| Title | Kol as a Universal Quantifier in Biblical Hebrew |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Adina Moshavi (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0463.10 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0463/chapters/10.11647/obp.0463.10 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Adina Moshavi; |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2025-03-07 |
| Long abstract | The article explores the various uses of the Hebrew determiner kol in Biblical Hebrew, which occurs approximately 5,400 times in the Hebrew Bible. It analyses the distinctions between distributive and collective quantification, focusing on how kol interacts with different noun types and syntactic environments. While kol with indefinite singular nouns is universally distributive, its use with definite plural nouns can be either distributive or collective. The study also addresses contexts where kol interacts with definite singular nouns, indefinite plurals, and non-count nouns, comparing these uses with its descendant in Modern Hebrew. Using corpus-based examples, the analysis highlights semantic nuances, syntactic constraints, and the development of kol as a universal quantifier in Classical Biblical Hebrew prose. |
| Page range | pp. 291–330 |
| Print length | 40 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Landing Page | Full text URL | Platform | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0463/chapters/10.11647/obp.0463.10 | Landing page | https://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0463.10.pdf | Full text URL |
Adina Moshavi (PhD, Yeshiva University) is Professor in the Department of Hebrew Language at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research interests include syntax of Biblical Hebrew and the Dead Sea Scrolls, pragmatics of Biblical Hebrew, questions and answers in biblical dialogue, grammaticalisation of negative polarity items in Hebrew, syntax and semantics of Hebrew numerical phrases, the relationship between philology and biblical interpretation. Selected recent publications: ‘Expressing the Day of the Month in Biblical Hebrew: A Diachronic Perspective’, Journal for Semitics 30/2 (2021), and (with Susan Rothstein) ‘Numeral Construct Phrases in Biblical Hebrew: A Theoretical Perspective’. Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics 13/1 (2021).