Person Second¶

Summary¶

The second person form of a term refers to the person(s) being addressed by a writer or speaker.

Article¶

In English, the second person pronouns are “you” and “your,” used for both singular and plural. In Biblical Hebrew, terms which are marked for second personal can change form according to both gender (masculine and feminine) and number (singular or plural). In Biblical Hebrew, verbs, pronouns, and pronominal suffixes can all be marked for second person.

Neither English nor Hebrew have a formal second person address. In many languages (including German, Spanish, and French), a speaker addresses God using an informal address. In some other languages, such as Dutch, a speaker addresses God using a formal address. For more information, see translationAcademy and translationNotes.

Form¶

In Biblical Hebrew, a term marked for second 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 second person form.

Paradigm¶

Second Person Qal Suffix Conjugation Forms¶
Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
second person masculine singular	קָטַלְתָּ	qatalta	you killed
second person feminine singular	קָטַלְתְּ	qatalt	you killed
second person masculine plural	קְטַלְתֶּם	qetaltem	you killed
second person feminine plural	קְטַלְתֶּן	qetalten	you killed

Second Person Qal Prefix Conjugation Forms¶
Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
second person masculine singular	תִּקְטֹל	tiqtol	you will kill
second person feminine singular	תִּקְטְלִי	tiqteli	you will kill
second person masculine plural	תִּקְטְלוּ	tiqtelu	you will kill
second person feminine plural	תִּקְטֹלְנָה	tiqtolenah	you will kill

Second Person Independent Personal Pronoun Forms¶
Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
second person masculine singular	אַתָּה	‘attah	you
second person feminine singular	אַתְּ	‘at	you
second person masculine plural	אַתֶּם	‘attem	you
second person feminine plural	אַתֵּנָה	‘attenah	you

Second Person Object Pronoun Forms¶
Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
second person masculine singular	אֹתְךָ	‘othekha	you
second person feminine singular	אֹתָךְ	‘othakh	you
second person masculine plural	אֹתְכֶֶם	‘othekhem	you
second person feminine plural	אֹתְכֶֶן	‘othekhen	you

Second Person Pronominal Suffix Forms¶
Parsing	Hebrew	Transliteration	Gloss
second person masculine singular	לְךָ / - ְךָ	lekha / -ekha	(to) you
second person feminine singular	לָךְ / - ָךְ	lakh / -akh	(to) you
second person masculine plural	לָכֶם / -כֶם	lakhem / -khem	(to) you
second person feminine plural	לָכֶן / -כֶן	lakhen / -khen	(to) you

Examples¶

Finite verb marked for second person¶

A finite verb (and/or verbal participle) in second person form indicates that the subject of the verb is the person(s) being addressed by the writer/speaker.

Example: GEN 22:18¶
עֵ֕קֶב אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ בְּ⁠קֹלִֽ⁠י
because that you-have-obeyed on-voice-of-me.
because you listened to my voice.

Personal pronoun marked for second person¶

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

Example: JER 12:1¶
צַדִּ֤יק אַתָּה֙
tsaddiq ‘attah
righteous you
you are righteous

Pronominal suffix marked for second person¶

A second 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: 2CH 15:2¶
וְאִֽם־תִּדְרְשֻׁ֨הוּ֙ יִמָּצֵ֣א לָכֶ֔ם
we’im-tidreshuhu yimmatse lakhem
And-if_you-seek-him he-will-be-found by-you
If you seek him, he will be found by you

As attached to a noun ¶

Example: 1CH 29:12¶
וּבְיָדְךָ֖ כֹּ֣חַ וּגְבוּרָ֑ה
uveyodkha koah ugevurah
and-in-your-hand power and-strength.
In your hand is power and might.

As attached to a preposition ¶

Example: GEN 6:20¶
שְׁנַ֧יִם מִכֹּ֛ל יָבֹ֥אוּ אֵלֶ֖יךָ
shenayim mikkol yavo’u ‘eleykha
two of-all will-come to-you
two of every sort will come to you

Example: PSA 74:16¶
לְךָ֣ יֹ֭ום אַף־לְךָ֥ לָ֑יְלָה
lekha yowm ‘af-lekha laylah
To-you day also_to-you night
The day is yours, and the night is yours also