PARADIGMS AND
EXERCISES IN

SYRIAC GRAMMAR

BY

THEODORE H. ROBINSON

SOMETIME PROFESSOR OF SEMITIC LANOVAGES
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, CARDIFF

FOURTH EDITION

REVISED BY

L. H. BROCKINGTON

SENIOR LECTURER IN ARAMAIC

AND SYRIAC
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

OXFORD

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1962

Oxford University Press, Amen House, London E.C.4

GLASGOW NEW YOHK TORONTO MELBOUUNE WELLINGTON

BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI LAHORE DACCA

CAPE TOWN SALISBURY NAIROBI IBADAN ACCRA

KUALA LUMPUR HONG KONG

© Oxford University Press 1962

FIRST EDITION I915
SECOND EDITION I939

THIRD EDITION I949
FOURTH EDITION I962

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION

In the Author's Note to the first edition Professor Robinson wrote
that there was 'a need for something of an elementary nature
which should be of value to the student who takes up Syriac for
the first time. A book of paradigms and exercises is especially de-
sirable in the case of those who have had no previous experience
of Semitic languages ... it is designed as an introduction, and an
introduction only.' The steady demand for the grammar since then
has shown that the need remains and that this grammar has gone
some way to meet it. The printing of a new edition has given the
opportunity of expanding the grammar slightly, chiefly by adding"
some explanatory notes and one or two further rules of syntax,
and of providing more help to pronunciation by printing diacritic
points more fully throughout. It remains an introduction only,
and the more advanced student will still need to refer to larger
grammars such as Noldeke's Kurzgejafite syrische Grammatik
(of which there is an English translation by J. A. Crichton) or
Duval's Traite de grammaire syriaque.

The editor acknowledges the debt he himself owes to Robinson's
Syriac Grammar from which he first learnt Syriac, and also to his
own students of recent years who have been through the grammar
with him. It is also a pleasure to acknowledge the extreme care
shown by the printers and proof readers at the Clarendon Press.

L. H. BROCKINGTON

CORRIGENDA

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CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTORY

i. Introductory i

II. THE ALPHABET

2. Consonants 2

3. Vowel Letters 10

4. Vowel Signs. The Greek Vowels 11

III. pronouns, &c.

5. Pronouns I4 (

6. Inseparable Particles 17

IV. SUBSTANTIVES AND ADJECTIVES

7. Inflexion of the Noun 20

8. Pronominal Suffixes 26

9. Monosyllabic Nouns with Movable Vowels 31

10. Monosyllabic Nouns with Suffixes 35

11. Nouns of more than one syllable with Movable
Vowels 38

12. Nouns of more than one syllable with Suffixes 42

13. Irregular Nouns 45

v. THE VERB

14. Modes of inflexion 51

15. The Pe'al, Perfect 54

16. The Pe'al, Imperfect and Related Parts 57

17. The Ethpe'el 62

18. The Intensive Forms 66

vii CONTENTS

19. The Extensive Forms 72

20. Objective Pronominal Suffixes 77

21. Weak Verbs 84

22. ^"a Verbs 85

23. "V' Guttural Verbs 88

24. /",s Verbs 91

25. u"& and o"«9 Verbs 96

26. /">*. Verbs 99

27. o">^ Verbs 102

28. Double >&. Verbs 106

29. /"^ and ~"^ Verbs 111
Note on some Anomalous Verbs 117

30. /"^ and w"^ "Verbs with Suffixes 120

31. Nominal Stems with Vocalic Endings 122

32. Numerals 125

VOCABULARY

Syriac-English 130

English-Syriac 144

Index to Rules of Syntax 159

PARADIGMS AND EXERCISES IN
SYRIAC GRAMMAR

I. INTRODUCTORY

§1

Syr i ac belongs to a group of languages classified by philologists
under the general name of Semitic, and more especially to the
Aramaean section of these languages. While its centre was Edessa,
it was spoken over a wide area in early Christian times, and was
more generally used than Greek in western Asia, apart from Asia.
Minor. In spite of some peculiar features, it is akin to the lan-
guage spoken in Palestine in the' first century A.D., and is, there-
fore, of special value to students of the New Testament. A developed
form is still spoken in the region of Tabriz, but the language with
which we are here concerned is that of the Syriac Bible and early
Christian Fathers.

In Syriac, as in the other Semitic languages, the majority of
nouns and verbs are associated, for grammatical purposes, with
a triliteral root. It is by no means certain that triliteral roots were
as fundamental to the Semitic languages as was once thought.
There are many biliteral nouns and biliteral verbal forms. Many
verbs which now show a triliteral form in some of their inflected
forms may be expansions of an original biliteral form by the
repetition of a letter or by the addition of a weak letter.

It generally happens that all words having the same three
'radicals' can be traced to a single idea. Derivatives are formed
by prefixing or affixing consonants, by a change of vowels, or by
the doubling of a consonant within the root itself. Thus the
primary meaning of the root QRB is that of nearness. The verb
qreb means 'to be near'. Another verbal form qareb means 'to

B

2 § 1. INTRODUCTORY

bring near', then in a special sense 'to bring near to the priest or
the altar, to offer'. Another verbal form, 'aqreb, means 'to approach
in a hostile sense, to fight'. The adjective qarib means simply 'near'.
The noun qurbana means 'an offering, a gift'. And the noun
qrdba is connected in meaning with the third of the verbs men-
tioned above, and means 'war' or 'battle'.

II. THE ALPHABET

§ 2. CONSONANTS

Like most Semitic languages, Syriac is written, not from left to
right, but in the opposite direction. There are three forms of the
alphabet. The oldest of these is called the Estrangela. It is found
in the oldest inscriptions and MSS., and was a square character
as compared with the later forms. It is used a good deal in Europe
in printing ancient books, especially where the vowels are not
inserted. Another form is that which was used mainly by the
Nestorian Christians in the Persian empire. This is commonly
called in India the Chaldean script, but in Europe is generally
known by the name Nestorian. The third, used mainly by the
Orthodox Christians in the Roman empire, is called in Syriac
Serta, in India Maronite, in Europe Jacobite script. There are
also slight differences between the two main dialects, western and
eastern, in matters of grammar and pronunciation.

Semitic alphabets originally represented only the consonants of
languages. As has already been pointed out, the fundamental
meaning of a word depended on its consonants; the vowels indi-
cate modification of the primitive idea. These consonants were
slightly modified in writing according as they stood at the begin-
ning, in the middle, or at the end of words. In the following table
four columns are shown, giving the forms of the letters (a) when
alone, (b) when standing at the beginning of a word, or not
immediately joined to the preceding letter, (c) when joined both

§2. CONSONANTS 3

to the letter which precedes and to that which follows, (d) when
joined to the preceding but not to the following letter. As will
be seen from this table, some letters cannot be connected with
those which follow them, but all have forms enabling them to
unite with those that precede them. In the fifth column the
Estrangela forms are given and in the sixth the Nestorian. In both
the connecting links are much the same as in the Jacobite. In the
seventh column are given the signs used in transliterating Syriac
into English characters. These, of course, will no longer be of
much value to the student when he has learnt to read Syriac
fluently, but should be kept in mind during the earlier exercises.
In the eighth column are given the Syriac names of the letters,
transliterated into English.

When Arabic superseded Syriac as the vernacular, Arabic texts
were sometimes written in Syriac script. The name Karshuni is
given to this kind of writing.

§2. CONSONANTS

•5

\ Joined to
following letter

Joined to

preceding and

I following letters

■5?

s-s

Estrangeld

c

1

I

<3

u

V

2

a
ft

6

2:

I

r

r^

j

J

'Alaph

c>

S>

Si.

a

.TJ

a

b

Beth

••*=>

^

•<&

*i&

-X.

\

g

Gamal

»

•

.1

a

d

Dalath

O)

<H

CT3

07

h

He

a

O

w

Waw

1

J-

\

»

z

Zain

U*

A*

>Mk

l»*

JJ

-

h

Heth

i

t

£

*•

A,

\

t

Teth

w

<*

J*

IA

>

«+

y

Yudh

,*

o

a.

f

V

9 -*

k

Kaph

%.

X

:s.

^

A

i

l

Lamadh

f

SO

so.

J*

Ja ta

p JO

m

Mim

\

J

i

*

«^ 1

\ J

n

Nun

«*0

CO

CO.

a»

CO

Jb

s

Semkath

\>.

\.

V-

N*

^k.

J.

<

'£

•3

3

a

a.

A

JSL

P

Pe

$

J

jr

^

9

(padhe

iC

S>

A

ja.

S3

J3

q

Qoph

t

*

i

3

r

Res 1

<jb

J*

.*.

.«.

jt.

A

s

Sin

L

fc.

A,

fc\

t

Taw

1 Or RK.

§ 2. CONSONANTS 5

Exercise. Transliterate the following into English signs as
above:

,3.3 ,»<!.. ,ls^{ ,k_»»» ,^> ,o|o Jo) ,fcJX? j^ 5 ^^ ,ts~» j-Suik?

,0(1 ,^*. ,uu.» ,.sclo ,)». ,^3 ,1-V. , fc- r> >nnn , yaj , jp^o ,»JiqX
Jlai^a^w J^ Q-i a N jV olio»l/ ,^>.jJaj , s ^>^o , ^~a-» ,Aaa\.

Note on the forms of the letters :

Before attempting to write the next exercise, the following note
on the forms of certain similar letters should be carefully read.
The letters ? 'Alaph and ^ Lamadh are distinguished by their
length from the letters \ Zam and >&. 'E which are similar to them
in shape, but are much shorter. ^Gamal is written wholly below
the line, except for the links which connect it with the preceding
and following letters. » Dalath has the dot below the letter, t Res
has it above, o Waw is not connected with the letter on its left,
as Qoph is so connected, and if it be the last letter in the word, it
has a small tail attached to it. ^ Teth and L Taw are connected
with the preceding letter by a line reaching to the top of the letter,
o Kaph is distinguished from a Beth by being smaller.

^ Lamadh and / 'Alaph when combined usually undergo a
slight alteration, Lamadh-'Alaph being written"']!, and 'Alaph-
Lamadh (occurring less frequently)^.

Exercise. Write the following in Syriac characters:

9ly, wrdyn, bgzrt', 'lyh, ywmt', mdynt', slmyn, klb', 'lyhwn,
klmdm, mtqr', 'mew, lhdd', mtl, mstld, ship, 1', sbr, tlyt', hlpwhy,
yd', yd'twn, mlk, mlk', thw', nby', 'm, 'mm', ml'k', w'zl, dyr', rd'
qtl, msybrnwt', ttplh, 'r'kwn, 'ns', 'ntt', gbr'.

Pronunciation. Some of the letters are often used to indicate
vowel sounds, as will be seen later. The letters b, g, d, z, k, I, m,
n, s, p, r, and h, w, y when used as consonants, may be pronounced

6 §2. CONSONANTS

as in English. Originally all the letters represented separate sounds,
which were similar- to sounds heard in Arabic. The following
should be distinguished as clearly as possible in pronunciation:

/ 'Alaph and ^ 'E indicate the emission of breath necessary to
the enunciation of a vowel at the beginning of a syllable. Of the
two, ^ r E is the deeper sound, the flow of breath being com-
pressed low down in the throat, and it originally represented two
different sounds, distinguished in Arabic script by a dot over the
stronger.

w. Heth also had two sounds. One was a strong H, sometimes
confused by the Western ear with o» ; the other was a rough sound
rather like the ch found in Scotch and Welsh.

Of the four sibilants, j» Semkath is pronounced as the English
s y j Zain like z, and +, Sin as the English sh. £adhe was a sound
intermediate between the hissed Semkath and the Sin. The
pronunciation ts, so frequently adopted in Europe, is useful for
distinguishing the letter, but has,no philological or phonetic justi-
fication.

Additional signs. In writing Syriac, especially where vowel
signs (see § 4) are not inserted, dots are placed above or below
letters or words to indicate divergencies in grammar, meaning, or
pronunciation. These are as follows:

1. Qussaya and Rukkaka.

The letters o , ^ , » , -. , «3 , and L (sometimes indicated by the
mnemonic word bghddhkphdth), have two sounds, a' hard and a
soft. The soft form is properly an aspirated form, and the hard one
unaspirated. The hard form is indicated by the placing of a dot
over the letter, the soft form by a dot under the letter. The dot
indicating the hardened letter is called Qussaya, and that indicat-
ing the soft letter Rukkaka (U*-cld and |aa<5>).

The rules regarding the places where the hard and soft sounds

§2. CONSONANTS 7

are used can be fully learned only by experience. The following,
however, may be regarded as general principles:

Qussaya is used with the bghddhkphdth letters

(i) When they stand at the beginning of a word, e.g. J;i» = bra.

(2) When within a word they are immediately preceded by
a consonantal sound, e.g. fc-=>k-s = kethbath, k-=k-a = kthabht.

(3) When they follow a diphthong, i.e. the letters o and «, pre-
ceded by a vowel (ol = aiv, Z. --~ ai), e.g. JLolso (death), \i^.(
(how). An exception is found in the word ^} r (like, as), which
is pronounced ak.

(4) When within a word the letter was originally doubled.
E.g. the form JL»*. represents (on the analogy of other forms) JtL r -,
but, as in most other Semitic languages, there is a strong tendency
in Syriac not to write the same letter twice unless there is a vowel
sound between them. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic have means
of indicating a letter thus doubled, but Syriac has none, and the
result has been in large measure the dropping of the distinction
between the single and double letter in modern pronunciation.

Rukkaka is used with the bghddhhphath letters

(1) When they follow a vowel, e.g. ],-./ = 'idhd.

(2) When the preceding consonant is pronounced with an
indistinct vowel (sounded shewn in Hebrew), U>«j = dah'bhd,
^iSmss = matnl'khin.

There are, nevertheless, a good many exceptions to these rules,
especially in the case of the feminine ending JL; e.g. )h^s>
= birtd, but )k.:*i«rt> = sim'thd; and Jfc^w = hdltd, but jls.-aoi
= rdnfthd.

MSS. do not always follow these rules and they are frequently
omitted in modern printed books. It has been felt desirable to
retain them throughout this grammar as an aid to pronunciation.
The dot used for the purpose is slightly smaller than that used
for distinguishing the letters Dalath and Res. When it is used to
indicate Rukkaka in Dalath it is printed slightly to the right of the
diacritic point, e.g. ».

8 §2. CONSONANTS

,2. S'ydme (or Ribui). This is the name given to the tv*o dots
that indicate plurals. They may be placed :
(i) over the plural forms of all nouns:

U^» vialke ~ kings,
JlsoXso malkatha ~ queens ;
(2) over the plural forms of ah adjectives, except the absolute
form of the masculine plural (including participles):
U*^ \^h~o kHhdbhe tdbhe — good books,
JlS-i^ J^sd mele tdbhdthd — good words,
Jb>.5o fc^j} tdbhdn mele = the words are good,
1 \jwjs ^oxjj tdbhin kdh'ne = priests are good;

(3) over the 3rd plur. fern, of the perfect tense and the 3rd and
2nd plur. fern, of the imperfect tense of the verb :

>-.^o — q"tal, ^-&-oj = neqt'ldn, ^^iJl = teqt e ldn;

(4) over certain prepositions with plural forms

«)*** = h'dharai, «-stXi = bainai;

(5) over certain numerals (see § 32).

S e yame may be placed wherever it is most convenient: with
Res it usually blends with the diacritic point of that letter, e.g.
J«jj». = sariri, and it is frequently written over the letters that
do not rise above the line, e.g. ^*W = 'amin, cubits.

Only in the case of rule (1) above is the usage anything like
uniform: in the other cases there is considerable variety of
practice.

3. A dot is used to distinguish between the first and other
persons in the perfect of verbs. The first person takes a dot above
it, the second and third below, e.g. fc»^-o = I have killed,
fc-i^-o = she has killed. 1

1 For a discussion of these dots see Mrs. Margohouth's 'Excursus
on Diacritic Points' in No. XIU of the Semitic Studies Series edited by
Gottheil and Jastrow. A full study of them has been made by J. B. Segal,
The Diacritical Point and the Accents in Syriac, 1953.

§2. CONSONANTS 9

4. A dot is used to distinguish the perfect from the other parts
of the verb, especially the participle. The former takes a dot
below the word, the latter above, e.g. "^^j = he killed, v? *>s&J5
= he is killing.

5. Words similarly written but differently pronounced are often
distinguished by the use of dots above and below. The following
is a useful list:

Jj/ 'aydha = which. J,-./ 'idhd = hand.

o'o) haw = that (demon). o« hit = he (personal).

wi>» hay — that (fern.) «w hi — she (personal).

oi-vs mdnaw — what is it ? cu>o tnanu — who is it ?

It will be noted that the weak letters when used as consonants
have the dot above, when used as vowels have it below. For
further remarks on these letters see the next section.

)oS:x> inalka = king. )ab*io melkd = counsel.

Jk-i* *santd = year. lk~f». senthd = sleep.

jli-», hdhattd = new (fem.). |l f *. *hadthd = new (masc).

\a'+& pariqd = separate. ]&+& priqd = saved.

Ja-U=> barikha = kneeling. Jia-i.= brihhd = blessed.

* The letters underlined in these words are not pronounced, as
they coalesce with those which immediately follow. The line
beneath the Syriac letter is commonly known as the 'linea occul-
tans', and is regularly used where a consonant becomes silent. It
is a survival of a system of short lines which do not otherwise
appear in modern printed books, nor are they regularly observed
in MSS. They are :

(1) JJJ^oee a horizontal line written wider a vowelless letter
to indicate that it is to be pronounced with a half-vowel, e.g.
)l&±Ji = dehelthd.

(2) U^cxjjso a horizontal line written ove* a letter to mark a still
lighter pronunciation, e.g. jisa.^:* = malkthd.

io §2. CONSONANTS

(3) UlsL^c an oblique line written under a letter to indicate that
it is not pronounced at all, e.g. jl^jao = mdhltd.

(4) J?o^ an oblique line written over a letter to show that the
sound is to be sustained, e.g. y(£\)Ju — neslun.

[It will be observed that some confusion has arisen in course of
time, a short line, called ]l£tx&p, and written either above or below
a letter, with the force of JJua^-va, being the only one now in com-
mon use. This is the so-called 'linca occultans'.]

There are also two uses of a long line, extending over two or
more letters :

1. Indicating contraction, e.g. ai = lLs>tx».,

2. Indicating a numeral, e.g. ^**. = 319.

§ 3. VOWEL LETTERS

Semitic philologists recognize three primitive vowels, from
which others have in most languages been developed. In Arabic
these three alone are written, though their pronunciation varies.
They are A, I, and U. The Jacobite (Maronite) system of writing
Syriac developed these three into five :

A as in hat,

J A as in father.

E as in fete,

I as in pique (sometimes also short as in pin).

U as in rule.

Originally these were not represented in writing at all, as the
earliest inscriptions show. The first step towards their representa-
tion was the use of three of the consonants as vowels. These
consonants were / 'Alaph, « Yudh, and o Waw, the three weak

1 The West Syrians pronounce this vowel as a long 0. See note
following the next section.

§3. VOWEL LETTERS n

letters of the Syriac alphabet. Of these, i* Yudh was used to
represent the t-sound, and o Waw the u-sound. / 'Alaph has the
pecularity of surrendering its vowel to the preceding consonant
except when it stands at the beginning of a syllable, and so it
may, in theory at any rate, be used for any vowel. In practice,
however, the a-sound rarely has a consonant to represent it, and
the 'Alaph is most commonly used to indicate E or A, especially
at the end of a word. Yudh also sometimes represents E and
Waw O.

Exercise. Transliterate into Syriac characters, representing the
vowels by the appropriate weak letters :

b'r'a, spira, spirta, kulhun, qurrt, dakla, cluta, gbre, nhwe,
knikuta, qrita, sniqa, la, tub, 'ituta, mekla, rise, krihin, r umqa,
kube, tlita, metita, 'urha, 'na.

§ 4. SPECIAL VOWEL SIGNS. THE GREEK

VOWELS .

In Syriac, as in other Semitic languages, it became necessary to
have a fairly complete system of vowel signs, and the five Greek
capital letters A, E, H, 0, Y, were adopted for the purpose. They
were not written beside the consonants, but above or below those
which they followed. Further, they were not written upright, but
on their side, and produced the following forms, to which the
accompanying Syriac names were given :

" = A PthahaQlfe)

' = A Zqapha(l&i)

* = E Rbhafa{\'Ai)
- = / HbMfa(\'AJ)

* — U 'fdfd ()j!x) (also sometimes represgnts an ancient 0).

12 §4. VOWEL SIGNS. THE GREEK VOWELS

In cases where a weak letter was used to represent a vowel, the
Greek letter was also used with it. I and U are generally thus
indicated,

e.g. ^-.l.»L = tartein, \\L*i=> — britha,

llV-i»->^. = Ibhibhuthd.

The form o is sometimes used to represent the ancient 0,
though this often became simply o.

Note. When two consonants occur together at the beginning of
a syllable, there slips in between them a very slight and indistinct
vowel sound like the fust A in the English again. This is repic-
sented by a separate sign in the writing of Hebrew, but it is not
expressed in any way in Syriac,

e.g. j^*. s e md — name.

jl^a-boo malk'ihd — queen.

Ua>:*> mal(l e )phdnd — teacher.

When two such indistinct vowels would come together, as,
for example, when an inseparable particle is added (§ 6), the first
becomes a pthdhd, e.g. )oo..»i£ = las'md.

Further note on 'Alaph

Initial 'Alaph normally has a full vowel, usually either RbJidfd
or Pthdhd:
e.g. po(' = he said,

ooi to£( = it is said.

Occasionally initial 'Alaph is lost altogether in pronunciation
as in Uj/, man, |J/> I (enclitic form).

Within a word 'Alaph may be dropped altogether, as in j>^s
(for **^=), and >ai£ao (for .ai£kso).

'Alaph normally surrenders its vowel to a preceding consonant
if that has no vowel by inflexion, e.g. o)^-io (for o)*^), M>i?

(forlif+r).

§4. VOWEL SIGNS. THE GREEK VOWELS 13

At the end of a syllable 'Alaph loses its consonantal value, e.g.
lsi£).A. is pronounced sheleth.

Exercise. 1 Write in English letters the following, observing the
notes given above:

,IL? Jilt ,]i^t JLIi ,0^!^. , ^"Volsm*> ,JJ ,\2Zlii , jfcliio K=>
,^Ls ,ba.~> , Loot Jjao JiaL j^^o j"*^ 15 »l^o»» ,K*/" 5 &?

Write the following words in Syriac characters:

smaya, hwath, 'ethhazi, risana, subhha, 'lawhy, halein, 'amire,
tubhana, sagi'e, l'ailein, methqarbhin, qdhamaikhon, haiment,
sa'em, sliha, mmalalu, mazleq, 'eskah, ki'pha, 'alma, lahma,
malphanutha, nmalel, cawma, sem§a, yarha, 'amrin, tawditha',
husabha, cbhutha, parcopa, pethgama, 'egartha, 'ahai, ma'mu-
dhitha, 'dhama, mapaq, haikla, 'athrawatha.

Note. It should be clearly understood that the account of the
Syriac vowels given above does not claim to be scientific. The
system was developed for practical purposes in the early Christian
centuries, and serves to give an indication of the correct pronun-
ciation. An older system, according to which the vowels were
indicated by dots variously placed, was used by the East Syrians,
and is commonly employed in modern books printed in the Nes-
torian alphabet. As, however, the present work is merely an
introduction to the simple elements of the language, it has been
felt sufficient to give the signs in the appended table. The student
who lias acquired some familiarity with the language will have no

1 For the purpose of this exercise, vowels represented by a weak letter
arc to be written with * (e.g. )jL.» = rise, bthiild = JJo k-=>), except in the
case of Z., which may be transliterated by ei (e.g. ^•i)*];' = tartein) to
avoid confusion with ] . Final a = J •

2 Pronounced atta (may also be written )ll^J( )•

14 §4. VOWEL SIGNS. THE GREEK VOWELS
difficulty in learning to read the Nestorian script as vocalized with
this system of dots. The dots are as follows :

-7- = a (short) e.g. ■=> = ba.

— = a (long) e.g. ■=> = ba.

— — e (short) e.g. .=> = be.

— — e (long) e.g. =>? = be.
.*- = i e.g. _p = bi.
1 a = o e.g. &=> = bo.

a. = 11 e.g. o» = bu.

III. PRONOUNS, ETC.

§ 5. PRONOUNS

Syriac grammarians recognize three classes of words, Nouns,
Verbs, and Particles. Of these three classes the Nouns are further
capable of subdivision into Substantives, Pronouns, and Adjec-
tives. It will be most convenient for the student to begin with the
Pronouns and a few of the Particles before passing on to those
parts of speech which are normally inflected.

Pronouns are of four kinds, Personal, Demonstrative, Interro-
gative, and Relative.

I. Personal Pronouns

SINGULAR

PLURAL

I St

vr, u/*

v r r) r

2nd Masc.

*>/

s ol~>l r

2nd Fern.

w^/

rQ"

3rd Masc.

* #

3rd Fern.

uOt , "W*

1 In the paradigms, exercises, and vocabularies which follow, the
original O is represented by o~, with the upper dot to distinguish it
from the original U.

§ S. PRONOUNS 15

The shortened forms marked * are used only as enclitics.' The
personal pronoun may be used as a copula in a sentence, e.g. \'j\o
l^io jJ/ )[^L — and I am dust and ashes; huf J^J h^i"
jiAsj Up)o = You are the axe in the hands of him who hews.
The pronoun of the 3rd person is often used thus, even when the
subject is 1st or 2nd person, Jta.^ ? ^W — y ou are tne man.
In such cases the enclitic form, where it exists, is the one employed,
oo) when preceded by \L changes the vowel to r ; e.g. )a\re but
001 laVo . When it is preceded by /* a diphthong is formed, thus
o« \la. In the case of the fem. sing, enclitic pronoun a hbhaca
is used to join it to a word ending in a consonant* e.g. w« Li, but
no vowel change occurs when it follows a word ending in a
vowel, e.g. «oi Jfcla.^.-».

The normal position of the enclitic pronoun is after the prin-
cipal word of the predicate, except when it immediately follows a
pronoun as above.

II. Demonstrative Pronouns

SINGULAR PLURAL

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

This Jj« (\ot) Jjot (»oi) ^

ml r 9 • * t

t> >

That

\OJOt fc*J«

With the enclitic pronoun, U« becomes ajoi and Jfo» becomes
1' '

W.O) JfOt.

III. Interrogative Pronouns

Of persons : ^.v> = who ?

Of things: M> , joi , ^£> = what?

Masculine Feminine Plural

\l*l r \\*1 r ^-^r = which?

1 »cu( and **J( are also regularly used as the direct object after
verbs instead of the 3rd pers. plur. pronominal suffixes (see § 20).

i6 §5 PRONOUNS

IV. The Particle »

This particle is attached directly to the word which follows it
and is vocalized in the same way as the inseparable prepositions
noted below. It has the following main uses :

i. To introduce a relative clause. It is not itself a pronoun and
in many cases the pronoun has to be expressed separately:

(a) Without referring pronoun:

fc~o=f }kl£ |j« = This is the house which I built.

(6) With referring pronoun:

Is-ui otfc^Jsf ^» = One whose house I built.
(The pronoun here is in the form of a pronominal suffix, see
§8.)

Note. The interrogative pronouns U-/", J~/ r , and ^-^L/ r are
often followed by t to give the meaning 'he who', 'she who', &c.
Similarly » ow and ? »^ot .

2. As a preposition, to express the genitive = of:

)otiL/? JkX» = The word of God.

3. To express cause, purpose, or consequence, either used
alone or in conjunction with other particles such as ^^ = on
account of, ^./ r =as, ),ia-./ r =as, "V^*> = because, to^aX
= concerning.

4. After verbs of saying, thinking, and knowing, &c, it intro-
duces the indirect statement :

JoCi/' ow »=»^> \j?_ sJH I know that God is good.

5. Sometimes it is used to introduce direct speech:

JJ/ ^oiLi? lui r lix>F You have said, 'I forgive'.

§6. INSEPARABLE PARTICLES 17

§ 6. INSEPARABLE PARTICLES

The following letters are used as prepositions, and are imme-
diately prefixed to the word which they govern:
? = of.
**%s = (a) the sign of the accusative after a transitive verb.

(b) to.
o = in, with, by, by means of.
Exactly similar in its behaviour is the conjunction o = and.

Vocalization of the inseparable particles

(a) If the following letter has a vowel, the particle is prefixed
without any vowel, e.g. » -f- )i^i> = J.a^i» .

(b) If the following letter has no vowel, the particle is pointed
with pthaha , e.g. » -f- j£i = )Wi.

Two or more particles may be used together, the above rules
applying, e.g. :

iLi = The house.
1^nL=> = In the house.
Ils*i?? = He who is in the house.
/&*-"Ix = To him who is in the house.
• )l^*^?t^o = And to him who is in the house.
Jk^Za: = The city.
]1sx.j4ci_=> = In the city.
J^x.j.xiij — He who is in the city.
Jl^-Iaa.^,^ = To him who is in the city.
JlM-iioJsjXo = And to him who is in the city.

Note. It will be seen shortly that wherever by inflexion more
than two consonants are found at the beginning of a syllable a

c

i8 §6. INSEPARABLE PARTICLES

pthaha is inserted between the first two, e.g. yoofcJaXso (formed

by the addition of a suffix to Jls.aX^>).

The Direct Object

This may be expressed either by subordinating the noun to the
verb as an accusative, or, if the noun is definite, by prefixing^.
There are, in effect, five ways of attaching a noun to a verb as its
direct object :

i. Jk-~=? Ui> = He built a house.

2. )fc^=> Jli = He built the house.

3. jkuii*. \ls> = He built the house.

4. Jk».fN ««.-Ji> — He built the house.

5. JfcoJj wot-JLa — He built the house.

(For the emphatic state in No. 1 see p. 21. Nos. 4 and 5 have an
anticipatory pronoun attached to the verb as a suffix.)

In the case of pronominal objects the suffixed forms of the
pronouns are used (§ 20), or, again, ^ may be used with pro-
nominal suffixes attached to it (§ 8).

Vocabulary

Uj/ = man. \£& ~ g°°d (m. sg.).

J^U/ uJL=> = men. ^*a^ = good (m. pi.).

J^q~£ = people. ^} = good (f. pi.).

Jl'on^fj = righteousness. JlSJ-.^so = city.

Joj = great (m. sg.). \j'i£a£ = commandments.

)]&»» == great (f. sg.) — j ^.^.^o = whoever.

4.

also written — » »^o "^

§6. INSEPARABLE PARTICLES 19

iob is = saviour. 1 Jl'iOf 2 = woman, wife.

(Pi- If)
(.d^vi = king. )i=cL = servant.

|Zb_-*> = Moses. JLdL.01 = temple.

t'oSl* = peace. )U> = son.

Exercise 1

Translate into English :
^b kJ( .2 * ^L* j..^c£ JL> , u oi JLVi( "« ,Uj/ oo» ko/^ .1

}^U-.Zjoof. \*j(_ ilss .7 tjl'cucufj'f o« )f=^L JisuisJ ^0^9 .6

* )fcCJ._»*S3J OO) J,_obi_3 j.Jx^hb .8 •> \Q~>{ ^Q 1? )l£-=>*

J.iXi» )J'fiJo!a .12 * o©» JToLfl-.?/?. jfa£ jcL^ i ni ' . Nja .n

•> ^jy* ^^ jfcti* jts-i-.jl'o.a?. [JLj .13 * ycu/ ). yi\n .

Translate into Syriac :

1. I am the man : you are the king : you are the women. 2. We
are the people of the city. What is good ? 3. You are (the

men) who are in the temple. 4. This is the son of Moses.

Who is he? 5. You are the servant of the king. 6. She

is the wife of the king. 7. The women are good to everyone who
is in the city. 8. You and we are the great people. 9. These
men are good. 10. These women are in the city. 11. The
commandments of Moses are good. 12. Who are those?

1 This is a regular type of formation for a noun expressing the agent :
it is formed from the active participle (Pe'al) by the insertion of a long 0.
1 Also written Jlifcof and pronounced atta.

20 §6. INSEPARABLE PARTICLES

They are the wife of the king and the servant of the king. 13. A
good king is the saviour of the people. 14. Who is this? This
is the son of the good king. 15. The commandments of the

king are for the peace of the people. 16. The king and the wife
of the king are in the temple.

IV. SUBSTANTIVES AND ADJECTIVES

§ 7. INFLEXION OF THE NOUN

Substantives and adjectives do not differ from one another in
inflexion, and theiefore may be tieated together. They are
inflected to indicate :

(a) Gender.

(b) Number.

(c) State.

There are two genders in Syriac, masculine and feminine.
These correspond to the same genders in other languages. They
may have been based originally on sex, but in the absence of a
neuter such a distinction cannot be maintained.

There are two numbers in Syiiac, singular and plural. Theie
are also possible traces of an earlier dual, but this is not generally
recognized by modern grammarians.

There are three states in Syriac, the absolute, the emphatic or
definite, and the construct.

There are no cases in Syriac, their place being taken in part
by the states, and in part by prepositions. It should, however, be
clearly understood that the states do not in any sense correspond
to the cases of Indo-European languages. There are traces of
original case-endings in several Semitic languages, and in Arabic
and Accadian these are clearly marked. Some explanation of the
states may be attempted.

§7. INFLEXION OF THE NOUN 21

The Absolute State is the simple form of the noun, considered
apart from its relation to any other word. It is, however, not very
often found, its use being practically limited to (i) adjectives and
participles used as predicates; (ii) nouns in distributive phrases,
e.g. ^sj ^-=>£; (iii) nouns after "^o = all, every, e.g. v»£ "^a»
Jii.o^> = at every time of distress, Jb£ "^a = for any cause at all;
(iv) and often, but not invariably, nouns after numerals, e.g. J*~
^v» JLo jJL> = one heart and one mind. In (ii), (iii), and (iv) the
usage is not invariable and the emphatic state is also found.

The Emphatic State originally took the place of the article.
Unlike Hebrew and Arabic, Syriac has no article. But the use of
the emphatic state has been very considerably extended, and it is
that most commonly employed.

The Construct State is only used when one noun depends on
another directly, without the mediation of a preposition. In other •
languages than the Semitic ones the genitive case is employed in
these circumstances. But the construct state is far from being
the equivalent of the genitive case. When two words stand in
the relation which is expressed by the genitive, it is one member
of the pair that is inflected; in Semitic languages it is the other
which is inflected by being used in the construct state. Thus in
the phrase 'the king's sons', it is the word 'king' which is inflected
in English. In Syriac it is the word 'sons' which is inflected. Or
the position may be represented in another way. In the phrase
above quoted we may express the idea by saying, 'the sons of the
king'. In Indo-European languages the 'of is represented by a
change in the word 'king'. In Semitic languages it is represented
by a change in the word 'sons'. Whereas in Latin, Greek, or San-
skrit the two words composing the phrase may be indicated thus,
'the-sons of-the-king', in Syriac they would be 'the-sons-of the-
king'. But the use of this state can only be appreciated by fami-
liarity in usage. 1

1 For other ways of expressing the genitive see § 8 (at end)

22 §7. INFLEXION OF THE NOUN

The following are the normal endings :

MASCULINE

FEMININE

Singular Plural

Singular

Plural

Absolute

— r -

Y-

r

Emphatic

H- H-

%-

1£1

Construct

V

C

C

These endings may be seen attached to the word ^ — good.

MASCULINE

Singular Plural

Absolute

<4

f^V

Emphatic

^

«

Construct

FEMININE

=*i

Singular

Plural

Absolute

&i

Emphatic

\^4

m

Construct

^i

»*J

Words for practice:
(a) Adjectives:
c»^ = good, i*%£ = beautiful. i*UL = true.

=_evil. "^^-o = slain. c±a> = old.

1 The noun takes s'yame (or ribui) in the absolute masc. plur. but
not the adjective.

§7. INFLEXION OF THE NOUN 23

(b) Masculine substantives:

ojo = pain. + o{? = wolf. t ]S. = festival.

m.*» = head. uJLi = prophet. jj" = yoke.

j^J = standard. u^Sj>, = apostle. j^-i^.1; = disciple.
j^L*. = peace.

(c) Feminine substantives:

JJoV=> = virgin. H \AL = heat. ^ Jjj^. = cause.

[^L^as = treasure, f J.co!o = vessel. JijJ = she-wolf.

Note. Some words have a feminine form in the singular and
a masculine one in the plural, e.g. J^A.^ — a word, plur. JL*>,
)V^S* = egg, plur. IS-*'. 1 In these cases the plural is sometimes
construed as a masculine.

In the above vocabulary the form of the word given is jhe
absolute. This state, however, is not necessarily found in all
these cases, as the words are set for practice, in the forms. In
future the absolute state will only be quoted hi adjectives and
participles, where it is the more common form. Nouns will be
quoted in the emphatic state.

A peculiar class of feminine nouns must be treated separately.
These are nouns (for the most part abstract) whose stem ends
in ^ or o. Their peculiarity is that when, the last letter of the
stem stands at the end of a syllable, it is treated as a vowel; when
it stands at the beginning of a syllable it. becomes a consonant.
The result is to produce the following paradigm :

L

n u

In

Singular

Plural

Singular

Plural

Absolute w>^i

t . r

4

> ■■■*

Emphatic JfcLjti

jlsijvi

] &i

Construct k~. »;_•*>

**?,

(course) (thing)

1 This word has also a fem. plur. form Jfc££!i = archway.

24 §7. INFLEXION OF THE NOUN

Words of this class frequently involve vocalic changes such as

those which are dealt with under the head of the declensions.

They are therefore not employed in the next exercise in their

inflected forms.

For masculine forms of nouns from these stems see § 31.

Rules of Syntax

1. When an adjective is predicative it agrees with its substan-
tive in number and gender; when it is attributive it agrees also in
slate..

Jk^olss )£*&*. ' ~ the virgin is beautiful.

Jl^ja*. jk.^ofcvi = the beautiful virgin.
)i^i ^ ' = the king is good.
\i~l \^&> — the good king.

2. The agent after the passive may be expressed by the use of
^£> (see sentence 10 below).

Vocabulary
4 ^.LVanvi = we receive. (coll. f.) JuLx = sheep. ;
(pass, ptpl.) v^.£-a — written. (act. ptpl.) *£J = keeping.
■%&-»♦ = tore. 14^ = book,

(f.) (j.1 = const.) )^/ = hand. if»b.icJ = law.

«oi \Ui>r or ow £&>l r = it is said. 2 (f.) Jta^ = cattle,

herd.
(l'cri\-4 — kingdom. k~>[ — there is.

14°^ = good, good thing. JJ = not.

)ju» 3 = judge. (.^ocis = mouth.

1 The copulative enclitic pronoun is generally inserted in such sen-
tences as these: Jlj^o lsi>'i»oi )L&*. , J^A-^-se oot ci^ .

1 Similarly o« c^.k-3 , it is written.

3 This is a frequently occurring type of noun expressing occupation
and is formed from the intensive stem (pa'el).

§7. INFLEXION OF THE NOUN 25

Jl'cv^j = blessing. j^Zo = holy.

"^i = on, above, concerning. ^*> = from, by.
li^'=God. )ioL = ox.

Exercise 2

Translate into English :

•:• ) -coo . i Q. j 001 *-•♦■*.? i„« ^ >> f_a_»,_o |_=>Is-fi--=> 001 oi_.Is_3 .2
|H» .4 '/ ). *n, N s*. j!^Ji>.ofc^£© .14*°? U-»I=> 141-2 ^*t *3

* l^S*? iJpl^. ■£>^— }-**-» 1-=>1? -5 * j^ja^oj ^J \-L-^

jfclij Jl'aau^ ^L\.,r> q.vs .7 * \a-»/* )£**=> wJL.5 ^fcjL JU .6

•> la_^.-*> ^£> ^LX^cL-fif JI'clsu^ u oi Joj .8 ♦ Ui? ^»

cu.fco? lion w» .10 •> ).^>N A f }jt-»^>jJL ]i'arib>i» } in Sin. .9

iJuS, Jjol **%>^£_o JL/ .11 * oot i-jX lily ^:»o \ZaiO ^o

\J\^L», .13 ♦ ^J/* )1xL.oio». JiJ ^0/ sH?-*' - 12 * )la-»ou>

JfliL^ U-^~ 4-5 Jl .14 ♦ l-4^> JJLaj — » -^i

l-*-J» )-!_.» !_=>» )-4(? .°i ^.^ .15 «)jCo50J tan «ft ,1 .->f

» Jl' y . ^ A.
Translate into Syriac:

1. It is said by the disciples that peace is in the mouth of the
prophets. 2. We are the good disciples who are written in

the hook. 3. True peace is on the heads of the true apostles.

4. It is written that bad sheep are not slain in the festival.

5. The beautiful standard is above the city of the kingdom.

6. The old (women) are not beautiful. 7. The festivals of
Moses are written in the law. 8. Peace is on the head of the
true disciple. 9. You are not a true prophet; you do not
keep the festivals which are written in the law. 10. The good
judge is keeping the city. 11. The wolf tore the head of
the old prophet. 12. We receive good from the hand of

26 §7. INFLEXION OF THE NOUN

the true apostle, and evil from the hand of the old judge.

13. Sheep and oxen are slain in the temple at the festival.

14. The sheep which are slain at the festival are good. 15.. The
old man tore the yokes from the heads of the oxen. 16. The
true judge keeps the book of the law of the city.

§ 8. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES

There are, strictly speaking, no possessive pronouns in Syriac,
though a composite form mentioned below is often used in this
sense. When the possessive case of a pronoun is used in English,
it is represented in Syriac by a shortened form of the pronoun
attached to the noun it qualifies. The following are the forms
attached to the singular of a masculine noun, and to feminine
nouns both singular and plural :

SINGULAR PLURAL

1st Com. i>

2nd Masc. .J— lin.

2nd Fern. >,.?*,,. ^ —

3rd Masc. «h!_ ybot —

3rd Fem. ' (h1_ (

The following are the forms attached to the plural of a mascu-
line noun :

SINGULAR PLURAL

1st Com.

2nd Masc. ^*1_ yaa-

*. Y

2nd Fem. ■ ■*■ t*^

3rd Masc. wwoI_ \bo»J—

1 Distinguished in unpointed writing, from the masculine by a dot
"placed over the ot .

§8. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 27

It will be seen at once that the suffixes of the 2nd and 3rd
singular and of the 1st plural as attached to the singular noun,
and all suffixes attached to a plural noun, begin with a vowel,
or rather are connected with their noun by a vowel. The rest
have no connecting vowel. The former are called vocalic suffixes,
the latter consonantal suffixes. The suffix of the 1st singular was
originally a vowel, but ceased to be vocalized before the system
of writing vowels came into existence. This fact must be borne in
mind, as it seems to be responsible for some irregularities in the
mode of the attachment of the suffix. Nouns with immovable
vowels attach the suffixes to themselves as follows :

NOUNS WITH IMMOVABLE VOWELS
A. Masculine Nouns

The suffixes are attached to the stem formed by dropping the

} of the emphatic state in the singular, and the JJL. in the plural.

Thus :

)uL» = head; stem to which suffixes are attached «-».

.» = my head. ^JL.i = our head.

-jLi = your (m.) head. V"?*-** = your (m.) head.

^L,i = your (f.) head. y? 1 "* = your (f.) head.

. *..

5 = his head. yboU-i = their (in.) head.

oJL.* = her head. ^»©uu.» = their (f.) head.

}jL» = heads; stem to which suffixes are attached — •-.» .
tJL» = my heads. ^JL.5 — our heads.

^JL.5 = your (m.) heads. ytuLJL.? = your (m.) heads.

i^iJL.5 = your (f.) heads. ^aJL» = your (f.) heads.

««qjL» = his heads. yOo***-»» = their (m.) heads.

o^l^» = her heads. ^ oUJL. » = their (f.) heads.

28 §8. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES

Note. All masculine plurals follow this pattern since none of the

forms undergo any further vowel changes.

Examples of masculine nouns with immovable vou els :
(i) With a long vowel in the final syllable :
J^l^o = book.
U-'f = judge.
|j3o ;.s — saviour.
U-jcus = consecration.
jJ^oos = commandment,
(ii) With a doubled consonant :
JJL = hill.

6 t

\a^~ — heart.

B. Feminine Nouns
The same rule applies as to the masculine. Thus :
)l^Jj = rest, stem to which suffixes are attached — Is— ii.
wl^L) = my rest. \k~~i> = our rest.

-Is-JL) = your (m.) rest. » &ok-~-L» = your (m.) rest.
iadIsmwLi = your (f.) rest. ~J>lS— L» = your (f.) rest.

exk—Jj = his rest. . oc»k_~Jj = their (m.) rest.

oi^smJLi = her rest. ,_oi!s~^ — their (f.) rest.

Examples of feminine nouns which follow this pattern:
Jls-joL (plur. JlC»ol) = praise,

jl'c&^ao (plur. jl'aa^so) = kingdom.

jls-.a^.*-L (plur. l^aa l ) = glory,

jl'c^j (plur. jl'a^) = prayer.

All feminine plurals follow a single pattern, thus:

Jfcoiiiao = queens, stem to which suffixes are attached ki££i.

■^.aMt a a = my queens. ^Isaiiio = our queens,

^l^a^ii = your (m.) queens. yosV-aSap = your (m.) queens.

§8. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 29

•^s^iii.i = your (f.) queens. ^o^a^Li — your (f.) queens.
oils^-va = his qTueens. yaoil^isi = their (m.) queens.

otlsa^-i = her queens. ^-.oil^a^i — their (f.) queens.

Pronominal Suffixes attached to other words
than Nouns

The inseparable prepositions subordinate pronouns to them-
selves in the form of suffixes similar to those attached to the
singular of nouns. Thus ^s» = in you (sg.), o^ = to him. ?, how-
ever, does not follow this rule, but takes the form^>-j, to which
the pronouns are suffixed. So o£y ? = his, o^zLt. ks^ = his book,
an empiiatic possessive. This literally means 'the book which is to
him', uj being the original form of >. So also ^£ = from, «-£.
= with, loA = unto, las]" = like, as. ' -

Certain other prepositions take the forms of the suffixes attached
to plural nouns. Thus ^^^ = upon, yiiuLiLv. = upon you. .-.*
= beside, ^ii*. = instead of, also belong to this class.

With these last may be included the word k-./ = there is,
often used, especially in the later language, as a copula. Thus
oufcLr' = she is, voot-fcL./ — they are, or there are. The negative
form is fcu^ (= lS-*? + Jj), which takes suffixes in the same way.

Rule of Syntax

The genitive relation may be expressed in three ways in Syriac:

(a) By the use of the construct state (see § 7).

(b) By the use of the emphatic state together with the pre-
position » (see § 5).

(c) By the use of both the possessive pronominal suffix and the
preposition ?.

Thus 'the king's head' may be hi.^i) .»*», hx^i? \JL*i, or

The last of these is the commonest in cases where the relation-
ship is a pure genitive.

3o §8. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES

Vocabulary

(f.) Jtoo^xi = treasure (f.) Jj^-^b = word.

Jk-oi = house. (pi. jii.-i)

(f.) Jls^-i = queen. c*Aj = taking (ptpl.)

Exercise 3

Translate into English :

»-)fni .5 •> Jl.'&-=L^> JjsfcCais (.1— **3L.to . >, v k X ». ^£ ts.«(_ .4

Jilj *£J j) • |j£=L\:£> .6 * Jfc.=>lj? «jiei3 ^£ Uj^X \lj^**

JJ( i^J . lOOCL&i ^L*Jjj3cl3 .10 * o»j£»?. jL*&|t JLvi S«. J-2^
too/ r .12 •>)lflaL^.-i)f etls^oof Jl£^"oK_i> yS*%X .II '/ ^bo»^.
J£»I£. }-jLi JJ .13 •:• .aio&iis J^a.!^*. ueio^lf yaxu» °s»

j..a.^..4?, jL'to/'' d-1^.-/ .14 ■» yJL^c ^1 >N."> nv )J . ls~^'

Translate into Syriac:

1. Unto him, your (m. pi.) head, my peace, your (m. sg.)
disciples, their (m.) books, our heads, upon them (f.), from you
(f. sg.), beside her, in me, your mouth, his words, their (f.) peace,
to her. 2. Peace is on his head, he is keeping the book of

the law. 3. The virgins are in the house of the queen.

§8. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 31

4. We receive kindness from your king. 5. The king who is

in the city is taking away its treasure. 6. You (m.) are evil

prophets and "your words are not true, we do not receive them.

7. The apostle is in the city on which there is a standard.

8. Evil old men have no peace (say: there is not peace to them).

9. You (m. sg.) do not keep the commandments which are written
in your book. 10. Peace is on your head, O queen; you are
in the temple. 1 1. Kindness is in our hands who receive your
(m. sg.) yoke upon our head. 12. You have a fair city, O
virgins, and there is a fair standard upon it. 13. This king
does not keep his kingdom, the men who are in it are not good,
and its good (men) are slain. 14. The old man has a book,
and he keeps the festival according to it. 15. Peace be upon
our heads, peace be upon your heads, peace be upon the head
of every one who keeps the commandments which are in this
book.

§ 9. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS

I. Monosyllabic Nouns

There are in Syriac two main classes of nouns which have
movable vowels. In the first of these, masculine nouns carry only
one vowel on the radicals. This appears in the simplest form of
the word (absolute singular) on the second radical, in other parts
of the noun on the first radical. (These nouns are similar to the
segholate nouns in Hebrew.) Thus the following paradigm is
produced :

SINGULAR PLURAL

Absolute ii^ ^-•^'si,

Emphatic J £^4. J'^L

Construct ^%i, "♦•^s.

32 §9. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS

The vowel may be either pthaha, rbhaca, or 'caca, but the
vowel of the absolute is not necessarily that of the emphatic.
Thus:

Absolute Emphatic Construct

y&o J^-** 5 ^xmo

y I ' y

; m- > )\n\-> iCr\S

i ,

Feminine nouns of this class have the vowel on the second
radical only in the emphatic singular, in other forms it stands after
the first radical. Thus the following paradigm is produced :

SINGULAR PLURAL

Absolute Emphatic Construct Absolute Emphatic Construct

2 ]*2u» Ji'*-=*« liJiL \*^~ H'*^** h'^***

4 )^J».COO jls^QJtiO ]^_mJ».Q^O ^wJLo.V3 )l^*A.C.SO fcs-Mj*. cL.10

Vocabulary

(f.) jj^J = foot. S 14<** = goW.

)imL = wine. Ucu = fish. _ ,

U=>) = time. IVs^- — torment.

\isJL — compan- (pi. JtC^il)
ion (m.)

•^a] = said (3 m. sg.).

ji\4~ = compan- -Ja]' = saying (m. sg.).
ion (f.)

1 The vowel letter is normally written with o and u, both long and
short: there are very few exceptions, e.g. ^o, *^g-^*> (rarely ^oa,

2 = companion. 3 = heifer. 4 = measure.

5 The o is soft because a short vowel stood before it originally, cf.
Hebrew 3J1|.

§9. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE

VOWELS 33

(JfcloaJ) )ls-Qgu = cost.

^JW = saying (m. pi.).

j.1 via- = heaven.

^oco = walking.

(abs. <pa.») l-ioa-T = day.

J£^L = man.

(has two plural forms :

(f.) JJJs = horn.

(i) Jl^q.! abs. ^cal

]lS^.ck)jL , » = food.

(ii) )ko£>&r abs. not in use.)

Ji'Jl = new (m.).

k*^.*./ = drank.

) L>» = new (f.).

JIsjL = drinking.

Utf"=.earth, land(f.).

JlV" = came.

.pi" = as, like, accord-

(pi.) a.*»j£ (s.) «n£> = put, set.

ing to.

)oc» = was.

V?r = ate.

Joot = was (en-
clitic form)

)#' = sign (f.).

(pl. ll'oL/').

)£*oi> = flesh.
')ja*o^= body.

vOfnV. = heavy (adj.).
(f. sg. emph. jl£amiw)

(f.) \JLslj = soul.

(constr. j^Su)

\ZS-l = children.

Exercise 4

Translate into English :

J.dii.i ^^%s» -3 * Jj£i*>? 1^1^?^ JrDCLJQJ .a-lsof ^PO(

Yiih ~^L. Jti^ f t^sss.k**^ id^i yea .4 * ^~m Jkuoo

34 §9. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS

w^a.|o Itaxa^- Ja^i* y^^oj ^£o» JxSjL=> .5 •:• JjolTf

Jfc^cU* \L^~ %5/" .8 ♦ ldfc.it U.^x U3 Jilf -^r .7

Jafci Oiiif )u£.*J »»aX .IO * )ls«u.ffi jKL.Zitic>» JlsXbtui

. 0% "%^o 11=^, ;g>=> -ii * J ^=> 11^.^10^5^ \A%

f£> \jk^L». jUai^L cxaJ .12 * woi JL|-D JjJ )t=x4» •*% J °

•> jtsoifc. ^>A_=> ^>y^>. JwLfcj*. wis*-/ .13 * >£ps-i ^^Lva

*Jl^i2 ^2> ^qj/* ^fc-*-£-j3 JJo }-li£-£J£ J^L^a. 4-J • I 4

•> j>rLfcj*> llsJL i*o» Jl^dAi .ic

Translate into Syriac :

1. The wolf has eaten the sheep of the good king. 2. The

prophets say that the law has set standards of peace upon the men
of the city. 3. The man has put a yoke on the heads of the

oxen. 4. The king is drinking wine in the temple. 5. There
is pain in the bodies of the men. 6. The men of the city have
appointed festivals. 7. The soul of the good king is in heaven.
8. The apostle ate of the flesh of fish, of the flesh of sheep and of
oxen he did not eat. 9. The prophet walks according to the

commandments of the law. 10. The disciple is not watching

the body of man, he is watching the soul of man. 11. Good

is he who walks according to the law of the apostles. 12. A

good and true soul is the sign of the disciple. 13. And that

evil one said (that) 'I am the king of kings', and he entered into
the temple and tore away the gold. 14. On the day of the

festival the apostle eats the flesh of sheep and oxen, but drinks
no wine; sometimes he eats the flesh of fish. 15. Gold is

heavy and its cost is great.

§10. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 35

§ 10. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES ATTACHED TO
MONOSYLLABIC NOUNS

As in the case of nouns with unchangeable vowels, the suffix is
attached in all cases to the stem formed by dropping the \-L or \2—
of the emphatic state.

It should be noted that in these nouns, both masculine and
feminine, the vowel change occurs when the absolute state is
expanded either by the emphatic ending or by suffixes. In prac-
tice, therefore, if the emphatic state be made the starting-point,
there is no further change of vowel.

|q\rgi = king, stem to which suffixes are attached, aL^i.

\6\-n = kings, stem to which suffixes are attached, rL^i.

c^aii.i = my king. ^.j.\v> = my kings,

ijspii = your (m.) king. ^Ia\i = your (m.) kings.

u aa^i = your (f.) king. ^rud^i = your (f.) kings,

ori^-i = his king. wojaa^i = his kings.

«*a^.i — her king. o^aXi = her kings,

^a^-i = our king. t^P^ == our kings.

yoaii^iD = your (m.) king. v o al.a,^.aa — your (m.) kings.

^■iaS» = your (f.) king. ^ala^i = your (f.) kings.

yo'o»a.\ao = their (m.) king. N oo»Ia^.4b = their (m.) kings.

^.ouiii.« = their (f.) king. ^S^.d'sJa — their (f.) kings.

Jl^L. = torment, stem to which suffixes are attached — k^«-
)k^i^ = torments, stem to which suffixes are attached — k->^~-

olSv^l- — my torment. ^Is^Li = my torments.

^Is^JL. = your (m.) torment. ~fc^£ = your (m.) torments.
ioIsI^L. = your (f.) torment. lO^^Li = your (f.) torments.

36 § 10. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES

cxl^j^*, = his torment. wl^l^ = his torments.

ot^^L. = her torment. wk^LI = her torments.

yls^L* = our torment. vj-^si" = our torments.

ycofe^L. = your (m.) torment, yop^^p = your (m.) torments.

^als^^L* = your (f.) torment, ^-ofc^Jul = your (f.) torments.

ybwl^L* = their (m.) torment. ^oods^JLi = their (m.) torments.

^mfe^L. = their (f.) torment, ^.wfc^Li = their (f.) torments.

Certain prepositions also attach themselves to this paradigm.
Thus yip = before, as well as the form »?clo, take the suffixes
attached to the plural noun, ^^oei^ = against, takes the form
"^scua.^. with the vocalic suffixes attached to the singular noun.
The word reverts to its original form before consonantal suffixes,
e.g. ©££aa!a^ but >o o^rL° «^ • ^^^-^ ( a ^ so wr i tten ^ < ^^ > )
= because of, takes the form of a feminine plural t^Ld^o (also
K^&). With the word ^ (= all) the i» of the ist sing. suff. is
vocalized — i*^a ; otherwise its suffixes are regular.

Vocabulary

"^.M'tfV'o = speaking. qjoi = this is.

»*^^2) = because. J^saao)/ = threshold.

el' = O! (P L '^"0

(also written o/, with Greek omega)

(f.) \a>ia — belly. jluaL» = honoured.

)£X^ = calf(f.).

Exercise 5

Translate into English :
^Of" .2 * yOo»^>j[ JfcliiZifiS ^bo^X^Ji Jspii aaaio .1

§ 10. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 37

oils.*^ ll^a^-ao <*..j£.( .4 •:• Jl£i^=> Ibj ya^poa'-aa o JtsaL

)L^o JjJo ^jojvc^oot^iK^^-of *i~ ^»I^o/' .6 •:• yQ^L.*oa>

.jfcispsoo o/' .9 * o.l^-!i>.^.f o»tna\ JiLo j^l? "^o/ .8

)J/ ^m^-o j|?. )ia\ v> \ I^L^jk. ii/ .10 * ^oLsaJl \^*%*-

* v*> v>r . p( Ifc^io «kUA=> (J( u^ooo .11 •> <^ts^L^ ^o

* ji-"**-!! jfclio J; no -a "^i!/' j^a_^ij ot&-*-a_3>; ^i "^ .12

\GQ*+jkJ ^i^ .14 * c»*PU \, pi--0> ^-^O }^J» OW Cx,J .13

Translate into Syriac :

1. In my house there is flesh and wine. 2. We say that

our words are true, for they are written in our book. 3. The

prophet was in the belly of the fish because he does not keep thy
commandments. 4. You (m. sg.) speak evil concerning us;

your torments (shall be) great. 5. Oxen and sheep have

horns upon their heads. 6. The feet of the queen are on

the threshold of her house. 7. Great is the kindness of

good women towards children. 8. The prophet said to the

queens, Your virgins are slain instead of you. 9. Her hus-

band (man) has eaten new food. 10. An evil woman is

the torment of her husband and of her servants. 11. There

is peace in your (m. pi.) flesh and In your soul, for you are good.
12. His children put the flesh of his oxen on the ground, and he ate
thereof. 13. An honoured woman is the queen of her house

and of her land. 14. We receive your 'souls, we do not

receive your gold. 15. This is the man whose oxen were

slain by the wolf.

1 For the form see p. 15. 2 = 'his children (sons).'

38 §10. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES

Additional Note on the Attachment of Suffixes to
Prepositions

I. The following cannot take a suffix directly attached; if a
suffix is required, the preposition ^.-» is inserted after: ^^» —
except, "VilA = above, k—lsX = below, <x^X = within, and
jjvik = outside of; ^. may be inserted after: ls^=> = between,
}.•»!>. = until.

II. The following take the suffixes attached to the singular
masculine noun; Icia^. = in order that, ikms; = behind, loX =
near, unto, x^L = with, >!£=; = after, ^.so = from, so also the
inseparable prepositions o and ^. The words yl r and "V^-io are
changed into Laa? r and k_^Jo before suffixes.

III. The following take the suffixes attached to the plural
masculine noun: «-"£-^=» = without, LcwL = beneath, ^^^A. — in
front of, »y- = around, ^i- = instead of, "^L = upon, y'^ =
before, ^l = beside. ?ci*^ = alone, is treated as a preposition,
oo)o»t£»b»=> = by himself. The word ls_L=J = between, takes the
suffixes attached to the singular noun, and has a parallel form ulo
(i.e. with suffixes attached as to a plural noun).

§ 11. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS

II. Nouns of more than one syllable

This includes nouns which have in the first syllable an immov-
able vowel. This vowel may be either long or short. The typical
form in the first case is that of the Active Participle of the simple
conjugation of the verb. In the second case the vowel was origin-
ally followed by two consonants, either different ones or the same
letter doubled. Syriac, unlike Arabic and Hebrew, has no means
of indicating a doubled letter; hence nouns of the second type are
not readily distinguished at sight in the emphatic state from nouns
like U^i.

§11. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS 39

There are thus three types of nouns of this class :

1. With long vowel: "^-a (ptpl.) = killing, yvKsL (cmph.
Utt^iH) — world, eternity.

2. With short vowel originally followed by a doubled consonant :
;3T (emph. )l&l) — bird, *i/ (emph. )Lx>] ) = lamb.

3. The first syllable containing a short vowel followed by two
consonants: .*»►-•» (ptpl.) = approaching, ^=L»i> (emph. ).iri«.aa)
= tent.

N.B. Nouns of this last type are formed normally by the
prefixing of one or more letters to the original root.

Masculine nouns of this class take a short vowel on the second
root syllable in the absolute and construct singular.

Feminine nouns of this class take a similar short vowel in the
emphatic singular.

The following paradigms are thus formed :
A. Masculine Nouns

SINGULAR

PLURAL

bsolute

Emphatic

Construct

Absolute

Emphatic

Construct

^Ji

u*

-%&

t^ 1

u&

<^h*

f«

jiJO.'S.X

r ^L

r 5 ^

A

7 r

1 ' • r

T r

y.. r

\f\»*B

e**>

^Irimio

1 * •• • r

1 When the third letter of such participial forms is one of the Bghadh-
kphath letters QusSsaya occurs, e.g. *_»^=>X = doing, making.

40 §11. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS

B. Feminine Nouns

SINGULAR PLURAL

absolute Emphatic Construct absolute Emphatic Construct

Jl^L J£^L' kJ^L ,X^ Jfc^v tO^ (chariot)

jj»j?" jfc-^w v^w ^*-,v\\&x>ir fc^»»? r (widow)

(oJji Jl^ajj-i) fcJ?»»» t^'ft-"* 5 J^**^ k^»}r« (footstool)
JLoJaS* !^<&>lao Is^aU 2 ^ak£ l£iipkS \^\» (food)

Rule of Syntax

The absolute state of the participle is used with the enclitic form
of the pronoun to form a present tense.

3 JU/ ii/' = I am saying.

wIsj?" JLW = y ou (f- sg.) are saying.

3 ^L. Jucf = we are saying.

yo h-J?" ^-»ZW = you (m.) are saying, &c.

In the case of the third person the pronoun is generally unneces-
sary, since the subject is normally either a noun or a demonstra-
tive.

;i/' = he is saying.

ysW = they (f.) are saying.

Vocabulary

(f.) jtsT = sparrow. \1L = life (m. pi.).

>^?oao = telling. 1^-1 = sinning.

iO°>M = satisfying. ]&>->» 3 = bird.

^£i = taking away. (P 1 - ^'^

1 Also written JkX^..

1 It is possible to regard these forms as belonging to an abs. }ls^k3^ .

3 Often written in a contracted form, )J*W, JL>&>('.

§11. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS 41

)^aior= prayer. jiLt — loving (used as noun

U^L = world, eternity. = friend )-

]lx>( = lamb. ~»»i = approaching.

IlI-Uno = tent. J3.ax^3 — raising.

pS'.Iva = completing. \j o»o' = priest.

<x^*» = betraying. J^c^ao»( = widow.

^jo-.c*ao = believing. ]^** '<!&*,£ = glory.

U'c£±*L£ = faith. (P L J^^O

1 j^4> = for. )l£i>.^L = chariot,

jia-^ = wilderness. (alscrjl^L)

J»t*< = truth. a^^o = teaching.

ybooJ = shall be (3rd pi. m.) k^£ = there is not.

kJ&£ = has entered (f.). j-.oj = David.

Exercise 6

Translate into English :

JJ/ ii/' .2 * ^oa^v. yx&&>> JjLlfO^ )k.«»ai-».t .1

* ^-i<!Lc*sej ^aa^.n'^. n^X; \^L iboc*To )oAN^2\ J^.a&^.L Y*~»?

.n^oiaa )l^."ofco>o .6 * J;j»*-soa Uii»i) jpiiiio }».booo .5

\i ),jLj ).a.\ •» >n mti .7 * \i~&1 )vLso)J jfi^Jj oil. )la-c*=>

w^L-A^^-bv. \~>)q k^ .8 •> )cDCL2CiiX ^o&«>? )^»4> ^l^ 5

^a^-o*^ 3 - IO * JliL.c*»jit JJciAX JjioTjo )hsO\1 Jio&a SisLast

1 Normally second word.

42 §11. NOUNS WITH MOVABLE VOWELS

oKaif JJiiScis ^^ -II ♦J^x.r.vi^ )va^-so> JtX^iL

*}a-ioo ^ao JlV-ji*^ f^Lcajt. )££x>il y ^£& .12 tjktto^j

*m£u U-^f-o .14 * )!^.;-i> j^uZ^K ^i.^' o« ^ifi .13

)Jj-2d/' .15 <• |.l^-» o££ ■a^o» jJf-oa-3 i-*-*^ 4^ •I^S^.l

Translate into Syriac :

1. And glory (was) upon the heads of the priests who (were) in
the temple. 2. Whoever eats of the flesh of birds and of oxen
is taking away life. 3. The saviour of the city raises the

standard on the tent. 4. The virgins say that they love truth.
5. The apostles teach that the tent is holy. 6. The prayers

of the apostles are sufficient. 7. The priest loves the

prayers of the widow. 8. Glory is upon the heads of those

who believe in the whole truth. 9. The sparrow has entered

into the tent of the king. 10. Glory to thee, O God, for ever

and ever. 11. They do not believe, for they say that the

world suffices them. 12. And they take away the king in a

chariot and raise standards against him. 13. The priests are

raising prayers and glories in the temple. 14. He who takes

away the widow's lamb, sins. 15. The wife of David did not

betray him to the servants of the king.

§ 12. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES ATTACHED TO
NOUNS OF MORE THAN ONE SYLLABLE

Masculine Nouns. The suffix is attached to the stem formed
by dropping the U_ of the emphatic state. Before the suffixes
for the 1st pers. sing, and the 2nd and 3rd plur. (masc. and fern.)
the short vowel characteristic of the absolute state in the mascu-
line reappears.

§12. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 43

Thus:

)£*5 ),.•*> = speech, stem to which suffixes are attached t-*4:»,

before consonantal suffixes ;.-so)-j£.

i>jj»j..io = my speech. ytaojoo = our speech.

^taojoo = your (m.) speech. ^oajjijoo = your (m.) speech.

i*3WoJ.--£ = your (f.) speech. ^*a;jso]oo = your (f.) speech.

« E^sjoo = his speech. yb «;_£>)...•£ = their (m.) speech.

otlsoki = her speech. ^.«p«o).^o = their (f.) speech.

The plural takes suffixes as other nouns.

Note. To this class of nouns may be attached certain monosyl-
labic words, which may be treated as if they lacked a first syllable.
Such are \j£>i — blood, JuA*. 1 = name. Thus:

= my name. tr :a:x *' = our name -

^aa*. = your (m.) name. ^oaa&JL = your (m.) name.
>« 1 v* ». = your (f.) name. ^v^ = your (f.) name.

o*jsoj». = his name. yo'o^oX = their (m.) name.

opqjc = her name. ^.o»-n* = their (f.) name.

Certain prepositions are also similarly treated, e.g. il£i> = after,
j^jooi' = behind.

A

Feminine Nouns. The vocalization is regular throughout,
retaining that of the emphatic state, e.g. Jls^jfi, wkaij-i.

It may be convenient here to introduce feminine nouns of the
type )^.-i\so, construct ko\v», which also take a short vowel
before 1st pers. sing, and 2nd and 3rd pers. plur. suffixes.
Thus :

JhCiXi = queen, stem to which suffixes are attached k^£k--<>.

1 Plural Joott*,.

44 §12. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES

<*lSrii^>--» = my queen. J^a^i = our queen.

^Isaisi = your (m.) queen. yost^a^.-* = your (m.) queen,
v-pj^^i = your (f.) queen. ^olsjd^.i = your (f.) queen.

od^aXi = his queen. .botfe^a^ab = their (m.) queen.

otJ^iXi = her queen. ^.oifc^aXao = their (f.) queen.

Vocabulary

Jl£*jL.» = beginning. ^r^? = amon gst.

J»o»ci = light. VtA^ — wor k.

JooL = love. jl'cu^aj = fullness.

}jamX = bread. r-^? = see king (m. pi.).

yf = if. Jk^cas — synagogue.

1 ^.y = but. y v \' I )44f^-^> = enemy.

J^£-X = thigh. "O - ' ^iHc!. = John.

(pi. jko^i.) ^ = knowing (ptpl )

♦JLsL = doing, making (ptpl.)

Exercise 7
Translate into English :
fco/ i$lj ^4^ g^a-^-* p^J^ f*^ U-^> of i.

f t%~*M^iS ^£> laAss ooi» ^>^-so .oo jogt i*>fto>j ^l.oj wof .3

* » I »» wgiO; -i\> >.iAM . octo_i»_oo.s ki->t~^-i *-.» »( .4
4> ]ucL^2k? oiiotoJ )uij "V^-aa \'j} \x£±&i c*lij? v,oo>^ j_»Io .5

* wleis^ i*^. tn°l(r>». Oo« +2a\o ^L^ooj JV> ^Lu oiL'cu^.33 ^200 .6

1 Normally second word.

§ 12. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 45

•* 1 » •• * >• 1 if) •» • if * i" 1 ' *■ "• i" < -v r v »■

yOo»K».a.iar» Ji(o .10 * o)to_o-.»,o E» wa .«.y cxla iNviN, ^Ju.

"^H .12 ♦ JL'ar&as? ot^.^o.-an.L" JJo yOo*!^»f. J^U»o*i».fc ^4;

'^oL ybo»A^^» JJoto n vim .13 * Jd^soj otxu^L juLo J^a^,

•:• Jjcljj »6o);flf>a ul^. ^^Pi ^ -14 * Jkuoi? od^SoLauo/

\Oo*-»*-4-» ^Is_a.bk5tt.^ yols-jf ^OQ_^jtio yo*! 1 .->< JlV .15

Translate into Syriac :

1. The feet of the king are on the threshold of the temple.
2. I am not eating of the flesh of your lamb. 3. The queen

and her companions are behind the chariot of the king. 4. The
widow of the priest is in the temple. 5. We believe that

the. love of the apostle is upon his friends. 6. There is pain

in my head and in my thigh. 7. The prophets say that truth

is the saviour of the world. 8. You virgins, glory is upon your
heads. 9. Your chariot, O queen, is among the men of the

city. 10. The women of the city say that after them comes

the king. 11. Glory be unto your names, O virgins, for you

keep the commandments of your queen. 12. My sheep and

my ox are killed and the enemies are eating thereof. 13. The
widows are watching the bodies of their men in their tents.
14. I know that my wife' is good. 15. You (m. pi.) seek

your own glory, you seek not the true glory of the kingdom.

§13. IRREGULAR NOUNS
The following is a list of irregular nouns in common use.

1 See § 13.

46 §13. IRREGULAR NOUNS

^

o =1 o o a t>

^ =i ;| .§. ■* •** 1 -3 d-d ^o-l

m -3 *g .? J -^ --J si 9 «g *-j2 j.

V V

V ^

k. fc.

S

c?

— en « . ^_ -

< ft £

* «• * «« -0/ t3

11) ^

j j i i i

£ is fe

en >-> <rf <H

vS JD <£ 3 <» O ? -£ w T3 JZ o

•a

o

Si

1

§ 13.

IRREGULAR NOUNS

^3

o
<3

*M

Ol :o
J 51

)

* "-v.« r~ — t j - — - —

U -a

XI

CO

XJ

<3

<a

a

t

\.

bo 4

•I i

4

03

^■if

'1

^

to

5
co

3

00

a
o
U

■I

CO

X>

<

*t * m^i

^5

C

x>

CD

O

>

<u

<* N

a.

ri

^

CO

W

C

CO

ii

tf

CO

I-.

>

«i

a

c

(1)

rt

X)

3

A^

X!

u

CO

</i

<1)

a

n

CD

J^

M

k 3

13
C
a

47

■8 JB

ca
cm
u

lH

4)

XI

XI

c

k * 2 £

3 a e

a
o
u
o

s

*&

OJ

o
o

is
h

'a

■♦^
*^
'o

-a

V

o
a
d
o
d
o

•2 -5

11 5

.2 2

.2 ^

8 u

c -"

u
"p.

6 £

a.

>

+-»

d

ca

*j

CO

X!

XJ

-a

3

f?

w

d
o
o

v

Xi

3
O

•5

bo co
d <-•
•r 3 3

o
=3 u

P.
— H

£ -5

2 Xi °

§^
8 " u

P..2 o
£ x a

CO

u

a

es

<£ PU H

« •*■ -o

4§ §13. IRREGULAR NOUNS

A large number of Syriac nouns are irregular in the formation
of the plural, having the singular indicated by a masculine form,
and the plural by a feminine form or vice versa. Such nouns are
K%j = soul or self, pi. j^Liiu , ]l£^j*> — word, pi. iLo. Some
nouns take either a masculine or a feminine form in the plural,
IJLoi = spirit. These nouns are mostly feminine in gender,
whatever their form may be, but there are some masculine nouns
of this type, e.g. [=>}'' = father, has two plurals with different
meanings, J oJ>( = natural fathers, parents, JL'<jo/' = spiritual
fathers.

The following nouns are also noteworthy :

JjJJ/ used by itself to mean 'one' (French 'on'): abs. jui or jJ ;
pi. ^-"-J/, ^H- The pi. does not occur in the emphatic
state. Const, pi. ^Ju/, with suffixes ogtoij/.

With is> it is used to mean 'man', 'mankind' and makes
the following forms: JJu/ ^ or Uj »; and in the plural:
Jj»j/ ilLi or Uillsi.

jpo 'master', 'lord', has the form )J;j£> when used for God or
Christ: const. j£i. Three plural forms are in use: (i) Ul»,
(ii) J*s> (rare), (iii) )l'o;ao.

Ju^j 'young'. Adjective used as a substantive. Abs. JA^, fern.
Jfc^^. Two plurals are in use: (i) = servants, 1*^-1 , ^^ ,
^4 ; (ii) = children, boys, J^ , ^^J , fern. JfcL^.

Joi» 'great'. Adjective used also as a substantive. There are three
forms of plural: (i) as adj. ~J>>oj; (ii) as substantive mean-
ing 'great ones' H=>>'oi; and (iii) as substantive meaning
'teachers' )!=>».

Rules of Syntax

(i) Comparison in Syriac is expressed by the use of the preposi-
tion ^», e.g.

)i2o( ^£> JjolL o» = the ox is larger than the lamb.

§13. IRREGULAR NOUNS 49

otl^JL ^..-i^Jlj \LslL = Rachel (was) more beautiful than

her sister.

(ii) There is no superlative form in Syriac. The superlative may
be expressed by

(a) the use of the preposition o or ^£> after an adjective, e.g.
Jiiiaao j£»j» = the smallest king,

]£*k£ ^ J^j/ r «-.^£- = thou art the richest of men;

(b) the use of an adjective in the construct before a plural, e.g.
^JL!/ "^a* = the meanest of men;

(c) by prefixing oj 'chief or Aii 'head' to an adjective
or a noun, e.g.

**jsj o» = the most innocent or very innocent,

-L0JI .*..» = my chief joy;

(d) as in Hebrew, by the construct of the noun before its own
plural, e.g.

^o^Lf o^/ r = God of gods, the supreme God.

(iii) 'He who', 'they who' are expressed in Syriac in one of two
ways :
(a) by i oo) (m.), ?. uw (f.), j yoioi (m. pi.);

(b) by , u-r(m.), t iirm, i r ^r(pi.).

Vocabulary

IfcLoo — she has died. cyL/ — took.

;*bJ = let us dwell, he will ^ii = seeing (m. pi.).

dwell. ^ = fear ( impen m 3 )_

vjpj = he may or (will) oXi> = they feared.

help us. ^r = ]oye (imper> m g ^

ol; = sit (imper. m. s.). Jdioi = here.

So §13. IRREGULAR NOUNS

^{(sou./ = Israel. o.aaS<u = return (imper. f. s.).

i*^» = many (adj.). obqAj = let us go out.

(emph. state = j)-s^» Jj-»j = eagle,
fem. pi. Jl')Z^flo)

Exercise 8
Translate into English :
\ia*=>} r ^.JW .2 * \^jT "%>\\jxJ{\ ottpy^sL *£>}' ^1' .1

-»' » < II •" »~ ' I ' V ' \ r * ~ r

«« ufcL».o -4.Ci-")j ^i.*^*-. .3 4 )^*0^» ow M50J-3 ocxj

otoojj y*5(o .6 * vJsoiLoco/ ^-f^-^? M«J ^^Tr-* -5

* uj^>/ ^-.j^LiLst j w-nTo Jojoi ^2> jsoSiJ .7 * 7^? ^-fc^ 00 ?

JlLJ-/ vc^/" <^ *oJ£ .9 ♦ JlW H'fc/ ^i c^ .8

'/ wLCLutO wuxf tCUf OOO w20( oOl fc^3 .10 •> tJ»^«-l».

vn» I ' »* •• * "" ? » ■ v" ' • 4 1 » r

^a.« .12 * ^si*. ioc\»s ^.u* ^^? ^*Xo) ycu( ^ao .11

]l^a\xio l-jSlv .13 * t-tc^S^—l jfclrLSij )l'ooo( (Jj-J

-r ■* ■ .. r r )r v •* . • * „" i •>•• ) » i •■ f )r • x . / )

ul3 iC&OPI ClX~? .I4 * «OC*Sa^» JLoCOlO JO»=>( yOonAW

* JuiJ 1 Isii •_-£> v>Js-i/ r JLa*. wls^. .11; •:• J^Sj

Translate into Syriac :

1. My son, my son, sit beside me. 2. Fear your father

and your mother, love your brothers and your sisters. 3. He

who does righteousness in the house of his father shall dwell in the
cities of Israel. 4. The queen is more beautiful than all the

other women who are in the house of the king. 5. In your

mother's house there are many handmaids. 6. You know the
name of his wife and the name of his wife's father. 7. Our
father will help us at all times. 8. We and our sons dwell in

§13. IRREGULAR NOUNS 51

the houses of our fathers. 9. The father is the head of his house,
the king is the head of his people. 1 o. The enemy has devoured
our sheep and our goats, and in the heavens there is no swallow
or sparrow. n. The eagle is larger than all other birds.

12. Return, O my daughter, to your mother ana 1 , to your village.

13. It is written in the books of the Fathers that he who believes
shall dwell in the heavens for ever. 14. The father is the king
of his sons and of his servants, the mother is the queen of her
daughters and of her handmaids.

V. THE VERB

§ 14. MODES OF INFLEXION

In all Semitic languages, verbs are inflected to indicate
{a) Conjugation. (d) Number.

(b) Tense. (e) Person.

(c) Gender.

(a) Conjugation

As applied to the inflexions of Semitic languages, this term has
a different meaning from that which it expresses in the grammar
of Indo-European languages. The conjugations are not classes
into which different verbs may be grouped. In theory every verbal
root may be used in all conjugations, though as a matter of
practice there are very few which employ all the regular conjuga-
tions in Syriac. The conjugations are modifications of the root
indicating modifications of the meaning. In some ways they
correspond to the inflexions known as Voices in Indo-European
languages, but they have a much wider scope.

A root may be modified in one of two ways, either by strengthen-
ing the radicals (or lengthening the vowels) within the root, or by
external additions. These are always placed before the radical

52 §14. THE VERB: MODES OF INFLEXION

letters. Of these preformatives the most common is the syllable
— 1( , originally having a reflexive force, but in Syriac developing
into a sign of the Passive. In addition to this, \ erbs are commonly
modified either internally or externally.

The number of conjugations varies in different languages. Thus
Hebrew has seven, while Arabic has no less than fifteen. In Syriac
six are generally employed, though in the case of a few vcibs
other forms arc found. These six arc as follows:

1. The simple form of the verb, without any modification.

2. The passive of the simple form.

3. The intensive form, produced by internal modification.

4. The passive of the intensive form.

5. The extensive form produced by prefixing the letter / ,
vocalized with pthaha.

6. The passive of the extensive form.

The old grammarians used the verb "^oLs = to do, as their
paradigm verb, and gave to each conjugation as its name the
form which that verb assumed in that particular conjugation.
More modern Oriental grammarians have employed the verb
"*5b^D = to kill, in the same way. Thus the names given to the
various conjugations are as follows :

, 1. Pe'al or Qtal. ', 4. Ethpa'al or Ethqatal.

' 2. Ethpe'el or Ethqtel. ( 5. Aph'el or Aqtel.

( 3. Pa'el or Qatel. ^ 6. Ettaph'al or Ettaqtal.

N.B. Syriac verbs are always quoted, not by their infinitive but
by the 3rd sing. masc. perf. pe'al, as being the simplest form of
the verb.

The paradigm of the conjugations, then, as applied to the verb
^^fc-^-o, will appear as follows :

§14. THE VERH: MODES OF INFLEXION 53

ACTIVJi PASSIVI!

Simple ^i> ^IW

Intensive ^1-* ^>^i>l(

Extensive ^W M^ 3 ^"'

(/;) The Tenses

The tenses proper are two in number, the Perfect and the
Imperfect. In addition to these the following forms of the verb
should be mentioned, the Imperative, the Participle, and the
Infinitive.

The Perfect and the Imperfect originally expressed complete-
ness and incompleteness respectively, without reference to past or
future time. In Syriac, however (possibly owing to the influence
of Greek), they have developed into a Past and a Future Tense,
and are often spoken of under these names. Three other compound
tenses have been developed in Syriac, a Present, a Continuous
Past, and a Pluperfect. 2

(c) Gender

As in the nouns, there are two genders, masculine and feminine.

(d) Number

As in the nouns, there are two numbers, singular and plural.

(e) Person

As in the pronouns, there are three persons, first, second, and
third. In conjugating Syriac verbs it is usual to place the third
person first and the first person last.

1 Also written ^'^jaiif and pronounced ettaqfal. (The 'alaph of the
aphel has been drawn into the taw of the passive formation and has
resulted in a hard, doubled letter.)

1 See§ 16.

54 $15. THE PE'AL, PERFECT

§ 15. The Perfect

The stem is represented by the 3rd sing, masc, to which are
affixed the terminations of the other numbers, persons, and
genders. These are shortened forms of the personal pronouns.
They are as follows :

SINGULAR

3rd Masculine
3rd Feminine
2nd Masculine
2nd Feminine
1 st Common

i>&.

PLURAL

Attached to the stem of the verbs "^^o and ^Ij (~ fear),
which, like a number of others, mainly intransitive verbs, takes
rbhaca instead of pthaha in the Perfect, these will appear as
follows :

3rd Masc.

3rd Fern.

SINGULAR

^£a ^»

kX^jS fc^£~»

PLURAL

a^D

aX«»

ytiX^J 3

' -^

*»\.,.T

^1^

...■»■»

rV^

^^W»

<^

t^?

2nd Masc. ls^4-° fc^W

2nd Fern. «|^|ja ^l^X^f
1st Com. fcr^-^ fc^£-?

The pronoun ^L- is frequently added in a contracted form to
the 1st person plural, ^iA£j>, ^N^t.

It will be seen that in the 3rd sing. Fern, and the 1st sing, the
vowel is shifted to the first radical, while in the other persons it
remains as in the 3rd sing. masc.

§15. THE PE'AL, PERFECT S5

The forms of the 3rd plur. ending in yd are less commonly
used than the others.

The Perfect is used to indicate the shade of meaning expressed
by the following tenses :

1. The Aorist He killed.

2. The Present Perfect He has killed.

3. The Pluperfect lie had killed.

4. The Future Perfect He will have killed.

Rule of Syntax

JJ? is used to negative an adjective or a noun which is then
usually in the absolute state:

£-^*- )Jt = what is not lawful.

t-*xx> D» = without number.

Vocabulary

i^>» = lead. au = receive.

'^aj = fall. )qqN;£ = teacher.

"^^.o = kill. - JXirj = crowd.

jpu^i = stone (verb). o^*. ^= sent.

i^j = keep. - ^^a. = hear.

^.v. = do, make. ^^ ~ write.

= transgress. ■ »on» = witness.

Jta^ = mountain. - j>t = high.

Jl'cu^ = youth (fulness). £^~ = lawful.
JLo = voice. - fc^S = dead.

jj> = when, ■A^A.ioi = Jerusalem.

56 §15. THE PE'AL, PERFECT

Exercise 9
Translate into English :
4 J.jo» \tn ft S wojOt-oo^^LX *-=> j ". v-k_^ oj.'ii. ti{ ,_S>o .1
^*> Li-£~i vOo^-^s ^.^_^« . M °| N-ao ". <h-X ^sof ^_.» 001 .2
JJj" ^Sf »^-M i-coa-iois o-.ts.oj yb is >>.rc> ». .3 iuLtu^

^^y^i Ici-i/' \Q-aA. Is-sh^-o .5 4 ya-^L^ ^o 1 ^^M.

Is 'v.^q,*. kSo .6 tl(oA.;i ^» joof «oiol^-.(? oo)\ yo fe- ^ a&jt. j

j^eo (-iLcu .8 *lJ^£c& ^SKiL lia.^ m| otL*fcu( r '* t^^- JJ

(-L. otTa^^i ^j ^^i ." JJ.V "»1^4» l.tso|» cJoi ii|o »g nSx

4 . 1 »)\^ »» Ju* t^BCUj }Ji£>Q-3 ^Jt^J .IO •> yfl 11>y

■ Nvi« JX yfo»co - 12 * Ua N aay 0^0 JJLlo c^ra*.? ty»( .11
jla ]Jij uSaojk.0 .13 * Ui*. fc» JLJ j- 1%^° t-*-asi c ^ i ->

i&> ibis^&j .14 * l£^c> y^D&a ^.L* \^M w'iilo ialii*
ll^j fcJSTaJ JJ .15 * JLbojxu "^>j£. .bL jiL^? ^^^-^ I ij'cfa.^

wfciaa^io JiI^j <^fc--^js-Q yl£*.*o( jal^jtio/ .16 * ^-^J* * j ^ Sl

Translate into Syriac:

1. The teacher said to the crowd, I have kept the law of Moses
and have not transgressed it. 2. The woman did that w hich

is not lawful. 3. We heard the commands of the Fathers and
did them. 4. The priests received the law upon the mountain.
5. We bore witness that you wrote the commandments. 6. And
the judge said to the woman, You have heard the law and have
transgressed it. 7. The woman heard the voice which said,

§15. THE PE'AL, PERFECT 57

You (m. pi.) hav e no t done that which our Fathers wrote unto us.
8. 1 have testified concerning those holy virgins that they have not
transgressed the i aw . g. The apostles wrote in a book the

)sw which they heard upon the mountain. 10. The queen said
to her handmaid Sj You have not heard my voice. u. My son,
your mother has done that which is lawful. iz. }Ye have kd

this nation in th e wilderness, but they have not heard our voice.

13. I said to my mother, You have led my feet into the temple.

14. You (m. pi.) have done that which is not lawful, and you have
feared, for they that have transgressed the law are slain.

§ 16. The Imperfect

In the inflexions of the Imperfect the person is indicated by
a preformative, the gender and number by an affbrmative. These •
are:

SINGULAR PLURAL

3rdMasc, j ^ ,

3 rdFem - l(- i) "^ j

2nd Maso % I y a ,1

2nd Fern. ^...l ^ I

1st Com. f j

In those parts which have no afformative a vowel appears. In
the case of verbs whose Perfect has " the vowel is normally a.,
e -g- ^i- ) ^^voJ. Sometimes a * is found, but in the strong
verb the only in^ tances f t hi s are ,Jp>. = do, make, J^ t and
e» = buy, <^L?.

In the case of those verbs which have the Perfect in * the
Imperfect has ', e .g. ^ ? = f ear , ^ J. Occasionally " is found
in the Imperfect qf ver bs in ", e.g. ^* = rule, ^J, but in such
cases the Perfect mav nave been in ' originally. Such verbs are
usually intransitive.

58 §16. THE PE'AL, IMPERFECT

In * In * In

Singular

3rd Masc.

^a^aj

71

^J

3rd Fem.

^i^-oL

^»l

(u^i^uL) *

(^I,L) '

2nd Masc.

^^i-

%I?l

t

2nd Fcm.

<r^4

^-.li^-L

^~A

1 st Com.

^<^W*

--/'

^?/"

Plural

3rd Masc.

yO.N^fU

3rd Fem.

t^^

2nd Masc.

vAA^i

■ <y\~»l.

\ * w.

2nd Fem.

£&\

^

1st Com.

^O^XU

v:j

The Imperative

The Imperative is formed from the 2nd person of the Imperfec
by dropping the preformative. In the feminine singular and th
plural the absence of the preformative makes it necessary to re
tain the vowel. The Imperative is only found in the 2nd persoi
the forms of the Imperfect being used for the 1st and 3rd.

In * In ' In '

Singular Masc. ^q^x> »4^- "^

Singular Fem. t»Xa^o "*=^>- «^*

x*"*. 7. ♦ .. -. v »r

Plural Masc.

Plural Fem.

§16. THE PE'AL, IMPERFECT 59

Participles
These are two in number :

(a) Active ^s^a, a form already dealt with under the head of
the noun (§ n).

(b) Passive "^^.js, treated as a noun with an unchangeable
vowel (§ 8).

N.U. Words of the form "^£-i> are mostly adjectives, e.g.
j»-.?o = holy, or nouns, e.g. jLLdoo = knife, although they some-
times serve as- participial forms for intransitive verbs, e.g. >=>-. *o
= near, c^^.1 = seated. They are sometimes distinguished from
the passive participle by a dot placed over them, whereas the
participle has a dot below, e.g.

.A.»av> = u*d» = humble (adj.).

y.ANa = **a» = spread under (ptpl.).

Infinitive

All Infinitives have the preformative •*>. That of the Pe'al is
%^-a^>. The preposition^, is frequently prefixed to the Infinitive.

Composite Tenses

The composite tenses have already been mentioned. In addition
to the three previously indicated (§ 14), a fourth, formed with the
Imperfect of the verb together with the Perfect of the enclitic verb
)o«, is sometimes used in conditional sentences to indicate a
frequent occurrence in the past. As the conjugation of the verb joot
is irregular, the Perfect is given below:

SINGULAR

PLURAL

3rd Masc.

low

0001

3rd Fern.

Loot

r "
wOOt

6o §16. THE PE'AL, IMPERFECT

2nd Masc. ^.oa yb Is- oot

2nd Fem. uK^ogi ^,kJ.ooi

ist Com. fcr-**e» ^-* S I

Thus the composite tenses are formed as follows :

(a) Present: Participle-f-personal pronoun

)J( ,, ^4-o = I am killing.

(b) Continuous Past: Participle -f Perfect of }6o>.

\ao)*%JjJ) = he was killing.

(c) Pluperfect: Perfect + Perfect of Jo«.

low < * 5 5>4- = he had killed.

(d) Frequentative past: Imperfect-f-Perfect of Joot

Jo« ^0^-01 = he would (used to) kill.

N.B. When the verb Joot (= to be) is used alone, the ot is pro-
nounced, and it is written Joot.

Rules of Syntax

(i) Prohibitions are expressed by JJ with the Imperfect,
(ii) Purpose is expressed by

(a) ? with the Imperfect ;

(b) ^ with the Infinitive Construct.

Vocabulary

j&£ — taste. Ji^ssP' =-- anger.

us;3w = flee. \l^l = child (§ 13).
(§ 29) JjL. = see. )l°>\ = morning.

= loose, dismiss, ^ah = there,

allow, forgive. ^ = standing.

§16. THE PE'AL. IMPERFECT 61

,^&x = conquer. (f.) )Ji.v = cloud.

Jlai = death. o£x»* = draw near.

ci*iL = beloved. »f& = something,

jij-s = fruit. (ooi ►.-*> — ) eui = who.

I \so't^- = until. V.^* *! ~ 2ion.

* Makes its imperfect in a There are four other verbs

whose perfect has * and imperfect a — : *^o = worship, j>1£m, =
be silent, fc^Li — descend, cxZj = be meagre.

Exercise 10

Translate into English:
|l'cia-Xi oo^oTj. J^>Ix \hoJo t^£&J |? ^sojj p[o? l^-»/ •! -

uJi.-^r. «►=> QJO) '.♦»{?. jJJLi* fc^ Jlo Joo»0 .2 <• J*iQjk.f.

tCuSvL" JjJ? >£L£ yoa^, JJ( «i>fco ^£ot .3 * o££ a^L»

iaa\ »-•»(?. a_i^> lOot^. «*>fo .5 * ^i . 'ia +.^a oa_iOJ

JU .6 * J 1'cxLa-* f j f. J»|.S Ojii. *. JL'lf Jiss^o* ^ Ji 'v 'fl N

woio^iaXl^^ tijo .7 * oiITI^jI) j ni i i ; J' '"? * ^ £-»^*-

\bij/'* ^xoi ^.{? j^^ i/^'i?? «l;Q-ik ^aotaJf. \-*^-l ax>aa*.
)i^ r»-»™t j;Sj jocn ^.j *o .8 * )***-»-?• Jl'aa^i om1£»£

. ;_»!£ JLa^. fc^ow tsV'aXo .9 <■ o£*. y Q ^^- ai ? "gi oN . V

oojjij» «.j>nT ^ji .10 <• Jatsaa ooIj fcj/ )^.j ^f-^ "^s

Iwolo •. fco/" Jfi e* -*4 ^° - 11 *^ l^^

„o,Si»^ \'o^> o^J .12 *U^ Jiii. JjV 1^?

jaari», .13 •> Jiii^.:*>» o*a_X*5 ^N.v>»i>. ^0«>>- yOo»*Ju ^X-iJO

62 §16. THE PE'AL, IMPERFECT

Translate into Syriac:

i. I shall not fear death, for you (m.sg.) will not allow death to
conquer those who believe in you. 2. Fear him who will slay
your souls, but flee not from a cloud. 3. Dismiss the con-

quered that they may taste grace instead of death. 4. We

shall taste of the fruits of the earth. 5. I said to the woman,

You shall not transgress the law. 6. Let righteousness draw

near to us that we may do according to your commandments.

7. We have taken counsel that we may flee from the conqueror.

8. These women will not allow their sons to draw near to the feet
of the king. 9. The queen said to her handmaids, You shall
not come near me. 10. The king's daughter will not do that
which is not lawful. 11. The prophet will not forgive his
sons if they transgress the law. 12. The man said to his wife,
If you will taste the fruit, I shall not allow wrath to conquer you.

13. You shall not come near us lest Ave bear witness against you.

14. They will fear to eat of the fruit of the earth lest they draw
near to death. 15. The king's servants said, You shall not flee
from us; and the women said, You shall not slay us.

§ 17. The Ethpe'el

The Ethpe'el is formed from the Pe'al by prefixing the syllable
— 1/ . This preformative appears in other Semitic languages, e.g.
in Hebrew it takes the form hith-, and in Aramaic 'ith-. It was
originally a reflexive particle, the passive being represented in
other ways, but Syriac has no true passive forms except in the
participle, and the reflexive forms have taken the force of the
passive, and are, indeed, generally called passives.

In all passive conjugations, if the first radical of the verb is
a sibilant (1 , <jo , . , or jc), the i of the preformative changes place
with the sibilant, thus :

y^£*. = be complete, Ethpe'el «ii£ls-»./ , not <a.'£*,LF

^yinrt = support, Ethpe'el >Jak*jB( , not ,.^n\l(

§ 17. THE ETHPE'EL 63

In the case of j and . a further change takes place, the dental
being accommodated to the sibilant, i.e. with . , ^ takes the place
of I and with j , » . Thus :

c^. = crucify, Ethpe'el .-Xj./* (not >=>i£.l/", or even c££L/*).

^l = buy, Ethpe'el ^sfir (not ^ill™, or even <i>W ).

Perfect

In the 1 st Sing, and the 3rd Sing. Fern, the first radical takes

SINGULAR

PLURAL

3rd Masc.

M*tf"

3rd Fern.

kxtfir

2nd Masc.

i±4*Lr V bV4W

2nd Fern.

~h±$*ir r ^4£ir

1st Com.

Imperfect

<4*tf"

The Imperfect is as

follows :

SINGULAR

iplura,l

3rd Masc.

^4*u

yGL^^O^J

3rd Fern.

^u (^4*ii)

t^?^

2nd Masc.

M»4

V«k*^

2nd Fem.

r^ l £

<***%

1st Com.

M-tr

<*4»fcJ

64 § 17. THE ETHPE'EL

Imperative

The distinctive feature of the Imperative is that the second
radical may disappear in pronunciation, and have the 'linea
occultans' written below it.

Thus:

Sing. Masc. %$il/"

Sing. Fern. ^^Jall"

Plur. Masc. { r .„

( ^zir

Plur. Fem. { „

Infinitive

All Infinitives except the Pe'al are of the form of feminine

nouns ending in c£ , and have zqapha on the second radical,

thus: c£b.^£>]^£>.

Participle

All Participles except the Pe'al have a preformative vs , so that
of the Ethpe'el is^s^olsi, fem. JL^dols^.

In meaning the Ethpe'el is normally the passive of the Pe'al,
e.g. fJ>) = to buy, sell, (4jj/" == to be bought, sold. Sometimes,
however, it has a different sense, e.g. »i£«. = be complete, j^io*./
= be betrayed.

Vocabulary

sj» = persecute. ]tsa'o ? = place.

.nSUnn = go up. •?») — torture, Ethpe., be

Uptime. tem P ted -

§ 17. THE ETHPE'EL

65

II*

1 ' ■»

r ■ <n

= skull.
= call, read.
= immediately.
= be baptized.
= able.

create.

holiness.

Satan.

first (adv.)

(ooi-fow =) o-oo) = he is.

sin.

.£» =

» #

(f.)U^

open.

then.

salt.

season with salt.

think, reckon,
account.

J4?°^, = blasphemy,
evildoers.

(f.)lili

.*» =

eye.

blind.

for the sake of.

Exercise 11

Translate into English :

^.J £ .3 ♦ U^J» ^» •?i^ r j'f. JtijSOLbk. li'lo .2 ♦^jjjfcjf

■ cwlsifcJf l>tojJ>. JJL.O )JJ>o *» . o' ^J d )^i v jooi txLi- Jso .4
j^iaki «o» I4(J U (^? v?* *• l^h{ J^^ Ji-^X .5 * JiJoojk.

jjL&oo jJj ^-.f oo» •• o« JlaJ?. li-fcoSj ^? ooi .6 * t^f'V

^*f.oto ; v»oal ^j^sjJ./ t*^ J»^»^, .8 '/ jis^Laj J) ^*\

)Ja£ jpiCj >£{£ I4& y>>?»-o -io * ItZsuii&l. j&of cuo«?

izolt. jla^. »l%icLi>.o ^llol ^1^.3 fcoc .II * >a .> » l(

66 § 17. THE ETHPE'EL

\j(_ uJx«.:*> JJ .13 * <p £» ^o jJL J^»o ^^-slf *i(o

Pjo^p ^.I^Suo ^^3^7 .14 * J^=>^sG-=> o;r>»fco<iX

Jlsrioj *:*> ^Lts>fc^ .15 * ^^jdLL" Jjot >{ !5>^^>o ^.L»i/

Translate into Syriac:

1. You have been accounted the salt of the earth. 2. Let

your words be seasoned with salt. 3. She was led by evildoers
to the place of a skull. 4. The flesh of my oxen was sold for

(o) gold. 5. And the prophet said, We shall be betrayed into
the hands of the priests. 6. You will be seen in the temple,

O king. 7. Heaven and earth were created first, and after

them we were created. 8. For the sake of my name you shall
be led before kings and priests and shall be accounted evildoers
and shall be tortured and killed. 9. The apostle said to the

woman, Your sins shall be forgiven you. 10. The man kept

the commandment, but the woman was tempted and fell from
righteousness. 1 1. I am being betrayed that I may be crucified.
12. You have kept the commandment of the prophet and it has
been counted unto you for righteousness. 13. You women know
not the time when you will be slain. 14. You who have been
persecuted for the sake of righteousness shall be accounted sons of
the kingdom. 15. Let evildoers be stoned, let them not be

crucified.

§ 18. THE INTENSIVE FORMS; ACTIVE,
PA'EL; PASSIVE, ETHPA'AL

The intensive forms are characterized by an original doubling of
the second radical. Owing to the fact that the West Syrians had
no means of indicating the doubled letter, except by the Qu§Saya
point, it ceased to be distinguished (and in India is pronounced as
a single consonant, while the vowel preceding it is lengthened in
compensation).

§18. THE INTENSIVE FORMS 67

The preformatives and afformatives are normal. The vowel
always remains on the first radical, and with vocalic afformatives
(except in the 3rd plur. Perf., in the Imper., and in the Infini-
tives) the second radical loses its vowel. In the Pa'el the preforma-
tive has no vowel except in the 1st sing. Impf. The paradigm is
as follows :

Perfect

SINGULAR

PLURAL

3rd Masc.

^p

[ ^4*

,, Fern.

v^

( v^4i
1 <^

2nd Masc.

fc*4f

yOl^^-O

„ Fern.

«ii^4-»

^^4*

1 st Com.

i^V

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

M-^

v cu\£jL

„ Fern.

^4J>1(^L)

t^^

2nd Masc.

M-&

v <ix^i

„ Fern.

<rH^

£***

1st Com.

M^r

M^

Imperative

Sing. Masc.

^

Sing. Fern.

Plur. Masc.

(.

68 §18.

THE INTENSIVE FORMS

Plur. Fern.

Participles

Active

-%&*>

Passive

^4^

Infinitive

ETHPA'AL

Perfect

SINGULAR

PLURAL

3rd Masc.

s#tf

,, Fem.

ix^ir

2nd Masc.

^&ir v

o^j^ir

„ Fem.

»^&ir

r^W

1 st Com.

h^&zir

^r

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

v^u

^CL^JtfeJ

„ Fem.

<VjiU (w^iilL)

^JihJ

2nd Masc.

M^i

v c£^U

„ Fem.

r^u

t***4

1 st Com.

M*tf"

^4ihJ

§18.

THE INTENSIVE

FORMS 69

Imperative. Has

an alternative form in

which the '2nd radical

is elided.

Sing. Masc.

M*^

M*tf"

Sing. Fern.

u^ilf

-H5ir

Plur. Masc.

Plur. Fem.

Participle

^4H^>

Infinitive

eu^JLokci

Vocabulary

(* indicates that the word is only used in the intensive forms, or that
it only has this meaning when used in these forms.)

^^fc^Jj = *receive. J*h = break.

*xJL * = serve. .«>r.l/* = fortify oneself.

.*Io = gather together (f.) Julio/ = path, way.

(trans.) ^3* - expound.

*Ij> = *bless. via = be first.

j^ = *beat. f)s> = anticipate, over-

jx£L = Complete. take -

,,^3 = divide. Jl££*U. = fetters.

olo = *offer up; Ethpa., be Jim3 = break,
brought near. j^ = peace

i»l = sing (praise). "^i^i = *speak.

70 §18. THE INTENSIVE FORMS

"^kW = understand. JJ/ = but.

\\*£. = tongue, language. bc^cHco = chain,
wotta/^ = Abraham. jJ±a = subdue,

oii/* — tell (imper. m. pi.). «~d*7 = be able.
j uhJof *%xi — whenever. ^>II.* = strengthen.

&1' — also. .r>°y = go out.

(f.) JJ.o» = spirit. (m.) ^L = one.

(f.) JJ.~ = one.

Note. It will be observed that while the Pa'el properly strengthens
the meaning of the root, it is also frequently employed to give a
transitive sense to an intransitive verb.

The words «fis and i*^o> (= multiply), though properly the
Pa'el forms of verbs, are often used as adverbs in the sense of
'before' and 'much' respectively.

Exercise 12

Translate into English :

* r " U) 71 r * ■* \\ \ 9 r "* v \ r <) •* r

'/ ,m -fl »-J> ]i( ufc^P &■...»>» V Jw> IX.,*. kSO .n °j > y.m ){•> ott_=>o .2

♦ yOisoJuj. \-*->(_ >« t "y SI o« i »Pi»? ^JV^ Jj-a-»w^ ojjjJ^-j .3

JfcLiL*!*. •. )ogi jtikO^ao JlsiL».LL=>o Joa^axojaj ~k-.*W N ^ .4

■> e»i£ .it-a-jic>\ J.jLi£ uO*./ Do J3 m^> ).Yi^cuao o»Lo wt£>il.(

JJ .6 ♦o.i^? k» ^s o££ o«Jo(o wL'aX )»LX*. qaIbIio "5

yo V .« ■* .>[. )) y ^!? ^^H* i»»Xo )£ma\ yoo.t^l ^> ^I^ ^oy

JJ yjf JlaLNaftS. ;i|o JlsJL.Z*»i ^J^Ltf* Jjo» .7 * j i a Stt i^.

yt^lTl .8 * -^ occi/ jJ •. oo(f Jl^JJZ^j A jaaajk-L'

§18. THE INTENSIVE FORMS 71

uP»J3 ^ i V'ft fc.O .12 ♦ Ju^X) ;3S(» OCX jpXfis&J). Jfw *a^o .II

* *J*^> ;~ yaXokmJ JUf J>J»j/ i*i-=»? \0O»-* l« S! CU^Lsl/ .13

^& ).albi..i»' otlTl^/'' l£=>jl{o .15 * J-isZ* i&> \i}_ *^vs> .14

•> J.I~L££ ^i.l. 1 ? Jk-»-i> \L o»
• j • <

Translate into Syriac :

1. And Abraham set his hands on the heads of his sons and

blessed them. 2. We have received good from his hand, and

shall we not also receive evil ? 3. And the king sent them

to the city and said to them, Whatever you hear tell me. 4. My

brethren, if a man be overtaken in sin, receive him not. 5. And

the temple was opened and the virgins offered the flesh of oxen

and ihe priest received it from their hands. 6. I shall

finish my work and I shall be betrayed into the hands of evil

doers. 7. He said to the daughters of the priest, You will

not understand that which I speak to you. 8. And the king

said to his enemies, I am not able to make peace with you, because

you have not been subdued under my feet. 9. Let us serve

Him in His temple, and let us sing praise to Him. 10. Send

peace in our time. 11. We have been gathered together that

we may serve the king. 12. You (f. pi.) shall speak that

which you have heard. 13. The king's" daughters shall be

led into the temple that they may receive a blessing from the

priest. 14. Be gathered together, you wives of the prophets,

that you may sing praises. 15. Let the words of the prophet

be expounded unto us.

72 §19. THE EXTENSIVE FORMS

§ 19. THE EXTENSIVE. ACTIVE, APH'EL;
PASSIVE, ETTAPH'AL

APH'EL

With preformatives the initial <* is dropped, and the preforma-
tive takes its vowel. Its meaning is often causative, but is also
simply an active or emphatic application of the root.

The paradigm is as follows :
Perfect

SINGULAR

PLURAL

3rd Masc.

MW r

1 °±hr

„ Fern.

i^W"

2nd Masc.

i^4»r

yOfc^W

„ Fern.

«^/ r

r ^|3/"

1st Com.

fc^-W

<>W

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

M~'

v cu^^aj

„ Fern.

^44 (^£4)

«.^;

2nd Masc.

M-*

v a '-^4

„ Fern.

t^4

A*i

1 st Com.

^4W'

M^

Imperative

Sing. Masc.

M-W'

Sing. Fern.

-^W

Plur. Masc.

«*4*r

vAW"

Plur. Fern.

*±P>r

r*W r

§19. THE EXTENSIVE FORMS

73

Participles

Active

^ai

Passive

^^

Infinitive

ETTAPH'AL

Perfect

SINGULAR

3rd Masc.

M-W" 1

,, Fern.

is^ur

2nd Masc.

i^^ir

,, Fern.

-u4*#r

1st Com.

i^^ur

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

^4*i*j

,, Fem.

^44LL* (^4,

2nd Masc.

%&Lll*

,, Fem.

rH4U*

1 st Com.

M*ur

PLURAL

( ^iir

* In these forms the second i is frequently orrritted, being absorbed in
that which follows.

Also written "^I^LLf and pronounced etictqtal.

74 §19. THE EXTENSIVE FORMS

Imperative

Sing. Masc. ^olU*

Sing. Fern. o^^oU/

Plur. Masc. aS^itf* v <&4all/

Plur. Fern. w^oLlf r^U/*

Participle ^^olfcjo

Infinitive cu^olfcoi

The following conjugations, which are similar in their inflexions
to the Aph'el and Ettaph'al, are occasionally met with :

(a) Shaph'el and Eshtaph'al, e.g.

,.r>\fc.. •Ai.^j*./ = enslave.
<.»\xzii.., u^xik.*? — complete.

(b) Saph'el and Estaph'al, e.g.

ootids, aoj>^/ = hasten.

(c) Pa'lel and Ethpa'lal, e.g.

jov, t't^U — enslave.

(d) Paulel and Ethpaulal, e.g.

»»a^, iio^lf = chew the cud.

(e) Palpel and Ethpalpal, e.g.

^Kl, ^J^U/* = shake.

i^^> ^*^M = dra g"

opo>, fizoiU = raise up.

(/) Pe'al'el and Ethpe'al'al, e.g.

(pSV)^.,), p^S - ..)/ = dream.

§ 19. THE EXTENSIVE FORMS 75

(g) Pai'el and Ethpai'al, e.g.

i -^-™ , jjL.t^xof = maintain.

(h) Pa'li and Ethpa'li, e.g.

i»*aj, "jajV — estrange.

Causative forms in sh and s (a and b above), though uncommon
in Syriac, are found in Accadian and Ethiopic.

Verbs transitive in the Pe'al often take two objects in the Aph'el :
J lot j »oV=o>.L ^= You will cross the river, )»oJ ^£ yo*^jL = You
will cause us to cross the river,

Vocabulary

(* indicates words used only in the Extensive, or only in the Extensive
in the sense given.)

*a\/' — *clothe.

U-ctaX = clothing.

toI*> = purify.

;^. = cross over.

^L/ r = establish, make ready.

)>o*j = river.

fSj>.i r — *betray, deliver.

y>-+~( = curse

jl'oj.^ = pollution.

V

ci "jo^h. = Solomon.

)(-ic> = tomb.

<^L£ = arose (f. pi.).

Uclo = how.

^*so/ r = truly.
}9o,;9 = face.

)^Loar> = silver.
ip£xsl r = *make king.

),.yv\.r = image.
..■giN,/ r = *baptize.
jou = shine.
)^., 5 >'v>S! = torch.

.piSI.. = change.
J>4*-^» = cross.
'^Loi = believe.

jutxi*. = sun.

J-l=.f = sacrifice.

From the root ±zb( : it is conjugated like an Aph'el.

76 §19. THE EXTENSIVE FORMS

Exercise 13

Translate into English :
yo^.^.S" o^olS .2 ♦ JAJ U«£=^ o»£ *^.('' .1

fcuS^l!/ .3 ♦ „o,*£j r r°i **- ^{i^l ^ ^

UL± y . )>alN x > ^ol(' r .4 ♦ )Jo.».j k*>J> U'°}^^ ^ J^JuIao

M^*- y0«20jj .O * yOaX ..VlA.! .O^Of . .IV1 .OttO yl .*]

JJi»/' ^*a3f ^Bf -9 *Ju5kt|o \1xLm. \t^lLW It-ill *%^t>

jk^.X( .11 * JufciOA. ^.f o»3o.3 leuo yoo^^sojjs a^.^.{o .10
fco/ r JjLl JJ .12 * yzLa^L. yfcsASij ypsJ-if Ji'oja-J) ^Jii.

ptj polo »;-»»( <-»•-» °» -13 <' W«-^. »-^.ot fc-.fO)fnv< J^ClO

jl^^oj^s ^*c*Xo uccus »->f->ot .14 * wOlO^L *.*£ |J

*«SI»f ibo*^ «bo^*I. ^\»ii) .15 <• ^-» oL» «°> v> X^ i-JLoLlo

•> .qj/ ]lrL»oLa>

Translate into Syriac :

1. We shall not all be slain, but we shall be changed.
2. Deliver unto the apostle the cross and the tomb. 3. We

have delivered the law unto you that you may cause the people to
worship. 4. Purify my soul, for in thee have I believed.

5. I have made you king over Israel. 6. And they shall

clothe you with a new garment. 7. I bear witness unto you

that my word is true. 8. You shall baptize all nations.

9. I shall deliver to you a good land. 10. And he said to the

women, You shall deliver the silver to me. 11. You shall not

curse your father and your king. 12. The virgins have

§19. THE EXTENSIVE FORMS 77

trimmed (established) their lamps. 13. We have been be-

trayed and shall be slain. 14. I am not able to deliver this

book to you. 15. Make me king and yotiwill cause evil to

pass away from you.

§ 20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES

The direct object of a transitive verb may be indicated in
Syriac by the use of a preposition "^. This preposition may be
employed with pronouns as well as with substantives. In this
case the pronoun takes the form used in the possessive suffixes.
Thus 'He will kill us' may be expressed ^^.cx^jaj. There
is, however, a more idiomatic way of expressing this in all Semitic
languages, and that is by the attachment of suffixes, similar to,
though not identical with, the possessive suffixes. The forms of
the suffixes are as follows :

SINGULAR

PLURAL

1st Com.

ui_

t—

2nd Masc.

J—

,, Fern.

tO

3rd Masc.

Ol, wOt— , i^Ot-* , u

■ OlO '

„ Fern.

0»

These suffixes are attached only to the Perfect, the Imperfect,
and the Imperative. The Participle and the Infinitive 2 take the

suffixes attached to the noun, Infinitives ending in cl being

treated as feminine nouns of the type of «t»i.

1 The following is a rough guide to the way these suffixes are used:

ot after a consonant.
uoi after u.

uou after a.
M51O after I and e.

2 Except in the case of 1st sing, (see below).

78 §20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES
There are no suffixes for the 3rd plural, the enclitic forms ytu/

and i-J} being used in their place.

These suffixes cannot be used in a reflexive sense. For this

purpose the word JLisu with suffix is employed.

The suffixes are attached to the Pe'al of the regular verb as

follows :

Attached to the Perfect

3rd SING.

3rd SING.

2nd SING.

MASC.

FEM.

MASC.

1 st Com. Sing.

KUi£&£

k^fcCi>.^0

uoI^^JS

2nd Masc. „

r^

*^&*

—

2nd Fern. ,,

vA^feJi

uot^^o

—

3rd Masc. „

oS&&

Oll^^O

o«-.l^.-i.^-0

3rd Fern. „

<*^o

0)1^|^D

otfc^^js

1st Com. Plur.

^

\VH«

v*^4*

2nd Masc. „

yok^o

yoafcJi^o

—

2nd Fern. „

^4^&*

^fcJ^^jS

—

2nd SING.

3rd PLUR.

FEM.

ISt SING.

MASC.

1st Com. Sing.

u0.i£s^-a

—

uJaA^o 1

2nd Masc. „

—

?^£°

^o!X^i

2nd Fem. ,,

—

«ok\£x>

ujA^a

3rd Sing. Masc.

o,l^ £*

1 An alternative

form inserts the s

yllable — 1 after

the o , e.g.

ujJclL^jj, yaS^o, &c.

§20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 79

2nd SING.

3rd PLUR.

FEM.

ISt SING.

MASC.

3rd Sing. Fern.

o^^A^o

«k^£o

OtOjL^-0

1st Com. Plur.

t* £^&*

— ■

V Q^O

2nd Masc. ,,

—

2nd Fern. „

—

^S^i^JS

^0^.^-0

3rd PLUR.

2nd PLUR.

2nd plur.

FEM.

MASC.

FEM.

1 st Com. Sing.

>.K^£'

uOJOk^V^O

<*aL^4^

2nd Masc. „

r>4*

• —

—

2nd Fern. „

(ua^5)

—

—

3rd Masc. ,,

uOt^^fl

woujo]^.^^>o

uOUli^^JS

3rd Fern. ,,

o^J^Ja

Opok£*-£»0

o^-V^^

1 st Com. Plur.

^

^JO^^O

^^4i

2nd Masc. „

(\*?>&>)

• —

—

2nd Fern. „

ISt PLUR.

«— —

1

1st Com. Sing.

—

2nd Masc. „

^\^o

2nd Fem. ,,

3rd Masc. „

oOt >\\ L-O

3rd Fem. „

0*iX£i5

1st Com. Plur.

—

2nd Masc. „

yCl-ttN^O

2nd Fem. ,.

^alX^xs

1 An alternative form runs wiuSlfro , y i lS l g ja , &c.

Fern,
ist Plur. Com.
2nd „ Masc.
2nd „ Fern.

80 §20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES
Attached to the Imperfect

3rd SING. '2nd SING. 2nd SING.

MASC. MASC. FEM.

i st Sing. Com. .aJ^jjj uoX^oL ^^iL^jsL

2nd „ Masc.
2nd „ Fern.

3rd ,, Masc.

3rd

1st Com. Sing.
2nd Masc. „
2nd Fern. „

3rd Masc. „

3rd Fern. „
ist Com. Plur.
2nd Masc. „
2nd Fern. „

1 An alternative form of the 2nd sing. masc. resembles the Impera-
tive, thus: wOjXcl^jsI., oo;)_»isI.Q^oL-, o^a^cl^dI;, a^o^dL'. This
form is chiefly used in prohibitions.

§20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 81

As to the 3rd sing, masc, so the suffixes are attached to the

3rd sing, fern., the 1st sing, com., and the 1st plur. com. As to

the 3rd plur., so the suffixes are attached to the 2nd plur., both

masc. and fern.

Attached to the Imperative

It should be noted that in Imperative forms the vowel imme-
diately before the suffix is retained.

MASC. PLUR.

MASC. SING.

FEM. SING.

IStFORM

1 st Sing.

Com.

r •*

uiAo^ja

waoS^oo 1

3rd „

Masc.

uOb\o^J3

i» 010*^.0.^-0

>? 1 *

3rd „

Fern.

0)*\CL^O

op^.a^.is

otaS^OJD'

1 st Plur.

Com.

^i^D

^Jxa^-o

v al^ao

MASC. PLUR.

FEM. PLUR.

FEM. PLUR.

2nd FORM

IStFORM

2nd FORM

1st Com.

Sing.

' ^* 1 *

{ȣ*.*$*)

uOJU2£a-£jJ

3rd Mas.

>>

* V* 1 *

t>OU^.O^-0

ogi »i»N,aj^o

3rd Fern.

»>

{iZLt^B.)

Wi^Q^JS

1st Com.

Plur.

(<*4*)"'

Suffixes to the Pa'el and Aph'el are attached in a similar manner
to those shown above for the Pe'al.

Attached to the Infinitive

pe'al pa'el

ist Sing. v.i'^.n?^ wjlVs^nio

2nd Sing. Masc. y%.fesi& yl'oN.^.oro

1 Forms like t*jcx^.CL.^D are also found.

8 2 §20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES
2nd Sing. Fem. i.iS!^,ov> uaioi^iL*

1^

v * 9 r

&C.

3rd Sing. Masc.

3rd Sing. Fem.

1st Plur.

2nd Plur. Masc.

3rd Plur. Masc.

Rule of Syntax

The direct object in Syriac is expressed frequently not only by
the noun itself governed by^, but by both the noun and an
anticipatory pronoun attached as suffix to the verb, e.g. oC^^o
)r>\v>X = He killed the king. (See also § 6.)

Vocabulary

w-^3 = till, cultivate. 'o £^«. = rule over

jjJL = send. k-*» = he died.

^a*. = Pa'el, destroy. Uixl = sea.

<am-> = Pa'el, give pleasure to. )l»x = Church.

?r»* = reap. Juj©»J> = first.

*L( = seize.' <-* , i? = second.

■ m^ci = honour. U^ioo = offering, sacrifice.

^a*. = dwell in. J»d> = fire.

.aoj = lift up, crucify. v Ix = Eden.

1 These forms are less commonly found.

§20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES 83

^-%a. — stir up. Pfoot-* — Jews.

oJjs = Pe., draw near; )J!!ioo©i» = Romans.

Aph., fight. .^ = do.

Exercise 14

Translate into English:

poto .2 * «oiCL**»^a.^» VJr*^ o»*fimO |uikJ£ l^V •^V^ - 1

]^oL.»aoo jbc wJOb q^Sj»-o oioooso ^'■!j Q--^*- \P°*^. JUaj

Irv •". r <•!»'.. *' I iv 5 p.. ' 1 » r »•

yCU/ ^Q%uO Jj-V*-"^ V^>JJ*-»? fc*g»l,VS, ^CCOla-O . JLopOf

•> o^SjIviq JL7' Jloi . o».,. \ .S ol JU fcjf ^_j yj \ ..«<=> t\

>a^.*» J-^ y( .9 ♦ yl^.\^i3 OtfcX^lOji . v^i» Ufc*2>». JlLo .8

yaoC^. o>iQ_^*.( ^»»-»©> -IO * ji.oa-^Ha.T> ^cflimiio ^jqaO^aj

I < .. < . 11 r • * v ■ ? » ■ ^ ^ * ■ »*•*

J>i»»oo; ^ax.ou taai>.a^jajj ^ ^>a .12 •> woujaajaofo

•:• |tai3 yCtolS-Ujpo x>^^(o yoqi>.QAq( .13 4 oi-iuo

« JIVjJJ ^»»l;f W^ o^iuajo fcooco )l'fco/ r cim > Usojii JLif .14

Translate into Syriac:

1. This is the son, let us kill him. 2. And the Romans

fought against (f*£) the Jews and subdued them. 3. And the

8 4 §20. OBJECTIVE PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES
king will draw near to this city and will destroy it with fire.
4. The prophet will be betrayed into the hands of the Romans,
and they will kill him. 5. You (m. sg.) have subdued us, but

you will not destroy us. 6. You are able to hear the com-

mandments of the law, for you have kept them. 7. I have

caused you to dwell in the kingdom and have honoured you.

8. You have stirred me up that I should rule over the kingdom.

9. If I draw near to the city, the priests will lead me into their
house and will kill me. 10. Gather them and destroy them
with fire. 11. Send them away that they may buy bread.
12. Have you heard me? I have heard you. 13. Daughter,
your faith has helped you. 14. Beloved, I have sent you into
thelworld. 15. My daughters, fear not; they shall pursue
you that they may kill you, but they shall not find you.

§ 21. WEAK VERBS

Variations in the conjugation of verbs are generally produced
by the presence in the stem of

(a) a Nun as first radical,

(b) one of the gutturals as last radical, 1

(c) one of the vowel letters, Alaph, Waw, Yudh,

(d) a doubled or repeated second radical.

These are usually separated for convenience into the following
groups :

1. Pe Nun

>a°u

2. Lamadh guttural

^lOjk,

3. Pe Alaph

W

4. Pe Yudh

*?Vt!

1 Gutturals as first or second radical do not often have any effect on
the pronunciation or form.

§ 21.

WEAK

VERBS

5-

'E Alaph

^.U

6.

f E Waw

p* (y>ao)

7-

Double 'E

y* (»*=»)

8.

Lamadh All

aph and

k&» , «»>.

Lamadh Yudh

85

It is possible for a verb to be doubly weak, though certain
peculiarities are never found together, e.g. if a verb beginning
with a ^_» has a vowel letter as its second radical, it does not share
the peculiarities of the ^j">s verbs.

§ 22. ^"a VERBS

As will have been already noticed in such words as lSJ( ,
J^x»*so, the letter ^ shows a tendency to become assimilated to
the following consonant when no vowel-sound intervenes between
the two. The original effect of this assimilation was to double the
second of the two letters (but in the modern pronunciation in
vogue in India, the doubling of the consonant has disappeared and
the previous vowel is lengthened in compensation).

This occurs only in

(a) Impf. and Inf. Pe'al, except when the second radical is <m ,
e.g. >o*j; Impf. >^J .

(b) Aph'el (throughout).

(c) Ettaph'al (throughout).

In the Imperative Pe'al the ^> disappears altogether.

The following paradigm gives the Impf. Pe'alof »a%( .= go out :

SINGULAR PLURAL

3rd Masc. j3Q.2u yooSkj

,, Fem. i*a adl;, .ocisL >n°>?

86

§22.

^"vS VERBS

2nd Masc.

,, Fern.

^^4

e 9 i

i st Com.

4 . )*

Imperative

Sing. Masc.

J3 03

Sing. Fern.

Plur. Masc.

(

i.

oooS

Plur. Fem.

(

.. . *

Infinitive

The Aph'el is jW, and so conjugated regularly, and the
Ettaph'al >osU/*.

Note. The verb .n!Ntti (= rise) assimilates the "^ as a <->"•& verb
does the ^j, e.g. Aph. jual'' = raise.

Vocabulary

omJ = pour. » i <2yLj = cling to. s

♦^ = draw (Impf. *^). &J/ = seed.

^4» = fall (Impf. *W). Jl^ = husband.

I^mJ = go down (Impf. Low). «ji3 = command.

c^aJ = take (Impf. aaJ). im. = alive.

^»Vj = give (only used in the \J*+io = oil.

Impf.^fcJ; for other Jj&w? = fear,
tenses o«- is used).

i ^ssu = blow, arouse. . tr*'?** " ^SYP 1 -

§ 22. ^"s VERBS 87

Exercise 15

Translate into English :
uoiajfBaa\ yo»=iXj JJj.o ).a3cvso.J^v \Oj^J?. V,'o^J\ oJclo3 .1
•:• )ui*i>. ciooj J)o *. yO£>( «>->(. ^*> \ty »,-^n-vi .2 ♦ JJcttiof

ata*.(o *. ^>Jttr ysKif ^o ^o o> vi S.X 001CU.J0 J.«.clio a_o3(o .3
* o^ijC^o potts Jf o^tfj o*-*^*- I '■■■•» » Joot *£>(* fc£*J.=> \0->/

^OI. JLtJlJ. Ooi v*2l», o^X^ 0O| v**» ~» »( .5 * OtQjfcCO

"^oL J>jLjc£ yQO.nr>r», [Jot ^ bv (JLttiO ii(o .6 * o»^£.

* ,\r. ■ *. ,r . J* v »v ■ )r ■*-..r)K ■* r r.

yo^Lj yO'i.NN. i»&J^*; ^>S| -7 * ^aa^ij ^Oot^.*

i»-oi wasasTo .10 •') v*LoX jJ/ ^d j^/ &&i\T ^? \/"" -9

» ;jxo '^s ^>i o»*axolo

Translate into Syriac :

1. And Moses said, Keep this law. 2. "The king said, If

you do not give me your sheep and your cattle I shall take away
your sons and your daughters. 3. And the men of the city

brought out the gold which was in the temple that they might give
it to the king. 4. And they brought down stones from the

mountain. 5. We believe that he will draw all nations unto

him. 6. You have caused me to fall because you have not

allowed me to keep the commandments. 7. If I come down

I will receive you unto myself, and will cause you to dwell in the
heavens. 8. And the queen was brought out of the temple

that defilement might not fall upon it. 9. The priest said to

the women, I shall receive whatever you give me. 10. He

is not able to pour out his spirit on us because we are evil and will
not receive his love. 11. My spirit will blow upon you but

88 §22. <->"& VERBS

(and) you will not fall. 12. Bring forth the body from the

house and let it fall upon the sea.

§ 23. ^" GUTTURAL VERBS

These are verbs whose last radical is 01 ,<*»,<*., or » . In a few
cases verbs ending in / are similarly treated. Their peculiarities arise
from the fact that these letters seem to have a preference for
pthaha in place of other vowels, especially rbhaca. This is chiefly
noticeable when the guttural is final. There are a few cases in
which -^" guttural verbs are affected, having pthaha for 'caca in
the Imperfect. 1 ^" guttural verbs are affected as follows:

(a) In Pe'al:

(i) The Perfect of intransitive verbs has pthaha instead of
rbhaca, e.g. wil — wonder.

(ii) The Imperfect and the Imperative of a few transitive verbs
have pthaha instead of 'caca, e.g. jj>» = lead, Impf. ^> J.

(iii) The Active Participle has pthaha instead of rbhaca.

(b) The Ethpe'el has pthaha for rbhaca.

(c) and (d) A similar change takes place in Pa'el and Aph'el.

Thus the Pe'al and Ethpe'el of xyscu*. = hear, are as follows :

pe'al Perfect >*►*!».

Imperfect ^L»J

Imperative m»,

• Infinitive n\vJ«*S>

Participle Active n\v>».

Passive

^wOttO,

1 e.g. ^*jj , *~-£-J = grind; J01X (or >oc£.), JcC^j = remember. Most
>^" guttural verbs are like *oj^, jsbpj 1 = flee.

§23. "V GUTTURAL VERDS

ethpe'el Perfect sxi>k-*7*

Imperfect >a.il^.j

Imperative ^sals*./*

Infinitive a^it-*^,

Participle SkifcsU.v>

89

The Pa'el and Ethpa'al of t=>> = lead (in Pa' el = govern, in
Ethpa'al = bear oneself).

pa'el Perfect

1*
*5*

Imperfect

V

Imperative

V

~1

Infinitive

4 r
OJJi*5lO

Participle Active

,, Passive

V

ethpa'al Perfect

Imperfect

Imperative

1 Regular.

Infinitive

Participle J

A p H 'e l of *mao = despise.

Perfect

Imperfect

r y
• ( raVu

Imperative

r )r

Infinitive

4 f y

Participle Active

r r

Pa'

ssive

r r

9b §23.^" GUTTURAL VERBS

The word v~a*7 = be able, find, is best treated as an Aph'el of
this class in which the r of the first syllable has been modified to

Vocabulary

*r>» = Aph., record. yw/*MvA*^ ^o\ =. sing (piaise).

4^*1^= be complete. *->» = rise (as sun).

;viv = dwell. cHiol, = wonder.

♦^u» = Pa., hope. vopo}j = they will say.

s^^. = know. U^L/ = tree.

wis = Ethpe., be ill, )L'aJl = animal.

Aph., make ill. (f } ^ = face

w^>> = sacrifice. (f.) JloL = field.

oj = plant. J^^L = garden.

«Xc» = Pa., walk. R'o-^-i = prayer.

ot*. = be desolate. Jui2\ = heart.

^j) = Pa., justify, ©•^^^^**1jj r ic = helper.
(Passive = Ethpa.). « \}' = Adam.

Exercise 16
Translate into Syriac :
*«lail.f Jl a \ Kj/" Nx.-*Li> >% ^- , « '. ^ v> « S , izcl? .i

OJO -3 •:• ^^>»Q^l>.i. W?(0 «+*9(? J»0)OJ uJVi^ o~J»( .2

«X=>iJS .4 <• )^pL{» ,00»..>).2> opa^J-io •. )i-JuL \±^-(_ [s^O

is>ii( .5 •:• hiaiaj J001 j^3> >*-•/ ^»i cu^ijo Jla-.o^ Mo»a

§23. "V GUTTURAL VERBS 91

^♦-. .10 •:• )tou»2<i2>j unaxi^^ oCi. .CiViN my yOtnX i^»(o
^_v> <i»JiI. *-^V° °^f-^- S; *»-"H 7 ^ " jlV-Jf -fc-vLn,!; ♦_p». J-V

Translate into Syriac:

1. And when they hear that the king is ill, they will say, What
has mrfble the king ill ? 2. And he planted a garden and put

in it the man whom he had made that he might till the ground.
3. Let us sing unto the king, and let us make mention of his
name. 4. Listen to me, my brother, and open to me the eyes
of your heart. 5. He who hopes is justified, and he who is

justified is made perfect, and he who is made perfect knows the
glory of heaven. 6. It was said through (o) the prophet, I

will dwell amongst you and will walk amongst you. 7. If

there shall be found one righteous man, I will not make the city
desolate. 8. You have made me wonder at your words.

9. Whoever shall hear my word and do it, I will grant (give to)
him to walk in the light of the kingdom. 10. Come out and

bring out with you the sheep and the oxen, and let us sacrifice in
the temple.

§ 24. /'\3 VERBS

The peculiarities of this class of verbs are due to the fact that
/ when initial must have a full vowel, and that when preceded
by a vowelless consonant it surrenders its vowel to that consonant
and becomes quiescent, sometimes being even omitted in writing.

92 §24. l»& VERBS

This affects all parts where the / is initial when preceded by

a vowelless prefix such as o or » , and further makes changes in :

(a) Pe'al

In the Perfect the initial / always has *, e.g. "^i'* — eat.

In the Imperfect and Infinitive the first syllable is a long open
one, and in verbs whose Imperfect has o.!_ in the second syllable
the first vowel is *, in those with " it is ". Thus^co|j = he will
eat, but jiajJ = he will say.

In the Imperative and the Participle Passive the vowel is ',
e.g.^as^, *^*>r, but if the second vowel is " , the first becomes *,
e.g. WO/ .

{b) Ethpe'el

The 1 of the preformative always carries a vowel. In parts
which have no vowel in the regular verb, this vowel is ", where the
first radical has " it is simply shifted back on to the I, e.g.

(c) Pa'el

In the Impf. and Inf. the / surrenders its vowel to the pre-
formative, e.g. £±r — oppress, Impf. Pa. S.[j.

(d) Ethpa'al

The / surrenders its vowel to the I of the preformative, e.g.
taa(l7 — be blackened.

N.B. This class of verb is rarely conjugated in the Ethpa'al, its
place being taken by the Ethpe'el.

(e) In the extensive forms, Aph'el, Ettaph'al, Shaph'el, and
Eshtaph'al, a further change takes place, the / being replaced
by o (in one case, that of jL'/* = come, by «), e.g. Js] — perish,
Aph. s so/'' = destroy, Ettaph. poli/* = be destroyed; the root
i-/, only found verbally in Aph'el and Eshtaph'al = be behind,
delay, Aph. ^o/ r , Esht. jJlofciA-f .

§24. 1"& VERBS 93

The following forms will serve to illustrate the principal
pecularities of these verbs :

Pe'al Perfect

3rd Sing. Masc.

vr

,, Fern.

^r

2nd Sing. Masc.

Imperfect

3rd Sing. Masc.

^£>U

&>[j

1st ,, Com.

^r

*>[

Imperative

Sing. Masc.

^/"

Participle Active

V/'

„ Passive

'W

Infinitive

%sj^

Jo\i£>

Ethpe'el Perfect

3rd Sing. Masc.

^HT

„ Fern.

k^W

Imperfect

3rd Sing. Masc.

^l£;

2nd ,, Fern.

V. *■ ' * 1

3rd Plur. Masc.

yO^olfco

Imperative

Sing. Masc.

Vttf*'

Infinitive

4

Participle

Vl£& (f- )$&*)

1 Also^alLVand^rir

94 § i

»4. <"\s VER

BS

Pa'el Imperfect

3rd Sing. Masc.

P :

*s&

1 st „ Com.

/''

3&Y

3rd Plur. Masc.

Infinitive

o^li

aa^i

Farticiplc Acti\c

Ethpa'al Perfect

3rd Sing. Masc.

/'»•

Aph'el Perfect

►r>o(

Ettaph'al Perfect

■ A A

Note. jlV* = come, is both Pe 'Alaph and Lamadh 'Alaph (see

§29)-

Imperfect Pe'al JL'Jj

Imperative Pe'al JL

Aph'el "^-./ r

Ettaph'al ~\~nr

«. r Vocabulary

I fc=>/ = perish (Impf. J>\>). \S^Z = sleep, rest.

\ *£o? = bind. 'Miivj. -gfrJUasy jL'oxaXi = teaching.

1 ♦*./ = shed, pour out. ji. = one (m.).

< j—f = seize, hold, \l~ = one (f.).

^h^ ose U J>- (f.) ^W = rib. ^o

1 ^W = Ethpe'el, be constant. \L"sL = milk.

1 The verb .aib./ = teach, is generally written without the / in those
parts of the Pa'el that have a preformative. For the Pe'al of this verb the
form .Qi^vl is used.

§24. I"& VERBS 95

1 .\/ == oppress. i^o = dog.

! ^^Z = Ethpe'el, mourn. vaco = put, set

*-/ = Aph., dd^ * *^ (3rd- m.pl. a*u»).

-mxcd = be satisfied. v^o = before.

v ^£>? = sleep; pa. causative. Uaot = thus, so.

V

Exercise 17

Translate into English:
joe* £piio .2 * M>^5 ^ J 1 ^^-^? wlcx^ ~%>L\l£\o .1

J,*i.«^k .aa^u»( /tt « J s n.Q 's Jog) ; v> _ v ooto o»y»Jbc-i>. "««J£

^L U^ ^|5 .8 ♦ o^f *£!£? UiV ^> -Uil? °^
f o r » a^llf -.JuaaJi o^S/ U4«? ^^4-^ *• v j-^* *3

Translate into Syriac :

1. Hear the law and keep it, lest you perish in the way of the
desert. 2. Hear my voice and I will teach you the way of

righteousness. 3. When you eat the flesh of oxen, you shall

pour the blood on the earth- 4- Let us hold fast that which

we have received, lest we fall. 5- Let me not mourn, and let

96 §24. }"& VERBS

not my enemies oppress me. 6. Flee and do not delay, for he
who delays will perish. 7. I have fed you on milk, because

you are not able to eat flesh. 8. And they seized the prophet

and bound him and set him before the king. And the king said
to the prophet, 'Why do you teach evil ? If the people hear your
teaching, they will mourn and will not be able to fight; and you
will shed the blood of men, and by your word the whole city will
be destroyed'. And the prophet said, 'The word which I speak is
true, and I cannot restrain it'.

§ 25. w'\3 AND o"w9 VERBS

- appears as the initial letter in most forms, but Aph'el and
Ettaph'al normally have o .'

In Perfect and Imperative Pe'al and throughout the Ethpe'el,
when the « has no full vowel it quiesces and becomes a long i,
e.g. ).!>, 11*1] , z This is often written «/ at the beginning of the
word, e.g. IU[.

The vowel of the Perfect Pe'al is "* except in the case of verbs
ending in a guttural or rgsh, e.g. *iL = bear, JL = burn, but
ija- = be heavy, ^ K = know.

When by inflexion the « has a full vowel it is consonantal, e.g.

In the Imperfect and Infinitive Pe'al the w is replaced by /,
e.g. ITjJj , tyU>o . Indeed, in many respects these verbs resemble
J"ja verbs.

The two verbs oiC = sit, and ^^ = know, are irregular,
losing the « in the Impf. Pe'al and related parts, and taking
rbhaca as the preformative, thus resembling ^t"& verbs.

1 Initial Waw is very rare in Syriac apart from the conjunction and a
few forms like JJo (used impersonally to express 'ought') and «-2*.o = to
appoint.

2 Here the long i thus formed is pronounced with the taw. This
happens whenever a prefix is added, e.g. l£*° •

§25. J'& AND o"s> VERBS 97

Two verbs, ■"■*" = suck, and ^V. = wail, retain the « in the
Aph'el, aLI' and*%SL*l r , all others take o.

Thus the following forms will serve as Q guide to conjugation :

Pe'al (All verbs of this class have the form of intransitive verbs.)

Perfect

U:(/)

Imperfect

ltt

Imperative

mi)

Infinitive

l*U

Participle Active

m

,, Passive

^^"(/)

el

iur

Ethpe'el

Pa'el and Ethpa'al are regular and the « behaves as a full con-
sonant, e.g. ^^r , "Vill/ 71 (to lead).

JL* , Jill? (to honour).

Aph'el I*o/ r jaJ./ r

Ettaph'al llolir (*LLlD

The verbs olsL. and ^Z* are conjugated thus:

Pe'al Perfect •? W) ^Ptf)

Imperfect c>^j ^f?

Imperative ol vJt

Infinitive ok_**> -^Iss

Participle Active ol£l <^U

„ Passive «^.lsl(/) -*Jll(l)

9 8 §25. -"A AND o"3 VERBS

Vocabulary

I Sif, s= be anxious. * £i- = inherit.

I ;jx. *= be heavy; I "Sfc-a- = Aph'el, bring.

Pa'el, honour. | s>u = Aph'el, lend.

t y^, = bear; Aph., beget. J^^ii = mind.

»k» = exceed.^-^-^*^--^ 6 -^'- (f.) JjV" = ear.

i 'c ^. =3= Aph'el, add, do again. *»S'*~ = around (with

ciifriYpo ge

i »ix. = burn; Pe'al intrans., Aph'el,

. attached to

trans.

a pi. noun).

o/ = or.

Exercise 18

Translate into English :
)Ixv «..■>? **^» ^aawf •.'VcojJ )Jjo . ^owspI!; of \a3»(j; Jj -I

* \J3L> <*£> t^*U\ ^^4-^ )?<* ]^X»H*3 ljla>M .4 ♦ ]J^iSo

,30 .7 ♦ yco?' <X ^Wj U*JJ L*P -6 ♦ J Jala

•> Of-»_JU^ ii-O-I JJ? ^5>_^j£) |. n \v^» ott^,,.,, -* r> oi>, in \
.a»Ll .10 ♦ Jj£.l~/ ki»]) >oa\3ajo JfCUA .aofcsj^Z^o JSojo

1 Used with the Infinitive, e.g. i-a^v^N, .aeoof = he said again.

§25. »"«S AND o"^ VERBS 99

Translate into Syriac:

i. Unless your works exceed the works of the law, you shall not
inherit the kingdom. 2. In those days the Romans went to

Jerusalem and besieged (sat about) it. And the Jews were anxious
concerning the city, because they feared that the Romans would
burn it with fire. For they knew that they had burnt other
cities. 3. And they brought the prophet again to the king.

And the king said to the prophet, Why am I not honoured in your
teaching ? And the prophet said to the king, Unless you keep the
law, you will not be honoured by the King of Kings, and He will
not cause you to inherit the land of your fathers. And the king
sent the prophet to his house, and took counsel with the priests
that he might be burned with fire.

§ 26. 1"^. VERBS

These verbs also exhibit peculiarities which are due to the
character of the letter /, which must have a full vowel or be
quiescent, and surrenders its vowel to a preceding vowelless con-
sonant. The Pa'el and the Ethpa'al are regular; in the other
conjugations the root is practically monosyllabic.

In the Pe'al Perfect the radical vowel is * ; in the Imperfect the
vowel is ". In those persons that have a vocalic afformative, how-
ever, the * reappears. In the Imperative and the Infinitive the
vowel is ". The Act. Part, is regular in the masc. sing., but the
stem becomes monosyllabic in the fern. sing, and in the plur. In
Ethpe'el, Aph'el, and Ettaph'al, the root becomes monosyllabic,
retaining the usual vowels.

The following forms will serve as illustrations :

Pe'al Perfect ^£

Imperfect, 3rd Sing. Masc. "^JJu

Plur. K *S*\1J

)0

§26. ("sk VERBS

Imperative

^)I

Infinitive

^u»

Participle

Active

n

Passive

^>U

Ethpe'el

Aph'el

Mir

Ettaph'al

OMILLD

The verb o«-I = give, is treated like an l"s*. verb in the Perf.
Pe'al. For the Imperfect the root ^l^j is used. In the Impera-
tive, Infinitive, and Participles, the verb is conjugated like >^,_ ,
and in the Ethpe'el like an ordinary ^"£> verb.

Vocabulary

I ^.U. = ask; Ethpe'el, refuse; mu = lacking in (fol-

Aph'el, grant. y^* 1 *^ lowed by t .>*>).

\ <s>\£ = be good. Jj<x»jo = wealth.

I jt)^> = be evil. £-*9 = stretch out.

I oJjm = be old. U^X = night.

[ Aa> = wear (sandals). fc^L = three.

) vj^ = cease, weary •* }'£x£ — sandal.

(impersonal). ■ , ,. = Aph> preach

o)io = be evil; grieve (in- ij-r*^ — l° a f-

trans.); Aph., grieve ^^ = wisdom<

{tram.).

\^'/ = g°-
V o«.. = give. (Impf.^JU). 1

JlsAotoi = gift.

' See also § 29 note.

§26. {"*. VERBS 101

Exercise 19

Translate into Syriac:

oJ^J ./ .2 •:• ^o)J o£i. lsi>o»I» qxi )&£>..» l^£JJco .1

Joot .Qi^y-go .3 •> Jko.oicu£> ^JiiiyiS, qjJ-£> . i*X oav^iiV\\

•> o^ .o<h1 vi-ssL" JJ»o JTo-^js; v aj_>5ojtof. J^oa^fcLix ^^a,

\J .5 <• \^Uv^ k^.L ^L^L\2i r .K*mZ} \ aS. r^>y>o \^±£

^■£»"» .6 * *£>. ooL.U"o ^J>*< . Jfcoaq^ ^» KV w&I.

5^0 .7 '/ JJojcio Jko&a.I ^C JJ/ 00LI J^ny-jiT. l^.(»j

\ oq\ . \j(_ JfJLio .8 * >^L »«XDo]Lr Jj_t*4o "^fL ^°*3i v ?^ ao l'

ytuLxd." #» VOA^. U<_ *O^-»00 . )&■■ '» ' - £ J_^0» yOLOSTjO yOltolTf

* ]tLa«Q_vj kiAzo kJs.\JL f Kj^LSd jcJ-sL" JJ .9 •> )y >v, ,j

* «Jfc^JX». ):»«» . .n~N ^U* \tf u,it.ti JJ .10

Translate into Syriac:

1. I have not given you this land because you have done evil in
my eyes. 2. We know that it is good that we should keep the
law. 3. Let us ask wisdom from heaven, and he who dwells

in heaven will grant wisdom to us. 4. Behold I have grown

old, and I have known the works which have been done upon the
earth. 5. And the prophet said unto the women of the city,

If you have done good in your youth, when you grow old it shall
not weary you. 6. If you do not cease from your evil deeds,

you will grieve your friend. 7. And the servant said to the king,
I have asked this gift of you, and you are not able to refuse.
8. Cease to do evil, learn to do well. 9. I am grieving because
you have not given to me the book for which I asked. 10. Let
it not be evil in your eyes that I have given the king's oxen to the
men of the city.

102 §27. o"v>. VERBS

§ 27. o"^ VERBS

These are verbs which resemble the last class in being practically
monosyllabic in their root. In place of the middle consonant a
vowel appears, and the peculiarities of these verbs are best explained

by assuming this vowel to have been originally a It should be

remarked, however, that there arc no longer any verbs in use

which show the a in the Perfect Pe'al, for verbs in which o

appears as a consonant may be treated as regular. Such a verb is
jo» = rejoice.

The o"^ verbs proper exhibit the following peculiarities:

Pe'al. In the Perfect the medial vowel is ', except in the verb
Isoo = die, which retains the ~ throughout the Perfect.

In the Imperfect and Imperative the vowel is a , except in

JX.OO = put, where the vowel is *" in these parts. The preformative
of the Imperfect has no vowel except in the ist sing.

In the Infinitive the vowel is , and the preformative •» is used.

In the Participle the normal vocalization of the masc. sing, is so
strong that an / is introduced to preserve it. In the fern. sing,
and the plural this changes to «.

In the Participle Passive the vowel is „".

Ethpe'el. Properly speaking does not exist in these verbs, its
place being taken by the Ettaph'al.

Pa'el and Ethpa'al. The middle radical appears as *, and the
verbs are conjugated regularly.

Aph'el. In the Perfect and Imperative (and the ist sing. Impf.)
the radical vowel is *", and the preformative vowel '.In other
parts the preformative has no vowel.

Ettaph'al. This conjugation is regularly formed from the
Aph'el, and there is no vowel between the preformative and the
stem.

The following paradigm will serve to illustrate what has been
said. It will be noted that no alternative forms are given, as they

§27. o"x^ VERBS 103

can be readily deduced from the more usual ones. The paradigm
is that of the verb po = rise; the irregular forms of k-00 and pi

are also indicated.
Perfect

3rd Masc.
,, Fern.
2nd Masc.
,, Fern.
1st Com.
Imperfect
3rd Masc.
„ Fern.
2nd Masc.
,, Fein.
1 st Com.
Imperative
Masc.
Fern.
Infinitive
Participle
Active
Passive

Perfect

3rd Masc.
„ Fern.

PE'AL

SINGULAR
pj? K-00

)QJJJ

vajsk

Lips
k>Ll^ji

p.rri)

I

poo

^o act
woo/'

pvJ»

t

p*£0

r

3Q-0

uOOOC

p«rn

i»Na,ifin

VX£L^O pm -o

p*o
APH'EL

l^siLjs/'
' Fem. Sing. ).ia»o.

PLURAL

n.~vno

1 1 ,vi o

* * 1
VO-IOCLOL

V

bikoo

V

>LlsJijo

n in./« 1

■^ ■

V

f

L

p-roi

02000

r-^

* .. »

CLaft,>o/ r

xo4

§27. 0"^ VERUS

SINGULAR

PLURAL

2nd Masc.

IS v>»5(

«oioQ.*5/

„ Fern.

ut>„?ft»n(

ist Com.

IssaJsf

^a*o}"

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

Y>.CY>

*

„ Fem.

v^JSL

^o.1£j

2nd Masc.

viJsL

iCXl.fi I

,, Fem.

^>Na«ol

^q.^52.

1 st Com.

J^al"

y>.n<

Imperative

Masc.

f^ol"

O-Vl.ftf

Fem.

>.Va,>5(

Infinitive

t 1

Participle

Active

ttJL*5

Passive

ETTAPH'AL

<aa2£)

Perfect

r&ur

Imperfect

suiSlfco

Imperative

rJiiir

Infinitive

0.50-01,^00

Participle

ipJ5Lfcs_-£

PA'EL

pic. ETHPA'AL pL5>

u\

Vocabulary

\» = judge.

(f.) J&aojts*. = foundation.

v».j = tread on.

(Plur. W£I)

§ 27. o"n>.

i.L — look at.

^. = curse.

£jc = despise.

\J = shake.

♦j = wander.

«j = be high.

wJ — rest.

ot = repent.

<Hna = become tasteless.

^,1/ = (followed by^) be
valuable for.

k~l = Ethpa'li (§ 19),

be brought down.

VERBS

f-

JL^ :

i°5.
= impulse, moving
force.

: revelation.
: glory.
: gate.
= creator.
= vision.
= other than.
: power.

Sheol.

judgement.
: Cain.

Capernaum.

Exercise 20

Translate into English :
Vf hi' 1 JJ f ^x -.^L^iV U*U .o^L" U^i yj* .1

^•*LjL» 11/" le^aj JJ ooVl yj| ^JL \ J .2 * J-ij/ ^ jt»j"l;L'j.

|X.*3 . ya!u?ir JJ? \Qjo?.L JJ .3 * Jlsoo fc^o ^ Jj3o;3

\oo Jjoi J^a^xt fc-^yJo .4 •> yaA*f.Ll" \pl^( ^•J? **-^»

^-.jbof ow* ^.Xnl^oio •. ^X.]i,fcoc JJLlwf. Jii.X ^ . c*i>?
u-( iotjjf Jl'jL. ^\ ^>oi.ro .5 * w«olsl*/ )>lo^s yo«\

X^lilo .woia~)J ^.Ji \^co .6 4 ujuOq*.?. JxJXj^. ^V»

ot^pio ". V-'aii.^*./ JXoicf otL"dS. .7 4 J-^'hj ?P Joo»o

♦ J^»^ tfeJU JJq ^iJJo ^JJ tfa^l JJ .8 •> ~J/ r

1 See § 29 note.

106 § 27. o"<*. VERI3S

tvaninS^ ynn-.ST yofcoooo JJf ^^£ \L,Zs> y>n:o N v yCL-^A-L* JJ .9
.wkjciLLi 1 K^o^ ^t^f wcuJ^aa wl^->!o .10 *)L'cLa-»ji

JJo wina4\>fi s v wfc-.VCL.».i> ^^> . ^-.lS—LL 1 ^ n * « S ! lil^.

*)i.ff Liocili uskjotl JJ> <-£>oL *. wkoi'
Translate into Syriac :

1. I have laid the foundation, and another foundation than that
which is laid, can no man lay. 2. We believe that he who was
raised up from the house of the dead will also raise us up with
him, and will set us in heaven that we may not be judged.
3. You arc cursed by the giound which has opened her mouth
and received the blood of your brother. 4. You have wandered
in the desert and your fathers have died, but you shall rest in this
land which has been given to you. 5. Lift up your heads, O

gates, and be lifted up, you gates which are from eternity.

6. We have rested under the tree and have eaten of its fruits.

7. Repent, O women of Jerusalem, that the king may not judge
you in his anger, for you will not be able to stand in the day of his
judgement. 8. I will set the standard of the king above the
foundations of the city, that you may look thereon. 9. I come
that I may establish righteousness on the earth. 10. Thou
despisest those who exalt themselves, and in thine anger thou wilt
judge them, and if they do not repent, thou wilt destroy them.

§ 28. DOUBLE ^ VERBS

Like the preceding, this class consists of \erbs which often
appear as monosyllabic stems. In those parts where both the
second and the third radical of the regular verb carry vowels both
are written, and the root resumes its triliteral form, the only
exception to this is the Act. Part. Pe'al, which appears to be formed

1 Contracted form of »_.1S— LLL .

§28. DOUBLE <*. VERBS 107

after the analogy of the o"^. verbs with an /. The Ethpe'cl also
generally has the second radical written twice. In those Semitic
languages which have a means of indicating a doubled letter, the
doubling of this radical is shown in all parts, but in Syriac it is no
longer represented. The vowels normally are those of the regular
verb, Pe'al.

The vowel of the Perfect is always . That of the Imperfect is

either o or ' ; in one case, j3 = wander, it is . There is one

point in this connexion that should be noted. The b was

originally not a U but an O, as in the regular verb, and is still
shown as such in the East Syrian writing. This constitutes a
difference between this and the preceding class of verbs.

The Imperative is formed directly from the Imperfect.

The Active Participle, as already indicated, has an (''inserted in
the masc. sing., but this disappears in the fern, and in the plur.

The Passive Participle has the second radical written twice, and
is regular in form.

The Ethpe'el is regular in form, though some scribes write the
2nd sing. fern, and the 2nd and 3rd plur. without repeating the
second radical.

The Pa'el and Ethpa'al are regular in form.
In the Aph'el and Ettaph'al the second radical is only written
once.

These peculiarities may be illustrated by the following
forms :

PE'AL

Perfect

SINGULAR

PLURAL

3rd Masc.

A

K ^ °^

„ Fern.

l k

^Ij>2> k.Jci

2nd Masc.

ijo

v oLfc»

io8

§28.

DOUBLE ^ VERBS

SINGULAR

PLVRAl.

2nd Fern.

wijo

r£*=j

ist Com.

v^

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

„ Fern.

^

2nd Masc.

v«*4

,, Fern,
ist Com.

■t . Sit

)OJX(

Imperative

Masc.

\°

» < .4.

las o|u

Fern.

* .
«/as

r

r. i . * .
|03 u|U

Participle

Active

/U (fern.

)k)

f 1 ?

Passive

JLJk

Infinitive

ETHPE'EL
PA*EL

>i±*J

1$**

= bring low, humiliate.

ETHPA'AL

1

fd&li'--

= be brought low.

Perfect

APH'EL

3rd Masc.

&

6

»/" o&r

„ Fern.

iur

rhr -*r

2nd Masc.

w

ji*r

§28.

DOUBLE >^

VERBS

SINGULAR

PLURAL

,, Fern.

~ly*l"

^*r

i st Com.

iur

K*r

Imperfect

^

Imperative

*r

o&r

Participle

Active

^IsJo

Passive

MM"

1-.lsJa

Infinitive

JL=oo

ETTAPH'AL Joll/

-4 A '

Jo = plunder.

Vocabulary

t-

= show

mercy to.

109

**^ :

touch.

^5^— Aph' el, cover
ja» = bruise, trample.

,%«ft»v H V

^xx3 = Aph., reprove.
'^sOk. = enter.
^3 = break (bread).

J3» = Spit.

o* = come down.

i*. = be firm; Aph.,
believe.

)iiS = nest.

"*%>.) = be despised; Aph., despise.
cx~ = be warm; Aph., love.
ja~ = be hot (Impf. *w).
jxZi = love; Pa., be merciful to.
JomIo = sick, ill.
<x£ = a particle inserted to indicate u.^tt = promise.

that the sentence in which ^ = p a ^^mfort.
it occurs is a quotation. t "
r Jj'fca = sheet.

L»^: = bone.

7T I* = behold I

»»»= Sarah. t

i-**J* = Hagar.

no §28. DOUBLE s>. VERBS

Exercise 21

Translate into English :
i-w<^ JJ .2 ♦ jitiis !1^**j4 U"^*! y( <+»of*o> ^X ^,1 -i

♦ u,fma\, ^.aajlTo m»4p»^N. vobfL" )l? jfoi ) l'a-J>X o to LIT Jjo .3

v' 1 - * ''II r • 1 r ) ■* ' • " r «T " i \. r ? r ' 1

>,..,t *.&> Jl .6 ♦ tA. ^M-iji yixj( ►solo icbflo •. ybcxi-iio |j/

* i*oi_beuS ^_*I_^_5f ^^.'S>,-»)1 {— • ? \o~f *. )}»■£■ a* -wvi N )J/
sw»(o ^cu*[f <— ^-^ v,Q-"(o y&tP ioo^j o*Xo t=»-^( h->( -7
fc«^lx? Uo^a^> ^-.iaajlo Jla-c^s ^--^-i^l. .8 •> ]f^j!» ^-^-
uaa'i\ N-> o^.)js 00UL/ JJ? Lj/ JIJ-ilo . LJ_=>»oio ^Lol? f-^-
"X^-. p),'iLiaK u«djt,r? . wLoia^i ^x* .9 •> oisitaais.
J] Jld>oo oot "^l-X v|o .10 * JJo-iix cuaa.5c.!\o ]oMS.ai£

Translate into Syriac :

1. We have brought our offerings into the temple that we may
sacrifice. 2. I will sing praise unto thy name, because thou

hast had mercy on me, and wilt cause me to enter into heaven.

3. Love your enemies, and be merciful unto them that despise you.

4. And the king said to the men of the city, If you do not bring
into my house the gold which is in your temple, I shall send men
who shall plunder your city. 5. And when the sun arose and
was hot, the tree perished. 6. Enter into our house and break
bread with us. 7. I believe that thou art able to do that which
thou hast promised. 8. And the prophet reproved the king
because he had taken his brother's wife. 9. And the vision

§28 DOUBLE >&. VERBS m

which he saw was like a great sheet coming down from heaven.
10. And they brought the apostle into the house of the priest, and
they spat on him, and he was despised in their eyes.

§ 29. /"^ AND -"^ VERBS

There are a few verbs in Syriac which end in / which come
under the heading of ^x" guttural verbs. Such is Jls>, already used.
But in the great majority of cases the / is really only a vowel letter,
and takes the place of an original u which reappears before
consonantal additions. The various changes as they are affected
by the different afformatives in the different inflexions are as
follows :

Pe'al

The inflexion varies as the verb is of a transitive or an intransi-
tive nature. In the 3rd sing, of transitive verbs the vowel is ',
and the fem. has no vowel on the first syllable. In the 1st sing,
the vowel is *" , and again there is no vowel on the first radical.
In the other persons the vowel is ", and is followed in the 3rd
masc. plur. by a, and in the other persons by *, thus forming
diphthongs.

In the intransitive forms the third radical is represented by *,
and this is consonantal in the 3rd sing. fem. and vocalic elsewhere.

In the Imperfect the vowel with the / is *. In the 2nd and 3rd

masc. plur. it coalesces with the afformative to make a This,

however, was not originally U but O, and is still so indicated in
the Chaldean system of vowels. In the 2nd and 3rd fem. plur.
a consonantal - appears.

In the Imperative the masc. plur. resembles the 3rd plur.
masc. of the Perfect. In the other parts * appears, vocalic in the
masc. sing., consonantal elsewhere.

The Infinitive ends in )J_ .

ii2 §29. / ,,v ^ AND w"^ VERDS

In the Active Participle themasc. sing, ends in JlL; in the fem.

sing, and the plural the third radical is represented by * , which is

consonantal in the feminine, and in the masc. plur. takes the

form of*'.

In the Passive Participle the same endings are found, but the

absence of an unchangeable vowel in the first syllable is met by

the insertion of a " in the feminine.

Other Conjugations

All other Perfects end as does the Perfect Pe'al of the intransi-
tive form. In the same way all other Imperfects resemble the Im-
perfect Pe'al in their terminations. The same remark may be made
regarding the Imperatives and Participles, except that the masc.
sing, of the Imperative Ethpe'el ends in *, that of the rest in \.L- .

These remarks may be illustrated by the following paradigm :

PE'AL

Perfect

SINGULAR PLURAL

3rd Masc. L£>» wZ*. cuss* 1 &..Z-

„ Fem. Is-ij V-*?-" woaj 1 oj_o

2nd Masc. fcuii fc^-»». yofc^soj ^c^-. r ^

„ Fem. wl^ioi uI^m ^1^3) £.k-Z~

1st Com. Is-^aai fc-'?^ ^-oo> (;■*»"

Imperfect

3rd Masc. boy \&io -J

„ Fem. bc»L ^»y

2nd Masc. boil v ^ '^

1 For the sake of brevity the alternative forms in oa and ^ are omitted
in the paradigm of these verbs.

§29. /"^ AND ~"^ VliRus

SINGULAR PLURAL

2nd Fern. ^°* > 'l: ^Isci'l;

1st Com. UW* [£>-J

Imperative

"3

Masc.

i*-so»

0-SOJ

Fern.

v^£>>

* f ..

Infinitive

j^^s,

Participle

Active Masc.

1 ^ f
Jbo>

„ Fern.
Passive Masc.

* .

„ Fern.

)-oc»

Perfect

ETHPF/EL

3rd Masc.

ojo>L(

CLjOCJI/

„ Fern.

k^»hr

w^oji!./

2nd Masc.

k^&fU

ybl^OOJif

„ Fern.

-in*£nr

^-.^ooj'i/

1st Com.

k-£nr

^iSjl/

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

1 ^ • 1 1*

„ Fern.

2nd Masc.
„ Fern.
1 st Com.

yovajll:

H4 $■"

. { ^ AINU w Ni. VliKU

3

Imperative

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Masc.

kOO»L/*

aJ*S»L/

Fem.

iOO»L/

^JLsoJ'l/

Participle

Masc.

).^o»l^2s

-ft . » 1*

Fem.

]>>y>>^o2>

1 r. •»

Infinitive
Perfect

PA'EL

3rd Masc.

w r

„ Fem.

l^OOJ

2nd Masc.

m r

„ Fem.

1 st Com.

fc~o<a>

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

\^>1>

„ Fem.

U>L

2nd Masc.

u» r t

.CLiOjJ.

„ Fem.

ist Com.

u»r

1 " r

Imperative

Masc.

Jj>b>

r r

Fem.

» r

-* , r.

Infinitive

§29. /"^ AND w"^ VERBS

US

Participle

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Active Masc.

1 >r

•7> r

,, Fcm.

JloojLso

Passive Masc.

r v

„ Fcm.

\*2a\za

Perfect

ETHPA'AL

3rd Masc.

C»^0»l/

a. ,yl»L(

,, Fein.

fcJoojl/

iOO»l/

2nd Masc.

i^nr

yoj^ooilf

,, Fem.

ufciOOjL/

^^ao»L/

1 st Com.

k^ur

^oojLr

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

J.JO»lSJ

■ *■ r. »

,, Fem.

5 ::. •»

2nd Masc.

,, Fem.

^oSiit

^oo>LL

1st Com

UW"

jooilsJ

Imperative

Masc.

W

CLiOiL/

Fem.

i-JsjL/

Infinitive

Participle

Masc.

joojfcoo

Fem.

jJ^CJfcoo

n6 §29.

/"\y AND ^ ffN \ VERBS

Perfect

APH'EL

SINGULAR

PLURAL

3rd Masc.

u^ei(

oooi/'

,, Fem.

i^io»r

i*iO»/

2nd Masc.

h^ioif

yO k_00»(

„ Fem.

wl^OO)/

^koSt/"

1st Com.

k«oo»(

^ooj/"

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

Uy

„ Fem.

A

2nd Masc.

JbSit

■* -1

„ Fem.

e°*£

r*4

1st Com.

w

J-50P

Imperative

Masc.

u»r

Fem.

i>^»>/'

Infinitive

Participle

Active Masc.

1 ■» *"

♦ r

„ Fem.

UiOJ-SO

t r

Passive Masc.

v r

„ Fem.

SLzgJd

Perfect

ETTAPH'AL

3rd Masc.

w-ao»LL/

CU»>LL/

,, Fem.

fclaojLl/

yjhwr

§29. /"^ AND ~"^ VERBS 117

SINGULAR PLURAL

2nd Masc. fcoJ5»U/' yoKosill/

„ Fern. wl^»>U/ ^.kUi£»Ll('

1st Com. lsoo»LL/ ^ooiLL/"

Imperfect

3rd Masc.

„ Fern.
2nd Masc.

,, Fern.
1 st Com.

Imperative

Masc.
Fern.

Infinitive

Participle

Masc.
Fern.

Note on some Anomalous Verbs

u»d*7 = find : Impf. >~rv»T , Participle >..,a»vi.

JlV'^come: Impf. )L*)j, Imper. Jt, Aph'el «k-./ r .

^i/" = go: Impf. ^)}j, Imper. ^l . When the "V would nor-
mally follow a vowelless ) and thus take a vowel, it falls out
of pronunciation, is written with 'linea occultans', and leaves
the j to take the vowel; e.g. KM? 1st sing, perf., )])/' f. ptcpl.

J_-&»LfcJ

yo^ailfco

At,

^i»fl:VJ

A

» oap»l:l;

^"•iotll

t^'U

\^ir

JooijLkJ

W&T

a>o*l;l/

A

w*£fU/*

^jiL/"

0*J0»!;fco2>

k»*l;k-so

^£>*tl^j£i

~-50»l,k_S0

n8 §29. /"^ AND w *^ VERBS

Ai£co = go up : when the u» stands at the end of a syllable the ^
is assimilated to it, e.g. Impf. Pe'al a£J , Perf. Aph'el ja J a>/ r .
*=>ot.I = give : in the Pe'al it is used only in the Perfect, Imperative,
and Participle. The o» loses its pronunciation and is writ-
ten with 'linea occultans' in the following forms: vsolI,

V- r V- r r y -*\. r t " ~ r

but not in koo»J and k-=>'c*I.

(The root^isj is used for the Imperfect :^^j.)

For the Passive the Ethpe'el is used and takes the regular form
for J'& verbs, i.e. ooL.1?*, koo*Il/ , &c.

JlLw = live: Impf. Pe'al, \Zj (also J^JU and JlU).

Aph'el (formed partly like that of double ^ verbs): >~l/ r ,
Isw , q-J./ .

Impf. \2S , more frequently written \Z\j .
Ptcpl. \1& , „ „ UU*> ■

Joot = be: the Perfect is regular, like ]j»'t. When used as an
enclitic it loses the « in pronunciation, e.g. jooi .
The Imperfect is also regular, JooJ 1 , &c.
Two participles are in use: (i) Jo« , f. (Joi = being, becom-
ing, (ii) )oot, f. JJow = existing, created.

Vocabulary

U&i — throw (Pe. and Aph.). J»=> = create.

Jju- = see. W^= reveal.

p>o = ask, demand, seek. y*,i = accuse.

)t*. — loose, destroy, settle; Pa. begin. ^ = Ethpa'al,

JU = Pe'al, fill ; Pa'el, Shaph'el, fulfil. prophesy.

wcu. = Pa'el, show. j»x> = call, read.

Ja*. = Pa'el, turn aside. \lflsi = grain.

Uai ~ be like; Pa'el, liken. ]}j*L = mustard.

§29. /'"^ AND -""^ VERBS 119

Ua = build. Ua>/''*== how.

wo> — be drunk. J Is*. = six (with masc.

|i» - hate. J5 ° uns )-

U-X = answer. |l£^£ = fault, cause.

i&A. = be pleasing. "*-**^{ = Elisha.

03 3 — deliver. J-^-/" = Elijah.

^t£u» = Enoch.

Exercise 22

Translate into English :

k-.jj3>. |joo .s^joTo ^jL'j Is^Vs ^^<* - 2 + cyS 1- ^ ).£=> |AaW

^r .3 *)&*% ^»)a'u*y u>iJ .jro'iso-sj ^>

CH^OJ t^%^ OOI-, •• )*OJ.O |J3«U5 ^_L*» ^tt\«i^j JJj. ]»;_*. ^.

* J»olT» yoopoj yOo*-!- - ** J.J^=>ts—T jj». l-i-tjLLa yb o»Jiv_o' .S-i>.-~

talskJ k**£l2 ^5,^ |£o» ^o ^30 '. ^aaul^Jo J.aL=> ^SsO ^*!5>X us-0»
)y5 J.L*> ji-Jf o?JJ ^cuf uj^/o Jia'/Jl ^,3 Jtso .8 * o«

J.-ifl' JiaXo jL'aaXas jba?U" JLLsoX *-*»|o .9 * yb*o»b.

Jbbj <_•£ UoJ? )L'^)J fc-I~5 .10 *M )±^ )o«&

i2o §29. /'^ AND «"^ VERBS

Translate into Syriac :

i. Let the women be believers, and let them not be speakers of
evil. 2. We have begun to build the temple, and we seek that
it should be like the house of a great king. 3. Truth was

revealed in the flesh, that in it all men might see its glory. 4. In
six days was the earth created, and in six days was the heaven and
all that is in it completed. 5. And the women cast stones

from the house, and they fell upon the head of the king, and he
died. 6. Show me all that is in your house, that I may see it.
7. And the priest said to the woman, If you read this book I
will cast you out of the city. 8. And the woman answered and
said to the king, Give me that which I seek of you and I will
praise you. 9. If you do not fulfil righteousness, I will hate your
offerings and will despise your gifts. 10. I find no fault in this
man, of all the things of which you accuse him. I shall therefore
loose him.

§ 30. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES ATTACHED
TO VERBS /'^

Suffixes are attached in the ordinary way to those parts of these
verbs which end in consonants. With vocalic terminations, how-
ever, there are some variations. As in the paradigm of the verb itself,
the last radical appears as a vowel letter, or as a simple vowel.

In Perfects ending in Jil_ the 3rd sing. masc. has ', in the 3rd
plur. masc. an I is inserted, and the a of the masc. is vocalized.
After the * of the 3rd fern. plur. a ' is inserted.

In Perfects ending in *, this letter becomes consonantal, except
with the suffixes of the 2nd plur., and the suffixes are attached
as usual.

In all Imperfects the * is retained as a connecting vowel, and is
written -

§30. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES TO VERBS /"^ 121
In the Imperative the suffixes are attached in the same way as

in the Perfect, with certain exceptions which can be noted from

the paradigm given below.

In the Infinitive Pe'al the last radical appears as a consonantal * ,

and the suffixes are attached as to the regular verb.

The following forms will serve to illustrate these points:

wStiffixes attached to the Perfect:

1 st Com. Sing.
2nd Masc.

,, Fem.
3rd Mas.

„ Fem.
1st Com. Plur.
2nd Masc.

„ Fem.

3rd SIN

Pe'al

cCX_»-iOJ

Oi-SOJ

-•»>

* t .

c. MASC.
Pa'cl

p r
71 r

- p r

y v
. # «»

....q.^MO)

2nd SJNCJ. MASC.
ft y •

k*CH_.lSU-iOJ

— 6

1st Com. Sing.
2nd Masc.

„ Fem.
3rd Masc.

„ Fem.
1st Com. Plur.
2nd Masc.

„ Fem.

3rd PLUR. MASC. 3rd PLUR. FEM.

*\ y .
>*o JJOf

'<■( r .

«oio \<ay

*\ r .
• * tf| y .

< r
t«a.o0t

* r

WDCU.V3)
4 T

• < r

* r
• <* < r

» r- ..
» r ..

i.aoo»

P y ..

- i y r

* r ..

>-aoo>

<+OOf

» IT

> r.

■ * p r.
•»» r.

122 §30. PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES TO VERBS r*^
Suffixes attached to the Imperfect :

3rd SING. MASC.

1 st Com. Sing.
2nd Masc.

r-

SOJJ

,, Fern.
3rd Masc.

,, Fern.
1st Com. Plur.
2nd Masc.

,, Fern.

uO|Q».V3iJ

<r-^

V

Suffixes attached to the Imperative :

FEM.
SING.

MASC. SING.

Pe'al Pa'el

MASC.
PLUR.

FEM.
PLUR.

IT I .

u»O|0 J.SO» utul^'iO)

• *| r .
*l •" •

\0 >-■»>

1st Com. Sing. wa^oi wj-aaj o.ubo> ijo Jjoj

3rd MaSC. mOiOOOJ uOl^vJOJ k>0|O.^Uo>

,, Fern. o>oo> of.'i* omJi^oj

1st Com. Plur. ^5i ^>> vi* 3 '
Suffixes attached to the Infinitives:

Pe'al v*j!iOi»

^OO^.t), &c.
Pa'el uj1To*so«o

<*L'<1**3 !-•*>, &c.

§ 31. NOMINAL STEMS WITH VOCAL C
ENDINGS

There are a large number of stems, derived from /'"\ verbs,
which end in a vowel, and exhibit certain peculiarities in declen-
sion. These arise from the fact that the vowel letter appears as a

§31. NOMINAL STEMS WITH VOCALIC ENDINGS 123
pure vowel before a consonant, and as a consonant before a vowel.
This applies to nouns -whose stem ends in A, I, or U. The most
numerous class of this type of verb is that of the feminine abstract
nouns in I and U. There are also many adjectives of participial
form, and a few feminine nouns ending in Jfcl— . These last are
peculiar in the fact that in the plural a consonantal a appears.
The following forms will serve to illustrate the declension of these
nouns:

A. Nouns with movable vowels of the first class (cf. § 9)

MASCULINE FEMININE

Singular Plural Singular Plural

Absolute )aj 1 ^p» [1st Jist

Emphatic [Zsj \Ssj )i^j ilPo}

Construct )oj is>t fcjjsj Islqj

B. Nouns with movable vowels of the second class (cf. § 11)

MASCULINE

Singular Plural

Absolute Jli 2 ~4JL

Emphatic [l&L [l&JL (1-^*-)

Construct I^a. <^Jl.

C. Feminine Abstract Nouns
In o In *

FEMININE

Singular

Plural

J^

«&*-

J^4^

J^-

^■4-*

VJ4*-

Absolute

Emphatic )fcLL*> 3

# -4

JfcLSU J^iL

Construct

A

1 Adj. == pure. -

= fool.

3 = part, portion. 4 =

story.

124 § 31. NOMINAL STEMS WITH VOCALIC ENDINGS

In al_ In d- , originally o

Absolute

°v

9 " T.

*-v

^

Emphatic

JK&,

tf^J

J^J

Constrvict

u h

1 ' "

L^3

US,

Vocabulary

ust = be pure; Pa'el, purify. Jlajoj = form, likeness.

Jl^I = pure. \±.i — Pa'el, reconcile.

^x» = give (in marriage). Ji'o^»l = reconciliation.

Jl£Lo = part. U&-* - ~ ^ o0 ^

~%*s* = Aph., make to stumble. lls-^*-l = story, history.

taX = outside. ll^«j2k».L = service.

Jc^. = choose. [jo to = vineyard,

j^ = pluck out. U*x> = strike, beat.

Jy*. = Pe., Pa., cast, throw. j\m9> = cut off.

o^ = happy is, happy are (with suffix and ^ attached to
noun or pronoun).

Exercise 23

Translate into English :

'!• Jt-»-2> \kj ^^O »_^>j_»0 fc-.Q) ft- »» fc-N J3Q"1 « I) Sl^ffO OCT

i*_IO (JL^ )J» *.*^L.JJ yOojlscx^ •■ t-.!^ .<* u_)lS— .L**> s ^! > -|- , * s ^T
* ^<*2>( »^- ^X*> \a»» X>Acso .alio \>ai .5 •> aiiO-»oto

1 = thing. z = prayer.

§ 31. NOMINAL STEMS WITH VOCALIC ENDINGS 125
v u«»joM v^cuoff ^0 p)_ S N ^ > ^-o?J ^-» N .]i lOo^^sa.^ .0,)

•> )9\4 v oV.4 r ? v^ 1 ^^ Ur J)/* -iJo fc^-^ ^ko/" )J .8

|k.»ifo lK I ^.X «=>Ot^O ©»i£ ^*-"^>? °*t*{. t~° ft** S ^ > ° »=?"^ 'O C9 y

loiO^i ^i-"* yt l ^«I)^J» &-.001 ji^-i Ji'fo ,10 * c«L'cLi>.Jr».

Translate into Syriac :

1. Lift (m. pi.) me up and cast me from you. 2. You have
come into the light and the light has revealed* you. < 3. Unto
what shall I liken you, O daughter of Zion ? 4. The priest

brought the story before the king and read it to him. 5; He

who has seen me has seen my Father, and how can you say, Reveal
him to me ? 6. We have not seen him, but he has created us that
he might fill us with his spirit, and we seek that he may turn us
aside from evil. 7. The apostle said to the women, Whatever
thing is pure, choose it. 8. I ask that you call him, for he has
reconciled you. 9. If your hand cause you to stumble, cut it

off and cast it from you. 10. She asked for pure gold and

when she received it she cast it on the earth. 11. We seek that
by your prayers he may build us up to a beautiful house.

§ 32. NUMERALS

The numerals in Syriac are nouns, standing in apposition to the
nouns to which they are attached. As in all Semitic languages the
numbers from 1 to 19 have two forms, a masculine and a feminine
one, and in the case of 3 to 10 the masculine form of the numeral
is used with feminine nouns, and vice versa. The object numbered
is in the plural (except after JL , j*~ = one) and often in the
absolute state, but the emphatic state is also used.

126

§ 32. NUMERALS

The carcli

inais arc as follows:

USED WITH MASC.

i

—

>-

2

=

<Jl

3

—

I&U

4

=

U->/'

5

=

1 ' r

6

—

jv-jv-r

7

=

1 * "

8

=

Ui.il

9

=

IO

—

Ux

ii

—

iXd.V *-**

12

—

vaLi-jL

13

—

i^lpa

H

=

jJa-Vl^Oiil

15

=

-4

16

—

j^irw

*7

—

18

—

19

—

^ox.vI^.^a.1:

A

20

=

- *

^» ; tr».,V.

21

=

3°

—

^pLl

4

=

<-^>»r

USED WITH FliM.

l^u

►**0 f-^i - Q Q -^-

In reading this form only one I is taken into account.

§ 32. NDMKUALS 127

50 = uA2CU

60 "— ^.K»-, ^_.]^»./

- r

70 = tAaji.

80 = fc.7^1

go = , <^4

100 = Jl'UJU(PIurjroU)

200 == ^1:^

300 = JUfcOil;

1,000 = Jia,^/ r , ,a£/' (Plur. $±1", ^W)

2,000 = ^.»l ISLS.}'

10,000 = c£i» (Plur. Jla»»)

The numerals from 11 to 19 frequently appear in different
forms. Those which are given above are those most commonly
met with. Those from 2 to 10 rnay_Jbejused_\vith jprmiojninal
suffixes, e.g. yo o»-. ts.vSV^= the four of them, or they four. 1

In stating numbers above 20 the larger numerals are placed
first, e.g. 2,753 ~ )J££1;0 ^^o JJsa>>4*<o ^.ii Js&7 r .

Ordinals are found from 1st to 10th. They are formed, except
1st, by adding \L to the cardinal stem and introducing ^JL after
the 2nd radical, thus:

I St

=

IK r

2nd

=

U:U (f. )ci:h)

3rd

=

U&^l

4th

=

5th

=

1 9 r -

6th

=

UlS-t^A.

1 For 'the three of them' \Oo^.l£i£.L is used.

iz8 §32. NUMERALS

7th = j^N^-it.

8th = m^i

9th — juoLJLL
10th = |sl;*flft^

The cardinal numbers with > prefixed jnay be used in place of
these ordjnaljiumbers, e.g. \llil local or ^.-.»lf k»o.r. For the
higher numbers it is common to use the construct of the noun
before the cardinal numbers, e.g. )l~o ^im\o jJo^Lxin ^i^ =
the 421st year.
^ The day of the month is expressed either by using the empjiatic
form of the numeial with the preposition o , e.g.

)k.*xw~> — on the 5th day (of the month),

Ifc^Lfcoi = on the 9th day (of the month);

I or by using wcub>. (or <pa*-=>) followed by the absolute statejof the
numeral, e.g.

\JLil o).» ^.^na\o JuLsJ!. ocu\ = on the 25th day of the
month Ab.

\J*£^> may be added if the month has not already been men-
tioned in the date.

Vocabulary

\l*v. = month. \i -.».a = elder

]jlrSo = number.

Exercise 24

Translate into Syriac :

1. They three went into the house of the king. 2. There are
two ways from which a man shall choose, the one is good and the
other is bad. 3. On the fifteenth day of the month the king

§32. NUMERALS 129

entered the city. 4. There are 3,428 men in this city. 5. The
number of those whom I saw of the house of Israel was 144,000.

6. All the days of Adam were nine hundred and thirty years.

7. Enoch was the seventh from Adam. 8. And the apostles
took a hundred and fifty-three fishes from the sea. 9. And he
chose twelve that they should be with him. 10. Moses appointed
seventy-two elders that they should judge the people.

VOCABULARY

Note. Figures placed after Syriac words refer to sections in
the Grammar.

Substantives are quoted in the Emphatic State, adjectives in
the Absolute.

The gender of feminine nouns is indicated in cases where it is
not obvious cither from the meaning or from the form.

Verbs whose vowel in the Perfect Pe'al is * are especially
indicated. Verbs o"sw are distinguished by ', and verbs double x*.
by r . In all other cases (except verbs /"%.) the vowel may be
assumed to be .

The English letters a, e, o, after verbs indicate the vowel of
the Imperfect Pe'al.

SYRIAC-ENGLISH

1

(For verbs with initial ^[ see
under « .)

\.s>l r 13; father.

»^/ a, 24; perish; Aph.,
destroy.

%.=>/ 24; Ethpe., mourn.

<aotU>l r Abraham.

«»(*' man, Adam.

^^'(/O; ear -

of Con).; or.

0/ Interj. \ 0!

U)o/'(/.);path, way.

y£*.'yol* Jerusalem.

^)/ a, 24, 29 note; go; fol-
lowed by "%>. , be useful, fit
for.

\L} r 13; brother.

*+*( o, 24; seize, hold, shut
up; Aph., close up.

iA>/ 23, 24; 4M-> delay.

UZ~/ 13; other, another.

]L>1 (/.); Cow*. Z, hand.

Ji^ 5, Pe/. and Inter. Pron.
Fern. Sing. ; which, which ?

^l" Prep.; like, according to;
followed by Conj. » , as.

YxA*} r Adv.; how, as; Inter.,
how?

^L(^5, .Re/, a/idf. Infer. Pron.
Com. Plur.; who, who?

ji^.../ tree.

JL/ r 5, Pe/. and Inter. Pron.
Masc. Sing.; which, which?

^itrtw/ Israel.

Is- / 8 ; there is.

i<W8, Prep.; like.

"Vs/ o, 24; eat; Ethpe., passive;
Aph., causative.

jj/" Conj.; but.

j££?'God.

),X/" Elijah.

s>JL^7* Elisha.

J^.H/.);rib.

VOCABULARY 131

a!\/, .a^L a, 24; learn; Pa.,
teach.

.b>7 o, 24; Pe. and Pa., op-
press; Ethpe., passive.

\Jof 13; mother.

^-•£>F Adv. ; truly.

^a? 24; Ethpe., be constant.

;_*>/ a, 24; say, tell; Ethpe.,
passive.

\izoi lamb.

Jl£W r 13; handmaid.

» uKi/ Conj.; when; ^o
» «koc/ whenever.

vT Co??;. ; if.

U/, Jo'/" Pen. Pron.; I.

ycu/ 5, Per j. Pron. Moic, P/«r.
end. ; they.

^.J 1 / 11 5, Pers. Pron. Fern. Plur.
end.; they.

)uij/, UJ/ ji» man,

kj/ r 5, Pers. Prow. Masc. Sing. ;
you (thou).

wfco/'' 5, Per?. Pro?z. Pem.
Sing. ; you (thou).

yofco?' 5, Per*. Pron. Mwc.
Plur.; you.

^.Isj^ 5, Pen. Pro;z. Fern.
Plur. ; you.

132 SYRIAC

)i'l^»( 13, Plur. )»Jo; woman,
wife.

j^-socLco/ Plur. Jk'sprp/ 71 ;
threshold.

tflo/ o, 23, 24; bind.

a/' Adv.; also.

hf/'(/.);face.

IkX.-**/' widow.

U»/ r (/.); earth.

«*7 o, 24; shed, pour; Ethpe.,
passive.

«~4*7 23, 29 note; be able,
find;«i>]^»7 be found.

-k*,/* 29; drink (also -k-*-)-

\li 24, 29 note; come; Aph.,
bring.

\t? Plur. U'o!/; sign.

o Prep, inseparable; by, with.

.*,JL» a, 26; be evil.

JL=J 0, 28; plunder; Ettaph.,
passive.

Us* 23 ; Pa. ()Joi) comfort.

fc-xo 10 note, Prep.; between,
among.

jt*s evil.

-ENGLISH

k.A=> 10 note, Prep.; between.

Jk~o 13; house.

»aL.\:» 10 note, Prep, and
Adv.; alone.

♦ n\s 10 note, Prep.; without.

\xs> 29; build.

jprna a; enjoy; Aph., give
pleasure to.

){«\.s flesh.

»kmS 10 note, Prep.; behind.

Jj*.=> 29; seek.

)b>o husband.

)i4^f^-^> enemy.

Jtas(/.); cattle, herd.

t» see jJL^ .

}li> 13; son.

);s 29; create.

[16i=> Creator.

~i=> Pa., bless; Ethpa., passive.

\Zi± 13; daughter.

jfc^.o J^i virgin.

»fcoi 10 note, Prep. ; after.

J^x^ 29; choose.

^six^o; create; Ethpe., passive.

Jia^ man, husband.
IkXcJ^j, Golgotha.

^»4 T 3; g° at -

|.3 ji a*^ blasphemy .

k*x*. o^ body.

i^-s^ Particle; for (normally
second word).

%s^2<); reveal.

U^4L revelation.

♦^tx^o, 23 ; Pe. and Ethpe., be
complete.

^28; Aph., cover.

]lsi4,g ar ^ en -
Jlyl^loaf.

l^ci^bone.

jt^ o, 28; touch.

» Relative particle, preposition,
and conjunction, see § 5.

141} Fern. jl^=>i>; wolf.

w.s>j a, o, 23; Pe., Pa., sacri-
fice (v.).

[LsCi sacrifice (n.).

*3j a, 23 ; lead; Ethpe., passive.

Joe*? gold.

J-.0J1 David.

VOCABULARY

i33

J^lbo } place.
H»o » 13; likeness.
^£» a; fear (v.).
)l£^.»»? fear («.').
^?S*e§8.

^.» Particle; but (normally
second word).

ML"i judge.

|i.J judgement.

)a? 3 1 ; P ure -

us; 29; bejjure; Pa., purify;
Ethpa., passive.

to? a, 23 ; Aph., record; Ethpe.,
make mention of, remem-
ber.

|^o? 29; be like; Pa., liken;
Ethpa., passive.

\x>i blood.

JLoaa? 31; form, likeness.

y£>i a; sleep; Pa., put to
sleep.

v * 27; judge.

u*j> a, 23; rise (of sun).

jaj o, 28; bruise, trample
on.

-.»> o; yip/*., approach.

.a. j 27; tread on.

134

SYRIAC-ENGLISH
<a \OJ ^i 5 > Pen. Pron . Masc. Plur. ;

they.

jot Inter j.\ behold!

i^ot Hagar.

Jf.ot 5, Dem. Pron. Fern. Sing.;
this.

°2J > v** 5> P^s. Prow. Mrtxc.
Sing. ; he.

oo) 5, Dem. Pron. Masc. Sing.;
that.

Jo« 16, 29; be.

o_.oot he is.

««, «o) 5, Pers. Pron. Fern.
Sing. ; she.

o« 5, Dem. Pjo?i. Fern. Sing.;
that.

^-»I»ot Adv.; then.

Jla-.oi temple.

^aauci believe.

) I'ft. 1*0 . o) faith.

Uoot ^4^u.; thus, so.

t^i 5, Dem. Pron. Com. Plur. ;
these.

^.o) Pa., walk.

)Jot 5, Z)e;«. Prow. Masc. <Sn/£.;
this.

ycuo) 5, Dem. Pron. Masc. Plur. ;
those.

^Joi 5, Dem. Pron. Fern. Plur. ;
those.

^Jol 5, Pers. Pron. Fern. Plur. ;
they.

~3o« o;turn, return.

^o»o) Adv. ; here.

o Conj. inseparable; and, but.

^.si e; buy, sell.

Uol time; ^4)-^ t^H! somc ~
times,

js » j Pa., justify ; Ethpa., passive.

jx.jj righteous.

IUci-el.?! righteousness.

^f o, 28; be despised; ^/i.,
despise.

;_*>) a, 23; Prt., sing (praise).

\!>) 13; kind, method.

•*J 27; shake.

.ais) o; crucify.

>aJj o, 23; sow.

t^.»; seed.

>sJL o, 28; Aph., love; Ettaph.,
passive.

.T>.^r» beloved.

^.0— Pa., destroy.

]UJL Fern. }l'J±~; companion.

JL 711., )l** f. 32; one.

-♦*» 29; be glad.

»}.»., w»j.~ 10 note, rrep,;
around.

Jl'Jl m., )£*«/. new.
)oaL love (n.).
^a~ 29; Pa., show.
]V~ 29; see.
JL'jL vision.
^ 29; sin(z\).
)o4-~ sin(«.).
>a^* o; tear.
uJl living.
U« 29 note; live.
Jul life.
JLa'JL animal.

"**s~. Pa., strengthen; Etlipa.,
passive.

}LL strength.

Ifcooa^ wisdom.

H\. r . milk.

VOCABULARY 135

<aX~ o; Pe., Pa., Shaph.,
change; Etlipa., EsJitapJi.,
passive.

&£Ls> 8, 10 note, Prep.; instead
of, in favour of.

m

J3.L a, 28; be warm.
)so.*» 13; father-in-law.
JtvaJl wine.
Jls^o.~ heat.

t^>, o, 28; show mercy to.
Jfc^l*. Plur. I^jJl-; torment.
Enoch.

^L. , JL» 5, Pers. Pron. Com.
Plur.; we.

;*.iJ. followed by ^a , lack-
ing in.

^jru. a; be strong; Etlipa.,
fortify oneself.

^.3u» o; stir up.

1^* o; reap.

u ^ 29; pluck out.

]UL (/.); field.

i~ 27; look.

oL.a; be desolate; Aph., make
desolate.

]i't^L mustard.
p**» y4/j/j., curse.

136 SYRIAC-

cua. o ; think, reckon, account ;
Ethpe., passive.

JfcH 13; sister.

oj^ a, 26; be good.
<^ Adj.; good.

l**i g° od (»•)•

Jocu^ to'//; jhj///.v and followed
by "^ ; happy is, happy are.

Jjcl^ mountain.

Jt'ok^ blessing.

\1^% 13; child.

j L'ci^^ youth (abstract).

)tty sandal.

JL'oJoo^ defilement, pollution.

vai,^ a,' taste.

s *!>a-. 25; ./?/>&., bring.

>^« a, 23, 25 ; know; y4p/j., tell.

och„» 25, 29 note; give.

JJfoot.. Jew.

^iLcL John.

local; Const. »cu ; day.

»ajL a, 25; borrow; -4/ 1 /*., lend.

«^L a, 25; bear; Aph., beget.

ENGLISH

JfbJ, birth, offspring.

.ft^-L see a\ /

>».* sea.

.^m. 25; yj/)//., add, do again.

.sal* a, 25; be anxious.

♦jL. a, 25; burn (intians.);
Aph., burn (tians.).

jji^ a, 23, 25; be heavy; Pa.,
honour; Etlipa., passive.

U.i.1 month.

LL a, 25; inherit.

olsL e, 25; sit, dwell.

jls_» a, 23, 25; exceed.

7°
ojo 26; grieve (intrans.); Aph.,
grieve (trans.).

|i)a pain.

)a]a (/.); stone.

j».a^> o; subdue, besiege;
Ethpa., passive.

r o when.

JJoto priest.

^> 10 note; all.

» ^o "^3 every one who.

}4^o dog.

J.io.3 how.

]ls«.cuo synagogue.

>*ia o; gather (trans, and in-
transitive;

trans.); Pa.,
Ethpa., passive.

\ki6 crowd.

<xa6 28; Aph., reprove.

jAmb silver.

yscuJ^a Capernaum.

otjj 23; Ethpe., be ill; Aph.,
make ill.

1is> Aph., preach.

0^*3 sick, ill.

}.*>;.£> vineyard.

U>;o(/.); belly.

"^ao Aph., make to stumble.

olsa 0; write.

J:slsb book.

\'jk^o sheet.

6 *

"%, Pfep., to; «^n 0/ £/;e oJ/eei
of a transitive verb.

J! no, not.

J.:ii£ heart.

};Lcv:x^. clothing.

♦JJX 10 note, Prep. ; outside of,
followed by ^» .

VOCABULARY 137

»*^b>. a; put on; Aph., clothe,
with two accusatives: of the
person and of the garment.

cl,^. 10 note, Prep.; within.

^4-°°^- IO note, Prep.;
against.

ojtxxX Adv. ; first.

Id^. 8, Prep.; unto, towards.

Jio.*<^i bread.

^.ii 27; curse.

1^£ ( = k-*l JJ) there is not.

U^S. night.

«i^ a particle inserted to shoio
that the sentence in which it
occurs is a quotation.

J^sboX torch.

~j£\ 10 note, Prep.; in front
of.

^^Sjs^b*. 10 note, Prep.; above.

laaX IO note, Prep.; with a
view to.

\.x a^v tongue, language.

Joe Inter, and Rel. Pron., what ;
Conj., when.

138 SYRIAC-

Jl!s^.ap)j£ food.

JtsoJ^o speech.

vjoi a, 26; cease; used im-
personally, weary.

J£=>*Ja wilderness.

jUsJuZsa city.

oJ» something; y>f£> JJ nothing.

j&sotojo gift.

)£oio Moses.

)Lcu£> death.

|aco 29; beat.

]^oi immediately.

^v^-ao 10 note, Prep.; because
of; followed by », Conj.,
because. The form — k-^£-'*>
is used before suffixes.

\2& 13 ; water.

ls*^o 27; die.

' ta.» o, 23 ; get or give in
marriage; Aph., give in
marriage.

ho 29; Pe., Pa., Shaph., fill,
fulfil.

■»\ip o, 23 ; season with salt.

J£w£(/.);salt.

Jl'ciAJb fulness.

yN.x> o; promise; Aph., make
king.

ENGLISH
l^vi king,
(.a^i counsel.
JL'cua^-» kingdom.
) ^>i\>o queen.
"Vss? Pa., speak.
| 1^\^ teacher.
jL'coaX^ teaching.
Jl^\-N3 13; word.
JJo-saJs wealth.
^j£> 5, Inter. Pron.; who?
^.•i 8, Prep. ; from.

Ujo, ^_i 5, Inter. Pron.;
what? |i^\ why?

oi_£ (= ooi ^Jo) who?

JjIjJb number.

Jls-L» 31; part.

Jufrp^s helper.

r fy» Egypt.

vflt-vs o; purify.

f..',*.v) oil.

u>ri« v> able.

|'^"^ tent, dwelling.

u^j 29; Ethpa., prophesy.
Ju£j prophet.

VOCABULARY
»^ c, 22; draw; Pa., beat. oj o, 22; plant

J 27; wander.
><hj a, 23; shine.
))o»j river.
)>otco light.
JJcu fish.

J»<" (/•); fire -

-J 27; rest (z>.).

i3 ( )

.slqj a, 22; cling to.

\Imj eagle.

"^fco e, 22; give (o«(y used in
the lvipf. and related parts).

UQS

o)j» a, 26; be old.

fcJLi o, 22; go down, come
down.

;-&j a and o, 22, 23 ; keep.

Jtj^Li rest (;z.).

) U yoke.

|Li*7 standard.

JjaocLsaJ law.

omj a, 22; take.

^oj o, 22; pour.

i~.3j o, 22; blow, arouse.

S! 4>3j e, 22; fall; ^4/>/z., bring
down.

jiSj o, 22; go out; Aph.,
bring out.

)l£a&j cost.

]lsJ (/.), p/„ r . J^Jstf ; soul,
self; when used with a pro~
nominal suffix = a reflexive
pronoun.

y)Ji a, 26; wear sandals.

vricn old.

-^ao a, 23; be satisfied with;
Pa., satisfy with.

;..:■» <r> a, 23; Pa., hope.

♦^o o; worship.

ov^o 29; be many; Pa., used
as Adv., much.

us^ao Emphatic JU^ao; many
{Adj.).

j<s+m a; Pe. and Aph., bear
witness.

[io^aos chain.

]1^dd Satan.

•^co 10 note, Prep.; except;
follozved by ^j£> .

)ls-sQ.>m treasure.

%»<■« Ethpa., understand.

■Q^!m a, 22, 29 note; rise, go
up; Aph., raise.

140

via) 27; put.
\x\a> 31; blind.
\jjd 29; hate.
JkLJcaao swallow,
i-i^oo o, 23; do.
,n°im a; satisfy.
«mo Sarah.

]*[£. festival.
',iv e; do, make.
1»^-X servant, slave.
]^Lv work.

*=o«. a, 23; cross over, trans-
gress; Aph.y causative.

Jl£x^» heifer.

j^X^ii. chariot.

Joo^ 10 note, Prep.; until;
followed by > , Co?ij., until.

^lx Eden.

»j_x o, 23 ; Pa., help.

]Ljj£ Church.

Jj<L£ evildoer.

^^LP/r/r. jfc^oL; thigh.

U*£(/.);eye.

S! %>j£. o, 28; enter.

SYRIAC-ENGLISH

S ^L 8 note, Prep.; upon,
above, concerning.

.->n,n.. o; conquer.

)j*aXj£ world, age, eternity.

jfcivx. fault, cause.

pj£ 8, Prep. ; with.

).*?) v Plur. jaa. ' g v ; people,
nation.

.^ v, a; be baptized; Aph.,
bapti'/c.

;.v>.\. a, 23 ; dwell.

[i_v. 29; answer.

).JL£ (/.); sheep, flock.

).1in (/.); cloud.

.fim v heavy.

tQ.°i.x o; embrace.

Jiljj£ impulse, moving force.
j3jj>* o; flee.

J>),3 fruit.

\^aaS> mouth.

j.jlfi&_9 commandment.

0^13 a, 23 ; become tasteless.

^9 o, 28; sprinkle, break
(bread).

VOCABULARY
1^3 o; divide; Ethpe. and
Ethpa., passive.

uA9 a and o, 23 ; till, cultivate ;
Ethpe., passive.

.niYi°> o; break, cut off.

►na o; Pe. and Pa., command.

J If 3 grain.

141

03

}j3o;3 saviour.

JkL.3 bird.

\°>'o.iSi face.

uats o; deliver; Ethpe., passive.

^m2> o; stretch out.

<ojk£ Pa., expound.

^.^•3 a, 23; open; Ethpe.,
Ethpa., passive.

Jl'eoj 31; thing.

vQ-»«r, Zion.

j-..* 8, Prep.; beside.

cvi... 0; crucify.

jLaN.. 31, Plur. U'a^,; prayer.

kv^., cross.

\4iS.^ image.

)£sT morning.

Ji3j(/.) sparrow, bird.

>s». a and o; torture, tempt.

^-.Jjs Cain.

^^o o; invoke; Pa., receive.

);-)Q tomb.

j«_Zo holy.

JI'cljljZo holiness.

■a+a o; be first; Pa., overtake,
anticipate, used adverbially
— first; Ethpa., be over-
taken.

•plo 10 note, Prep.; before.

JuLiji first (^^.).

Jj&soo vessel.

Jjusfao 1 " sacrifice, gift.

v =!fc^>o;kill.

Jlo voice.

wm^o Pa., honour.

«xo 27; arise; Pa. (i^jo) estab-
lish.

\la nest.

Jwj 29; read, call.

oyio; draw near; Pa., offer
up; Ethpa., be brought near;
Aph., fight.

JkLlo 13; village.

\iio (/.) horn.

142

JkCaato skull.

|~i**J> elder.

SYRIAC-ENGLISH

o» 13; great.

jp^j o; stone (v.).
-s»» o; persecute, pursue.
UJsooii Roman,
jj^o » anger.

^°**(/0; s P irit

«o» 29; be drunk.

if»-l» a; love; Pa., have com-
passion on.

JjcuJ friend.

JuL.» head.

JfcLU beginning.

oj 27; be high.

«> high.

)_>c> 29; Pe., Aph., throw;
Ethpe., passive.

YLzai evening.

J^o 29; reconcile.

js» o, 28; spit.

)-».* 29; accuse.

"Vj^. a, 26; ask; Ethpe.,
refuse; y^M-i grant.

o*. o, 28; come down.

jaa<v o; loose, dismiss, allow,
forgive, leave.

)**. 29; Pe., Pa., throw.

»,jk 23; Prt., send.

Joldcub glory.

^L 27; despise.

\^L fool.

^eu*(/.);Sheol.

UJL peace (opposed to war).

Jls^L*!*. fetters.

<A*. a; dwell in; Aph., causa-
tive.

^\*. a, ; send.

^X*, a; rule over.

l^Ji sleep, rest («.).

J^L^a, apostle.

^A*. lawful.

vCLaa-^i». Solomon.

\^£». a; be complete; Ethpe.,
be betrayed; Pa., complete;
Ethpa., be fulfilled; Aph.,
betray; Ettaph., be betrayed.

laa^Ln. peace (prosperity).

VOCABULARY
l^o.j* Plur. |w*i*.; name.

Uaa.*. 13; heaven.

n>^x». a, 23 ; hear.

jkzaj*.Pa., serve ; Ethpa., passive.

\JLxJl {in. and /.); sun.

Jjj«, 29; 2 J <z., turn aside {trans.);
Eihpa., passive.

IISjjlI. 13; year.

i_*a.jL beautiful.

3*. a, 23 ; be pleasing.

"^ja*, o; lift up, take away.

♦X a, 28; be firm; Aph., believe.

143

I

)■+», 29; loose, destroy, settle;
Pa., begin.

■+*liL true.

J>U truth.

Iku. six (wzV/z 77ZAJC. nouns).

)&sn\£2. Plur. \bd\)£JL' } founda-
tion.

-isjk 29 {usually written wfcs*. / ) ;
drink.

o>l 27; repent.

t=»I a and o, 23 ; break.

)ft 13; breast.

jioi ox,

Icu.1; 10 note, Prep.; beneath.

iV— L Ethpa' li, be brought down.

jl^aipl; pr»yer. .

J^ooXl; disciple.

Isixl; 32; three.

o^ol, a, 23; wonder; Aph.,
astonish.

^cL Adv.; there.

Jak a; be upright, firm; Aph.,
establish.

f-.ih 32; two; ^-.Jlf second.

^»1 gate.

]L'cl^>L 31; reconciliation.

JjVL«JL»i; 31; mind.

)K*.cuL«.l.- glory.

Jl^jk*L».l; service.

|bs>^icL history, story.

ENGLISH-SYRIAC

A

Able, be, «*4»7 , 23, 29 note.

Above, ^s^L, ^J^., 8, 10

note.

Abraham, j>otts>( r .

According to, *./' ^£> IO

note.
Account, ■->«.. o ; passive, Ethpe.

Accuse, U-i, 29.

Add, s\m. , 25, Aph.

After, >£=; .

Again, do, .am* , 25, Aph.

Against, ^Loa-X , 10.

Age, U^..

Alive, i*L.

All,%3, 10.

Allow, .q-m>. o.
Alone, »q!.*^, 10 note.
Also, .s^'.

Among, k~Lo, 10 note.
Anger, JJ^oY
Animal, J L'oLL .
Another, JjI~?, 13.
Answer, \i±-, 29.

Anticipate, y>+o i J «.

Anxious, be, aL a, 25.

Apostle, ^L^j». .

Approach, ~>» ^4/>/j.

Arise, «.o , 27.

Around, »*~, c**'.-*' I0 note.

Arouse, i~aj o, 23.

As, yl", lis}", \id*F, 8, 10
note.

Ask, ^.U a, 26.

Astonish, o»-5oL y2/)A.

At, o (inseparable).

B

Baptize, f^^ a, Aph.; passive,
Pe.

Be, Jow, 16, 29.

Bear, jJiL a, 25.

Beat, ^, 22, Pa.; |~^o , 29.

Beautiful, ^i*. .

Because, Conj., > ^^-^ •

Because of, Prep., ~%>^xs , IO
note. With suffixes, h^L$5> .

VOCABULARY
Before, Adv., ylo; Prep., f>la , Bone, J^b*^.

i4S

io note.

Beget, .j^L. a, 25, Aph.

Begin, );*., Pa., 29.

Beginning, JIs-jLJ.

Behind, Prep., >fc^ȣ, 10 note.

Behold ! Inter}., J<*.

Believe, ^eLot, t*, Aph.

Belly, U^ (/.). .

Beloved, c**^ ■

Beneath, Prep., tali, 10 note.

Beside, Prep., ,_.?, 10 note.

Besiege, ju^d o.

Betray, ja^A. Aph. ; passive,
Ethpe. and Ettaph.

Between, Prep., h^=>, k^5>
kJLi , 10 note.

Bind, jW o, 23, 24; passive,
Ethpe.

BirdJj^-U.KaJ.

Blasphemy, J4?a^.

Bless, «.►=> Pa.

Blessing, jt'a:x^j .

Blind, j^m , 31.

Blood, \&\ .

Blow, u-aj o, 23.

Body, J^a^a^.

Book, Jiisa .

Borrow, ail a, 25.

Bread, )^«..«X .

Break, tot a, o, 23, ^3 o,
28, .nno * o.

Breast, J»t, 13.

Bring, It/, 24, 29, Aph.;^^ ,
25, 4/>A.

Bring down, "^aj, 22, >!/>/«.

Bring out, >b°l> , 22, yfy>/z.

Brother, \L} r , *3-

Bruise, js>, 28.

Build, Joa , 29.

Burn, *cl* a, 25, intrans., Pe.\
trans., Aph.; passive, Ettaph.

But, JU/ , ^»j {normally second
word)

Buy, ^j e.

By {agent) o , ^.-i .

Cain, ^-4iS.
Calf.Jl^lJ&^x.
Call, ] to, 29.
Can, see Able.
Capernaum, oa*«J ;iia .

i 4 6 ENGLISH-

Cast, Jj»», 29, Pe., Aph.

Cattle, J£*s (/.)•

Cause, j^v£.

Cease, y^-io a, 26.

Chain, J^a^aao.

Change, a\» o, Pe., Pa. and
SJiaph.\ passive, Ethpa. and
Eshtaph.

Chariot, Jl^\ ^\ .
Child, £^,13.
Choose, J^^, 29.
Church, J 1*2*1.
City, JUs^uZso.
Cling to, &Aj a, 22.
Close up, »~ /, 24, Aph.
Clothe, ,«aN. Aph.
Clothing, )»,c\7i\ .
Cloud, yiii. (/.).
Come, )L/, 24, 29.

Come down, fcJL> o, 22;
o, 28.

Come out, >n&j o, 22.

Comfort, [*=> , 23, Pa.

Command, *ja3 o, Pe., Pa.

Commandment, |>Jix>a.a.

Companion, )tryL, Pm. jl'»

Compassion, have, «u>> Pa.

SYRIAC

Complete, be, ja^ a, Pe. ; *»^
o; {causative, Aph. of
either).

Concerning, 'Vi. , 8, 10 note.

Conquer, o>\ , s- o.

Constant, be, ^o/, 24, Ethpe.

Cost, JImiSj .

Counsel, triVin .

Cover, ^, 28, Aph.

Create, j*s, 29, ^^s^ o;
passive, Ethpe.

Creator, JlIo*3>.

Cross (n.), \=^-t ■

Cross over, taii- a, 23.

Crowd, U-io.

Crucify, «=»X. o; passive,
Ethpe.; .a.oj o.

Cultivate, v~iv3 a and 0, 23.

Curse, vu Aph., ^£ , 27.

Cut off, *am°> 0.

D

Daughter, Jl'*i, 13.

David, *-oj.

Day, ^»o.r, construct «b_,
Plur. (i) J^o--^, ^co-T
(ii) jls-ioal.

VOCABULARY

147

Death, |La*> .

Defilement, Jt'oJaaj[ .

Delay, ^/, 23, 24, Aph.

Deliver (set free), s>& o;
passive, Ethpe. ; (hand over),
y£v». Aph.; passive, Ethpe.
and Ettaph.

Desert, \U>Jo.

Desolate, be, ^t- a; causative,
Aph.

Despise, ^X , 27;^^ 28, Aph.

Despised, be, ^j, 28.

Destroy, ^a- Pa.; fS>i, 24,
Aph.',]*., 29.

Die, V-jso , 27.

Disciple, l^oXl.

Dismiss, >fl->» 0.

Divide, < ^s^ o.

Do, ^j» o, 23 ; >->v e; passive,
Ethpe.

Dog, \^s .

Down, be brought, fc~»L
Ethpa'li.

Down, come, kJ*j o, 22;
0,28.

Draw, ^ e, 22.

Draw near, o|!so.

Drink, -k-*. (w^*./*), 29.

Drunk, be, ~o», 29.
Dwell, i2Q.i>w a, 23; olC c, 25.
Dwell in, ^Jl*. a; causative, Aph.
Dwelling, )^>i Uau»-*>.

E

Eagle, \1*j .

Ear,M*(/0.

Earth, W (A
Eat.^W o, 24.

Eden, vj^--

Egg, I&** .

Egypt, r »j*>.

Elder, \Uia.

Elijah, U^V .

Elisha, w»>\/ .

Embrace, . r»° i v o.

Enemy, ji4=>f^=».

Enoch, ^gjJI .

Enter, ^ o, 28.

Establish, jJ> , 27, Pa.; ^jsl
Aph.

Eternity, kaioL.

Evening, \+*>i .

Evil, a*3.

Evil, be, jUs a, 26.

148 ENGLISH-

Evildoer, Jjii.

Exalt, yaj , 27, Aph. ; passive,
Ettaph.

Exceed, >k_ a, 23, 25.

Except, ^.-i -J^jx>, 10 note.

Expound, jaj».3 Pa.

Eye, )JL£ (/.).

F
Face, £/"(/.), ^°]*3.
Fair, »^aX.
Faith, Jl'cvi.'ifi.o) .
Fall.^aj e, 22; causative, Aph.
Father, J4T, 13.
Father-in-law, Ida.**, 13.
Fault, J^i.
Favour of, in, .a>L* , 10.
Fear (v.), ~%>2i a.
Fear («.), Jl£\~j.
Feed, 'Vj/ o, 24, Aph.
Festival, Jf)j£.
Fetters, )pU^ .
Field, JlaL (/.).
Fight, <*lo Aph.
Fill, liio , 29.
Find, wa.*-/ 1 *, 23; passive

u^olsW .

SYRIAC

Finish, »^!«. Pa.; passive,
Ethpa.

Fire, JJci (/.).

Firm, be, **. a, 28; ^ol a.

First, Adj., Uio^o; /2<fo., y>fo,

First, be, v*b , o.

Fish, Jj&j .

Fit for, ^ ^.l f.

Flee, s>i>- o.

Flesh, ]tm= .

Flock, \i£(f).

Food, j^-afll^.

Fool, \^L, 31.

Foot, )1^J(/.).

For, Particle, v-*-^ (normally
second word).

For, Pre/>., ^ (inseparable).

Forgive, ua^a.*. o.

Form, jl'cuao? , 31.

Fortify oneself, ^jj*- Ethpa.

71

Foundation, JUsasil^., P/w.

Friend, ^«».

From, Pre/»., ^& .

Front of, in, ^JvX , 10 note.

Fruit, )>^i .

VOCABULARY

Fulfil, JUo, 29, Pa., Shaph.; Good, c^.
passive, <a£*. Ethpa.

149

Full, be, JL*>, 29.
Fullness, Jl'ei^i.

G

Garden, jl^i*^.

Gate, )lV»L'.

Gather, j».i_o o, intrans., Pe.;
trans., Pa.

Gift, jl£=>c*a£>, ^±oia.o .

Give, ow_. , 26, 29 note;^lsj
e, 22.

Give (in marriage), j-oso o, 23,
Pe., i4pA.

Give pleasure to, nma y2/>/z.

Glad, be, »•*. , 29.

Glory, |l^*.QJi».L', (^o*..

Go, "*W a, 24, 29 note.

Go down, fc-JJ o, 22.

GO OUt, yOSLt o, 22.

Go up, jiSIcb a, 22, 29 note.
Goat, U»4. I 3-
God, )kLK
Gold, J4«?-
Golgotha, J^Xo^4»-

Good, be, o)^ a, 26.

Goodness, J-=>a^ .

Grace, JLak^J.

Grain, Ibis.

Grant (a request), "^.JX, 26,
Aph.

Great, oi, 13.

Grieve, 9^.26; trans., Aph.

Ground, )n£i/ r .

H

Hagar, ^A.

HandJU/(/.), 13.

Handmaid, Jfcoo/ r , 13.

Happy is (are}, o»^ with
suffix followed by"%.. '

Hate, Uxs, 29.

He, 0%, 5.

He is, a^oot.

Head, )jL».

Hear, ^^u. a, 23.

Heart, ji^.

Heat, )l^a2 .

Heaven, jioa*., 13.

Heavy, ,n<v>^.

i S o ENGLISH

Heavy, be, ui* a, 23, 25.

Heifer, )l£x^.

Help, »j^ , 23, Pe., Pa.

Helper, )J»»&s0.

Herd, )i*i (/.).

Here, U»« .

High, f J.

High, be, fi , 27.

History, jls*£*.l.

Hold fast, j*./ o, 24.

Holiness, jL'cLa^Xo.

Holy, *-f£.

Honour, v±* , 23, 25, Pa.;
,m\o, Pa.; passive, ;_cu
Ethpa.

Hope, taan , 23, Pe., Pa.

Horn, ^'*i (/.).

House 4 |k*r> , 13.

How, Ukx, ^/ r , Ui-/ r -

Husband, Jl^j, J

-SYRIAC
Image, J^cl^T .
Immediately, )***».
Impulse, Ul_£.
In, Prep., o. (inseparable).

Inherit, LL a, 25; causative,
Aph.

Instead of, Prep.,&?L., ionote.

Invoke, s *!srvfl o.

Israel, ^Jtm-f.

J

Jerusalem, ^*.»o/ .

Jew, jiijo&i-. .

John, ^.iLtL, .

Judge (v.), yj , 27.

Judge (».), Ulj ■

Judgement, Jo^j.

Justify, us»>, Pa-'* passive,
Ethpa.

I

i, ur, u/, 5.
if, K r.

Ill, be, «^o, 23, Ethpe,;
causative, Aph.

K
Keep, j^j a and o, 22, 23.
Kill, s ^jj o.
Kind{«.), |J), 13.
Kindness, J I'cJi*^ .

King, hx^x>.
King, make, ^io Aph.
Kingdom, )1,'^\^ .
Know, ^.j a, 23, 25.

Lacking in, *&
Lamb, J^W".

Land,Uir(/.)-
Language (tongue), U-Ii£.

Law, \jn a-naJ .

Lawful, x*.^*..

Lead, t=>» a, 23 ; passive, Ethpe.

Learn, a^L , 24..

Leave, .n-m. o.

Lend, aL, a, 25, ^>/f.

Lest, 1)», MlXj .

Life, [J*.

Lift up, pjj , 27, 4M- ; passive,
Ettaph.

Lift up (take away), v *4^a* o.

Light, )>oicu.

Like, Prep., r l\ 8, L<W, 10
note.

Like, be, \x>i , 29.

Liken, ).-»», 29, Par, passive ,
Ethpa.

VOCABULARY 151

Likeness, jLooo j , 13; JJL'ixioy,

Listen, see 'hear'.

Living, uL.

Loaf, Hr**^,-

Look, i.L , 27.

Loose, »aa.». o, ji*., 29.

Love(z;.), v*~» a, Pe. ; ovl, 28,
/4pA. ; passive, *zJL Ettaph.

Love (».), (.sci.* .

M
Make, ;^ao o, 23 ; *£i^ e.
Man, [li[, \X[ ^ (|uU^).

Man (opposed to woman),

I.' "

Many, o» , 1*^0 (1L_^*d).

Marriage, give in, *a*s o, 23,

Mention, make, jj», 23, Aph.

Mercy, show, ^L o, 28 ; ip~* Pa.

Milk, ti^I .

Mind, JfcL^iL

Month, U*r.

Morning, )&.

Moses, J*.a_».

Mother, W", I 3-

Motive, Jiij£.

15*- m-fGLiOii

Mountain, jio^ .

Mourn, "^s/, 24, Ethpe.

Mouth, bias.

Much, Adv., <-^d.

Mustard, .UjjI.,

N
Name, bA*., P/wr. Jciio.*.
Nation, \x*jL, Phtr. bo.^£ .
Nest, )1S .

New, JIM, i^m. Jlv-.
Night, t:\S.
No,JJ.
Not, JJ.

Not, there is, t^C.
Nothing, ipl-i JJ .
Number, ^-La.-*) .

O

Cxi

O! of.

Of, Prep., j (inseparable).

Offer up, &1&, Pa.

Oil, JJLfc».

Old, <JMO .

Old, be, grow, <*\£> , 26.
On, ^i., 8, 10 note.
One, JL , 32.

'-S'iiurtC

Open, v~Ji*3 a, 23.

Oppress, .bx/ o, 24, Pe. and Pa.

Or, Coiij., o>r.

Other, til"[, 13; other than,
v& i^jso , 10 note.

Outside, Prep. ^£> jj^., 10 note.

Over, cross, pass, j^lX 23;
causative, Aph.

Overtake, 0*0 Pa. ; passive,
Etltpa,

Ox, |*oi.

P
Pain, bs)o .
Palace, JLi.o) .
Part, J^l - *, 31.

Path, jLW(/.).
Peace, \1*.L , ^o.^«. .

Peopfe, /kLsC.

Perfect, be, j.*^, 23, Pe.;
causative, Pa. ; passive,
Ethpe. and Ethpa.

Perish, *r>/ a, 24.

Persecute, -sjj o; passive,
Ethpe.

Place, )iW, Phtr. JK»V;
Jfcoo j.

Plant, oj o, 22.

VOCABULARY
Pleasing, be, »2l*. a, 23. Read, Uo , 29

Pleasure, give, yuao a, jfy/i.
Pluck out, L~ , 29.

passive,

iS3

Plunder, J=| , 28
Ettaph.

Pollution, fl'oka^.

Pour, you o, 22.

Pour out, .X/ o, 24.

Prayer, jL'o^i, J^aisl.

Preach, tn Aph.

Priest, \jq»6.

Promise, yiuo o.

Prophesy, <*^-* , 29, Ethpa.

Prophet, L^j .

Pure, Jaj, 31.

Pure, be, i*n», 29.

Purify, ostic o, Pe. ; i*aj , 29, Pa.

Pursue, aj» o.

Put, yJ* , 27-

Put on clothes *a£>. a.

Q

Queen, jiH^Jo.

R

Raise, pi , 27, Aph. ; jain» , 22,
29 note, Aph.

Reap, ?j- o.
Receive, > **>o t £> Pa.
Reckon, .-i«.. o. '
Reconcile, ]^» , 29.
Reconciliation, ]la^*>»JL
Record, is» , 23, j4/>A.
Refuse, yjtaa , 26 ; "%,)* Ethpe,
Repent, ol, 27.
Reprove, oi, 28, Aph.
Rest (^.), J , 27.
Rest («.), J^j-JIj , \^Ji .
Restrain, »»./ o, 24.
Return, ^Sw 0.
Reveal, Ji^, 29.
Revelation, (ol^.^.

Rib,i^r(/.).

Righteous, ja^f?.
Righteousness, J 1'a.o-. j F .
Rise, ^x^m a, 22, 29 note.

Rise (of sun), i**jj a, 23;
causative, Aph.

River, JloJ .

Roman, Uxiooti .

Rule over, Jj^*- a, follozoed
'by o .

1 54

ENGLISH-

Sacrifice (v.), **>i a and o,
Pe. and Pa.

Sacrifice («.), Julof , U»»c£o .

Sake of, for the, **^"*> .

Salt, U^» (/.).

Salt, season with, «»Xso o, 23 ;
passive, Ethpe.

Sandal, J^.

Sandals, wear, \^a> a, 26.

Sarah, w£».

Satan, U^-i.

Satisfied, be, ^a« a, 23.

SatisFy, aiaaj a, n>jmc Pa.

Saviour, JLobtQ .

Say, ;W a, 23, 24.

Sea, ]bal.

See, )j- , 29; passive, Ethpe,

Seed, )c*>5\

Seek, j^a, 29; passive, Ethpe.

Seize, .^ 0, 24.

Self, UaJ (/.).

Sell, ^=»J e; passive^ Ethpe.

Send, u^v«- a and o, 23; '**-*-,
23, Pa.

Servant, jfai.

-SYRIAC
Serve, *wi».Pa. ;passive, Ethpa.

Service, jk*s&j».l..

Set, jwa.37.

Settle, J;*, 29.

Shake, -?>.}, 27; ttitram., Pe. - ,
fraw., 4p/i. ; passive, Ettaph.

She, m«, 5.

Shed, j-7 o, 24.

Sheep (collective), \hL (/,).

Sheet, Jj^j .

Sheol^a^t/).

Shine, »©»j a, 23.

Show, »&• Fa.

Shut up, *-/ o, 24.

Sick, c*>y>.

Sick, be, ot^B, 23, Ethpe.;
causative, Aph.

Silver, 14^*3 •

Sin (».), ^- , 29.

Sin (rt.), I«£— ■

Sing (praise), t»j a, 23, Ftf.
flnef Fd.

Sister, ^,13.

Sit, oti. e, 25.

SixJ^--, 33.

VOCABULARY

Skull, J^aifto .
Slave, lf^>-.
Slay,***^ o.

Sleep («.), ^if-a; causative,
Pa.

Sleep («.), La£ .

So, Uoo* .

Solomon, \ou».^a -

Something, pf» .

Sometimes, J*l& t^^J"

Son, Ji=», 13.

Soul, UsJ (/.), Pi"'- )£*%* •

Sow, s*jf o, 23.

Sparrow, )&T (/,)•

Speak, "W* Pa.

Speech, |poj^o.

Spirit, Uo'i (/.).

Spit, «o» o, 28.

Sprinkle, ^^ o, 38.

Stand, «i>, 27.

Standard, U^J.

Stir up, £A« o.

Stone (v.), ji^J o-

Stone (».), JiJ^ (/)•
Story, )hLijk.L.
Strength, )U* .

i55

Strengthen, % V«», 27, Pa.;
passive, Ethpa.

Stretch out, ^*a 0.

Strong, be, ^A*, a; ^m*. o.

Stumble., make to v , *%H»a Aph.

Subdue, jl^do; passive, Ethpa.

Suffice, .n^nn a.

Sun, |jLia& (rn. andf.).

Swallow, ]V-t«M^

Synagogue, j^Jkofu .

Take, cxau a, 22.

Take away, %ji*, o.

Taste, jfx^j a.

Tasteless, become, cwiS a, 23.

Teach, aiJl?, 24 Pa.

Teacher, U&\.-£> .

Teaching, ) LcaSt^c .

Tear, .a^*. o.

Tell, sk. r , 23, 25, Aph.; ♦»/ a,
24.

Temple, JLi*ot .

Tempt, a», a and o.

Tent, ]ari*£> .

Testify, foM= a.

156 ENGLISH

That, in. oot,/. uoi, 5.
That, Particle, », 5.
Then, ^-.^.ot .
There, t^>\-
There is, ls-f , 8.
There is not, Is^C, 8.
Therefore, jJ« ^s£-"» .
These, ^^«, 5.
lhey, ?H. \0-10t, \cu( ,/. *^jo»,

r>( . 5-
Thigh U^L , P/wr_ H^o^L .

Thing, )l>%p 3 1 -

Think, a«» o.

This, m. )J« > /• )?« , 5-

Those, m. ycuot,/. ^Jot, 5.

Thou, »/. k->J y ,f. «fco/', 5.

Thrde, fcXt, 32.

Threshold, jl^s&ano/*, P/7/r.

Throw, Jc»>, 29, Pe. and Aph.
J^*., 29, Pe. and Pa.

Thus, Uaw .

Till (v.), wA9 a and o, 23.

Time, U^f.

To, Prep., "%. (inseparable),
lis. , 8, 10 note.

Tomb, )l=Jo.

-SYRIAC
Tongue, U££ .
Torch, J ^y i S ^. .

Torment, Jls^~ > Ph' r - )&*£• ■
Torture, >3>. a and o.
Touch, >a%^ 0, 28.
Towards, la^ .
Trample, J3> 0, 28.
Transgress, ;_=Lik. a, 23.
Tread on, .*.? , 27.
Treasure, jlsaxJo .
Tree, IfcL'l-
True, ;_£*..
Truly, ^aor •
Truth, ]»t*-.

Turn aside, |a*. , 29; frtf/zs.,
Pa. ; passive, Ethpa.

TWO, «Z. ^.ft,/. ^I;'^'

U

Under, La**l-> 10 note.

Understand, S; %^i£o Ethpa.

Until, Jjo'.>-, 10 note.

Unto, Icb^ , 10 note.

Upon, "V^- .

Useful for, be, "W, 24,
followed by ^ .

VOCABULARY

iS7

V

Valuable for, be, "W, 24, fol-
lowed by "%*. .

Vessel, l^cao .

View to, with a, laa.^, 10
note.

Village, IfcLlo, 13.

Vineyard, \£>+6 ■

Virgin, l^.o M>-

Vision, JlV» .

Voice, Jlfi .

W
Walk, ? Xo. Pa.
Wander, J , 27.
Warm, be, jiL a, 28.
Watch, ^j a and o, 22, 23.
Water, )£*>, 13.

Way, [Hot* (/•)•

We, ^L. , ^L. , 5.

Wealth, JJixsai.

Weary (impersonal), y)c£ a, 26.

What? ^.Ui.lbo, 5.

Whatever, j ȣ*> ^a .

When, » ~kj£>/ , ? k*> , ^0 .

Which? m.sg. \l.} r , f.sg. ILT,

Plur. ^i", 5-
Who, » , ♦ ^& , 5.
Who? ^i, 5, c£l£>(= 001 ^£>).
Whoever, » ^.i^so.
Why?Ui^.
Widow, J^.^i>j/ r .
Wife, )l%jj', 13.
Wilderness, ]t=> •.-£>.
Wind, Uo% (/.).
Wine, liscu..
Wisdom, )l£*xa~.

With, Prep., o (inseparable),
*x&, 8, 10 note.

Within, a^., 10 note.

Without, .v^a, 10 note.

Witness, bear, »c*tf> a, Pe. and
Aph.

Wolf, £J?.

Woman, JlW", 13.

Wonder, o*ioL, 23; causative,
Aph.

Word, )&*» (/.), 13. Ph*r-

Work, J^.
World, t^\< .
Worship, »^» o.

xso fcNULlSH-SYRlAC

Wrath, Jj^o » . You, Plur., m. ^o kj/ r , f.

Write, ol^o o. f^« •

Youth (abstract), jl'cu^.
Y

Year, Jl^i*. 13. Z

Yoke, 1U. Zion, \^<»j.

You, £»#., ?«. h^F,/. «k^r.

INDEX TO RULES OF SYNTAX

Absolute state of noun 2I

Adjective, agreement of 2 4

Agent after a passive 2 4

Anticipatory pronouns ° 2

Comparison, ways of expressing 4° r.

Construct state 2I

Date, expression of I2 °

Direct object, government of J °> ° 2

J&slitisz. ^Ka^cyisv 1 c ^. 2i -, n > •. 4°

Genitive, modes of expressing 2 9

Indefinite subject (he who, they who) x "> 49

Negative with adjective or noun 55

Numerals 125 f.

Participle and enclitic pronouns to form present tense 40

Passive, agent after 2 4

Present tense formed by participle and en c "ti c pronoun 40

Prohibitions, expression of 60

Purpose, ways of expressing "°

Relative particle J 6

Superlative, ways of expressing 49