Hebrew Form Guide

וּגְדֹלָ֖יו (ū·ḡə·ḏō·lāw) in Jonah 3:7: Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular

וּגְדֹלָ֖יו (ū·ḡə·ḏō·lāw) in Jonah 3:7

Source Word

וּגְדֹלָ֖יוū·ḡə·ḏō·lāwConjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular

At Jonah 3:7, the Jonah 3:7 source token וּגְדֹלָ֖יו is H1419, Conj-w | Adj-mpc | 3ms. The H1419 Jonah 3:7 BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

And his nobles expresses the coordinated plural officeholders more naturally than and his great ones. The proclamation presents the city's highest ruler and his leading officials together behind the call to fast and turn from violence.

How To Communicate It

Show how great ones becomes nobles through substantival use, then distinguish official association from any claim about each leader's heart.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not translate the adjective as morally great, and do not infer a complete Ninevite government structure from the suffix and conjunction.
  • Substantival great ones can denote prominent officials without specifying their titles or institutional powers.
  • Read and his nobles within Jonah 3:7 as the H1419 occurrence; broader theology requires the passage.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-nominal

Part of Speech

Adjective

Form Label

Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular

Stem

Not applicable

Aspect

Not applicable

Person

Not applicable

Gender

Masculine

Number

Plural

State

Construct

Attached Prefixes

Waw conjunction

Suffix

3Ms

Aspect Note

This nominal expression has no aspect; it identifies a coordinated authority group within the decree formula.

Verse Role

A masculine plural construct adjective functions as a noun, the suffix supplies his, and waw coordinates the nobles with the king.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The king as the singular reference point whose nobles join him in the decree's stated authority

Governed By

The official proclamation issued after Nineveh's king responds to Jonah's warning

Role In The Phrase

The waw joins the king and the substantival plural adjective great ones, while the third masculine singular suffix relates the nobles to him.

What It Is Not Doing

The adjective does not praise the nobles' character, and conjunction with the king does not establish equal rank, identical motives, or unanimous authorship.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

Moderate: The proclamation presents the city's highest ruler and his leading officials together behind the call to fast and turn from violence.

Syntax Profile

A masculine plural construct adjective functions as a noun, the suffix supplies his, and waw coordinates the nobles with the king.. The waw joins the king and the substantival plural adjective great ones, while the third masculine singular suffix relates the nobles to him.. Attached to the king as the singular reference point whose nobles join him in the decree's stated authority. Governed by the official proclamation issued after Nineveh's king responds to Jonah's warning. The adjective does not praise the nobles' character, and conjunction with the king does not establish equal rank, identical motives, or unanimous authorship.

Reader Question

How does an adjective meaning great become his nobles in Jonah 3:7? The plural adjective functions as a noun for leading people, and its suffix relates those officials to the king.

Translation Effect

Direct: And his nobles expresses the coordinated plural officeholders more naturally than and his great ones.

Where Caution Is Needed

Substantival great ones can denote prominent officials without specifying their titles or institutional powers. The suffix may express association with the king, but it does not reduce the nobles to personal property.

Fallacies To Avoid

Great ones means virtuous leaders: The form marks prominence and office, not moral quality. and proves equal authority: Coordination places king and nobles in the decree formula without defining their relative powers. morphology replaces literary context: The H1419 form clarifies the and his nobles relation in Jonah 3:7; the surrounding passage establishes its scope.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

At Jonah 3:7, the Jonah 3:7 source token וּגְדֹלָ֖יו is H1419, Conj-w | Adj-mpc | 3ms. The H1419 Jonah 3:7 BSB+ word table row therefore anchors this guide.

Lexical Identity

גָּדוֹל is the lemma behind and his nobles here. Within Jonah 3:7, H1419 retains this exact lexical identity.

Grammar In Context

A masculine plural construct adjective functions as a noun, the suffix supplies his, and waw coordinates the nobles with the king.

Passage Meaning

The proclamation presents the city's highest ruler and his leading officials together behind the call to fast and turn from violence.

Canonical Fit

Jonah 3 includes rulers in Nineveh's public humbling while stressing that God responds to the people's actual turning from evil.

Communication Use

Show how great ones becomes nobles through substantival use, then distinguish official association from any claim about each leader's heart.

Do Not Derive

Do not translate the adjective as morally great, and do not infer a complete Ninevite government structure from the suffix and conjunction.