B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

I am a little confused about quotes like Psalm 18:49 that says "a man (alef yud shin) of violence (het mem samech)" and 1 Kings 3:9 "a heart (lamed bet) of listening (shin mem ayin)." What does it mean to say something is "of something" like in these quotes?

It just brings the attribute to the first word.

Kenneth Greifer wrote:I am a little confused about quotes like Psalm 18:49 that says "a man (alef yud shin) of violence (het mem samech)" and 1 Kings 3:9 "a heart (lamed bet) of listening (shin mem ayin)." What does it mean to say something is "of something" like in these quotes?

In English the phrase is “prone to” or “in the practice of” doing whatever the next word describes. So Psalm 18:49 “a man prone to violence” or “a man who practices violence (on a regular basis)” and similarly “…a heart practicing listening (on a regular basis)…”. But a professional translator may prefer simply to say “a violent man” and “a listening heart”.

Karl W. Randolph.

Good question, Kenneth, and an interesting topic. Just curious--are you having difficulty typing in Hebrew? If so, I can suggest a couple of things that will help.

Dewayne,

Sometimes I can't find a paper I have that lists the English letters you type to get the right Hebrew letters. Also, I forgot to just go to a certain site and copy and paste the words I wanted to type in Hebrew.

You can always google "Hebrew virtual keyboard," and it will come up for you.

Kenneth Greifer wrote:Sometimes I can't find a paper I have that lists the English letters you type to get the right Hebrew letters. Also, I forgot to just go to a certain site and copy and paste the words I wanted to type in Hebrew.

What sort of computer do you have?

On a Mac, there’s “Show keyboard viewer” under the input language chooser, that shows where all the Hebrew letters are found on the keyboard when Hebrew input is chosen. Language input is one big reason I use a Mac as my main computer.

On Linux, at least Ubuntu Linux, there’s “Show keyboard layout” under the language chooser.

If you are using Windows™, you’re outta luck, as far as I know.

And yes, when quoting Tanakh, I copy and paste the text.

Karl W. Randolph.

If you use Windows, under the Start Menu (bottom toolbar, on the far left), scroll down the alphabetical list of programs, etc. and find under W "Windows Ease of Access" and the on-screen keyboard option. If you've selected Hebrew as an input language in your Settings, you can then use the on-screen keyboard to show the positions of each Hebrew letter as you type. If you're a native English speaker and don't work regularly with Modern Hebrew, you may prefer the Hebrew QWERTY arrangement (based on an U.S. English keyboard arrangement). That is not available in the Windows Hebrew keyboard that comes with Windows; just the standard Israeli one is. That is an option for Mac users, so I use that.

Another possible option for the QWERTY Hebrew layout that could work with WIndows is the Tyndale Unicode Kit https://academic.tyndalehouse.com/unicode-font-kit. I used it several years ago with Windows XP. I don't know if it works with current versions of Windows. RTL (right to left) is enabled automatically with the installation. The Cardo font is included, which works for both Hebrew and Greek.

Hi Kenneth,
I use this one.

https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/hebrew.htm

No downloads. No settings. You compile texts by just clicking on what you want, and then copy and paste to wherever you want.
Good luck.