Lesson 7 | Prefixes
[2] Prefix Prepositions + the Relative Prefix
As we have already seen in our readings and songs, the most common prepositions in Hebrew are actually prefixes and not separate words. There are four such prepositions. While they all have a wide variety of uses, let’s look at their most common meanings.
בְּ — in, with, when
לְ — to, of, at
כְּ — as, like
מִ — from, than (a form of the distinct word מִן)
Something special about three of these prefix prepositions (ל, ב and כ) is that they usually absorb the definite article of a word (if one is present) and leave only its a-class vowel. That is to say, instead of בְּהַאֶרֶץ we find בָּאָרֶץ (“in the land”). This is often called a compound preposition + article prefix.
prefix prepositions + the relative prefix
standard and definite article forms
|
בְּאֶרֶץ |
בָּאָרֶץ |
in a land / in the land |
|
לְמָיִם |
לָמָיִם |
to water / to the water |
|
כִּדְבַר |
כַּדָּבָר |
according to a word / according to the word |
|
מֵהַר |
מֵהָהָר |
from a mountain / from the mountain |
| | | |
|
שֶׁהָיָה |
|
which was |
The relative prefix
Something very similar to the prefix prepositions is the relative prefix שֶׁ (a form of the distinct word אֲשֶׁר). Like the prefix prepositions, it is a single letter prefix that connects words in a sentence with its own distinct meaning. Unlike the prefix prepositions, it does not introduce a prepositional phrase, but a verbal clause. It is typically translated as that or which and means the very same thing as the word “that” in the second sentence of this paragraph (in italics).
Look at how it is used in the verses below. (You know most of these words. Click on those you do not.)