“Nethinims” or “Nethinim” in 1 Chronicles 9:2 et al.?

"Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims." (1 Chronicles 9:2, KJV)

Critics claim that “Nethinim” is already plural in Hebrew and that adding an “s” at the end is grammatically incorrect. However, “Nethinim” is a foreign word that was imported into English. Foreign rules of grammar do not apply to words that are imported into English. For example, the Latin plural form of “factum” is “facta.” However, an appropriate plural form of “factum” in English is “factums” (Oxford English Dictionary). Chinese and Japanese nouns do not have plural forms. Thus a Chinese word such as "wonton" and the Japanese word "ninja" do not need suffixes to become plural in their respective languages. However, it is common and acceptable for English speakers to add the "s" after these words to make them plural. Creating a plural form that ends with an “s” for an imported word may be preferable since English readers may not be familiar with foreign grammar.

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