Lesson 2 – Genesis 1:2 ~Ah.t yen.P-l;[ .$,v{x.w Wh{b’w Wh{t h’t.y’h #,r’a’h.w ~Iy’M;h yen.P-l;[ t,p,x;r.m ~yih{l/a ;xWr.w ~Ah.t
#rahw As previously discussed the prefix w is used to attach two parts of a sentence together but is also used to attach two or more sentences together, in other words bringing all of the words of one story together. In fact, the entire chapter of Genesis chapter one is one long story as each sentence begins with a w. The letter h is the prefix meaning "the" and the word #ra, as previously discussed, means "land." htyh The root of this verb is hyh, a very common root literally meaning, "to exist" or "breath" as one who exists breaths but is usually translated with a form of the English verb "to be." This verb is made feminine, singular, and perfect tense by adding the h to the end of the root (hhyh). When a h is added as a suffix to a root that ends with a h, this h is changed to a t (htyh). This verb would be literally translated as "she existed" where the "she" is the "land," the previous word. wht The root word here is ht meaning "empty." By adding the suffix letter w to the root, a noun derivative is formed meaning, "empty" or "void." whbw The first letter, w, is the prefix meaning "and" and is used to connect this word with the previous word. The root word is hb meaning, "to fill a void." A common Hebrew word also derived from this root is awb (bo’) and is usually translated as "come" or "go." The English translations of this word imply movement in a certain direction but the Hebrew meaning of the word awb is to "fill a void" and can be either fill a void here (come) or fill a void there (go). The w added after the root forms a noun derivative meaning, "void." The phrase whbw wht is a common style of poetry where similar sounding words are grouped together. While the phrase "The painter painted a painting with paint," would be poor English, it is a perfect example of Hebrew poetry.
$Xxw The first letter is the prefix w, meaning "and." The word $Xx means "dark" or "darkness." l[ This word is very common and means "over" or "on." ynp The root for this word is hnp meaning, face. This word is always used in the plural form ~ynp (the h is dropped when the masculine plural suffix is added). This word is in the construct state "faces of....." When a masculine plural noun is used in the Construct State, the letter ~ is always dropped.
~wht A noun derived from the root ~wh meaning "sea," closely related in form to the more common word for sea, ~wy. This noun derivative is formed by adding the prefix letter t, and has the more specific meaning of "deep sea." This and the previous word form the Construct phrase "faces of the deep." xwrw The first letter w is the prefix meaning "and." The word xwr is another Hebrew word meaning, "wind." Though this word is often translated as "spirit" the more Hebraic understanding is "wind" or "breath."
~yhla This is the same word discussed previously. When two nouns appear together they are in the Construct State. This word and the preceding word, xwr, would be translated as "wind/breath of God." tpxrm The root to this verb is @xr meaning, "hover over" such as a bird does over the nest. The letter m is a prefix added to the verb to form a conjugation. The letter t indicates this verb is feminine singular perfect tense and literally translated as "she hovered." The "she" of this word is the previous word xwr, a feminine word. While most consider the "Spirit" (wind/breath) a "he," Biblically, it is a "she." l[ This is the same word previously discussed meaning "over" or "on." ynp This word was also previously discussed meaning "faces" and is in the construct state with the following word.
~ymh The first letter h is the prefix meaning "the." The root word is ~ym, a very common word meaning, "water."
Notice that the previous sentence contains no verb. While a verb is required in every English sentence it is not in Biblical Hebrew.
