HEBREW · LESSON 20
שְׁמֹר · שָׁמוֹר
Qal Infinitives — Construct and Absolute
Hebrew has two infinitives, not one. The construct is the workhorse — verbal noun, prepositions, suffixes. The absolute is the underline — emphatic, idiomatic, oracular. One root, two forms, two distinct jobs.
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The puzzle
Why Two Infinitives?
English has one infinitive — "to guard" — that does every infinitive job. It is the complement of another verb, the purpose clause, the subject of a sentence, and (with "surely") the idiomatic intensifier. One form, many uses.
Hebrew splits this work between two distinct forms. The infinitive construct handles the verbal-noun jobs: prepositions, suffixes, construct chains. The infinitive absolute handles the emphatic and idiomatic jobs: intensifying finite verbs, standing in for imperatives, modifying as an adverb.
Two forms. Two vocalizations. Two roles. Same root.
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Form 1
The Infinitive Construct
The more common of the two. A verbal noun — half noun, half verb. It can take a direct object (like a verb) but slot into a construct chain (like a noun).
It is the form that appears with prefixed prepositions (לְ, בְּ, כְּ), with pronominal suffixes, and as the complement of finite verbs.
שְׁמֹר
shemor — "to guard" / "the guarding"
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The form
Inf. Construct — Vocal Shewa + Holem
The Qal infinitive construct has a stripped-down shape: vocal shewa under the first consonant, plain holem after the second. Three consonants, two vowels.
שְׁמֹר
shemor
to guard (root שׁמר)
כְּתֹב
ketov
to write (root כתב)
מְלֹךְ
melokh
to reign (root מלך)
קְטֹל
qetol
to kill (root קטל)
Look familiar? It's identical to the 2ms imperative. Context — especially a preposition prefix — distinguishes them.
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Preposition לְ — purpose
"In Order To" — Inf. Cstr. with לְ
The most common use of the infinitive construct: prefixed with לְ to express purpose or as the complement of another verb.
לִשְׁמֹר
lishmor
to guard / in order to guard
לִכְתֹּב
likhtov
to write
שָׁמַרְתִּי לִשְׁמֹר
"I undertook to guard" — finite verb + infinitive complement. Half noun, half verb: it still takes a direct object with אֶת.
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Preposition בְּ — temporal
"When..." — Inf. Cstr. with בְּ
Prefix בְּ ("in") to the infinitive construct, and you get a temporal clause: "when X happens / happened."
בִּשְׁמֹר
bishmor
when guarding / in (the) guarding
בִּכְתֹּב
bikhtov
when writing
בְּבוֹא
bevo
when (he) came (irregular בּוֹא)
בִּשְׁמֹר־דָּוִד אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה
"When David guarded the torah." The subject (David) follows the infinitive directly; the object follows with אֶת. Translate as a subordinate clause with "when."
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Preposition כְּ — "as / when"
"As..." — Inf. Cstr. with כְּ
Prefix כְּ ("like, as") to the infinitive construct, and you get a temporal clause emphasizing the moment or manner: "as X was happening," "when X occurred."
כִּשְׁמֹר
kishmor
as / when guarding
כִּכְתֹּב
kikhtov
as / when writing
כִּשְׁמֹעַ
kishmoa
as / when hearing
The בְּ and כְּ forms are interchangeable in many contexts; כְּ can foreground simultaneity ("just as," "the moment that").
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Pronominal suffixes
Whose Guarding? — Inf. Cstr. + Suffix
When the infinitive construct takes a pronominal suffix, the suffix represents the subject of the verbal action (not the object).
שָׁמְרִי
shomri
my guarding / (when) I guard
שָׁמְרְךָ
shomrekha
your guarding
שָׁמְרוֹ
shomro
his guarding
לְשָׁמְרִי
leshomri
for me to guard / so that I guard
בְּשָׁמְרְךָ
beshomrekha
when you guard / in your guarding
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Verbal noun
Inf. Cstr. in Construct Chains
Because the infinitive construct is a verbal noun, it can stand as the first member of a construct chain (Lesson 10). The following noun is normally the implied object of the verbal action.
שְׁמֹר תּוֹרָה
"Guarding (of) torah" — inf cstr + absolute noun. The infinitive heads a construct chain just as a noun would.
יוֹם מוֹת
"Day of (the) dying" — a noun followed by an infinitive construct. (Both inf cstr and inf abs can serve here, depending on root.)
Hybrid creature: noun grammatically, verb semantically. The Latin gerund and the Greek articular infinitive do similar work.
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The most common infinitive in the OT
לֵאמֹר — "Saying"
לֵאמֹר
le'mor — used more than 900 times in the Hebrew Bible
The infinitive construct of אָמַר ("to say") prefixed with לְ. Its job is to mark the beginning of direct speech — it announces, "what follows is a quotation."
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר
"And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying..." The signature opening of dozens of Pentateuchal paragraphs. English would render it with a colon and quotation marks.
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Form 2
The Infinitive Absolute
The second infinitive. Different vocalization. Different job. The emphatic and idiomatic infinitive.
It does not take prepositions, not take suffixes, not appear in construct chains. Its work is rhetorical: it intensifies finite verbs, stands in for imperatives, and modifies adverbially.
שָׁמוֹר
shamor — the same root, transformed
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The form
Inf. Absolute — Qamatz + Holem-Vav
The Qal infinitive absolute pattern: qamatz under the first consonant, holem-vav after the second. The "fat" form — long vowels both places.
שָׁמוֹר
shamor
to guard (root שׁמר)
כָּתוֹב
katov
to write (root כתב)
מָלוֹךְ
malokh
to reign (root מלך)
מוֹת
mot
to die (hollow root מות — contracted)
Memory hook: absolute = long vowels everywhere. Construct = reduced.
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The flagship use
שָׁמוֹר תִּשְׁמֹר — "You Shall Surely Guard"
Place the infinitive absolute directly before a finite verb of the same root, and the result is emphatic.
שָׁמוֹר תִּשְׁמֹר
Literally: "guarding you-shall-guard"
English: "you shall surely guard"
Whenever you see this pattern — inf absolute + finite verb of the same root — translate with "surely," "certainly," or "indeed." It is the Hebrew way of underlining the verb.
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Use 2 — solemn command
Inf. Absolute as Imperative
The infinitive absolute can stand in for an imperative — typically for solemn or programmatic commands. The Decalogue uses this construction.
שָׁמוֹר אֶת־יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת
"Keep the sabbath day." (Deut 5:12) The opening word is an infinitive absolute, not a finite imperative. The form lends an oracular weight to the command.
זָכוֹר אֶת־יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת
"Remember the sabbath day." (Exod 20:8) The Exodus parallel — same construction, different verb. Inf abs of זָכַר.
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The famous verse
Genesis 2:17 — Two Infinitives in One Verse
כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת
"For in the day you eat from it, you shall surely die."
- אֲכָלְךָ — inf. construct of אָכַל + 2ms suffix, prefixed by בְּ + יוֹם. "In the day of your eating." Temporal inf construct.
- מוֹת תָּמוּת — inf. absolute of מוּת + 2ms imperfect of the same root. Emphatic construction. "You shall surely die."
Both infinitives, side by side, in eight Hebrew words. The grammar carries the theological weight: when you eat (temporal), death is certain (emphatic).
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Use 3 — adverbial
The Adverbial Inf. Absolute
The infinitive absolute can also follow a finite verb as an adverbial complement, describing the manner of the action.
הָלוֹךְ
"Going" / "continually." Used as an adverb. וַיֵּלֶךְ הָלוֹךְ means "he went on going" — continuously, repeatedly.
הָלֹךְ וְשׁוֹב
"Going and returning" — i.e., "to and fro." Two infinitive absolutes paired as an adverbial expression. Common in descriptions of repeated motion.
The adverbial use shades into the emphatic. The line between them is thin — both depend on word order and context.
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Side by side
Construct vs Absolute — At a Glance
שְׁמֹר
infinitive construct
shemor — workhorse
שָׁמוֹר
infinitive absolute
shamor — emphatic
Construct:
takes prepositions (לְ, בְּ, כְּ), suffixes, construct chains; common verbal noun
Absolute:
no prepositions, no suffixes; intensifies finite verbs, substitutes for imperatives
Frequency:
construct in nearly every paragraph; absolute reserved for rhetorical weight
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⚠ Top errors
What Students Get Wrong
- Confusing the inf. cstr. with the imperative. Both are שְׁמֹר. Distinguished by context: a prefix preposition or suffix marks an infinitive; a bare form at the head of a clause is an imperative.
- Translating the emphatic construction literally. מוֹת תָּמוּת is "you shall surely die," not "to die you will die."
- Treating the suffix on inf. cstr. as the object. שָׁמְרִי = "my guarding" (subject), not "guard me" (object).
- Looking for prepositions on the inf. absolute. It doesn't take them. If the form has a prefix, it's an inf. construct.
- Missing לֵאמֹר. The most common infinitive in the OT. Always introduces direct speech.
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Five days
The Drill Plan
Day 1
Write inf. construct and inf. absolute for four roots: שׁמר, כתב, מלך, קטל.
Day 2
Drill inf. cstr. with לְ, בְּ, כְּ — three prepositions × four roots = twelve forms.
Day 3
Drill inf. cstr. with 1cs, 2ms, 3ms suffixes — three suffixes × two roots = six forms.
Day 4
Drill the emphatic construction (inf abs + finite verb) for each of four roots.
Day 5
Read Gen 2:17 and Deut 5:12 aloud. Parse every infinitive.
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Recap
What You Now Know
- Hebrew has two infinitives, not one — construct and absolute.
- Inf. construct (שְׁמֹר): verbal noun, takes prepositions, suffixes, slots into construct chains.
- Inf. construct + לְ: purpose / complement ("to guard").
- Inf. construct + בְּ / כְּ: temporal ("when guarding").
- Inf. construct + suffix: subject of the verbal action ("my guarding").
- לֵאמֹר: the most common infinitive — introduces direct speech.
- Inf. absolute (שָׁמוֹר): emphatic and idiomatic; no prefixes, no suffixes.
- Inf. absolute + finite verb: "surely / certainly" (Gen 2:17).
- Inf. absolute as imperative: solemn commands (Deut 5:12).
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Practice now
Parse These Phrases
לִשְׁמֹר
lishmor
inf cstr + לְ → "to guard / in order to guard"
בְּשָׁמְרְךָ
beshomrekha
inf cstr + 2ms suffix + בְּ → "when you guard"
לֵאמֹר
le'mor
inf cstr of אָמַר + לְ → "saying"
שָׁמוֹר תִּשְׁמֹר
shamor tishmor
inf abs + 2ms imperfect → "you shall surely guard"
מוֹת תָּמוּת
mot tamut
inf abs + 2ms imperfect → "you shall surely die" (Gen 2:17)
שָׁמוֹר אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת
shamor et-hashabbat
inf abs as imperative → "keep the sabbath" (Deut 5:12)
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End of Lesson 20
Both Infinitives Mastered
שְׁמֹר · שָׁמוֹר
Construct: the workhorse — prepositions, suffixes, construct chains, לֵאמֹר. Absolute: the underline — "surely die," "keep the sabbath," "to and fro." Two forms. One root. The full range of Hebrew infinitive expression.
Next lesson: the Qal participle — verbal adjectives that name actors, describe ongoing states, and complete your Qal toolkit.
Next: Lesson 21 · The Qal Active and Passive Participles
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