IS THE HEBREW WORD "LAMO"
ALWAYS PLURAL?
Some people say that the Hebrew word
“LAMO" (לָמוֹ)
is always plural, in other words, is always the union of the preposition
"LE" (לְ)
with the personal pronoun of the third person plural, “HEM" (הֵם),
in other words, is always equivalent to (לָהֶם), that means
"OF THEM", or “TO THEM” or “FOR THEM”.
However, in Isaiah 44:15 the word
"LAMO" (לָמוֹ)
is used as singular, in other words, as the union of the preposition
"LE" (לְ)
with the personal pronoun of the third person singular, “HU" (הוּא),
in other words, as equivalent to “LO" (לוֹ), that means
"OF HIM", or "TO HIM", or “FOR HIM”, because it refers to a
singular word, “PESSEL" (פֶּסֶל).
Therefore, we see that the Hebrew word
“LAMO" (לָמוֹ)
can be used as plural or as singular, in other words, it can be the union of the
preposition "LE” (לְ)
with the personal pronoun of the third person plural, “HEM" (הֵם),
and also can be the union of the preposition "LE" (לְ) with the personal
pronoun of the third person singular, “HU" (הוּא), in other words,
it can be equivalent to “LAHEM" (לָהֶם), that means
"OF THEM", or “TO THEM” or “FOR THEM”, and also can be equivalent to
“LO" (לוֹ),
that means "OF HIM", or "TO HIM" or “FOR HIM”.
Wherefore, in Isaiah 53:8 the Hebrew
word “LAMO" (לָמוֹ)
can be singular, in other words, can be the union of the preposition
"LE" (לְ)
with the personal pronoun of the third person singular, “HU" (הוּא),
in other words, can be equivalent to “LO" (לוֹ), that means
"OF HIM", or "TO HIM" or “FOR HIM”.
Similarly, in Psalms 11:7 the Hebraic
word “PANEIMO” (פָּנֵימוֹ)
is equivalent to “PANAIV” (פָּנָיו),
that means “HIS FACE”, and not to “PNEIHEM” (פְּנֵיהֵם),
that means “THEIR FACE”, because the suffix “MO” (מוֹ) is a suffix of
the personal pronoun of the third person, singular or plural.
Yahveh bless you.
João Paulo Fernandes Pontes.
Published in June 27, 2008.
Updated in August 10, 2011.
EN FRANÇAIS EN ESPAÑOL EM PORTUGUÊS בעיברית