הוּא · הִיא · אִנּוּן · דָא · דְנָה · אִלֵּךְ
ORIGINALBA-005
Biblical Aramaic · Pronouns and Reference
He, she, they, and demonstratives
BA-005Biblical AramaicAramaic of Daniel and Ezra
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE FIRST
הוּא · הִיא · אִנּוּן · דָא · דְנָה · אִלֵּךְ
Pedagogical transliterationhu · hi · innun · da · denah · illekh
Plain meaninghe/it · she/it · they · this (f.) · this (m.) · these
Pointing follows Miqra according to the Masorah (MAM). Cantillation is omitted on the lesson card for visual focus; the underlying evidence retains the complete source reading. Transliterations are pedagogical aids, not replacements for the source.WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT
He, she, they, and demonstratives
Biblical Aramaic does not use one undifferentiated set of ‘generic Aramaic’ pronouns. Daniel attests הוּא as a masculine singular pronoun, הִיא as feminine singular, and אִנּוּן as masculine plural. Its demonstratives include feminine דָא, masculine דְנָה, and plural אִלֵּךְ. Read each form in its own sentence before comparing it with later Aramaic dialects.
HEAR THIS LESSONListen to the full public explanation.Teacher narration is separate from original-language pronunciation.
Audio settings
SEE HOW IT WORKS
Keep the form, reading, and meaning together.
hu · hi · innun · da · denah · illekh
READINGPedagogical reading guide
he/it · she/it · they · this (f.) · this (m.) · these
MEANINGBiblical Aramaic
הוּא = 3ms · הִיא = 3fs · אִנּוּן = 3mp · דָא = demonstrative fs · דְנָה = demonstrative ms · אִלֵּךְ = demonstrative plural
EXAMPLES
Examples supplied by the approved curriculum.
Daniel 2:28 — דְּנָה הוּא — ‘this is it’ · Daniel 4:27 — דָא־הִיא בָּבֶל רַבְּתָא — ‘this is Babylon the great’ · Daniel 6:25 — רְמוֹ אִנּוּן — ‘they cast them’ · Daniel 3:23 — גֻבְרַיָּא אִלֵּךְ — ‘these men’
SOURCE REFERENCE
Daniel 2:28; 2:44; 3:23; 4:27; 6:25
APPROVED STUDY LAYERS
Source-specific guidance from the curriculum.
Learning objective
Identify third-person independent pronouns and demonstratives from attested Daniel forms, with gender and number kept distinct.
Morphology and syntax
OSHB analyses: הוּא APp3ms; הִיא APp3fs; אִנּוּן APp3mp; דָא APdxfs; דְנָה APdxms; אִלֵּךְ APdxcp/APdxmp according to occurrence.
Dialect boundary
Biblical Aramaic of Daniel and Ezra. Later Targumic, Jewish Babylonian, and Zoharic forms are not imported into this lesson.
Practice
Classify דָא, דְנָה, אִלֵּךְ, and אִנּוּן by function, gender, and number. Then explain why אִנּוּן in Daniel 6:25 is not a later-dialect import.
Answer key
דָא: demonstrative feminine singular; דְנָה: demonstrative masculine singular; אִלֵּךְ: demonstrative plural; אִנּוּן: independent pronoun masculine plural. אִנּוּן is legitimate here because it is directly attested in Daniel 6:25 and Daniel 2:44.
Source notes
All displayed forms occur in the cited Daniel verses in MAM and are independently identified in OSHB morphology.
REMEMBER