Bible Lexicons

1. The infinitive construct, like the infinitive absolute, may also represent a nomen verbale (§45a), but of a much more flexible character than the infinitive absolute (cf. §113a). Its close relation with nouns properly so called is especially seen in the readiness with which the infinitive construct may be used for any case whatever; thus,

(a) As the nominative of the subject, e.g. Genesis 2:18 לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָֽאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ‎, literally, not good is the being of man in his separation; Genesis 30:15, 1 Samuel 23:20, Isaiah 7:13, Proverbs 17:26, Proverbs 25:7, 24 (but cf. 21:9 טוֹב לָשֶׁ֫בֶת‎ in the same statement); Psalms 32:9 prop. there is not a coming near unto thee, but the text is probably corrupt. With a feminine predicate, 1 Samuel 18:23, Jeremiah 2:17.

(b) As genitive, e.g. Ecclesiastes 3:4 עֵת סְפוֹד וְעֵת רְקוֹד‎ a time of mourning and a time of dancing; Genesis 2:17, Genesis 29:7, Nehemiah 12:46, 2 Chronicles 24:14. This equally includes, according to §101a, all those cases in which the infinitive construct depends on a preposition (see below, d) [and Driver, Tenses, § 206].

(c) As accusative of the object, e.g. 1 Kings 3:7 לֹא אֵדַע צֵאת וָבֹא‎ I know not the going out or the coming in (I know not how to go out and come in); Genesis 21:6, Genesis 31:28, Numbers 20:21, Isaiah 1:14, Isaiah 37:28 (even with אֵת‎), Jeremiah 6:15, Job 15:22 (cf. for the use of the infinitive absolute as object, §113f); as accusative with a verb expressing fullness, Isaiah 11:9.

2. The construction of the infinitive with prepositions (as in Greek, ἐν τῷ εἶναι, διὰ τὸ εἶναι, &c.) may usually be resolved in English into the finite verb with a conjunction, e.g. Numbers 35:19 בְּפִגְעוֹ־בוֹ‎ in his meeting him, i.e. if (as soon as) he meets him; Genesis 27:45 (עַד־שׁוּב‎); Isaiah 30:12 יַ֫עַן מָֽאָסְכֶם‎ because ye despise; Jeremiah 2:35 עַל־אָמְרֵךְ‎ because thou sayest; Genesis 27:1 and his eyes were dim מֵרְאֹת‎ from seeing, i.e. so that he could not see.

This use of the infinitive construct is especially frequent in connexion with בְּ‎ or כְּ‍‎ to express time-determinations (in English resolved into a temporal clause, as above the combination of the infinitive with יַ֫עַן‎ or עַל־‎ is resolved into a causal clause), especially after וַיְהִי‎ (see the examples, §111g), e.g. 1 Samuel 2:27 בִּֽהְיוֹתָם בְּמִצְרַ֫יִם‎ when they were in Egypt; Genesis 24:30 וַיְהִי כִרְאֹת אֶת־הַנֶּ֫זֶם... וּכְשְׁמְעוֹ וג׳‎ and it came to pass, when he saw (prop. in the seeing) the ring..., and when he heard (prop. in his hearing), &c.

But by far the most frequent is the connexion of the infinitive construct with לְ‎.^[1] Starting from the fundamental meaning of לְ‎, i.e. direction towards something, infinitives with לְ‎ serve to express the most varied ideas of purpose or aim, and very commonly also (with a weakening or a complete disregard of the original meaning of the לְ‎) to introduce the object of an action, or finally even (like the infinitive absolute used adverbially, §113h, and the Latin gerund in -ndo) to state motives or attendant circumstances. See the instances in the Remarks.

Rem. 1. The original meaning of the לְ‎ is most plainly seen in those infinitives with לְ‎ which expressly state a purpose (hence as the equivalent of a final clause), e.g. Genesis 11:5 and the Lord came down, לִרְאֹת אֶת־הָעִיר‎ to see the city; also with a change of subject, e.g. 2 Samuel 12:10 and thou hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite לִֽהְיוֹת לְךָ לְאִשָּׁה‎ to be (i.e. that she may be) thy wife; cf. Genesis 28:4, Jeremiah 38:26 (לָמוּת‎).—If there is a special emphasis on the infinitive with לְ‎, it is placed, with its complement, before the governing verb, e.g. Genesis 42:9, Genesis 47:4, Numbers 22:20, Joshua 2:3, 1 Samuel 16:2 with בּוֹא‎; Judges 15:10, 1 Samuel 17:25 with עָלָה‎.

2. Just as clearly the idea of aiming at a definite purpose or turning towards an object may be seen in the combination of the verb הָיָה‎ to be, with לְ‎ and an infinitive. In fact הָיָה לַֽעֲשׂוֹת‎ may mean, either (a) he was in the act of, he was about to (as it were, he set himself), he was ready, to do something, or (b) he or it was appointed or compelled, &c., to do the action in question. In the latter case הָיָה לַֽעֲשׂוֹת‎ corresponds to the Latin faciendum erat, cf. also the English I am to go. In both cases הָיָה‎ (as elsewhere when copula) is often omitted.

Examples of (a) Genesis 15:12 וַיְהִי הַשֶּׁ֫מֶשׁ לָבוֹא‎ and when the sun was going down (just about to set); 2 Chronicles 26:5 וַיְהִי לִדְרשׁ אֱלֹהִים‎ and he set himself to seek God (here with the secondary idea of a continuous action); with the omission of הָיָה‎ Isaiah 38:20, יְהֹוָה לְהֽוֹשִׁיעֵ֫נִי‎ the Lord is ready to save me; 1 Samuel 14:21 (?), Jeremiah 51:49, Psalms 25:14 (et foedus suum manifestaturus est eis); Proverbs 18:24 (?), 19:8 (לִמְצֹא‎ consecuturus est, unless we simply read יִמְצָא‎ with the LXX)^[2]; 20:25, Ecclesiastes 3:15 אֲשֶׁר לִֽהְיוֹת‎ quod futurum est; 2 Chronicles 11:22, 2 Chronicles 12:12 (in a negative statement); in a question, Esther 7:8 (will he even... ?). Cf. also 1 Samuel 4:19.

Of (b) Joshua 2:5 וַיְהִי הַשַּׁ֫עַר לִסְגּוֹר‎ and the gate was to be shut (had to be shut); Isaiah 37:26, Psalms 109:13.^[3] Mostly with the omission of הָיָה‎, e.g. 2 Kings 4:13 מֶה לַֽעֲשׂוֹת לָךְ וג׳‎ what is to be done for thee? (הֲיֵשׁ לְדַבֶּר־לָךְ‎) wouldest thou be (lit. is it to be) spoken for to the king, &c.? 2 Kings 13:19 לְהַכּוֹת‎ it was to smite equivalent to thou shouldest have smitten; Isaiah 5:4, Psalms 32:9, Psalms 68:19 (?), Job 30:6 (habitandum est iis), 1 Chronicles 9:25, 1 Chronicles 10:13, 1 Chronicles 22:5, 2 Chronicles 8:13 (?), 11:22, 19:2, 36:19 (?), Hosea 9:13, Habakkuk 1:17. In a question 2 Chronicles 19:2; after לֹא‎ 1 Chronicles 5:1, 1 Chronicles 15:2; after אֵין‎ 1 Chronicles 23:26, 2 Chronicles 5:11 and frequently.

Of the same kind also are the cases, in which the infinitive with לְ‎ depends on the idea of an obligation or permission (or prohibition); especially in such forms of expression as 2 Samuel 18:11 עָלַי לָ֫תֶת לְךָ וג׳‎ it was upon me, i.e. it would have been my duty to give thee, &c.^[4]; cf. Micah 3:1 (2 Chronicles 13:5) it is not for you to (i.e. are ye not bound to)?^[5] with a negative, 2 Chronicles 26:18 לֹא לְךָ וג׳‎ it pertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but only to the priests; also אֵין לְ‎ with an infinitive expresses it is not permitted (nefas est), may not, e.g. Esther 4:2 כִּי אֵין לָבוֹא‎ for none might enter; 8:8, 1 Chronicles 15:2;^[6] אֵין לְ‎ with an infinitive is used in a somewhat different sense, equivalent to it is not feasible, not possible, e.g. in Psalms 40:6, Ecclesiastes 3:14, 2 Chronicles 5:11.^[7]—With either meaning לֹא‎ can be used instead of אֵין‎, e.g. Amos 6:10 לֹא לְהַזְכִּיר‎ nefas est, to make mention of the name of the Lord: but Judges 1:19 for it was not possible to drive out, &c., perhaps, however, the text originally stood as in Joshua 17:12 לֹא יָֽכְלוּ לְה׳‎; 1 Chronicles 15:2. 3. A further class comprises the very numerous cases, in which the infinitive with לְ‎ is used as the object^[8] of a governing verb, hence, again, for the direction which an action takes. The verbs (or conjugations) which occur most frequently in this combination with לְ‎ and an infinitive are: הֵחֵל‎ (with an infinitive without לְ‎, e.g. Deuteronomy 2:25, 31, Joshua 3:7), הוֹאִיל‎ to begin, הוֹסִיף‎, יָסַף‎ (prop. to add) to continue, very frequently, even in prose, with an infinitive without לְ‎, as Genesis 4:12, Genesis 8:10, 12, 37:5, 1 Samuel 3:8, Job 27:1, &c.; חָדַל‎ to cease from, to desist; כִּלָּה‎ to complete, to make an end of; תָּמַם‎ to be finished; הִקְרִיב‎ to come near to, Genesis 12:11; מִהַר‎ to hasten (with an infinitive without לְ‎ Exodus 2:18); אָבָה‎ to be willing (with an infinitive without לְ‎ Isaiah 28:12, Isaiah 30:9, Job 39:9); חָפֵץ‎ to will, to desire; מֵאֵן‎ to refuse (to be unwilling); בִּקֵּשׁ‎ to seek; יָכֹל‎ to be able (with an infinitive without לְ‎, e.g. Genesis 24:50, Genesis 37:4, Exodus 2:3, Exodus 18:23, Numbers 22:38, Job 4:2); נָתַן‎ with an accusative of the person in the sense of to give up to some one, to cause, or permit him to do something, e.g. Genesis 20:6, Psalms 16:11 (with an infinitive abs. Job 9:18, see §113d), יָדַע‎ to understand how to do something (in Job 3:8 הָֽעֲתִידִם עֹיֵר‎ is analogous); לָמַד‎ to learn; קִוָּה‎ to wait, expect (with a change of subject, e.g. Isaiah 5:2 and he waited for it to bring forth grapes).

We must further mention here a number of verbs in Hiphʿîl (partly denominatives), which express an action in some definite direction (cf. §53f), as הִגְּדִּיל‎ to do greatly, הִשְׁפִּיל‎ to make (it) low, הִגְבִּיהַּ‎ to make (it) high, הֶֽעֱמִיק‎ to make (it) deep, הִרְחִיק‎ to make (it) far, distant, הֵימִיב‎ to make (it) good (with an infinitive without לְ‎ Psalms 33:3, but 1 Samuel 16:17, in the same combination, with לְ‎); הִשְׁכִּים‎ to do anything early (Psalms 127:2, along with its opposite אֵחַר‎ to do something late, with an infinitive without לְ‎); הִרְבָּה‎ to make (it) much, הִפְלָא‎ to make (it) wonderful (even with a passive infinitive 2 Chronicles 26:15),^[9] &c. 4. Finally, the infinitive with לְ‎ is very frequently used in a much looser connexion to state motives, attendant circumstances, or otherwise to define more exactly. In English, such infinitive constructions (like the Latin gerund in -do; cf. f) must frequently be turned by that or a gerund; e.g. 1 Samuel 12:17 לִשְׁאֹל לָכֶם מֶלֶךְ‎ in asking you a king; 14:33, 19:5, 20:36, Genesis 3:22, Genesis 18:19, Genesis 34:7, 15, Exodus 23:2, Leviticus 5:4, 22, 26, 8:15, Numbers 14:36, 2 Samuel 3:10, 1 Kings 2:3 f., 14:8, Jeremiah 44:7 f., Psalms 63:3, Psalms 78:18, Psalms 101:8, Psalms 103:20, Psalms 104:14 f., 111:6, Proverbs 2:8, Proverbs 8:34, Proverbs 18:5, Nehemiah 13:18. Sometimes the infinitive with לְ‎ is used in this way simply by itself, e.g. 1 Chronicles 12:8 as the roes upon the mountains לְמַהֵר‎ (as regards hasting) in swiftness; Genesis 2:3, 2 Samuel 14:25 (לְהַלֵּל‎); Isaiah 21:1 (לַֽחֲלוֹף‎); Joel 2:26, Proverbs 2:2, Proverbs 26:2 and so very frequently the infinitive לֵאמֹר‎ dicendo which has become stereotyped as an adverb to introduce direct narration (in the sense of thus, as follows).^[10]

5. In a number of instances—especially in the later books—the infin. constr. with לְ‎ appears to be attached by Wāw (like the infinitive absolute, §113z), as the continuation of a previous finite verb. In most examples of this kind it is, however, evident that the infinitive with לְ‎ virtually depends on an idea of intention, effort, or being in the act of, which, according to the sense, is contained in what has preceded, whilst the copula, as sometimes also elsewhere, is used in an emphatic sense (and that too); thus e.g. Exodus 32:29 (if the text be right) fill your hand to-day (sc. with an offering) for the Lord... and that to bring a blessing upon you, i.e. that ye may be blessed; cf. 1 Samuel 25:31 (otherwise in verses 26 and 33 where the infinitive absolute is used, see §113e); Psalms 104:21,^[11] Job 34:8, Ecclesiastes 9:1, Nehemiah 8:13, 2 Chronicles 7:17.—In Leviticus 10:10 f. וּלְהַבְדִּיל‎ might be regarded as an explanatory addition to the command contained in verse 9 ^b (= this prohibition of wine before the service shall ye observe, and that in order to put a difference, &c.); but probably the text has been disturbed by a redacfor.—In 2 Chronicles 30:9 וְלָשׁוּב‎ depends on the idea of receiving favour which lies in לְרַֽחֲמִים‎. On the other hand, in 1 Samuel 8:12 it is sufficient to explain and in order to appoint them unto him for captains of thousands (sc. he will take them). In Isaiah 44:28 translate and he (Cyrus) shall perform all my pleasure, and that in saying of Jerusalem, &c.

3. The period of time to which an action or occurrence represented by the infinitive construct belongs, must sometimes be inferred from the context, or from the character of the principal tenses; cf. e.g. Genesis 2:4 these are the generations of the heaven and of the earth, בְּהִבָּֽרְאָם‎ when they were created (prop. in their being created); Judges 6:18 עַד־בֹּאִי וג׳‎ until I come unto thee, and bring forth, &c. Cf. 1 Samuel 18:19 (= when she should have been given); 2 Kings 2:1, Hosea 7:1.

Rem. 1. The constructions of the infinitive with a preposition, described above under d, are almost always continued in the further course of the narrative by means of the finite verb, i.e. by an independent sentence, not by a co-ordinate infinitive. Such a finite verb we regard as governed by a conjunction, which corresponds to the preposition standing before the infinitive. Thus the infinitival construction (frequently even with a change of subject) is continued by a perfect (with לֹא‎), Jeremiah 9:12 because they have forsaken (עַל־עָזְבָם‎) my law ... וְלֹא שָֽׁמְעוּ‎ and have not obeyed my voice; Genesis 39:10, 1 Samuel 24:12, Amos 1:9; without לֹא‎ Job 28:25 (perf. after לְ‎ and infin.); by a perfect with וְ‎ (cf. §112i and § v) Amos 1:11 עַל־רָדְפוֹ וג׳‎ because he did pursue his brother with the sword, וְשִׁחֵת‎ and did cast off continually all pity (a frequentative perfect; for examples of the perfect consecutive proper see Genesis 27:45, Judges 6:18, 1 Samuel 10:8, 2 Kings 18:32 [Isaiah 36:17], always after עַד־בֹּאִי‎ until I come); by a simple imperfect, e.g. Proverbs 1:27 (after בְּ‎); Isaiah 30:26 (after בְּיוֹם‎ in the day, a temporal phrase which has here become equivalent to a preposition); Isaiah 5:24 (after כְּ‍‎), 10:2, 13:9, 14:25, 45:1, 49:5, 1 Samuel 2:8, Proverbs 2:8, Proverbs 5:2, Proverbs 8:21 (always after לְ‎)^[12]; by an imperfect consecutive, e.g. Genesis 39:18 and it came to pass, כַּֽהֲרִימִי קוֹלִי וָֽאֶקְרָא‎ as I lifted up my voice and cried, that ...; 1 Kings 10:9, Job 38:13 (after לְ‎); 1 Kings 18:18, Isaiah 38:9, Job 38:7, 9 ff. (after בְּ‎); Isaiah 30:12, Jeremiah 7:13, Ezekiel 34:8 (after יַ֫עַן‎).

2. The negation of an infinitive construct, on account of the predominance of the noun-element in its character, is effected not by the verbal negative לֹא‎(except in the compound בְּלֹא‎, which has come to be used as a preposition, without, Numbers 35:23, Proverbs 19:2), but by בִּלְתִּי‎, originally a substantive (see the Lexicon), with לְ‎ prefixed (but also Numbers 14:16 מִבִּלְתִּי‎), e.g. Genesis 3:11 לְבִלְתִּי אֲכָל־מִמֶּ֫נּוּ‎ not to eat of it; in a final sense, 4:15 lest any finding him should smite him; only in 2 Kings 23:10 is לְ‎ repeated before the infinitive. In Psalms 32:9 (if the text be right) בַּל‎ negatives, not the infinitive, but the predicate which is understood.