Gud kaller Abram

In Norwegian, nouns can take either the definite form (the) or the indefinite form (a/an). The indefinite form is used when referring to a noun in a general sense or for the first time, and is similar to the English "a/an" for singular nouns and "some" for plural nouns. Singular definite nouns are usually preceded by articles, which differ depending on the gender of the noun. The article "en" is used before masculine or feminine nouns, "ei" only before feminine nouns, "et" before neuter nouns.

The definite form is used when referring to a specific noun already known to the listener or reader, and it is formed differently than in English. In Norwegian, the definite form is created by adding a suffix to the end of the noun (-en for masculine nouns, -a or -en for feminine nouns, and -et for neuter nouns), rather than by using a separate word like "the" in English.

Examples from the text:

• "Tarah hadde tre sønner" (Tarah had three sons) - "sønner" is in the indefinite form, referring to sons in a general sense without specifying which sons. It is a plural noun, so there is no article.
• "Abram, Nahor og Haran. Haran hadde en sønn, Lot" (Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran had a son, Lot) - "en sønn" uses "en" to indicate "a son" in the indefinite form.
• "De stoppet i byen Harran og bodde der" (They stopped in the city of Harran and lived there) - "byen" is in the definite form, indicated by the suffix -en added to "by" (city), making it "the city." This specifies a particular city, Harran, which has been introduced by name.
• "Jeg gir dette landet til familien din" (I give this land to your family) - "landet" is in the definite form, with the suffix "-et" indicating that it is a specific land being talked about, which is Kanaan. "Familien" also is in the definite form, indicated by "-en", referring to a specific family, that of Abram.

The Verb Second (V2) rule in Norwegian mandates that the verb must appear in the second position in main clauses. In main clauses, the verb is placed in the second position, following the subject or any other sentence element like adverbials or objects when they lead the sentence. This rule applies regardless of the sentence component that starts the sentence, ensuring the verb always comes second.

Examples from the text:

• "Tarah hadde tre sønner: Abram, Nahor, og Haran." (Tarah had three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran.) - Here, "hadde" (had) is placed after the subject "Tarah," following the V2 rule.
• "En dag sa Gud til Abram..." (One day God said to Abram...) - The temporal adverbial phrase "En dag" (One day) leads the sentence, with the verb "sa" (said) coming next, illustrating the V2 rule with an adverbial start.
• "Abram dro som Gud sa" (Abram left as God said) - "dro" (left) immediately follows the subject "Abram," in accordance with the V2 rule.
• "Abram var 75 år da han dro fra Harran" (Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran) - The verb "var" (was) is the second element after "Abram," adhering to the V2 principle.
• "I Kanaan sa Gud til Abram..." (In Canaan God said to Abram...) - In this sentence, the location "I Kanaan" (In Canaan) starts off, followed by the verb "sa" (said), clearly demonstrating the V2 rule with a locative adverbial phrase leading the sentence.

The Past Perfect tense in Norwegian, or "Pluskvamperfekt," describes actions that were completed before another action in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary verb "å ha" (to have) in the past tense "hadde," followed by the past participle of the main verb. This construction is used to clarify the sequence of past events, indicating which event occurred first.

Examples from the text:

1. "Så dro Abram som Gud hadde sagt" (Then Abram left as God had said) - This example illustrates the use of the Past Perfect tense with "hadde sagt" (had said) to indicate that God's command came before Abram's departure. The action of God speaking to Abram occurred before Abram acted on those instructions.
2. "Han tok med seg Sarai, Lot, alt de eide, og folkene de hadde fått i Harran" (He took with him Sarai, Lot, all they owned, and the people they had acquired in Harran) - Here, "hadde fått" (had acquired) is used to denote that the action of acquiring people in Harran happened before the action of leaving with them to Canaan.