In the English language the definite article refers to the word 'the,' and is often considered a seperate part of speech. In function, the definite article is an adjective that serves to point to a specific object out of a class of several possibilities('the man,' meaning only that one man will do), in contrast to the indefinite articles, 'a' or 'an,' which point to any out of a class of several possibilities ("a man" implies that any man will do). Some nouns, especially in the singular, do not take the indefinite article; e.g., 'ink,' 'oxygen,' 'grass.'
Definite nouns in biblical Hebrew are formed by appending the letter he before the noun, e.g., 'aretz, 'land' while ha'aretz is 'the land.' The adjectives defining the nouns must also agree in definiteness or indefiniteness with the nouns.
NT Greek has a definite article (ho) but no indefinite articles. The definite article is also inflected to agree with the case, gender and number of the noun that it qualifies. (For more on the Greek definite article, see ho.)
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