	good
masculine singular construct	טָב	tobh	good of
masculine singular determined	טָבָא	tobha’	the good
feminine singular absolute	טָבָה	tobhah	good
feminine singular construct	טָבַת	tobhath	good of
feminine singular determined	טָבְתָּא	tobhta’	the good
masculine plural absolute	טָבִין	tobhiyn	good
masculine plural contruct	טָבֵי	tobhey	good of
masculine plural determined	טָבַיָּא	tobhayya’	the good
feminine plural absolute	טָבָן	tobhan	good
feminine plural construct	טָבָת	tobath	good of
feminine plural determined	טָבָתָא	tobhatha’	the good

Function

Describes a noun

The most common use of adjectives is to describe a noun directly. There are two kinds of adjectives that function in this way, attributive adjectives and predicative adjectives.

In Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic, an attributive adjective almost always immediately follows the noun that it describes and has the same form in gender, number, and definiteness. Thus, if the noun is masculine, the adjective is also masculine. If the noun is singular, the adjective is also singular. If the noun is definite, the adjective is also definite; and so on.

Example: DAN 2:6

מַתְּנָ֤ן וּנְבִזְבָּה֙ וִיקָ֣ר שַׂגִּ֔יא
mattenan unbhizbah viyqar saggiy’
gifts and-a-reward and-honor great
gifts from me	a reward	and great honor

Note

When a cardinal or an ordinal number functions as an attributive adjective, sometimes it comes before the noun it describes instead of after the noun.

Example: 1SA 18:17 (This table is a place holder until an Aramaic example is put in)

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

Predicative adjectives are adjectives that describe nouns using a linking verb. Often the linking verb is not present in the Hebrew text and must be supplied when translating into English. Like attributive adjectives, a predicative adjective usually has the same form as the noun it describes in both gender and number. Unlike attributive adjectives, however, a predicative adjective can be indefinite even if it describes a definite noun.

Example: DAN 2:5

מִלְּתָ֖א מִנִּ֣י אַזְדָּ֑א

milletha’ minniy ‘azda’

the-matter from-me gone

The matter is gone from me

Note

Sometimes, predicative adjectives and attributive adjectives look identical and must be distinguished from the context.

Example: 1SA 18:17 (This table is a place holder until an Aramaic example is put in)

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

Functions as a noun

A nominal adjective is an adjective that itself functions as a noun in the sentence rather than describing a noun.

Example: DAN 2:9

כִדְבָ֤ה וּשְׁחִיתָה֙ הִזְדְּמִנְתּוּן֙ לְמֵאמַ֣ר קָֽדָמַ֔י

khidhbhah ushchiythah hizdemintun leme’mar qadhamay

false and-deceptive you-have-conspired to-say before-me

You have conspired to speak before me false and deceptive words

Functions as an adverb

An adverbial adjective is an adjective that functions as an adverb, meaning that it describes a verb instead of a noun.

Example: 1SA 18:17 (This table is a place holder until an Aramaic example is put in)

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

Other uses of adjectives

adjectives that compare two or more items

A comparative adjective expresses a comparison between two or more items.

Example: 1SA 18:17 (This table is a place holder until an Aramaic example is put in)

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

adjectives with stronger meaning

An intensive adjective has a stronger degree of meaning than a typical adjective.

Example: 1SA 18:17 (This table is a place holder until an Aramaic example is put in)

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

adjectives with strongest meaning

A superlative adjective has a meaning strengthened to its greatest degree.

Example: 1SA 18:17 (This table is a place holder until an Aramaic example is put in)

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter

בִתִּ֨י הַגְּדוֹלָ֤ה

vitti haggedolah

my-daughter the-old

my older daughter