Abstract:
The particle 'et is most often used to mark definite direct objects. It
can also be used to mark other verbal extensions, and therefore it has been
called an object marker or nota accusativi. This, however, does not cover
the surprising instances where the particle is used as a marker of the so-called
nominative in Biblical Hebrew. This article investigates examples
of this strange phenomenon from a semantic point of view. The semantic
functions (according to S.C. Dik’s Functional Grammar) of the relevant
words are analyzed to demonstrate that there is a semantic pattern which
could offer a new solution to this problem.
