The Academy of the Hebrew Language Responds

Ronit Gadish Reviews “A Forgotten Hebrew Gem of Motion and Metaphor”

Author’s Note

My recent post, A Forgotten Hebrew Gem of Motion and Metaphor, explored the poetic and conceptual potential of the Biblical Hebrew phrase בְּסֹב as it appears in the 1957 poem “בסוב הרוח” (“When the Wind Turned”) by Israeli poet Nathan Alterman (1910–1970). In doing so, I took a few interpretive liberties — and made a few linguistic missteps — particularly in treating בְּסֹב as a lexical item and in referencing related forms. These arose from an attempt to engage with the language imaginatively, but they lacked grammatical precision.

I am deeply grateful to Ronit Gadish — who served as scientific secretary of the Academy of the Hebrew Language from 1999 to 2024 and is now a full member of the Academy — for her careful, generous, and illuminating response. I share her review below in full, in translation, so that readers may benefit from her authoritative clarifications.

And yes — I’m especially grateful for her sharp eye, including catching a few creative liberties I took — perhaps even inventing a word or two (מַסָּב, anyone?). Hebrew is a living language, after all, and sometimes it evolves faster than even the Academy can track.

Review by Ronit Gadish (English Translation)

The form בְּסֹב is not a dictionary entry but a grammatical construct: the preposition בְּ (“in/at”) combined with the infinitive of the verb סָבַב (“to turn, to go around”).

You can view the verb’s conjugation table, where the infinitive לָסֹב appears (nowadays, the infinitive is usually preceded by the preposition ל). In the table, you can display the forms with vowel points or select “Display in full spelling” (in which case the vav will appear): Verb Table – סָבַב.

In Biblical Hebrew, such constructions (ב + infinitive) are commonly used to introduce temporal clauses. For example:

• ‘בצאת ישראל ממצרים’
  = …כאשר יצאו ישראל ממצרים
  = When Israel went out of Egypt…
• (דברים לא, יא) ‘…בְּבוֹא כׇל יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵרָאוֹת אֶת פְּנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחָר תִּקְרָא אֶת הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת’
  = …כאשר באו כל ישראל להיראות את פני ה׳
  = When all Israel comes…
• (יונה ד, ז) ‘וַיְמַן הָאֱלֹהִים תּוֹלַעַת בַּעֲלוֹת הַשַּׁחַר לַמׇּחֳרָת וַתַּךְ אֶת הַקִּיקָיוֹן וַיִּיבָשׁ’
  = …בשעה שעלה השחר…
  = …when dawn rose…
• (שמות טז, ח) ‘…וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה בְּתֵת ה׳ לָכֶם בָּעֶרֶב בָּשָׂר לֶאֱכֹל וְלֶחֶם בַּבֹּקֶר לִשְׂבֹּעַ בִּשְׁמֹעַ ה׳ אֶת תְּלֻנֹּתֵיכֶם’
  = …כשה׳ נותן לכם… כשה׳ שומע את תלונותיכם…
  = …when G-d gives you… when G-d hears your complaints…
• בְּקוּם רְשָׁעִים יִסָּתֵר אָדָם וּבְאׇבְדָם יִרְבּוּ צַדִּיקִים‘ (משלי כח, כח)’
  = בשעה שרשעים קמים… בשעה שהם אובדים…
  = …when the wicked rise…
• בְּהִתְהַלֶּכְךָ תַּנְחֶה אֹתָךְ בְּשׇׁכְבְּךָ תִּשְׁמֹר עָלֶיךָ וַהֲקִיצוֹתָ הִיא תְשִׂיחֶךָ‘ (משלי ו​, כב)’
• בִּנְפֹל אוֹיִבְךָ אַל תִּשְׂמָח‘ (משלי ​כד, יז)’
• שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת בְּשׁוּב ה׳ אֶת שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים‘ (תהלים ק​כו, א)’

And many more.

This structure still appears in elevated modern Hebrew or in fixed expressions like בעלות השחר (“at dawn”) or ברדת החשכה (“at nightfall”). It’s therefore unsurprising that you encountered בסוב (“in the turn of”) in contexts such as the title of a poem by Nathan Alterman.

The verb סָבַב has multiple usages documented in dictionaries, and all are applicable to the infinitive as well.

As you noted, many words derive from the root ס־ב־ב, including סיבה (reason), סיבוב (turn, revolution), מסיבה (party), נסיבות (circumstances), הסבה (conversion), סביב (around), נָסַב (was turned), לְסוֹבֵב (to rotate), לְהִסְתּוֹבֵב (to wander), סביבון (dreidel), and more.

A few specific notes on your article:

• The correct vocalization is בְּסֹב — with a sheva under the bet, not a patach.
• There is no etymological or grammatical connection between בְּסֹב (preposition + infinitive) and בְּסוֹף (preposition + noun, meaning “in the end”). The latter is analogous to בהתחלה (“at the start”), באמצע (“in the middle”), or בזמן (“during”).
• I am unfamiliar with the terms מַסָּב and הִסֵּב that you mentioned in your article.

Best regards,
Ronit Gadish

Closing Reflection

I’m honored that an esteemed linguist like Ronit Gadish took the time to engage with my work. Her clarifications deepen our understanding not only of the word בְּסֹב, but of the subtle mechanics of Biblical syntax and the interpretive range of the root ס־ב־ב. Even where I may have overreached — such as inadvertently coining new terms like מַסָּב — I hope the article reflects the curiosity and creative spirit that Hebrew continues to inspire.

The Hebrew language is not only ancient and sacred, but alive — and its living pulse is felt most clearly in this kind of dialogue between precision and imagination.