The Hebrew Scriptures, known collectively as the Tanakh, stand as one of the most enduring and foundational bodies of literature in human history. They are not only sacred texts for the Jewish people but also deeply influential in Christian and secular literary traditions. The words of the Tanakh have shaped civilizations, moral systems, and linguistic traditions. Yet, much of the nuance, beauty, and structural richness of the original Hebrew is often obscured in traditional English translations. This literal English translation seeks to restore, to the extent possible, the experience of reading the Tanakh in its original form by adhering closely to Hebrew syntax, word order, and grammatical constructions.

Purpose and Vision

This translation is not intended to replace more interpretive or idiomatic versions of the Bible. Rather, it is a tool for students of Biblical Hebrew, scholars of Scripture, and readers who seek to understand how the original texts were written and structured. It allows readers to see, line by line, how the Hebrew language constructs meaning: through word order, verb aspect, grammatical emphasis, and poetic economy. Those who know Hebrew will benefit from having a faithful mapping into English that mirrors the original structure. Those who do not know Hebrew will be able to peek behind the curtain and discern the patterns and rhythm of the biblical language, even through translation.

Translation Philosophy and Technique

This translation follows several key principles:

Literalness Over Readability: Word-for-word translation is prioritized over fluid English phrasing. If the Hebrew says “And YHWH said to Moshe,” the translation preserves every element, even when English would normally collapse or rephrase it.
Preserved Word Order: Hebrew often emphasizes subjects or verbs by moving them to the front. This translation reflects such moves directly to reveal emphasis and syntax, even if the resulting English is slightly awkward.
Scholarly Transliterations: All proper names and places (e.g., Yisraʾel, YHWH, Dawid, Mitsrayim) follow scholarly transliteration standards, not anglicized or interpretive forms. This makes the text consistent with academic studies in linguistics, textual criticism, and Semitic philology.
Consistent Translation of Key Terms: Terms such as חֶסֶד (ḥesed), צֶדֶק (tsedeq), and נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) are rendered as consistently as possible, with attention to their root meanings and usage across contexts.

Each verse is accompanied by a detailed morphological breakdown, helping learners identify grammatical forms, roots, verb stems (binyanim), and contextual notes. This serves as a guided reading companion for language acquisition, hermeneutical awareness, and theological reflection.

The Value of Literalness

Literal translation is often criticized for being clunky or obscure. However, when handled carefully, it reveals a world of literary and theological meaning that interpretive translations often smooth over. The Hebrew Bible is full of deliberate repetition, alliteration, rhythmic constructions, and poetic brevity. These features are central to the message and tone of the text. For example, when the Hebrew repeats “And God said… And God saw… And God made,” a literal translation preserves this rhythm of divine action rather than condensing it.

Furthermore, many subtle grammatical devices, such as waw-consecutive verbs, construct chains, paronomasia, and gender shifts, can only be appreciated when the literal structure is retained. This translation gives readers the chance to trace these nuances directly in English.

Helping Learners of Hebrew

This translation is especially designed to assist students who are learning Biblical Hebrew. Each verse’s literal rendering helps learners correlate Hebrew forms with their English equivalents. With side-by-side morphological analysis, readers can grow in their ability to parse verbs, identify binyanim, understand noun patterns, and recognize syntactic functions. By mimicking Hebrew word order, the translation trains the mind to “think in Hebrew,” reinforcing correct patterns and expectations for native syntactic flow.

Moreover, learners begin to see how meaning is constructed incrementally: how the use of particles, conjunctions, and grammatical gender shape the message. Instead of reading only filtered theological interpretations, learners interact with the living structure of the text itself.

For the Non-Hebrew Reader

Even for readers with no training in Hebrew, this translation offers a fresh and illuminating window into the Tanakh. It answers questions that often go unasked: Why does the text say “And” so frequently? Why are names repeated after actions? Why is the verb often placed first in the sentence? Why are expressions sometimes left ambiguous?

By seeing how the original Hebrew syntax flows, English readers can better grasp the mind of the biblical writers. The very spiritual texture of the Tanakh, its rhythm, urgency, subtlety, and precision, can begin to emerge through this literal rendering. It may not always sound smooth to the English ear, but it sounds very much like the Hebrew soul.

Draw Near to the Original Language

Whether you are a student of Hebrew, a lover of Scripture, a teacher, a preacher, or a seeker of the roots of sacred language, this literal English translation of the Hebrew Tanakh invites you into deeper engagement with the original text. It is not meant to be the final word on meaning, but a faithful echo of the first Word, one that once thundered from Sinai, wept in exile, and whispered hope to generations of the faithful.

May your study be rich, your understanding deepened, and your heart stirred by the words of YHWH, just as they were spoken, written, and preserved in the language of the prophets.

Guide to the Morphology

This lesson is designed to help readers, translators, students, and scholars understand how to read and apply the morphology provided in the literal translation of the Hebrew Tanakh throughout this project. Whether you are a beginner learning Biblical Hebrew, a translator seeking grammatical precision, or a theologian studying the text’s structure, this morphology system will guide your analysis and enrich your understanding.

What Is Morphology?

Morphology is the study of word forms. In Biblical Hebrew, each word can be broken down into grammatical units that reveal its function, form, and meaning. This includes:

- Roots – the three (sometimes two or four) letter base that carries the core meaning
- Binyanim (Verb Stems) – patterns of vocalization and affixation applied to roots to create meaning (e.g., passive, intensive, causative)
- Forms – verb tenses, noun states, number, gender, person, etc.
- Suffixes/Prefixes – markers of possession, prepositions, or conjunctions

Each word in this project’s morphology is broken down and tagged systematically using a consistent format.

Format of Each Morphological Entry

Every word in the Hebrew verse is analyzed with the following structure:

<li><b>HEBREW WORD</b> (transliteration) - 
<b>Root:</b> <b>ROOT</b>; 
<b>Form:</b> FORM DESCRIPTION; 
<b>Translation:</b> "ENGLISH MEANING"; 
<b>Notes:</b> COMMENTARY ON USAGE.</li>

Let’s now examine each of these fields in detail.

1. Hebrew Word and Transliteration

Example: וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyómer)

The Hebrew word is always presented in bold with full vowel pointing (niqqud) to ensure correct reading.
The transliteration in parentheses follows scholarly conventions, based on the modern Israeli pronunciation, not Erasmian or Ashkenazi.

2. Root

Example: Root: אָמַר

This identifies the three-letter root (sometimes two or four) that carries the core lexical meaning of the word.
Knowing the root allows readers to connect words with shared semantic fields (e.g., מֶלֶךְ, מַלְכוּת, מָלַךְ all derive from מ־ל־ך).

3. Form

The Form field provides a technical grammatical description of the word. This includes details such as:

Verb tense/aspect: Perfect (completed action), Imperfect (incomplete action), Imperative, Infinitive, or Participle
Binyan (stem): Qal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, Hiphil, Hophal, Hithpael
Person: 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person
Number: Singular or Plural
Gender: Masculine or Feminine
State (for nouns): Absolute or Construct

Verb Form Examples

Abbreviation	Meaning	Explanation
Qal	Simple/active	The most common verb stem (binyan) used for basic actions
Niphal	Passive/reflexive	Often expresses passive or middle voice
Piel	Intensive/active	Indicates intensive or intentional action
Pual	Intensive/passive	Passive counterpart to Piel
Hiphil	Causative/active	Used for causing an action to occur
Hophal	Causative/passive	Passive counterpart to Hiphil
Hithpael	Reflexive/intensive	Indicates reflexive or reciprocal action

Other Form Elements

Term	Meaning
Perfect	Completed action (past tense)
Imperfect	Incomplete/future or habitual action
Participle	Verbal adjective indicating ongoing or continuous action
Infinitive Absolute	Unconjugated verb used for emphasis or aspectual nuance
Infinitive Construct	Verb in infinitive used as a noun (e.g., “to go”)
Singular/Plural	Number of the subject or object
Masculine/Feminine	Gender of the noun, adjective, or verb subject
Absolute	The unmarked form of a noun (e.g., “king”)
Construct	Form showing possession or close connection (e.g., “king of”)

4. Translation

The Translation field provides the literal English rendering of the specific word. This is not always the final interpretation, but a direct mapping of the form and root meaning. It aids readers in understanding the raw meaning of each component before interpretation or theological analysis.

5. Notes

The Notes field offers insights on:

Contextual use – explaining why a particular form or stem is used
Special constructions – e.g., paragogic nun, energic nun, cohortatives
Idioms or rare usage
Syntactic links – showing how the word fits within the sentence structure
Theological significance – only where the grammar clearly reflects key meaning

These notes are brief but crucial for translators, linguists, and students, as they connect grammar to meaning.

How Translators Benefit from This Morphology

Translators aiming for faithfulness to the original Hebrew will find the morphology indispensable. It helps by:

Clarifying verb stems and the intended voice or causation of actions
Revealing subtle emphasis based on syntax or form
Ensuring noun-verb agreement in number, gender, and person
Providing consistency in rendering parallel structures
Identifying poetic and rhetorical devices embedded in form

Rather than relying on English approximations or interpretive decisions, translators using this morphological breakdown remain tethered to the text’s grammatical reality.

Using This Morphology for Language Learning

Students of Biblical Hebrew can use this as a guided reader:

Read the verse in Hebrew, aloud with vowels
Study the transliteration to correct pronunciation
Check the root and identify other Hebrew words from the same root
Analyze the form and try to parse it before looking at the explanation
Review the notes for contextual usage and pattern recognition

This process strengthens parsing skills, internalizes grammar, and helps bridge the gap between theoretical study and real text comprehension.

Let the Structure Teach You

The morphology provided in this project is more than academic detail—it is a lens through which the structure, beauty, and precision of Biblical Hebrew can be studied and appreciated. Whether you are translating Scripture, learning the language, or seeking to understand the original Word more clearly, this system invites you into the mechanics of divine speech as encoded in sacred grammar.

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