The is the name given by early grammarians of the Hebrew language, such as Wilhelm Gesenius, to a perceived anomaly in the grammatical number and syntax in Hebrew. It is distinct from the plural of abstraction. In some cases it bears some similarity to the , or "royal plural".Gesenius 124 g–i, 132 h, 124 a–c, 135 p. However, the idea of excellence is not necessarily present:
Hebrew distinguishes grammatical number by endings in nouns, verbs and adjectives. A grammatical phenomenon occurs with a small number of Hebrew nouns, such as elohim 'great god' and behemoth 'giant beast', whereby a grammatically redundant plural ending (-im, usually masculine plural, or -oth, usually feminine plural) is attached to a noun, but the noun nevertheless continues to take singular verbs and adjectives.
Abstract plurals with feminine singular Abstract plurals with -im endings such as in words for 'uprightness', 'blessedness', 'sweetness', 'youth', 'strength', etc. take feminine singular verbs and adjectives.Andrew Bruce Davidson, Introductory Hebrew Grammar: Hebrew Syntax 1902 p74 "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."
Behemoth—beasts or great beast Sometimes the normal plural of a noun and the intensive plural are the same. For example behem, 'beast' singular, conjugates with the common feminine plural -oth, and behemoth + plural verb in, for example, the Genesis account of Noah's Ark indicates 'beasts' plural. But in the Book of Job behemoth + singular verb indicates 'giant beast', i.e. the sense of behemoth in English. Leviathan is also intensive: "You crushed the heads of Leviathan. You gave it as food for people, for[?] beasts".Bruce K. Waltke, Michael Patrick O'Connor; An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew syntax, p. 122.
Intensive plurals with masculine or feminine singular
An adjective qualifying a noun in the plural of excellence is more often found in the singular than in the plural. Examples of the singular include Deuteronomy 5:23 1 Samuel 17:26, 36 2 Kings 19:4, 16 Elohim hay 'living God'.Paul Joüon, T. Muraoka; "7.4.3 Honorifics and the Like", A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, p. 541: "An adjective qualifying a noun in the plural of excellence or of majesty (§ 136 d) is more often found in the singular than in the plural. Singular: Is 19.4 ne? p D'ng 'a hard master', 2Kg 19.4,16 TJ DYfts 'living' Psalm 7:10 "a just God"Bruce K. Waltke, Michael Patrick O'Connor; An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, p. 122, 1990: "D'VjVn 'a just God,' Ps 7:10); 16 when used of various gods, it takes plural agreement (OnriN wribx 'other gods,' Exod 20:3; cf. ... The agreement is mixed in, e.g. Josh 24:19, which has plural predicate adjectives and a singular verb." Isaiah 19:4 adonim qaseh 'a hard master' Isaiah 37:4, 17 Jeremiah 10:10, 23:36
Objections
Against this are objections such as that of the Hebrew grammarian and Messianic Jewish missionary (1863) that Gesenius had misunderstood the grammar and perpetuated a hoax."[W]hich some modern grammarians, who possess more of the so-called philosophical than of the real knowledge of the Oriental languages, call a pluralis excellentiae". Pauli writes: "Such a pluralis excellentiæ was, however, a thing unknown to Moses and the prophets. ... kings throughout ת״ב״ד, (the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa) speak in the singular, and not as modern kings in the plural. They do not say we, but I, command; as in Gen xli. 41; Dan. iii. 29; Ezra i. 2, etc., etc."
Other correspondence of number in Hebrew
Singular nouns may also take plural adjectives.Glinert Modern Hebrew: An Essential Grammar Routledge
Related grammatical constructs Distinct from the apparent "plural" of nouns with singular verbs is the "plural of deliberation", for "Let us make man in our own image".Steven L. Bridge; Getting the Old Testament: What It Meant to Them, 2009: "Scholars advance two possibilities. One is that the plural is appropriate given the self-reflective tone of the passage. This grammatical construction is called a 'plural of deliberation.' Similar examples can be found in Gen 11:7–8, Isa 6:8 ...". The plural is usually identified by a -im, -ot, or -ei ending.
References
External links
de:Pluralis excellentiae