Person First

Summary

The first person form of a term refers to the person(s) writing or speaking.

Article

In English, the first person pronouns include: “I”, “me”, or “my”, for singular; and “we”, “us”, or “our,” for plural. In Biblical Hebrew, terms which are marked for first person do not change form according to gender (masculine and feminine), but they do change form according to number (singular or plural). In Biblical Hebrew, verbs, pronouns, and pronominal suffixes can all be marked for first person.

Form

In Biblical Hebrew, a term marked for first person can be recognized by a variety of changes to the form. These changes differ greatly from each other, so it is difficult to sum them up in a simple, helpful way. The paradigm below shows a sample of the kinds of changes that signal a first person form.

Paradigm

First Person Qal Suffix Conjugation Forms

Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
first person common singular	קָטַלְתִּי	qatalti	I killed
first person common plural	קָטַלְנוּ	qatalnu	we killed
first person common singular	אֶקְטֹל	‘eqtol	I will kill
first person common plural	נִקְטֹל	niqtol	we will kill

First Person Indepdent Personal Pronoun Forms

Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
first person common singular	אֲנִי / אָנֹכִי	‘ani / ‘anokhi	I
first person common plural	אֲנַחְנוּ	‘anahnu	we

First Person Object Pronoun Forms

Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
first person common singular	אֹתִי	‘othi	me
first person common plural	אֹתָנוּ	‘othanu	us

First Person Pronominal Suffix Forms

Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
first person common singular	לִי / - ִי	li / -i	(to) me
first person common plural	לָנוּ / -נוּ	lanu / - nu	(to) us

Neither English nor Biblical Hebrew distinguish between the inclusive and the exclusive “we”. The context will determine which one is meant. See also translationAcademy and translationNotes for help if the context is not clear.

Examples

Finite verb marked for first person

A finite verb (and/or verbal participle) in first person form indicates that the subject of the verb is the writer/speaker of the verb.

Example: GEN 28:15

עַ֚ד אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִם־עָשִׂ֔יתִי אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי לָֽךְ

‘ad ‘asher ‘im-‘asithi ‘eth ‘asher-dibbarti lakh

until then when_I-have-done [dir.obj] what_I-have-spoken to-you.

I will do all that I have promised to you.

Personal pronoun marked for first person

A first person independent personal pronoun refers either to the writer/speaker (for singular) or to an entire group to which the writer/speaker belongs (for plural).

Example: EXO 6:2

אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה

‘ani yehwah

I Yahweh.

I am Yahweh.

Pronominal suffix marked for first person

A first person pronominal suffix usually functions either as a personal pronoun (for verbs and prepositions) or as a possessive adjective (for nouns).

As attached to a verb

Example: 1SA 17:9

וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֖ם אֹתָֽנוּ׃

wa’avadtem ‘othanu

and-you-will-serve [dir.obj]-us.

then you will serve us.

As attached to a noun

Example: 2SA 19:4 (2SA 19:1 in Hebrew)

בְּנִ֤י אַבְשָׁלֹום֙ בְּנִ֣י בְנִ֣י

beni ‘avshalowm beni veni

My-son Absalom my-son my-son.

My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!

As attached to a preposition

Example: ISA 46:9

וְאֶ֥פֶס כָּמֹֽונִי׃

we’efes kamowni

and-none like-me.

and there is no one like me.

Example: EXO 19:5

כִּי־לִ֖י כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

ki-li kol-ha’arets

for_to-me all_the-earth.

for all the earth is mine.