Agreement of Subject and Predicate in Respect of Gender and Number

Agreement of Subject and Predicate in Respect of Gender and Number
§ 112. There is less precision in the matter of agreement than there is in classical or other languages. Several general peculiarities appear—
When the pred. stands first the speaker's mind is fixed on the act in itself, and clear consciousness of the coming subj. is not yet present to him, and he puts the pred. in the most general form, mas. sing.[1]
[1] Ar. grammarians have a more ingenious explanation of this usage.
There is a great tendency to construe according to the sense rather than strict grammatical law, hence gramm. singulars, such as collectives and words that suggest a plurality, are often joined with plur. pred., especially when they refer to persons.
On the other hand, there is a tendency to group things that resemble one another, or belong to the same class, under one conception, and construe them with a sing. verb.
The plur. of lifeless objects and living creatures, not persons, may be treated as gramm. collect., and joined with sing. fem.
1. Agreement of Simple Subject
§ 113. (a) When subj. precedes the pred. there is in general agreement in gend. and numb., whether the subj. be person or thing. Genesis 15:12 ‏וְתַרְדֵּמָה נָֽפְלָה‎ and a sleep fell; Genesis 15:17 ‏הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בָּאָה‎ the sun was gone down; Genesis 16:1. But exceptions occur; Malachi 2:6 ‏עַוְלָה לֹא־נִמְצָא‎ evil was not found. Genesis 15:17, Exodus 12:49, Jeremiah 50:46, Zechariah 6:14, cf. Zechariah 6:7, Job 20:26.
(b) When pred. precedes, while agreement in gend. and numb. is usual, esp. when subj. is personal, the verb is often in 3 sing. mas., even though the subj. be plur. or fem. This is common with ‏היה‎ to be. The subj. having once been mentioned, however, following verbs are in proper agreement. Genesis 1:14 ‏יְהִי מְאֹרֹת וְהָיוּ‎ let there be lights, and let them be signs. Isaiah 17:6 ‏וְנִשְׁאַר־בּוֹ עֹֽלֵלוֹת‎ there shall be left gleanings; 2 Kings 3:26 ‏חָזַק מִמֶּנּוּ הַמִּלְחָמָה‎ the battle was too strong for him, 2 Kings 3:18. Deuteronomy 32:35, Isaiah 13:22; Isaiah 24:12, Jeremiah 36:32. Numbers 9:6 ‏וַיְהִי אְַנָשִׁים אְַשֶׁר הָיוּ‎, 1 Kings 11:3 ‏וַיְהִי־לוֹ נָשִׁים שָׂרוֹת‎ he had wives, princesses, 700. The mas. is apt to be used for 3 pl. fem. impf.; 1 Kings 11:3 ‏וַיַּטּוּ נָשָׁיו את־לִבּוֹ‎ his wives perverted his mind; 2 Samuel 4:1 ‏וַיִּרְפּוּ יָדָיו‎ his hands were paralysed (cf. Zephaniah 3:16), Judges 21:21, Joshua 11:11, Isaiah 19:18, Jeremiah 13:16, Ezekiel 23:42, Hosea 14:6. Genesis 20:17; Genesis 30:39. Son_6:9. Imper., Isaiah 32:11, Hosea 10:8, Zephaniah 3:16.—1 Samuel 1:2, Judges 20:46, Genesis 35:5, 1 Chronicles 2:22; 1 Chronicles 23:17, 1 Chronicles 23:22.
(c) Subjects in dual are necessarily joined with plur pred., verb or ptcp. Genesis 48:10 ‏עֵינֵי ישׂ׳ כָּֽבְדוּ מִזֹּקֶן‎ the eyes of Israel were dim from age. 2 Kings 21:12; 2 Kings 22:20. Isaiah 1:15, Micah 7:10. Ptcp., 1 Samuel 1:13, 2 Samuel 24:3, Isaiah 30:20, Hos, Isaiah 9:14, 2 Chronicles 16:9. Cf. § 31, and on 1 Samuel 4:15, Micah 4:11. § 116.
2. Agreement of Compound Subject
§ 114. When the subj. is compound, consisting of several elements joined by and.— (a) When subj. is first the verb is usually plur., and so the pred. in nominal sent. 2 Samuel 16:15 ‏וְאַבְשָׁלוֹם וכל־הָעָם בָּאוּ‎ Abs. and all the people came; Genesis 8:22; Genesis 18:11. But sometimes the verb is sing., agreeing either with the word next it or with the chief element of the complex subj., or the several parts of subj. all forming one conception: 2 Samuel 20:10 Joab and Abishai his brother ‏רָדַף‎ pursued. Hosea 4:11 whoredom and wine and new wine ‏יִקַּח־לֵב‎ take away the understanding. Hosea 9:2, Deuteronomy 8:13. Nehemiah 5:14 ‏אְַנִי וְאַחַי לֹא אָכַלְתִּי‎ 2 Samuel 3:22, Esther 4:16.[1]
[1] If parts of the subj. be of different genders pred. is usually mas., Genesis 18:11, but cf. Jeremiah 44:25.
(b) When the pred. is first it perhaps oftenest agrees in gend. and numb. with the element of the subj. which is next it; but it may be in plur. When the subj. has once been mentioned following verbs are in plur. Genesis 31:14 ‏וַתַּעַן רָחֵל וְלֵאָה וַתֹּאמַרְנָה‎ R. and L. answered and said; Numbers 12:1 ‏וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ‎... ‏וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם וְאַֽהְַרֹן‎ Mir. and Aaron spoke and said; Genesis 3:8 ‏וַיִּתְחַבֵּא הָֽאָדָם וְאִשְׁתּוֹ‎ hid themselves. Genesis 7:7; Genesis 9:23; Genesis 21:32; Genesis 24:50, Genesis 24:55; Genesis 33:7; Genesis 44:14, Judges 5:1; Judges 8:21, 1 Samuel 11:15; 1 Samuel 18:3; 1 Samuel 27:8, 1 Kings 1:34, 1 Kings 1:41.—Pl. Genesis 40:1, Numbers 20:10; Numbers 31:13, Exodus 5:1; Exodus 7:20. Or it may be mas. sing. (§ 113b), Joel 1:13.
(c) When the subj. is a pron. and noun, the pron. must be expressed whether verb be sing. or plur. Genesis 7:1 ‏בֹּא־אַתָּה וכל־בֵּֽיתְךָ‎ go thou and all thy house, Judges 7:10, Judges 7:11. Judges 11:38 ‏וַתֵּלֶךְ הִיא וְרֵֽעוֹתֶיהָ‎ she and her companions went. 1 Kings 1:21 ‏וְהָיִיתִי אְַנִי וּבְנִי‎ I and my son shall be. Genesis 14:15; Genesis 20:7; Genesis 24:54 (pl.); Genesis 31:21; 1 Samuel 20:31; 1 Samuel 28:8, 2 Samuel 19:14. In 1 Samuel 29:10 ‏אַתָּה‎ is missed before servants.
Even when two nouns are subj. a pron. referring to the first must be expressed if any words separate it from the second, unless the words be a mere apposition. Genesis 13:1; Genesis 35:6; Genesis 38:12; Genesis 50:14, Genesis 50:22, Judges 9:48, Nehemiah 2:12, cf. Joshua 22:32. The pron. may be expressed in any case, 1 Samuel 29:11; 1 Samuel 30:9.
When compound subj. is of different persons 1st pers. precedes 2nd and 2nd the 3rd. 1 Kings 1:21 above, I and my son. 1 Samuel 14:40; 1 Samuel 20:23, Numbers 20:8, Genesis 43:8.
3. Agreement of Collectives
§ 115. With sing. nouns having a collective meaning the pred. is often construed in the plur. according to sense: particularly when the collective term refers to persons, but sometimes also when it refers to lower creatures, or even to things. Grammatical agreement in sing. is also common, and the two consns. often interchange. When the pred. is first it may be in sing. while following verbs are in plur. Hosea 4:6 ‏נִדְמוּ עַמִּי‎ my people are destroyed, cf. Isaiah 5:13 ‏גָּלָה עַמִּי‎ is gone away; Isaiah 9:9 ‏וְיָֽדְעוּ הָעָם כֻּלּוֹ‎ the people shall know all of it. 1 Kings 18:39 ‏וַיַּרְא כָּל־הָעָם וַיִּפְּלוּ‎ Ex. I. 20; 1 Kings 4:31, Judges 2:10. Genesis 41:57 ‏וכל־הָאָרֶץ בָּאוּ‎ all the world came; 1 Samuel 14:25; 1 Samuel 17:46, 1 Samuel 17:2" S. 1 Samuel 15:23. Numbers 14:35 ‏הָֽעֵדָה הַזֹּאת הַנּֽוֹעָדִים‎ this congregation that are met together. With creatures: Genesis 30:38 ‏תָּבֹאנָה הַצֹּאן‎ the flock used to come, Psalms 144:13. So fem. pl. with ‏בָּקָר‎ Job 1:14; mas. pl. 1 Chronicles 27:29, cf. 1 Kings 8:5. With things: Jeremiah 48:36 ‏יִתְרַת עָשָׂה אָבָֽדוּ‎ the gain he has made is lost. Isaiah 15:7, Hosea 9:6, Haggai 2:7, Psalms 119:103. Comp. 1 Samuel 2:33 increase in a personal ref.—Exodus 15:4, Judges 9:36-37 people sing. and pl., so 1 Samuel 13:6; cf. 1 Samuel 13:15-16. Judges 1:22; Judges 9:55, 2 Kings 25:5, Amos 1:5, Hosea 10:5; Hosea 11:7, Isaiah 16:4; Isaiah 19:13. Genesis 34:24. Numbers 20:11; Numbers 21:7, Job 8:19.
§ 116. On the other hand, plur. of inanimate objects that may be grouped under one conception, of the lower creatures, and abstract plurals are frequently construed with fem. sing. of pred. 1 Samuel 4:15 ‏וְעֵינָיו קָמָה‎ and his eyes were set, Micah 4:11. John 1:20 ‏בַּֽהְַמוֹת שָׂדֶה תַּֽעְַרֹג אֵלֶיךָ‎ the beasts of the field pant unto thee. Psalms 103:5 ‏תִּתְחַדֵּשׁ כַּנֶּשֶׁר נְעוּרָיְכִי‎ thy youth is renewed like the eagle. Genesis 49:22, Isaiah 34:13; Isaiah 59:12, Jeremiah 4:14; Jeremiah 12:4, Micah 1:9, Psalms 18:34; Psalms 37:31, Nehemiah 13:10, Job 12:7; Job 14:19; Job 20:11. Cf. 2 Samuel 24:13 :2 Ki. Job 3:3 ‏מִמֶּנָּה‎ (sins of Jeroboam); Job 13:11, Isaiah 59:8. There is no reason for K'ri Psalms 73:2, ‏שׁפכה‎. Deuteronomy 21:7 is more unusual.—Sometimes when subj. precedes it is treated almost as casus pendens, and its general idea becomes subj.; Genesis 47:24 the four fifths ‏יִֽהְיֶה‎ it shall be. Exodus 12:49, Ecclesiastes 2:7. Cf. Isaiah 16:8, Habakkuk 3:17.
Rem. 1. General plurals are sometimes construed with sing. pred. from a tendency to individualise and distribute over every individual, or apply it to any individual supposed. Genesis 27:29 ‏אֹֽרְַרֶיךָ אָרוּר‎ they that curse thee shall be cursed. Numbers 24:9, Jeremiah 22:4. Exodus 31:14, Lev, Exodus 17:14; Exodus 19:8, Zechariah 11:5, Psalms 64:8, Proverbs 3:18, Proverbs 3:35; Proverbs 14:9; Proverbs 27:16; Proverbs 28:1, 2 Chronicles 10:8 (rd. ‏יְעָצָהוּ‎) In particular a sing. suff. frequently refers back to a plur. Isaiah 2:20 ‏אְַשֶׁר עָשׂוּ־לוֹ‎ which they made each for himself, Hosea 4:8. Deuteronomy 21:10; Deuteronomy 28:48, Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 2:8; Isaiah 5:23; Isaiah 8:20, Joshua 2:4, Exodus 28:3, Zechariah 14:12, Or sing. and plur. interchange, Isaiah 30:22; Isaiah 56:5, Psalms 62:4; Psalms 141:10. Cf. Deuteronomy 4:37; Deuteronomy 7:3, Judges 1:34, 2 Kings 19:14. Sometimes sing. pron. refers back to plur. as a collective unity, Isaiah 17:13, Jeremiah 31:16 ‏אֵינֶנּוּ‎ (of Rachel's children), 2 Samuel 24:13, Joshua 13:14, and perhaps some of the exx. above. Or the pron. expresses a generalised it, Judges 11:34 ‏אֵין־לוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ בֵּן אוֹ־בַת‎ he had not besides it (her) son or daughter. Exodus 11:6 like it.
Rem. 2. When the compound subj. is a noun with its gen. agreement may be with gen. as expressing the main idea of the phrase; or pred. being next gen. may agree with it by a kind of attraction. 1 Kings 17:16 ‏וְצַפַּחַת שֶׁמֶן לא חָסֵר‎ the cruse of oil did not fail. Isaiah 2:11, 1 Samuel 2:4, Leviticus 13:9; Job 21:21; Job 29:10; Job 38:21. Attraction of gend. Jeremiah 10:3, Leviticus 25:33; in the case of verb to be attraction by pred. Genesis 31:8, Proverbs 14:35. The pred. usually agrees with gen. after ‏כל‎ all, Hosea 9:4, Genesis 5:5, Exodus 15:20, but not universally, Hosea 10:14, Isaiah 64:11.
Rem. 3. In nominal sent. the pred. adj. when first is sometimes uninflected, Psalms 119:137 ‏יָשָׁר מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ‎ upright are thy judgments, cf Psalms 119:155; but this is rare, except with the word ‏טוֹב‎; Judges 8:2, Genesis 49:15, 1 Samuel 19:4, 2 Kings 5:12, Psalms 73:28; Psalms 119:72; Psalms 147:1, Proverbs 17:1; Proverbs 20:23.—Genesis 47:3 ‏רֹעֵה‎ is collec., cf. Deuteronomy 14:7, Ezra 3:9, Nehemiah 2:16.
Rem. 4. Plurals of Eminence such as ‏אלהים‎ God, ‏אדנים בְּעָלִים‎ lord, owner, when referring to a single person, are usually in concord with sing., Exodus 21:29 ‏בְּעָלָיו יוּמַת‎ its owner shall be killed, Isaiah 19:4 ‏אְַדֹנִים קָשֶׁה‎ a cruel lord. When ‏אלהים‎ means gods it is construed with pl., and in a few cases even when it is God, Genesis 20:13; Genesis 35:7, Exodus 22:9, Joshua 24:19 (E.), and sometimes in the phrase living God, Deuteronomy 5:23, 1 Samuel 17:26, Jeremiah 10:10; Jeremiah 23:36. Words only used in pl. are occasionally joined to sing., e.g. 2 Samuel 10:9 ‏פָּנִים‎ as fem. sing., cf. Job 16:16.
Rem. 5. Names of nations are construed in three ways: (a) with mas. sing., the name being that of the personal ancestor, Exodus 17:11, Isaiah 19:16, Amos 1:11, 1 Chronicles 18:5; 1 Chronicles 19:15-16, 1 Chronicles 19:18, 1 Chronicles 19:19. (b) Or with plur., 2 Samuel 10:17, 1 Kings 20:20, 2 Kings 6:9, 1 Chronicles 18:2, 1 Chronicles 18:13. (c) Or with fem. sing., when the ref. is to the country or when the population is treated as a collective, often personified; 2 Samuel 8:2, 2 Samuel 8:5-6; 2 Samuel 10:11; 2 Samuel 24:9, Isaiah 7:2, Jeremiah 13:19, 1 Chronicles 19:12, Job 1:15. The consns. a, b, c may interchange in the same passage. Jeremiah 48:15, Amos 2:2-3, Hosea 13:16, Malachi 2:11. Peculiar, Isaiah 18:1, Isaiah 18:2.
Rem. 6. When there are several predicates one may be in agreement and the other left uninflected. Isaiah 33:9, Micah 1:9, Zechariah 5:11; cf. on adj. § 32, R. 4. But irregularity in gend. and numb. is common, e.g. Jeremiah 31:10 ‏בָּהּ‎... ‏דֶּרֶךְ יָשָׁר‎, Zechariah 6:7. Sometimes text may be at fault, Judges 4:20 ‏עָמֹד‎, inf. abs.? 1 Samuel 2:20 rd. ‏שָׁאֻל‎; 1 Samuel 25:27 ‏הֵבִיאָה‎, cf. 1 Samuel 25:35. In particular, vowel terminations of verbs were not always expressed in ancient texts, and are sometimes given or omitted wrongly by Mass. Ezekiel 18:29 ‏יִתָּכֵנוּ‎ as Ezekiel 18:25. With Ezekiel 20:38 ‏יבוא‎ cf. Isaiah 45:24. In Lamentations 5:10 ‏נִכְמְרוּ‎ may be due to plur. suff. in our skin, cf. 1 Chronicles 24:19, 2 Chronicles 17:14, Jeremiah 2:34.
Exx. of mas. for 2 fem. impf., Isaiah 57:8, Jeremiah 3:5, Ezekiel 22:4; Ezekiel 23:32; Ezekiel 26:14.