Writing Biblical Hebrew

The basic and most common form of the word 'why?' is לָ֫מָּה with the accent on the first syllable ['lammah] and dagesh in the mem .  Ruth 1:11 לָ֥מָּה תֵלַ֖כְנָה עִמִּ֑י However, when it occurs before a word beginning with alef, ayin  or heh , it is usually לָמָ֫ה with the accent on the second syllable [la'mah] and no dagesh in the mem . (There are some exceptions for words beginning with heh : it's not entirely consistent) Ge 27:45  לָמָ֥ה  אֶ שְׁכַּ֛ל גַּם־שְׁנֵיכֶ֖ם יֹ֥ום אֶחָֽד׃ Gen 43:6 לָמָ֥ה הֲ רֵעֹתֶ֖ם לִ֑י Judg 12:3 וְלָמָ֞ה עֲ לִיתֶ֥ם אֵלַ֛י הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה לְהִלָּ֥חֶם בִּֽי׃ Note that before words beginning with other gutturals  het and resh , it is still  לָ֫מָּה . 2 Sa 24:3 לָ֥מָּה חָ פֵ֖ץ בַּדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃ 1 Sa 28:12 לָ֥מָּה רִ מִּיתָ֖נִי וְאַתָּ֥ה שָׁאֽוּל׃

  What I wanted to express:  "Do you know what Zedekiah did to/for you?" The mistake I made:  אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה צִדְקִיָּהוּ לָךְ What I should have done: אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה־ לָךְ צִדְקִיָּהוּ The evidence: Short words such as lamed with pronominal suffixes usually cluster with the verb, and come right after the verb (they may have been clitics - phonologically bound to the verb). I may have been influenced by English word order in my mistake, but I corrected it to reflect the more common Hebrew order. Verses showing lamed coming right after the verb: Gen 9:24b וַיֵּ֕דַע אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥שָׂה־ לֹ֖ו בְּנֹ֥ו הַקָּטָֽן׃ "...and he knew what his youngest son had done to him." 1 Sam 19:18b וַיַּ֨גֶּד־לֹ֔ו אֵ֛ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָֽשָׂה־ לֹ֖ו שָׁא֑וּל "...and he told him everything that Saul had done to him." Deut 4:34b  כְּ֠כֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם ‬ יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֛ם "...according to all that YHWH your God did for you..." Dt 25:17a זָכֹ֕ור אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה

The structure that I wanted to express:  Incorrect!!! "the man who has a son" "the man who has a daughter" "a boy who has clothes"  The mistake I made:  הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יֶשׁ־לוֹ בֵּן What I should have done:  Not include יֵשׁ, but say rather:  הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ בֵּן הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ בַּת יֶלֶד אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ בְּגָדִים The evidence:  Examples with similar syntax do not have יֵשׁ: Lev. 11:23a וְכָל שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ אַרְבַּע רַגְלָיִם  "But all winged insects that have four legs..." Deut 4:7a מִי־גוֹי גָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ אֱלֹהִים קְרֹבִים אֵלָיו "who is a great nation that has a god near to it...?" Deut 4:8a  וּמִי גּוֹי גָּדוֹל  אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ  חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים צַדִּיקִם "and who is a great nation that has righteous statues and rules...?" When talking about diseases/blemishes, the bet preposition is used: Lev. 21:21b  כָּל־אִישׁ  אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ  מוּם "Every man who has a blemish..." The three examples of אֲשׁ

Guidelines for creating easy Biblical Hebrew materials We’re so thankful that you’re interested in helping with this immense and important task of creating a body of literature at different levels for Hebrew students! To start off, let me emphasize that writing good simple stories at the level of easy reading for kids is not an easy task even in your native language, much less when you’re trying it in another language. This task will definitely challenge your creativity and your Hebrew skills. You will probably not be able to dash off a story that is in easy, grammatically authentic Hebrew while also being fun and satisfying to read without significant effort. Think of your task as crafting stories that will require some creative thinking and multiple revisions before you arrive at a satisfying final product. But this task is so important to help students continue advancing in their reading comprehension of Hebrew without hitting a brick wall. It’s also very satisfying to see your comp