The Use and meaning of the Hebrew verb BARA in the niphal binyan of the Hebrew Bible

Abstract

The study of the vb. ברא, in the secondary literature, combining the G and N binyanim has shown that the major arguments on the uses of ברא are that (1) it takes Israel’s God as the subject/agent; and (2) it denotes creation from nothing or from material. On the meaning of ברא, the major interpretations by scholars are that (1) the vb. ברא means “to create” (creatio ex nihilo, novelty, etc.) and (2) “to separate.” The approaches taken by most scholars are contextual, theological, etymological, comparative, and source critical. Against this background, this study identified two main areas of concern: (1) complexity of usage in which the study showed that the Hebrew binyamin (G, N, D, and H) have different syntactical and morphological values and therefore N-ברא) like G-ברא , D-ברא, and H-ברא (should be studied separately; and (2) the complexity of meaning of which the vb. ברא appears in clauses and binyanim that affect how it functions—thus impacts its meaning. Consequently, the study set out to answer three questions: (1) What are the uses of N-ברא in the HB? (2) What is the prototypical meaning of N-ברא in the HB? (3) What are the similarities and differences between the uses of N-ברא and the uses of G-ברא, D-ברא, and H-ברא in the HB? These questions were answered by using syntagmatic analysis (that focuses on relations between items that “co-occur” within clauses, sentences, pericopes, etc.) for the uses of the vb. ברא and Cognitive Linguistics (that focuses on clausal and N binyan constructions) for the prototypical meaning of the vb. ברא in the N binyan of the HB. Among the uses of N-ברא, the study showed that N-ברא does not always take God as its agent; and neither does it take Him as the subject. The subject is always the patient in N-ברא. Also, the study showed emphatically that N-ברא never brings an object into being from material. The emphasis is always on the final/current state of the patient of N-ברא. Regarding the meaning, the prototypical meaning does not emphasize creatio ex nihilo, new things, creation from something, or separation. Instead, it emphasizes the bringing into being of something at a point in time. Whether creation from nothing/material is intended by the authors, it is not emphasized—at least not in the use of N-ברא. Regarding the similarities and differences between N-ברא and G-ברא, D-ברא, and H-ברא, the study showed that there are strong similarities and differences among the binyanim. Two of the differences are the syntactic functions of ברא and the focus of the act/state of the patient of ברא. Consequently, N-ברא is the only binyan that syntactically focuses on the act/state that the patients undergo. N-ברא is the only binyan that has the act/state of the vb. ברא as a basis for another action to be carried out. In addition, the study showed that H-ברא and D-ברא are the only two binyanim that identified material as one of the linguistic uses of the patient.