Further Biblical Hebrew

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Further Biblical Hebrew



Gorgias Handbooks

11

The Gorgias Handbooks series provides students and scholars withnecessary tools.



Further Biblical Hebrew

Explanations and Exercises

Fiona Blumfield

9 342009



Gorgias Press LLC, 180 Centennial Ave., Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

www.gorgiaspress.com

Copyright © by Gorgias Press LLC2009

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

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Printed in the United States of America

2009

9ISBN 978-1-59333-948-7 ISSN 1935-6838

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

Data

Blumfield, Fiona Eve.

Further biblical Hebrew : explanations and

exercises / Fiona Blumfield. -- 1st Gorgias

Press ed.

p. cm. -- (Gorgias handbooks ; v. 11)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Hebrew language--Textbooks for foreign

speakers--English. 2. Hebrew

language--Grammar--Textbooks. 3. Hebrew

language--Grammar--Problems, exercises, etc. 4.

Bible O.T.--Language, style. I. Title.

PJ4567.3.B58 2009

492.4'82421--dc22

2009031615



v

T ABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of contents.....................................................................................................v Foreword ................................................................................................................. ix

Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. xi Abbreviations ........................................................................................................xiii Part One: The Verb in Biblical Hebrew ............................................................15

Niphal.............................................................................................................15 Spot the Niphal.............................................................................................15

The relation between verbs lamed-’aleph and verbs lamed-hey ...........33 The relation between verbs " and " ................................................41 Uses of Niphal ..............................................................................................43

Views of medieval scholars on use of Niphal ..........................................52 Piel ..................................................................................................................68 Spot the Piel ..................................................................................................68 Uses of Piel....................................................................................................77

Views of medieval scholars on use of Piel ...............................................85 Polel, Polal, Hithpolel..................................................................................92

Hiphil............................................................................................................101 Try to recognise Hiphil verbs...................................................................101 Uses of Hiphil .............................................................................................109 a): Hiphil stems which express the obtaining or receiving of a

concrete or abstract quality.................................................................111 b): Stems which express in Hiphil the entering into a certain

condition and being in that condition...............................................112 c): Stems which express action in some particular direction. .............113

Views of medieval scholars on use of Hiphil.........................................115

Hithpael........................................................................................................126 Spot the Hithpael........................................................................................126 Uses of Hithpael.........................................................................................131 Exercise: identify the Hithpael verbs in the following biblical

verses; discuss their form and use. (see explanatory notes at theend). ........................................................................................................135

Views of medieval scholars on use of Hithpael.....................................138 the theory of the qal passive .....................................................................148 I: Supposed perfects of Pual...................................................................149

II: Apparent Hophal imperfects ..............................................................152 III: Apparent Pual participle forms without preformative mem. ........154



vi FURTHER BIBLICAL HEBREW

IV: Views of medieval scholars on the Qal Passive...............................155 Glossary of rabbinic Hebrew grammatical terminology ......................157

Brief biographical sketches of medieval scholars..................................158 Part Two: The Infinitives in Biblical Hebrew................................................163 Infinitive Absolute......................................................................................163 Infinitive Construct....................................................................................188 Exercise: identify the Infinitive Construct forms in the following

biblical verses; discuss their form and use........................................189 View of Medieval Scholars on the Form and Use of Infinitive

Absolute and Infinitive Construct .....................................................206 Part Three: Syntax ...............................................................................................221

final or purpose clauses .............................................................................221 The biblical origins of rabbinic Hebrew words for expressing purpose...................................................................................................231

Exercise: translate the following English sentences into fully pointed biblical Hebrew. .....................................................................235

Antithesis in Biblical Hebrew...................................................................237 Study the following biblical verses and analyse the various methods

used to express antithesis and/or contrast; explanatory notesare provided with each verse. .............................................................237

Exercise: translate the following English sentences into fully pointed biblical Hebrew. .....................................................................246 causal and explicative clauses....................................................................248 Exercise: study the following biblical verses and discuss/analyse

the various methods of formulating causal and explicativeclauses in biblical Hebrew. See explanatory notes at the end of the exercise. ...........................................................................................248

Exercise: translate the following English sentences into fully pointed biblical Hebrew. .....................................................................257

Questions and answers in biblical hebrew..............................................259 Exercise: spot the ‘hey interrogative’ in the following biblical versesand deduce the rules for the pointing of the ‘hey interrogative’;explanatory notes are found at the end.............................................259

Study the following biblical verses and discuss the formation of interrogative sentences in biblical Hebrew.......................................264

Study the following biblical verses and consider how answers toquestions are formulated in biblical Hebrew. ..................................268

Exercise: translate the following English interrogative sentences

into fully pointed biblical Hebrew; suggested translations will befound at the end....................................................................................273



T ABLE OF CONTENTS vii

Part Four: Use of Tenses in Biblical Hebrew .................................................275 Use Of Perfect/Qatal ................................................................................276

Exercise: in the following biblical verses, discuss/analyse uses of the Perfect/Qatal..................................................................................276 Use of Imperfect/Yiqtol ...........................................................................284 Exercise: in the following biblical verses discuss/analyse use of

Imperfect/Yiqtol ..................................................................................284 Views of medieval scholars on use of perfect and imperfect..............296 the use of participles in biblical hebrew..................................................310 Exercise: identify the participle forms in the following biblical

verses and discuss their use and function.; explanatory notes are

added. .....................................................................................................310 The form and use of the jussive in biblical hebrew ..............................314 Exercise: identify the Jussive in the following biblical verses and

analyse/discuss its function; explanatory notes are added.............314 Part Five: Poetic Hebrew/Elevated Style........................................................319

Introductory remarks.................................................................................319 A summary outline of the grammatical features of ‘elevated style’. ...320 Energic Nun and Unassimilated Engergic Nun (See GK 58 i, k, l;

WHG pp 130-131) ...............................................................................322

Exercise: in the following biblical verses, identify the verbalsuffixes with Energic Nun, both contracted and uncontracted.;explanatory notes are found at the end.............................................323

Rare forms of pronominal suffixes of the verb and noun...................325 Exercise; in the following biblical verses, identify the rare forms

, ,ו of the pronominal suffixes of the verb (with theperf. imperf. and imperat.); explanatory notes are added. .............326

Exercise: in the following biblical verses, identify the rare forms , ,ו of the pronominal suffixes with the noun..................329

Explanatory notes are added. ...................................................................329 Ḥireq compaginis........................................................................................331 Exercise: in the following biblical verses, spot the Ḥireq

Compaginis in nouns, adjectives and participles. note also theinstances where a preposition is inserted between the cstr. stateand its genitive; explanatory notes are added...................................332

Paragogic nun..............................................................................................336 Exercise: study the occurrence of Paragogic Nun in the following

biblical verses, noting its occurrence with and without the

pause, in both prose and poetic texts; explanatory notes areadded. .....................................................................................................336 A grammatical overview of the song of the sea ....................................339



viii FURTHER BIBLICAL HEBREW

(exodus 15:1-18) .........................................................................................339 Exodus 15:1.................................................................................................339

Exodus 15:2.................................................................................................342 Exodus 15:4.................................................................................................344 Exodus 15:5.................................................................................................345 Exodus 15:6.................................................................................................346 Exodus 15:7.................................................................................................347 Exodus 15:8.................................................................................................348 Exodus 15:9.................................................................................................348 Exodus 15:10...............................................................................................349 Exodus 15:11...............................................................................................349

Exodus 15:12...............................................................................................349 Exodus 15:13...............................................................................................350 Exodus 15:14...............................................................................................351 Exodus 15:15...............................................................................................352 Exodus 15:16...............................................................................................353 Exodus 15:17...............................................................................................354

Bibliography .........................................................................................................357 Index......................................................................................................................361



ix

FOREWORD

This book arose from the requirement to deliver lectures in Biblical Hebrew

Grammar to second and third year College students who had already com-

pleted a first year course in Biblical Hebrew Grammar using one of the ba-

sic textbooks which are available (e.g. Kelley, Pratico/Van Pelt, Weingreen

etc. see Bibliography). This book aims to help students make the transition

from the basic grammar books to the comprehensive reference grammarbooks (Gesenius-Kautzsch, Jouon/Muraoka etc, see Bibliography) and to

the Biblical Hebrew lexicons (BDB etc) and thereby facilitate a more ad-

vanced analysis of Biblical texts; there are many issues of Biblical interpreta-

tion for which a deeper understanding of Biblical Hebrew grammar is re-

quired than is possible to gain from the study of only a basic grammar

book.

Constant reference is made in this book not only to recent works of Grammar, but also to the grammatical comments of the medieval Jewish

exegetes, for the grammatical insights of these medieval scholars and the

modern grammarians often differ from each other only in terminology

rather than in substance.

Accordingly, this book features numerous examples of actual Biblical

verses, with no artificial Biblical Hebrew, and the grammatical explanations

are fully referenced to the modern grammar books, with the aim of

encouraging students to consult the reference grammar books and lexicons

for themselves. The comments of the medieval exegetes are presented in

the original Rabbinic Hebrew, but full translations and explanations are

provided.

Extensive “exercise” sections are presented based on biblical verses,

but the “answers/explanations” are always presented, either together with

the exercise, or at the end of the section; this enables students to use the

book for self-study.



x FURTHER BIBLICAL HEBREW

It is to be noted that this book is not offered in any manner as a com-

prehensive grammar book, but rather as a tool to facilitate a more advanced

analysis of Biblical Hebrew and to include material not completely coveredin the basic grammar books, such as: uses of verbal patterns and infinitive

forms, issues of syntax and features of ‘elevated style’, incorporating a small

study of the “Song of the Sea” (Exodus 15) from a grammatical perspective.

Since a central feature of this book are the numerous citations of

biblical verses to illustrate points of grammar, English translations to the

verses have in all cases been provided, with a view to enabling the student

better to grasp the points of grammar under discussion. Accordingly, the

priority has been the plain and literal meaning of the verse, so far as is

possible, often at the expense of more idiomatic English. Constant

reference has been made to the Bible translations cited below, but no one

published translation has been exclusively relied upn.

The published Bible translations consulted were:

The Jerusalem Bible. The English text revised and edited by Harold

Fisch. Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd. 2000.

The Jewish Study Bible. ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. JewishPublication Society Tanakh translation. OUP. 2004.

The Keter Crown Bible. Introduction by Raphael Jospe. Horev

Publishing House. 2004. Sole Distributors, Feldheim Publishers.

Fiona Blumfield

July 2008



xi

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe considerable gratitude to the following individuals:Rabbi Dr Irving Jacobs, emeritus Principal of Jews’ College, London

University, who taught me Midrash and Medieval Jewish Exegesis, and who

first asked me to deliver lectures in Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar,

which ultimately became the basis for this book.

Professor Geoffrey Khan, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Cambridge

University, who supervised my PhD thesis and who was always willing to

give his learned advice on matters relating to this book.

Chris Dillon, Faculty Information Support Officer for Arts and

Humanities and Laws, University College London, without whose expertise

and help so willingly given, the publication of this book would not have

been possible.

Katie Stott Ph.D. Production & Acquisitions Editor, Gorgias Press,

whose skills and devotion to the task were phenomenal.Dr Ada Rapoport-Albert, Head of Dept. of Hebrew and Jewish

Studies, University College London, who gave me the valued opportunity to

continue lecturing in Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar at UCL after the

degree programmes at Jews’ College/London School of Jewish Studies were

discontinued.

My long-enduring husband, Manny, and my daughters Penina and

Shoshana, who happily tolerated the many hours I devoted to this project.

This book is dedicated to the fond memory of my very dear father, Azriel Yoffey, son of Rabbi Israel Jacob Yoffey of Manchester, England,

who first taught me the Hebrew alphabet and who so greatly encouraged

me in Hebrew Studies over the years; to him belongs much of the credit for

all my achievements.

May he rest in peace.





xiii

A BBREVIATIONS

adj. adjective

adv. adverb

apoc. apocopated (shortened)

BCE Before Christian Era

c.pl. common pluralc.sg. common singular

cstr. construct (state)

Chron Chronicles

Deut Deuteronomy

def. art. definite article

Exod Exodus

fem. femininef.pl. feminine plural

f.sg. feminine singular

Gen Genesis

hapax hapaxlegomenon (a form attested only once in the Hebrew

Bible)

hey int. hey interrogative

imperat. imperative

imperf. imperfect

inf. abs. infinitive absolute

inf. cstr. infinitive construct

Lev Leviticus

lit. literally

masc. masculine

m.pl. masculine plural



xiv FURTHER BIBLICAL HEBREW

m.sg. masculine singular

n.f. noun feminine

n.m. noun masculine

Numb Numbers

part. participle

perf. perfect

Pesh. Peshitta (Syriac translation of the Hebrew Bible, perhaps c. 1st

cent. BCE)

pl. plural

prep. preposition

Ps Psalms

Sam Samuel

LXX Septuagint

sf. Suffix

vav conj. vav conjunctive

vav consec. vav consecutive Vulg Vulgate (Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible made by the

Church father Jerome c. 400 ce.)



15

P ART ONE: THE V ERB IN BIBLICAL HEBREW

(Morphology and Uses of Biblical Hebrew Verbal Patterns)

N IPHAL

Spot the Niphal

Study the following biblical verses.

PARSE and TRANSLATE all the NIPHAL verbs.

The student will find that the Niphal verbs occur in a logical order,

progressing from the regular through the various types of irregular

formations. The student may consult the verb tables in any reliable Biblical

Hebrew grammar book.

Explanatory notes are found at the end of the section.

The subsequent two sections, “the relation of verbs " to verbs " ”

and “the relation of verbs " to verbs " ” are of relevance to the

analysis of a few verbs in this section.

1 Exodus 22:9

-כ ור א-ן א ;--ו,-ור א-ו

ת או ר א-ו נ-נ,ר ן א

If a man gives his fellow a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any beast to guard, and

it dies or is injured or taken captive, with no witness.



16 FURTHER BIBLICAL HEBREW

2 Leviticus 25:23

אר תתו כאר בכ ו ת וא

The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine, for you are

strangers and sojourners with me.

3 Genesis 42:19

כנ רבאאאאא אואו בובב

If you are honest, let one of your brothers be imprisoned in the house of

your confinement and you go and bring grain for the hunger of your

households.

4 II Kings 18:10

כ תנק י קנ ת נ

ו אכ רונ

They captured it after three years; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the

ninth year of Hosea, king of Israel, Samaria was captured.

5 Jeremiah 7:10

אנובאת א קנר א

ו נ נ ואוב ו כא

And will you come and stand before Me in this Temple, upon which My

Name is called, and say, ‘we have been saved’, in order that you may do allthese abominations?



P ART ONE: THE V ERB IN BIBLICAL HEBREW 17

6 Genesis 6:6,7

אכי ת א א תיא7איאא ת א ת א ר א א א

רוכ נכת

The Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved

in His heart; and the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created

from upon the face of the earth, from man to beast to creeping things and

the birds of the air, for I regret that I made them.’

7 Isaiah 40:4

ר ר ו ו בק ו ו ב ר ו ו א א כ

בק

Every valley will be raised and every mountain and hill will be made low,

the uneven shall be a level and the rough places a plain.

8 Genesis 12:7

א אבי ךיאא אאר ת א אב

ארא

The Lord appeared to Abraham and said, ‘I will give this land to your seed’,

and he built there an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him.

9 Jeremiah 32:15

ובנו ו ו אא

Houses and fields and vineyards will be bought again in this land.




10 Genesis 41:32

וו נ .ר וא נ בכא ו את

As for the repetition of the dream to Pharoah twice, it is because the thing

is determined by G-d and G-d is hurrying to perform it.

11 II Samuel 1:6

יא רקנקנת ואן נת וברונ ק

The young man who was reporting to him said, ‘I happened to be on

Mount Gilboa and Saul was leaning on his spear, and the chariots and the

horsemen were pursuing him.’

12 Numbers 23:4

ר יאאיאב ת א

אא

G-d met Balaam and He said to him, ‘I have arranged the seven altars and I

have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.’

13 Psalm 109:14

אאאבתו ואא

May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the Lord and let not the

sin of his mother be blotted out.




14 Jeremiah 6:8

ר ו ר נן א ן אוב ו נ

Be chastened, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from you, lest I make

you a desolation, a land not inhabited.

15 I Kings 12:6

בי קנר ת א ר א נ ת א ו נואאאתאב ת א

בר

And King Rehoboam took counsel with the Elders who had stood before

his father while he was alive, saying, ‘how do you advise that I answer this

people?’

16 Psalm 130:4

ך כ

For with You is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.

17 I Kings 19:10

תר נבקבאנוא קאת

I alone have remained and they seek to take my life.

18 Deuteronomy 7:25

.או תאר וא ק בכו ואתו




You shall burn the statues of their gods in fire, you shall not desire the

silver or gold upon them and take it for yourself, lest you be ensnared by it,

for it is an abomination to the Lord your G-d.333

19 I Kings 2:46

נ ת א ו ן ייי ו

נ ו נ

And the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada and he went out andstruck him and he died; and the kingdom was established in the hand of

Solomon.

20 I Kings 2:12

תכאבכו

And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father and his kingdom was

firmly established.

21 Amos 4:12

כון א ת א קא

Prepare to meet your G-d, O Israel.

22 Exodus 15:15

ונבא בכנאואאאא

ן

Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified, as for the leaders of Moab,

trembling seized them, all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.




23 Psalm 17:5

תא ו ו נ

My steps have held firmly to your tracks, my feet have not slipped.

24 Psalm 15:5

ו נתכ אנקוא

ו

He does not give his money on interest and he does not take a bribe against

the innocent; he that does these things shall never be shaken.

25 Psalm 38:9

ת ו ו נת כ אונ

I am benumbed and crushed greatly, I roar from the groaning of my heart.

26 Joel 4:12

ו ר ו וואוכא

ו כ באת

Let the nations rouse themselves and go up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit to judge all the nations from round about.

27 Genesis 17:26

אבני ונ

On this very day, Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.




28 Amos 9:9

תואנכ ו נ ו ב ת א א אככבו א וורא

For I am about to command and I will toss the House of Israel among all

the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, and no pebble falls to the ground.

29 Ezekiel 20:43

ר ו ר ת א אות ו כאת א נת תנונק ו א

And you will remember there all your ways and all your deeds with which

you have been defiled, and you shall feel a loathing at yourselves for all your

evils which you have done.

30 Numbers 34:4

ב נובק

And your border shall turn southward of the ascent of Akrabbim.

31 Genesis 19:4

נאנואנכבר

They had not yet lain down when the men of the city, the men of Sodom

surrounded the house.

32 Psalm 97:5

ו נ ונ כ ר

The mountains melted like wax.




33 II Samuel 6:22

ת תאונק וו א ואר א אכב

And I will be yet more lightly esteemed than this, and I will be lowly in my

own eyes, and with the maidservants of whom you spoke, with them I will

be honoured.

34 Hosea 2:1

א כיאאו

And the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea

which may not be measured and may not be counted.

35 Amos 5:24

וכ תכו ..א

But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing

torrent.

36 Malachi 3:9

כקבאואתאראא

With the curse you are cursed and Me you are robbing, the whole nation.

37 Psalm 18:27

ת ו ר ת נבר

With the pure You show Yourself pure and with the twisted You deal

tortuously.




38 Leviticus 26:39

אר. . ונוראב ונ.ואאאאבת

And those who are left among you will rot away in their iniquity in the lands

of your enemies and even in the iniquities of their fathers with them they

will rot away.

39 Isaiah 50:5

תואנאתוא ור תא ו נ

The Lord G-d has opened for me an ear and I did not rebel, I did not turn

back.

40 Psalm 78:57

ו ות יבי ב א כנכקר

They turned back and acted treacherously, they changed like a deceitful

bow.

41 Micah 2:6

ן ו ו או כ א א ו א

‘Do not preach’, they preach; they shall not preach to these; reproaches do

not depart.

Explanatory notes for spot the Niphal

1 Exodus 22:9

ר נ Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. lit. “he/it was broken”; root בר




The participle would have qamets under the beth: ר נ

Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. lit. “he/it was taken captive”; rootנ ב . The participle would have segol under the beth: נ according to the

rules of verbs " .

2 Leviticus 25:23 (Jubilee Year)

Niphal imperf. 3 f.sg. “it/she will be sold”; rootת ר .

= put an end to, exterminate > ת ו ת n.f. = completion, finality

only in phrase, ת ו ת , ת ו ת = “in perpetuity”

3 Genesis 42:19 (Joseph to his brothers)

ר א Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. “he will be bound/imprisoned”; root ר .א

Note compensatory lengthening of ḥ ireq to tsere under prefix yod due to

absence of dagesh in the ’aleph (first root letter), according to rules of verbs

pe-guttural in Niphal.

4 II Kings 18:10

כ Niphal perf. 3 f.sg. “she/it was captured”; rootנ . 5 Jeremiah 7:10

נק Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. “it has been called”

Note that in verbs " the Niphal perf. and part. m.sg. have the same

form.

ו נ נ Niphal perf. 1 c.pl. “we have been saved”. Root .נ




Note the assimilation of the nun (first root letter) into the tsadi

(second root letter) according to the rules of verbs " .6 Genesis 6:6,7

י Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. “and he repented.”

נ Niphal perf. 1 c.sg. “I repented, regretted.”

Be careful not to confuse Niphal perfect and Piel perfect of the root .נNiphal perf. 3 m.sg. is (contracted fromנ ) (Amos 7:3 + 4 t)ננ

> pausal: נ

Niphal perf. 1 c.sg. is נ (contracted from .( ננ

The Piel perf. 3 m.sg. is also - (no contraction having taken place; noנ

tice the ‘virtual doubling’ of the middle root letter in the Piel, since it is a

guttural).

7 Isaiah 40:4

Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. “it will be lifted up”; root א .נ

קב adj. steep, hilly;

. rough placesר

8 Genesis 12:7

א י Niphal apocopated imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. “and he

appeared”

root רא The long form of the Niphal imperf. is

רא Niphal participle m.sg. + definite article; .רא




9 Jeremiah 32:15

ו נ Niphal imperf. 3 m.pl. “they will be bought,” root .קנ10 Genesis 41:32

ת ו נ Niphal infinitive construct; “being repeated”; root נ .

ון נ Niphal participle m.sg. “established, determined,” root ון .

11 II Samuel 1:6 (The Amalekite to David on the death of Saul and Jonathan at Mount Gilboa).

נקרא Niphal infinitive absolute; .קרא

ת נק Niphal perf. 1 c.sg.; .קר “I happened to be.”

On the relation between verbs " and verbs " , see below.

See also GK 75 nn-rr.

12 Numbers 23:4

ר י Niphal apocopated imperf. 3 m.sg. “and he met,” root .קר

The longer form would be ר .

See GK 49d: “When a shortening of the imperfect form is possible—it

takes effect, as a rule—after waw consec. e.g. in Hiphil יק (53n). The

tendency to retract the tone from the final syllable is even stronger after

waw consec. than in the jussive,—.”

e.g. קו , jussive ק , with waw consec. יק and he arose.”

13 Psalm 109:14

ר Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. “it will be remembered,” root ר .




Niphal imperf. 3 f.sg. apocop. from “it/she will be wiped

out” root .

14 Jeremiah 6:8

ר Niphal imperative f.sg. “let yourself be chastened,” root ר .

ב ו נ Niphal participle f.sg. “inhabited,” root ב .

ק = be dislocated, alienated > Qal imperf. 3 f.sg. ק . (See Gen 32:26)

15 I Kings 12:6

י Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. “and he took counsel,” root

ו נ Niphal part. m.pl. “consult together, exchange counsel”; root

16 Psalm 130:4

א Niphal imperf. 2 m.sg. “you will be feared”; root רא .

17 I Kings 19:10

תר א Niphal imperf. 1 c.sg. “and I have remained,” root תר .

18 Deuteronomy 7:25

ק Niphal imperf. 2 m.sg. “you will be ensnared,” root ק .

19 I Kings 2:46

ונ נ Niphal perf. 3 f.sg. “it was established,” root ון .




20 I Kings 2:12

כן Niphal imperf. 3 f.sg. + vav consec. “and it was established,” rootון .

21 Amos 4:12

ן ו כ Niphal imperative m.sg. “prepare,” root ןו .

22 Exodus 15:15

ו נב Niphal perf. 3 m.pl. “they were terrified,” root .ב

נ Niphal perf. 3 pl. “they melted away,” root ו .

ו א “(trembling) has taken hold of them.” root + .; Qal imperfא

sf. For rare forms of the pronominal suffixes of the verb, see GK 58g and

Part Five of this book. For use of imperf. in the sphere of pasttime, “to

express actions etc which continued throughout a longer or shorter period,”

see GK 107b.

23 Psalm 17:5

ו ו נ Niphal perf. 3 pl. “(they) tottered, slipped,” root ו .

Note use of Infinitive Absolute instead of inflected form.

24 Psalm 15:5

ו Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. “he will (not) be shaken,” root ו .

25 Psalm 38:9

ת ו ו נ Niphal perf. 1 c.sg. “I am benumbed,” root ו .

ת כ נ Niphal perf. 1 c.sg. “I am crushed,” root .




26 Joel 4:12

ו ר ו Niphal imperf. 3 m.pl. “let them rouse themselves,” root ור .27 Genesis 17:26

ו נ Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. “he was circumcised,” root ו . See GK

72ee: “In common with verbs " verbs " sometimes have in Niphal and Hiphil the quasi-Aramaic formation, by which, instead of the long

vowel under the preformative, they take a short vowel with Dagesh forte in

the following consonant; this variety is frequently found even along with

the ordinary form, e.g. ת to incite, imperfect ת (also ת , ת );—sometimes with a difference of meaning, as נ to cause to rest,

but (imperfect )—to set down.”

28 Amos 9:9

ו Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. “it is tossed about, sieved,” root .נוNote the Hiphil of the same root :נו ות נ “I will toss about, shake.”

ור ר n.m. pebble

29 Ezekiel 20:43

ת א נ Niphal perf. 2 m.pl. “you have defiled yourselves,” rootא .

ת ונק Niphal perf. 2 m.pl. + vav consec. “and you shall feel a

loathing at yourselves,” root = “feel a loathing.” See Psalm 95:10 forקו

Qal of this root: ור אקו נ אר “for forty years I felt a

loathing at the generation.”

30 Numbers 34:4

ב Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. “and it will turn,” rootונ בב .




31 Genesis 19:4

ו נ Niphal perf. 3 pl. “they surrounded,” root בב . 32 Psalm 97:5

ו נ Niphal perf. 3 pl. “they melted,” root .

ונ n.m. wax

33 II Samuel 6:22 (David dancing before the Ark as it was brought into Jerusalem)

ת ונק Niphal perf. 1 c.sg. + vav consec. “and I will be lightly

esteemed,” .ק אכב Niphal imperf. cohortative 1 c.sg. pausal; “I will

be honoured,” ב

34 Hosea 2:1

Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. “it will be measured,” .

ר Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. “it will be counted,” ר .

35 Amos 5:24

Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav conjunct. “let it roll.” rootו .

תן , adj. = “perennial, ever-flowing, permanent.” (BDB p 450א .( תן

36 Malachi 3:9 (rebuking the people for not bringing the tithes and heave

offerings)

Niphal participle m.pl. “cursed,” rootנאר . (compare Niphalארר

participle of בב > .( נ




37 Psalm 18:27

נבר Niphal participle m.sg. “the pure,” root ר = “purify, select.”

> Niphal: “purify oneself,” Hithpael: “show oneself pure.”

adj. twisted, perverted; ת twist.

38 Leviticus 26:39

אר Niphal part. m.pl. “those remaining,” אר .

ו Niphal imperf. 3 m.pl. “they will rot,” קק . ו ) pausal).

39 Isaiah 50:5

ת ו נ Niphal perf. 1 c.sg. “I turned myself back,” root ו .

40 Psalm 78:57

ו י Niphal imperf. 3 m.pl. + vav consec. “and they turned

back,” root ו .

נ Niphal perf. 3 pl. “they changed,” root .

י ר n.f. deceit, treachery

41 Micah 2:6

See below for discussion of this form in “The relation between verbs

" and verbs " .”

נ = “drop, drip” > Hiphil: 1): “drip”; e.g. Amos 9:13:

ו ור




“and the mountains shall drip sweet wine”

2): “preach” e.g. Amos 7:16:

בא את ות

“Do not prophesy against Israel and do not preach against the House of

Isaac.”

The relation between verbs lamed-’aleph and verbs lamed-hey

“The close relation existing between verbs " and " is shown in

Hebrew by the fact that the verbs of one class often borrow forms from the

other.” (GK 75 nn).

“The " and " verbs are intimately related, and they frequently

interchange, or borrow forms from one another.” (Radak. Mikhlol. ed.

Chomsky. p 155).

Examples:

I: ה = sink, relax; = heal.

Study the following biblical verses and note the interchange of form and

meaning between these two verbal roots.

a) Hosea 14:5

בת ו א אר “I will heal their backsliding.”.

א אר is Qal imperf. 1 c.sg. א

b) Jeremiah 3:22

ת ב ו אר “I will heal your backslidings.”




Note that אר is formed from the " root, , but has kept the

" vowels, and the meaning is according to the " verb, א . Qal

imperf. .from the " root, , would be: .אר

c) Numbers 12:13

ק יאאאר

“Moses cried out to the Lord saying, ‘O Lord, please heal her’.”

א ר is Qal imperative m.sg. א = “heal”.

d) Psalm 60:4

ראררב

“You have caused the land to quake, You have split it open; heal its

breaches, for it totters.”

ר is formed from the " root, , but has the meaning of the "

root, א , and has kept the " vowels. The vowels of the Qal imperative

m.sg. of the " root would be: .ר

e) Jeremiah 6:14

ו א ב ואאנקאת

“They healed the breach of My people lightly saying, ‘peace, peace’, but

there is no peace.”

ו א is Piel imperf. 3 m.pl. + vav consec. root: א .

f) Jeremiah 8:11

ר א נק ת ר ב ת א ו ן וא ו ו




“They healed the breach of the daughter of My people lightly saying, ‘peace,

peace’, but there is no peace.”

ו has the meaning of the " root, “heal” (see e), but the form is

entirely of a " character, with no ’aleph.

g) Jeremiah 38:4

ר א י ראונא ת א כ כ

א א ו תאנא רא א

“And the officers said to the king, ‘let this man be put to death now,

because he is disheartening (lit. weakening the hands of) the soldiers who

remain in this city’”.

א (Piel part. m.sg.) is formed from the " root, א , but in the

context of this verse has the meaning of the Piel of the " root, , i.e. “let drop, weaken, enfeeble, dishearten”. The form of the Piel participle

of the " root would be , but the form א in this verse

entirely follows the analogy of the " verbs. (The Piel א would =

“heal”).

h) Ecclesiastes 10:4

ו ר אוך ו ק אכרוא

“If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, do not leave your place, for a

healing (?) allays (?) great offences.”

נו > Hiphil A: נ = cause to rest;

Hiphil B: = lay, set down; let remain, leave; let alone.




Ibn Ezra’s comment on Ecclesiastes 10:4

ו ר נ ת ו ו ר ו כב ן נ ו א ר ות -ן )"ב "(

א קו"ו ו ("א " ב )ר

א א ו תאנא

Translation of Ibn Ezra’s comment

It is more correct to understand (the noun) א ר as a Piel participle of the

same root as ר in II Kings 4:27, “leave her alone”. The ’aleph in

א ר is in place of hey, as in א in Jeremiah 38:4, “He is weakening

the hands of the soldiers.”

Explanation of Ibn Ezra

א ר appears to be a masculine noun = “healing, cure.” However, this

understanding makes little sense in the context of this verse. Accordingly,

Ibn Ezra suggests that א ר should be taken as a Piel participle from the

" root, ., i.eר = “let drop, weaken etc,” as in Jeremiah 38:4

(see above, g), where א has the meaning of .

II: ה כל = be complete, at an end, finished etc (BDB p 477)

א = shut up, restrain, withhold (BDB p 476)כל

Compare the following two biblical verses:

a) Genesis 8:2

ו ר ינ ר א וכי ן




“And the springs of the deep and the sluices of the heavens were shut up

and the rain was withheld from the heavens.”

א כי Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. root א כ

b) Genesis 23:6

א ורבק ו את א

“No man of us shall withhold/keep back from you his burial place.”

has the form of the Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. of the " root, , but it

has the meaning of the " root, א . Theכ " Qal imperf. would be

א .

III: א (II) = encounter, befall (BDB p 896) (not to be confused with א (I) =call, proclaim, read); ה = encounter, meet, befall.

Compare the verbal forms from these roots in the following biblical verses:

a) Exodus 3:18

ננקבריא

“The Lord G-d of the Hebrews has met with us.”

is Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. rootנק .ק

b) Exodus 5:3

ו נ א קנ בר א “The Lord of the Hebrews has met with

us.”

א קנis Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. root

א ק(II).

In this form, the vowels of verbs " and " do not differ.




c) Numbers 23:4

א א ר י

“G-d encountered Balaam”.ר י is Niphal apocopated imperf. 3 m.sg. +

vav consec. root .ק

d) II Samuel 18:9

א יבאב

“And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David.”

א י is Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. א ק

(II) with same meaning as ק

Further examples and exercise

In the following biblical verses, identify " verbs which are of a " character. Explanatory notes are found at the end of the section.

a) I Samuel 6:10

ו ריאורויקכאני

נ ת א וכב

“And the men did so and they took two nursing cows and tied them to the

wagon, and shut up their calves in the house.”

b) I Samuel 10:6

וורת נת וו אא

“The spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with

them, and you will be turned into another man.




c) Jeremiah 26:9

תו. כאבנ .

ואא.

“Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying that this

Temple will be like Shiloh, and this city shall be destroyed, without an

inhabitant?”

d) Ruth 2:9

ת ו וכ “If you become thirsty, go to the jugs.”

e) Lamentations 4:1

וכנוא

“How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!”

f) Esther 1:5

ת א ו בויא א .ו

ק בו

“And when these days were completed, the king made a seven-day banquet

for all the people present in Shushan the capital, from great to small!”

Explanatory notes for ל and ל Verbs.

a) I Samuel 6:10

ו כ Qal perf. 3 pl. .כ However, ) כ " ) = “be complete, at an end”

whereas א כ ( " ) = “shut up, restrain, withhold”

(Qal perf. 3 pl. of א כ would be אכ )




b) I Samuel 10:6

ת נת . Hithpael perf. 2 m.sgו .נב

However, the meaning is of the " verb , and one would expectנבא

the Hithpael perf. to be ת א נת “you have prophesied.”

c) Jeremiah 26:9

ת נ is Piel perf. 2 m.sg. One would expect ת א נ “you have

prophesied.”

d) Ruth 2:9

ת ו has the meaning of the " stative verb א = “be thirsty”,

and one would expect ת א ו (like ת א ). Instead, it follows the

analogy of verbs " like ת “you have uncovered”.

e) Lamentations 4:1

א נ “it is changed” is Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. written with ’aleph as third

root letter, but with the vowels and meaning of the " verb נ =“change”.

If it were a true " verb, it would be written נא with qamets

under the nun.

f) Esther 1:5

ת א ו בו (see GK 74h) has the meaning of the Qal inf. cstr. of the

stative " verb, א = “be full” and one would expect א .ובInstead, it follows the analogy of inf. cstr. of verbs " , like ות ( ).

א Niphal participle m.pl. א “who are found”.




According to the rules of verbs " , we would expect א

(qamets under tsadi). If, however, the verb were " , we would haveנ with elision of hey. The sheva under the tsadi plus the reten-

tion of the ’aleph gives us a hybrid formation.

The relation between verbs ע and ע

See GK 72dd: “The verbs " are primarily related to the verbs " , which were also originally biliteral, so that it is especially necessary in ana-

lyzing them to pay attention to the differences between the inflexion of the

two classes. Several forms are exactly the same in both, e.g. imperfect Qal

and Hiphil with waw consecutive,—. Owing to this close relation, verbs

" sometimes have forms which follow the analogy of verbs " —.”

This resemblance of verbs " to verbs " is due partially at least to

biliteral roots having been expanded to triliterals in both groups. That is to

say, many triliteral stems in these groups of verbs really point to a biliteralbase. These root syllables are easily distinguished when the stem has a

feeble consonant ( " ) or the same consonant in second and third place

( " ). For example, ,,, all mean “beat, beat in

pieces” and thus, the two stronger letters constitute the monosyllabic

root. Hence, verbs " were expanded to triliterals by doubling the second

radical, and verbs " were expanded by lengthening the medial vowel.

In the following biblical verses, analyse the verbs " which follow the

analogy of verbs " and the verbs " which follow the analogy of verbs

" .

1 Micah 2:6

ו וא א או כ




“‘Do not preach’, they preach; they shall not preach to these; reproaches do

not depart.”

Apparently, Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. .

However, the root is otherwise unattested and according to meaning,

the root letters are ו = “move away, backslide” (Niphal imperf. ו )

e.g. Psalm 78:57: ות יבי ב א כ

“they drew back and betrayed like their fathers.”

Note also: = drop, drip > Hiphil: = drip (Amos 9:13); preach (Amosנ

7:16).

2 Isaiah 24:3

בכואווק ת א

“The land will become utterly emptied and utterly despoiled, for the Lord

has spoken this word.”

ווק Apparently Niphal inf. abs. + Niphal imperf. 3 f.sg.

וק . However, the root וק is not attested for any verbal form, though

the noun forms in Nahum 2:11 clearly derive from the " root: ו

ב ו ו ב ו “emptiness and void and waste”. The " root קק ismuch better attested (BDB p 132) e.g. Nahum 2:3: קק בקקו כ “for

the emptiers have emptied them”.e.g. Isaiah 24:1: אר ק ו “Behold the Lord is emptying the land.”

ו ו Apparently Niphal inf. abs. + Niphal imperf. 3 f.sg. ו . However, the root ו means “despise” which does not fit this context.

Clearly, the intended meaning is that of the"

root,

= “spoil,plunder” (BDB p 102).




Uses of Niphal

The following summary of the uses of the Niphal conjugation is based on

the analyses of modern grammarians. (see Bibliography).

i: Reflexive of Qal

ר נ take heed to oneself

e.g. Exodus 23:21

ק ו ו ר

“Pay heed to him and listen to his voice”

נ thrust oneself (against)

e.g. Numbers 22:25

א ר ותאא ת א א

“The ass saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall”

ר נ hide oneself

e.g. I Kings 17:3

ת כר ר נו ך ת נ ו

“Go from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith”

(compare passive/resultative use in Genesis 4:14:

יאת א נ ו ת א

“Behold You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground and

from Your face I shall be hidden”)




א נ redeem oneself

e.g. Leviticus 25:49

--

“or his uncle or his uncle’s son shall redeem him, or anyone of his own

flesh of his family shall redeem him; or, if he prospers,he may redeem

himself”

(compare passive use in Leviticus 25:54:

ו ו בו או יב ת א ו א א א וא

“If he will not be redeemed in any of those ways, he and his children with

him shall go free in the Jublilee year”)

Within the “reflexive” category, Niphal is used to express emotions which

react upon the mind.

e.g. Isaiah 1:24

קאו בוא ו א

“Ah, I will relieve Myself of My adversaries and avenge Myself of My enemies”

e.g. Lamentations 1:8:

א נאנ ו א

“She also sighs (bemoans herself) and turns backwards”




Also within the “reflexive” category is the Tolerative Niphal, that is, the use

of Niphal to express actions which the subject allows to happen to himself,

or, to have an effect upon himself.

e.g. Isaiah 65:1

נ א בק ת א נ ו א א ו נ

“I let Myself be inquired of to those who did not ask. I let Myself be found

to those who did not seek Me”

A passive rendering of such Niphals is possible:

e.g. Ecclesiastes 12:12

ר נ

“Be warned, my son” or: “Allow/suffer yourself to be warned, my son”

ii: Reciprocal or mutual action

ו ר נ they spoke to one another

e.g. Malachi 3:16:

רא נארא ת א

“Then those that fear the Lord spoke to one another

נ go to law with one another

e.g. I Samuel 12:7

בו ת אואאוק כ




“Now stand still that I may plead with you (enter into controversy) before

the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord”

(the passive use of is restricted to Psalms e.g. 37:33; 109:7)

נו consult each other, take counsel of

e.g. I Kings 12:6

בי קנר ת א ר א נ ת א

ו אב

“King Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had served his father

Solomon”

נו meet each other

e.g. Exodus 25:22

כרב ן רת כ ך א ר ו ך ו נ ו

“There I will meet with you and I will speak with you from above the

mercy-seat from between the two cherubim”

נ fight with one another

e.g. Isaiah 19:2

ר ר ו ו וא א ו א נו

“They shall war with each other, every man against his fellow, city with city

and kingdom with kingdom”

נו reason together




e.g. Isaiah 1:18

ו נואאאכנכנ

ו ר כ ו ו א א

“‘Come now and let us reason together’, says the Lord. ‘If your sins are like

crimson they will become white as snow; if they are red like the scarlet-

worm they will become like wool.’”

iii: Passive of Qal

ר נ be hidden

e.g. Genesis 4:14

see above reflexive use of ר נ compared with passive use.

א נ be redeemed


see above – reflexive use of א . compared with passive useנ

נו be born

e.g. Ecclesiastes 7:1

יווווב

“A good name is better than fragrant oil and the day of death than the day

of birth (being born)”

ר נק be buried




e.g. Deuteronomy 10:6

ר בא י

“Aaron died there and was buried there”

ר נ be broken

e.g. Jonah 1:4

ני א ובב

“and the ship was in danger of breaking up (being broken)”

iv: Passive of Piel and Hiphil

In cases where Qal is intransitive in meaning, or is not used, Niphal also

appears as the passive of Piel and Hiphil.

e.g. Genesis 34:19

כ א נ ו ו ב ק ת ב בר כ ת ו ר ר א א ו

אבת

“And the youth did not delay in doing the thing, for he wanted Jacob’s

daughter; he was the most respected in his father’s house.”

The Niphal participle, “honoured, respected”, is the passive of theנ

Piel ( כ = “honour”), rather than the Qal ( כב = “be heavy, be in

honour”).

For Piel of ב , see Exodus 20:12: אכ ת א ו ך אב את

“Honour your father and your mother”.




e.g. Exodus 9:15

כ ר ב ך ת א ו ךתוא א ת א כאר ן

“For now I could have stretched forth My hand and smitten you and your

people with pestilence and you would have been effaced from the earth”.

The Niphal imperf. + vav consec. כ is the passive of the Hiphil,

= “destroy”. כ is never found in Qal, but only in Niphal, Pieland Hiphil. For the Hiphil, see Exodus 23:23: ו ו "and I will

destroy him.”

v: Causative/reflexive

See Waltke/O’Connor p 390: “The causative-reflexive scheme in Hebrew is

usually Hithpael, but in some cases the Niphal is used. In these verbs the

subject causes the action to happen to himself—.”

e.g. Ruth 3:3

אאת ואכ ו

“But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating

and drinking” ( is Niphal imperf. 2 f.sg. )

e.g. Exodus 6:3

א אבא א א ק א ואו

ו נ :

“I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make

Myself known to them by My name ” ( ו נ is Niphal perf. 1 c.sg. )




vi: Denominatives

See Davidson’s Introductory Hebrew Grammar, Continuum, 1993, p 145:“The usual development in Hebrew is from verb to noun; when the process

works in the reverse direction, the verb is known as a ‘denominative’ (‘from

the noun [Latin nomen ]’) verb”.

Denominatives are rare in Niphal. See the list in Waltke/O’Connor p 391.

e.g. Job 11:12

רא א ר ו בב וב ב נ וא

“A hollow man will get understanding, when a wild ass is born a man” (i.e.

the sinners will have a change of heart).

בב is a HAPAXLEGOMENON (occurs only once in the Bible)

derived from the masculine noun בב = “heart”.

Note on passive/reflexive distinction

Note the work of P A Siebesma: “The Function of Niphal in Biblical He-

brew”. Studia Semitica Neerlandica. Van Gorcum. 1991.

He suggests that if one assumes that Biblical Hebrew lacked the distinction

passive/reflexive, it would account for the fact that various nuances occur

in ONE verb root. See the above examples: ר נ = “hide oneself; be

hidden”; א נ = “redeem oneself; be redeemed”; which occur both as

ref lexive of Qal and as passive of Qal

(sections I and III).

Another example of both passive and reflexive nuances occurring in one verb root is in the root , which occurs in a passive sense in Numbersא

11:22, but in a reflexive sense in Numbers 11:30.




א ו ר בו אאן כ את אא ו

“Could enough flocks and herds be slaughtered to suffice them? Or could

all the fish of the sea be gathered for them to suffice them?”

( א Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. passive use)

Numbers 11:30

קואיא או

“And Moses withdrew into the camp together with the elders of Israel”.

( א Niphal imperf. + vav consec. reflexive use.)

Siebesma also states: “It is sometimes difficult to determine whether one

should translate a Niphal reflexively, passively or reciprocally; to a major

extent it depends on semantic and theological interpretation.”

e.g. Genesis 7:11

ו ר ב נ נ י נ ת ו א תנ

ת ר א ו ת נ כ ו נבק ו

ו נ

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the

seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great

deep burst apart, and the floodgates of the sky broke open.”

ו נבק Niphal perf. 3 pl. .בק

ו נ Niphal perf. 3 pl. ת , pausal.




These two Niphal verbs could be understood in either a passive or reflexive

way, depending on whether G-d opens doors (i.e. “they were opened”) or

whether they open by themselves (i.e. “they opened”).

Waltke/O’Connor (p 383) suggest that these two Niphals are examples of

the middle (which may be distinguished from the passive in that it is non-

agent oriented, whereas the passive is agent oriented): “and all the springs

of the great abyss burst open”.

See Lambdin p 176 for explanation of the middle:

“Unlike the incomplete passive construction, middle verbs are active in

form, but the meaning is, in a sense, reversed: the object of the verb has

become the subject of the middle verb. Niphal verbs in Hebrew often cor-

respond to middle verbs in English:

נ “The gate opened”

ר נכ “The vessel broke”

נק “The people gathered””

Views of medieval scholars on use of Niphal

This section presents the views of medieval scholars on the uses of the Ni-

phal conjugation. Their comments are presented in the original rabbinicHebrew, together with translation and explanation. A glossary of some of

the Hebrew grammatical terms used by these scholars is found at the end of

the section, as well as brief biographical sketches of these scholars. Students

should study the biblical verses and compare the views of the medieval

scholars with the views in modern grammar books.




1 Genesis 24:65 (Rebekah about to meet Isaac)

ר א אאנת א קאינוב תכא

She said to the servant, ‘Who is this man walking in the field towards us?

The servant said, ‘He is my master,’ and she took the veil and covered

herself.

Comment of Rashi on תכ ב:,תון ב :

Translation of Rashi

“And she covered herself.” This is Hithpael, like: “and she was buried”

(Gen 35:8),“and (it) was broken” (I Sam 4:18).

Explanation of Rashi

Rashi points out that the verb תכ (apocopated Hithpael, pausal, 3 f.sg.

+ vav consec. ) has a reflexive meaning. Note thatכ תכ is Hith-

pael, yet Rashi compares two verbs which we term Niphal. It is also note-

worthy that תכ is best understood as reflexive, whereas בר

בר are passive in context. Rashi’s comparison seems to be due to the

fact that in Biblical Hebrew, both the Niphal and the Hithpael can be used

either in a reflexive or in a passive sense, although the passive use of Hith-

pael is rare in Biblical Hebrew.

2 Genesis 25:21

ו ר ת י וא ק ו כ א נ ק ר י

ו א בר ר




Isaac entreated the Lord on behalf of his wife, for she was barren, and the

Lord allowed Himself to be entreated, and Rebekah, his wife, conceived.

Comment of Rashi on ר י and ר ת י

ר י :ר ות.ת ינת:י ונתונת

:ו


He prayed much and urgently. He let Himself be urged, conciliated and

influenced by him.


Rashi points to the use of the Niphal ר ת י (“He let Himself be en-

treated”) as the tolerative/reflexive of the Qal ר י (“He entreated”).

Note that Rashi uses the Nithpael, the rabbinic equivalent of the Hithpael,to explain the Biblical Hebrew Niphal, ר ת י i.e. ר תני ונת

.ונת

3 Exodus 15:24

נו אי

The people complained to Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’

Comment of Rashi on ונ י

ו,ואת,וורו,ונון

ונ – אוונון ו,תרו,ת

ר ,ב"""קואו,רו,ונא

ר ו אר ."א





This is a Niphal form, and similarly the Targum is a Niphal form:ו תאו (The Ithpael form in Aramaic corresponds to the Hebrew Ni-

phal). And such is the way of expressing “murmuring” (root ון ), to refer

back the action of murmuring to the subject; thus one says ונן ת and

ו ר ת (reflexive forms) and one does not say ונן and רו . And in

Old French it is “decomplaisant se;” it refers back the action of murmuring

to the subject, by saying “se.”(“himself”).


Rashi explains that נו י ון ) ) is a Niphal used in the reflexive sense, be-

cause “murmuring, complaining” is a reflexive thought process. Modern

grammarians also suggest that the Niphal is frequently used to express emo-

tions which react upon the mind; e.g. נאנ = “sigh, bemoan oneself”.

(GK 51c).

ון = “murmur”. Only in: Exodus 15, 16, 17; Numbers 14, 16, 17; Joshua

9:18. Only Niphal and Hiphil.

4 Exodus 19:13

ת קא רקכ ו א רי אא א

ביב

Let no hand touch it, for he shall certainly be stoned or thrown down;

whether beast or man, he shall not live; when the ram’s horn sounds, they

shall go up the mountain.

Comment of Rashi on יר

י:כא





He shall be thrown down to the ground, like: “He has thrown into the sea”

(Exodus 15:4).


Rashi points to the passive meaning of the Niphal imperf. יר (root )

by rendering it with the Hophal imperf. “he shall be thrown, cast”.

Rashi also points to the meaning of in this context by comparing

in Exodus 15:4. (see BDB p 434: = “throw, shoot”).

Comment of Ibn Ezra on יר

ת ו ינות ו כ"תב"

)ברא(ננת א וב)

נ)א ר א.ואתתאבנ""כ)(א

.בנ

Translation of Ibn Ezra

The word יר behaves differently from other pe-yod verbs, for the rule of

pe-yod verbs is that the yod (first root letter) changes to vav in the Niphal

imperf. like (Gen 41:31) and ר א (Jerem. 31:18). Perhaps יר (retains the yod) so that it is not confused with א (Psalm 130:4) “You

shall be feared,” root letters א , because both ’aleph and hey are quiescent

at the end of the word. There is no difference between them in pronuncia-

tion.





Ibn Ezra points to the fact that the pe-yod verb has retained the yod inthe Niphal imperf. ( ) instead of converting the yod to vav as inיר

etc. Ibn Ezra suggests that this is to avoid confusion between the roots

(throw, shoot) and א (fear) since neither hey nor ’aleph are sounded at

the end of a word.

5 Numbers 9:17

אנו אוא ק ובר אננכןא

When the cloud raised itself from above the Tent, then the children of

Israel would travel, and at the place where the cloud settled, there the

children of Israel would camp.

Comment of Rashi on נת

ו ו וכתר ק א,ו) (נו ו

אוו,נו,נוותוב

אק)": (,יו כ


Understand this as the Targum does: the departure (the raising itself), like:

Numbers 9:21: “and the cloud raised itself”. It would not have been correct

to write ות / (i.e. Qal) because this (the Qal) would not have ex-

pressed ‘departure’ (raising oneself) but ‘springing forth’ and ‘rising’, like: I

Kings 18:44: “Behold a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising ( ) fromthe sea.”





Rashi comments on the Niphal inf. cstr. ת ו (root = “go up”),pointing out that this must be understood in a reflexive sense, “raising it-

self”, just like the Niphal perf. in Numbers 9:21 ( - ), because the reונ

flexive indicates ‘departure’ and since the Cloud represents the Divine Pres-

ence, the departure of the Cloud is a reflexive rather than a passive action.

The Qal form of the verb would indicate merely the ‘rising’ of an in-

animate object, like the raincloud in I Kings 18:44. Note, however, that

BDB (p 749) understands ת ו (9:17) and נ (9:21) in a passive

sense: “be taken up”, while understanding the Niphal imperative ו in

Numbers 16:24 as reflexive: “withdraw (raise yourselves) from the vicinity

of Korah’s dwelling”; ק כן ב ב ו

6 Numbers 17:10

נ יכאתאאר‘Get yourselves up from the midst of this congregation that I may destroy

them in a moment’, and they fell on their faces.

Comment of Rashbam on ו ר

אר"באב)(ו

א,או)(.קו ור .כבות,ראו

Translation of Rashbam

ו ר is like ו (Jeremiah 4:4) but because of the resh (rejects dagesh)

the ḥireq (under the hey) became tsere. This may be compared to (the Piel

form which usually has ḥireq, tsere/pataḥ + dagesh in middle root letter)

where the ḥireq has been lengthened to tsere (under the bet). In




Numbers 16:21, it states ו (‘separate yourselves’) but here (it states)

ר , meaning, ‘separate urgently’ because the anger has already gone

forth.

Explanation of Rashbam

Rashbam compares ו ר to ו . The difficulty here is that ו is

Niphal imperative from the " root, ו (“circumcise”) (analogous to

ו נ ו כ from ), with dagesh in the first root letter, butכון ו ר has dagesh

in the third root letter (mem) and seems to be derived from a " root,(see BDB p 942) = “be exalted”. The regular Niphal imperative plural

from a " root is on the pattern of ו , and ו ר may be explained

as following this pattern, with lengthening of ḥireq to tsere under hey to

compensate for lack of dagesh in the resh.

7 Numbers 22:25

א ר ותאא ת א אר את אית כ

The ass saw the angel of the Lord and pressed itself against the wall, and

pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, and he struck it again.

Comment of Rashi on

,אר .א – א


(The Niphal form here denotes that) she pressed herself. (The Qal form

denotes that) she pressed something else – viz. Balaam’s foot.




Comment of Ibn Ezra on

א


She pressed herself.

Explanation of Rashi and Ibn Ezra

Rashi and Ibn Ezra point out that the verb = “squeeze, press” is usedin the Qal and the Niphal in this verse, and that the Niphal here is the re-

flexive of the Qal. That is, = “and she pressed” (Qal imperf. + vav

consec.); = “and she pressed herself” (Niphal imperf. + vav con-

sec.).

8 I Samuel 20:6

ק נא קבאר אנוא רוניבכרת

If your father misses me, you shall say: ‘David asked leave of me to run to

Bethlehem his town, since there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’

Comment of Rashi on א אנ נ

א ות ר


He asked permission from me.


Rashi comments on the use of the Niphal perf. 3 m.sg. א which isנ

preceded by Niphal inf. abs. א . He states that the Niphal here has theנ




sense of “he asked (something) (for himself)”, i.e. he asked permission.

Compare GK 51e: “It (Niphal) has also, like Hithpael and the Greek middle ,

the meaning of the active, with the addition of to oneself , for oneself , e.g. א נto ask (something) for oneself.” This usage occurs in the OT three times: I

Sam 20:6, 28; Nehemiah 13:6.

9 I Kings 12:28

יי

The king took counsel and he made two golden calves.

Comment of Radak on י

כאא ותויתואי

.נ

Translation of Radak

He asked advice how he should make (them) and he came to an agreement

with his advisers, that he should make two calves.

Explanation of Radak

Radak comments on the Niphal י ( ; imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav con-

sec.), explaining that it is a reciprocal Niphal, expressing mutual action.

10 Isaiah 65:1

נ א בק ת א נ ו א א ו נ

I let Myself be inquired of, to those who did not ask, I let Myself be found,

to those who did not seek Me.




Comment of Ibn Ezra on נ and ת א נ

נאבו,ובנ ו או נ,ת א אא.


This is G-d’s answer, for your fathers angered Me, but I let Myself be

inquired of, and the meaning is, I caused Myself to be found in the distress

(of) a people who did not ask that I should be found for them.


Ibn Ezra points out that the Niphal perfect forms ( ת א נ and נ )are Tolerative Niphals, expressing an action which the subject allows to

happen to himself. (compare GK 51c).

11 Jeremiah 6:8

נ ן ו ר ר או אר א ן

ב ו נ

Allow yourself to be chastened, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from

you, lest I make you a desolation, a land not inhabited.

Comment of Rashi on ר

ו ק


Accept chastening.





Rashi comments on ר , Niphal imperative f. sg. root ר = “disci-pline, chasten, admonish”. His comment suggests that he sees ר as a

Tolerative Niphal, “let yourself be chastened, corrected” (see GK 51c).

Note also ק (Qal imperf. 3 f.sg. ק = “be dislocated, alienated”).

Compare Gen 32:36. And note the other Niphal, ב ו נ (part. f.sg. ב

“inhabited”).

12 Ezekiel 14:3

א ואאנן ו נו

רנננתנו אא

Son of man, these men have brought up their idols upon their heart, and

have placed the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their faces; shall I

indeed let Myself be inquired of/consulted by them?

Comment of Radak on א ר א

ר"א ו,ב וקורא "ק"וב

וכא"נקרוכב וו וב ת

אוא,אוואתן

ו .תאתרוק


The ’alephs (in א ר א ) have ḥireq; the first word ר א is inf.

abs. (Niphal) with ḥolem, but the ’aleph is in place of hey, because it is dif-

ficult to pronounce two heys consecutively (i.e. ר ), but the ḥolem (is

regular) on the pattern of ן ת (Niphal inf. abs. Jeremiah 38:3). The

(prophet) says: ‘Shall I let Myself be inquired of by them? Since their heart




is to their idols, I will not let Myself be inquired of. Accepting their inquiry

is to give in to their request.’


Radak first comments on the form of the Niphal inf. abs. ר . Theא

’aleph is in place of the usual hey for ease of pronunciation. ן ת (Jerem.

38:3) is a regular Niphal inf. abs. formation. Radak then explains that the

Niphal imperf. ( ) preceded by inf. abs. may be understood asא

Tolerative Niphal. G-d’s question indicates clearly that He has a choice whether or not to allow the people to inquire of Him, since they do not

deserve the privilege of consulting Him.

13 Amos 9:9

תואנכ ו נ ו ב ת א א אכ

כבו א וורא

For I will command and I will shake the House of Israel among all the

nations as (grain) is shaken in a sieve, and no pebble will fall to the ground.

Comment of Rashi on ו

ו א בר וא ו נ תו ר ק ן א ר ו א .


ו (Niphal imperf. ) means “be shaken, tossed” by another and it isנו

not possible to read ו נ (Qal imperf.), which (expresses the idea of)

“shaking, trembling etc” on its own.





Rashi explains that the Qal imperf. of נו would mean “he quivers, trem-bles, totters” etc. whereas in Amos 9:9 is found the Niphal imperf. ו =

“be tossed about” (of corn in a sieve). Hence, this is the passive use of the

Niphal.

Note that in the same verse, occurs the Hiphil of נו in its causative sense,

ת ו נ “and I will shake” (cause to tremble, quiver).

Note also: כב n.f. = sieve; ור ר n.m. = pebble.

14 Micah 6:6

ואקראאכאק ו ב

With what shall I come before the Lord, and with what shall I bow myself to G-d on High? Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves

a year old?

Comment of Ibn Ezra on אכ

ת אכ ו נ א ב נ ו א ר כ כ

ו נ ו א .


The word אכ is a double-‘ayin verb ( ) with the meaning of “bowכ

myself”, as is the custom of one who brings a gift to his master.

Comment of Radak on אכ

ן נ נ וא ו ו ו כ ר





Its root is כ and it is Niphal.

Explanation of Ibn Ezra and Radak

They have informed us that אכ is Niphal imperf. 1 c.sg. כ = “bend,

bend down, be bent, bowed”.

Note the well-known uses of . in Psalm 145:14 and Isaiah 58:5כ

Psalm 145:14

ו ו וו כ ק

The Lord supports all the fallen ones, and straightens all the bowed.

ו כ is Qal passive participle m.pl.

Isaiah 58:5

באואנאכאר

ק או א קוו

Is such the Fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul; is it

to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a Fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?

is Qal inf. cstr. + hey interrogative.

15 Lamentations 1:4

ויור רואאב כונ כ

תנאנ ו ת ו ו נ ור




The roads of Zion are mourning for lack of those coming for the festival;

all her gates are desolate, her priests are sighing; her maidens are grieving,

and she is embittered.

Comment of Rashi on ות ו נ

א א ב ור ן ון וא ב"ון


ות ו נ is connected with the noun ון (= “grief, sorrow”), but the only

root letter (visible) in the word is the gimmel.


Rashi is commenting on ות ו נ which we know to be Niphal participle f.pl.

from the root = “suffer”. The masc. noun ון = “grief, sorrow” is also

derived from this root. Rashi comments that the only root letter in the word ות ו נ is gimmel. He seems not to understand fully the function of the

weak letters.

It is worth remembering, however, that Rashi (1040-1105 CE) hailed from

medieval Christian France, and for his lexicographical studies he relied on

the dictionary of Menaḥem ibn Saruq (910-970 CE) which was the first

complete dictionary in Hebrew. For the Jews of Christian France had noaccess to Arabic and to all the philological research which had been written

in Arabic by the Jews of medieval Spain. Despite the great merits of

Menaḥem’s dictionary (known as Maḥberet Menaḥem), it pre-dated the dis-

covery of the basic triconsonantal nature of the verbal stem, a discovery

attributed to Judah b. Ḥayy ūj (950-1000 CE) who wrote in Arabic. It was

only through the work of Abraham ibn Ezra (1092-1167), who consistently

wrote in Hebrew, that all the Jewish philological research written in Arabic,




became available to the Jews of Christian Europe. (see Sarna N M, 1964;

Hirschfield, Hartwig 1926).

P IEL

Spot the Piel


Parse and translate all the Piel verbs.

The student may consult the verb tables in any reliable Biblical Hebrew

grammar book. Explanatory notes are found at the end of the section.

1 II Samuel 4:8

אארא בךן נאא את

Here is the head of Ish-boshet, son of your enemy Saul, who sought yourlife.

2 Numbers 6:11 (atonement by sacrifice for the involuntary defilement

of the Nazirite by contact with a dead body)

וכאא א אוו

וק א ר ת א יו

The priest shall make one for a sin-offering and one for a burnt-offering

and he shall atone for him from that which he sinned over the (dead) soul

and he shall sanctify his head on that day.

3 Genesis 12:4

אכאאב

Abram went as the Lord spoke to him.




4 Genesis 21:1

ו ת א כאיאכ

The Lord remembered Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as

He had spoken.

5 Amos 2:14

נואב וא וכא ו א נ

Escape will perish from the swift and the strong will not muster his

strength and the mighty man will not deliver his life.

6 Psalm 116:4

נ א

Please, O Lord, save my soul!

7 Genesis 2:3

ו ת א א אתבר ק ב

G-d blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.

8 Exodus 10:3 (Moses and Aaron to Pharoah in the name of G-d)

ננאנת ב ו

Until when will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go

that they may serve Me.

9 I Kings 3:3

ר ק ו או ת ו ק




Only on the high places did he (Solomon) offer sacrifices and offer incense.

10 Exodus 35:3

רו תב בתאא

You shall not kindle fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.

11 Isaiah 66:13

אנכנאאכא א ו ר בונ

Like a man whose mother consoles him, so will I console you, and in

Jerusalem you will be consoled.

12 Leviticus 13:44

אא כ

The priest shall surely declare him impure.

13 Esther 3:1

ר ארבאאר ת א ת ן

א א נ

After these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, son of Hammedata

the Agagite and exalted him.

14 Exodus 3:22

א ואנ ו תכוו

נתנו ונו ת א




Every woman shall borrow from her neighbour and from the woman living

in her house silver vessels and golden vessels and garments, and you shall

put them on your sons and daughters and you shall strip off (despoil) the

Egyptians.

15 Malachi 3:1

אננ ו

Behold I will send My messenger and he will clear a path before Me.

16 Exodus 24:15

א ת א

Moses ascended the mountain and the cloud covered the mountain.

17 Genesis 24:19

ת ק אא כא א

She finished giving him to drink and she said, “also for your camels I will

draw until they finish drinking”.

18 Genesis 42:25

ו וא כ את

Joseph commanded and they filled their vessels with grain.

19 Psalm 33:18-20

א א ו נ

ת ו י ו נ נתכנ נ ו ו




Behold the eye of the Lord is to those who fear Him, to those who await

His kindness; to rescue their soul from death, and to preserve them alive in

famine; our soul awaits the Lord, He is our help and our shield.

20 Psalm 118:18

ר ו ונ נת

G-d has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death.

Explanatory notes for spot the Piel

1 II Samuel 4:8

Piel perf. 3 m.sg. . “He sought”. Regular formation. Ḥireqבק

in first syllable and tsere in second syllable. Strong dagesh in middle root

letter.

2 Numbers 6:11

ר ו Piel perf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. ר . “and he will atone”.Note

the segol rather than tsere in the second syllable. See JM 52c: “In three

verbs we find the vowel ר he spoke, ר כ he expiated, ו and he

will wash (11 times, but twice -!). These anomalies are difficult to exו

plain. In pause one finds ר and ”.כ

וק Piel perf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec.. .”. “and he will sanctifyק

Note the pata ḥ rather than tsere in the second syllable. See JM 52c:“Perfect

3rd pers. m. sg. Although is secondary, ק is the proper form of Piel

and also its pausal form. One very often finds the form , the pataḥק of

which is not the primitive a, but an attenuation of tsere . The form , aקlighter form, is used mostly with the conjunctive accent and when -ק

loses the stress (before maqqef ), and only rarely with a disjunctive accent. Thus with a conjunctive accent we find always; with a weak disjunc-




tive accent we find twice and twice; the pausal form (which does

not occur) would have been .”

3 Genesis 12:4

ר Piel perf. 3 m.sg. בר . “he spoke”. See note above on 2.

4 Genesis 21:1

ר Piel perf. 3 m.sg. בר . “he spoke”. Pausal form; see note

above on 2.

5 Amos 2:14

א Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. .”. “He will make firm, strengthenא

Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. . “He will rescue, deliver”.

These are regular formations.

6 Psalm 116:4

Piel emphatic imperative m.sg. . “Save, deliver!”

7 Genesis 2:3

בר Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. .”. “and he blessedבר

Note compensatory lengthening of pataḥ to qamets under the vet due to

absence of dagesh in resh (middle root letter). Note also the reduction of

tsere to segol under the resh due to retraction of accent from final syllable

to penultimate syllable after vav consec.

ק Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. .”. “and he sanctifiedק




8 Exodus 10:3

אנ Piel perf. 2 m.sg. אן . “You refuse”. Note compensatory lengthening of ḥireq to tsere under the mem due to absence of dagesh

in the ’aleph (a guttural).

Piel imperative m.sg. . “Send away, let go”.

Note that the guttural ( ḥet) requires the vowel pataḥ before it. Compare the

regular Piel imperative m.sg. formation, e.g. ר . (tsere in second syllable).

9 I Kings 3:3

Piel participle m.sg. ב . “Sacrificing”.

Note that the guttural ( ḥet) takes a furtive pataḥ after the full accented

vowel.

10 Exodus 35:3

ר)א תב ) Piel imperf. 2 m.pl. ר .”. “You shall (not) kindleב

Note the “virtual doubling” of the ‘ayin (middle root letter), since the

guttural does not admit dagesh, but there is no compensatory length-

ening of the preceding vowel. Note also the composite sheva ( ḥateph-

pataḥ ) under the ‘ayin, since gutturals usually take composite sheva in-

stead of the simple vocal sheva .

11 Isaiah 66:13

ו נ Piel imperf. 3 f.sg. + suffix 3 m.sg. with energic nun; . “Sheנ

comforts him”. Note “virtual doubling” of middle root letter (the guttural

ḥet).

(for Energic Nun, see: WHG pp 130-131: GK 58i-l).




אנ Piel imperf. 1 c.sg. + suffix 2 m.pl. . “I will comfortנ

you”.

12 Leviticus 13:44

א Piel inf. abs. א . Lamed-’aleph verb.

ו א Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.sg. (energic nun). “He shall declare

him impure”. Note that in this form the lamed-’aleph verb is patterned after

the corresponding form of the strong verb.

13 Esther 3:1

Piel perf. 3 m.sg. “He made great”. Note pataḥ as second vowel.

ו א נ Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. “and he exalted

him” (lit. lifted him up). א , lamed-’aleph verb. Note that in this form theנ

lamed-’aleph verb is patterned after the corresponding form of the strong

verb.

14 Exodus 3:22

ונ Piel perf. 2 m.pl. + vav consec. .”. “and you shall despoilנ

Note that in this form the pe-nun verb is patterned after the corresponding

form of the strong verb. (e.g. ר ו. Deut. 12:3). However, note that in

theory, could be Niphal perf. 2 m.pl. ofנ , with assimilation ofנ

the first root letter (nun) into the tsadi ( ננ > ) with theנ

passive meaning, “and you shall be delivered, rescued”. Compare ו נ ננ >ו נ נ in Jeremiah 7:10 (Spot the Niphal no 5).

15 Malachi 3:1

ו Piel perf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. “and he will make clear, empty”.נ . Lamed-hey verb. All perfects of lamed-hey verbs without afforma-

tives end in .




16 Exodus 24:15

Piel imperf. apocopated 3 m.sg. + vav consec. . Lamed-hey,“and he/it covered”. Long form of imperf. would be . All

imperfects of lamed-hey verbs without afformatives end in ◌. Imperfects

of lamed-hey verbs with hey as their final consonant often appear in apoco-

pated (shortened) form after vav consec.

17 Genesis 24:19

Piel imperf. 3 f.sg. apocopated + vav consec. . “and she

finished”. כ (Qal) = “be complete, at an end, finished” > in Piel =

“complete, bring to an end, finish”. The long form of Piel imperf. would be

(see 16 above).ו כ Piel perf. 3 c.pl. . “They (shall have)

finished”. Note use of Biblical Hebrew “perfect” for the English “future

perfect”.

18 Genesis 42:25

ו Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. apocopated + vav consec. ו . The longer form

would be ו See e.g. Gen. 18:19. Note that the middle root letter is

consonantal vav (see below, section on Polel etc.). Compare קו (root

. ),see Isaiah 5:2קו

ו א Piel imperf. 3 m.pl. + vav consec. א . “and they filled”. Noteabsence of dagesh in lamed (middle root letter). See GK 20 l-m for “The

loss of the dagesh forte”—“Very frequently in certain consonants with

sheva mobile, since the absence of a strong vowel causes the strengthening

to be less noticeable”.

19 Psalm 33:18-20

Piel participle m.pl. . Pe-yod and ‘ayin guttural. Note the

composite sheva under the ḥet (middle root letter) instead of simple vocal




sheva. Otherwise, this form is patterned after the form of a regular Piel par-

ticiple.

ת ו י ו Piel inf. cstr. + suffix 3 m.pl. + lamed prep. . ‘ayin-yod

and lamed-hey. “to preserve them alive, let them live”. Note that all inf.

cstr. forms of lamed-hey verbs drop the final hey together with the preced-

ing vowel and replace them with .ות

כת Piel perf. 3 f.sg. . “it/she awaits”. Pe-guttural and lamed-hey.

The perf. 3 f.sg. in all stems of verbs lamed-hey is formed by substituting the old feminine ת for the final of the verb root and adding the 3

f.sg.afformative.

20 Psalm 118:18

ר Piel inf. abs. ר .

נ Piel perf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 1 c.sg. ר . “He has chastened me”. Pe-yod verb.

Uses of Piel

The following summary of the uses of Piel is based on the analyses of

modern grammarians. (see Bibliography).

I: Intensive of Qal

The Piel adds such ideas as: often, much, for a long time, to the simple idea

of the verb. It is a strengthening and repetition of the action.

בר = “he broke”; ר = “he broke in pieces”.

e.g. II Kings 18:4

ווא ת א וב ת א ו א ת א




“He removed the high places, shattered the pillars and cut down the

asherah trees”.

(see GK 52a: “In the second syllable, a has been retained in the majority of

cases, so that the conjugation should more correctly be called Pi al—.”) See

also above, Explanatory Notes for Spot the Piel, no 2.

ר = “he counted”; ר = “he recounted, related”.

e.g. Exodus 10:2

ן ו נ נבנא ן ב ו אא ת

“And in order that you may recount to your son and your grandson how I

mocked Egypt”.

ק = “he laughed”; ק = “he laughted repeatedly,

jested”.

e.g. Genesis 21:9

א ר ן ת א ר ר א בא

“Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian whom she had borne to

Abraham mocking”.

א = “he asked”; א = “he begged” (only twice in

Piel)

e.g. Psalm 109:10

ו נ וונבא רו תו ו ב ר

“May his children constantly wander and beg, and may they seek from their

ruins”.




Jouon/Muraoka (52d) do not list an intensive category, but rather a plural-

izing category, suggesting that some Piel verbs involve either multiple sub-

jects or objects. e.g. I Kings 11:15: ת א ר ק = “to bury the

slain”. Jouon/Muraoka further suggest that such Piels may have to do with

the frequency of an action. e.g. ק = “laugh repeatedly”; א =

“beg”(i.e. ask repeatedly). Lambdin (Lesson 40, 148) suggests that many so-

called intensive Piels seem to be stylistic variants of the Qal.

Jouon/Muraoka (52d) conclude as follows: “—the question how the func-

tion of Piel in relation to other conjugations, notably Qal, should be defined

still remainsone of the major challenges facing Hebrew and Semitic linguis-

tics”.

II: Factitive/causative

“Factitive” denotes the generation of a state or quality. A root which occurs

in the Qal as an intransitive or stative verb may have a transitive, active or

factitive meaning in the Piel.

(Qal) = “he grew up, became great”

(Piel) = “he made great, magnified”

e.g. Esther 3:1:

ר ארבאר א ת א

“After these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman”

(Qal) = “he learned”

(Piel) = “he taught”

The latter example is designated “causative” by Lambdin on the basis that

the Qal is transitive.




e.g. Ecclesiastes 12:9:

תר וא אתקו ו ר

“And besides being wise, Kohelet also taught the people knowledge and he

tested and he sought out and he arranged many proverbs”.

(Note four Piel perfect forms in this verse: ן ר ו ן או )

III: Declarative/estimative

נ = “he declared innocent”

ר = “he declared clean”

א = “he declared unclean”

e.g. Exodus 34:7

ר נ אנוואנונ

“Preserving kindness for thousands of generations, bearer of iniquity,

rebellion and sin, who absolves (declares innocent) but not entirely”.


ר וכ ת א כרנ

“The priest shall declare the house pure, for the plague has been healed”.

e.g. Leviticus 13:8

א תוכו וא ו כ ו




“The priest shall look, and indeed, the scab has spread on the skin. The

priest shall declare it impure; it is tzara’at”.

IV: Denominatives

“Denominatives” are verbs derived from nouns. (GK 38b). Denominatives

“are frequently formed in this conjugation, and generally express a being

occupied with the object expressed by the noun, either to form or to make

use of it”. (GK 52h).

See JM 52d: “The following examples are denominative in the sense thatthere lies behind each of them a related, and assuredly more primitive,

noun: ר to speak ( רב ); ן כ to act as priest ( ן ;( כ א to bind

sheaves ( ”.( א

Further examples are:

ן ק= make a nest (

קן= nest)

ר = throw dust ( ר = dust)

ן = gather clouds ( ןנ = cloud)

e.g. Psalm 104:17

ר נרא ק ו ר ת

“For there the birds nest; as for the stork, the fir-trees are her house.”

V: Privative Piels

The denominative Piel may express the taking away or injuring of the object

denoted by the noun and this is termed a Privative Piel.

(from ר ) = root out, extirpate

ב (from נב ) = rout the rear (of an army) (lit. injure the tail)




(from ן ) = remove the ashes

א (from א ) = free from sin

e.g. Psalm 52:7

ך ר וא

“And He will uproot you from the land of life”.

The root ק occurs in both Qal and Piel in the sense of “stone, pelt withstones”(see below, II Samuel 16:6), and occurs also in Piel in the privative

sense of “remove stones, clear away stones” (see below, Isaiah 5:2). Gesen-

ius (GK 52h) suggests that this is an example of a denominative although

the noun from which it is derived is no longer found.

II Samuel 16:6

נבאו ת א ב כ ת א ו

“He pelted David and all of King David’s servants with stones”.

Isaiah 5:2

ק ו י ו ו

“He fenced it around, and cleared it of stones; he planted it with choice

shoots”.

Exercise: identify the Piel verbs in the following biblical verses;

discuss their form and use. (see explanatory notes at the end).

1 Genesis 24:56 (Eliezer to Laban, seeking a wife for Isaac).

ר א י אר א ואתא כרנ ו אונ א




He said to them, ‘do not detain me, as the Lord has made my journey a

success; send me away and I will go to my master’.

2 Genesis 34:19

ר א א קכבוו ת בו כנו

אבת

The youth did not delay carrying out the thing, because he desired Jacob’s

daughter, and he was the most important among his father’s entirehousehold.

3 Numbers 33:4

ו ר וכאאק כ

The Egyptians were burying every firstborn, whom the Lord had killed

among them.

4 II Samuel 16:13 (Shimei ben Gera, from a family of the House of Saul,

curses David, who had left Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion).

קתואנ

נבאת ו

David and his men continued on the way, with Shimei walking along the

side of the mountain opposite him; he cursed and flung stones towards him

and threw dirt as he went along.

5 I Kings 20:11 (Ahab’s answer to Ben-Hadad, King of Aram, who was

besieging Samaria and threatening Israel).

א אירת א כ




The King of Israel replied, ‘Speak, let he who girds on (his sword) not boast

like he who takes it off’.

6 Job 33:32 (Elihu speaking to Job, hoping to show that Job is right).

אנב כק

If there are words, answer me: speak, for I wish to vindicate you.

Explanatory notes (for: identify the Piel verbs)

1 Genesis 24:56

רו א Piel imperf. 2 m.pl. factitive/causative. ר ,. “Do not hinder meא

cause me delay”. Contrast the “intensive” use of this root in Gen. 34:19

(below).

נ ו Piel imperat. m.pl. + sf. 1 c.sg. “Intensive” of Qal =“he

sent”, (Gen. 31:4; 42:4 etc). Piel has force of: “send off, away, dismiss; letgo, set free”, e.g. Gen. 30:25; 31:27; 32:27; Exod. 4:23; 5:1 etc.

2 Genesis 34:19

ר א Piel perf. 3 m.sg. ר ;. Intensive of Qal. Used only once in Qalא

see Gen. 32:5: ר א “and I delayed/tarried until now”. ר א is

contracted from

ר א א Qal imperf. + vav consec.

3 Numbers 33:4

ר ק Piel participle m.pl. . Perhaps “intensive” of Qalקבר קבר= “he buried”, but note the “pluralizing” category suggested by

Jouon/Muraoka (52d), whereby some Piel verbs involve either multiple

subjects or objects.




4 II Samuel 16:13

ק Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. Factitive use of the root ק= “be light, trivial”. Hence, in Piel = “make light of, treat as unimportant”

> “curse” (Lambdin 148).

Denominative. See: Uses of Piel, IV, V.

ר ו Piel perf. 3 m.sg. + vav conjunctive. Denominative.

Derived from ר = “dust”.

5 I Kings 20:11

Piel participle m.sg. ת . Qal ת = “he opened”. The Piel is

“intensive”: “free, loosen”. See also Gen. 24:32.

ו ר Piel imperat. m.pl. בר . Piel ר is denominative, derived from

בר n.m. = “word”. Note, however, several instances of רב = “speak” in

Qal: Gen. 16:13; Exod. 6:29; Numb. 27:7; 32:27; 36:5; Deut. 5:1.

6 Job 33:32

ק Piel inf. cstr. + sf. 2 m.sg. ק . Declarative or Estimative Piel.

“Declare righteous”.

Views of medieval scholars on use of Piel

This section presents the views of medieval scholars on the uses of the Piel

conjugation. Their comments are presented in the original rabbinic Hebrew,

together with translation and explanation. A glossary of some of the He-

brew grammatical terms used by these scholars is found at the end of the

section, as well as brief biographical sketches of these scholars. Students

should study the biblical verses and compare the views of the medievalscholars with the views in modern grammar books.




1 Genesis 8:8

ו י ת א אוארא

He sent forth the dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from the

face of the ground.

Comment of Rashi on

ון ן וא ון א א ות


This does not mean (merely) ‘sending on an errand’ but ‘sending away’

‘letting go’.


Rashi explains that (Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec.) is an ‘inten-

sive’ Piel, i.e. it expresses the idea, not just of ‘send’ (as in the Qal), but of

‘send away’, that is, complete dismissal.

2 Genesis 9:14

ונראתא ננו

And it will be that when I gather a cloud over the earth, the rainbow will be

seen in the cloud.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ננ

נו כב"ק ן נ או ר ו ב או ן ו ו א ר ן

ו כ ר )(





The first nun (in ננ ) is without dagesh, but it ought to have dagesh be-cause it is of the heavy conjugation (Piel), like: ר “when I speak

with you” (Exod. 19:9).


Ibn Ezra comments on ננ (lit. “in my gathering a cloud”) which is a

Piel infinitive construct form with suffix 1 c.sg., root נן , and in that sense

is analogous to ר (lit. “in my speaking”) (Exod. 19:9) which is also

Piel inf. cstr. + sf. 1 c.sg.(root בר ). Piel normally has strong dagesh in the

middle root letter, as in ר . Ibn Ezra notices the absence of this dagesh

in the nun of ננ . Ibn Ezra’s comment should be compared with GK

52d: “The dagesh forte—characteristic of the whole of Piel and Pual, is of-

ten omitted when the middle radical has sheva under it. The vocal character

of the sheva under the littera dagessenda is sometimes in such cases ex-pressly emphasized by its taking the form of a ḥaṭeph,—.”

See also GK 201: pp 73-74: “Omission of the strengthening, or at least the

loss of Dagesh Forte occurs:

a) almost always at the end of a word

b) very frequently in certain consonants with sheva mobile, since theabsence of a strong vowel causes the strengthening to be less noticeable

c) in the gutturals

Note also that the verb נ נ is a denominative, derived from the noun

נן = “cloud”.

3 Genesis 21:9

א ר ן ת א ר ר א אב




Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to

Abraham, mocking.

Comment of Rashi on ק

).ו(יק:א,בוון

).ברא(:ת,וו."

רנקו:,רו." קנ )"

. — רור).


ק “mocking” means: worshipping idols, as it is said (in reference to

the Golden Calf, Exod. 32:6): “They rose up to make merry”. Another

explanation is that it refers to immoral conduct, as it says (in reference to

Potiphar’s wife, Gen. 39:17): “to mock at me”. Another explanation is that

it refers to murder, as (in the war between the House of Saul and the House

of David, II Sam. 2:14): “Let the young men arise and make sport before

us”. Ishmael was quarrelling with Isaac about the inheritance.


Rashi is commenting on ק (Piel participle m.sg.). He shows how themeaning of the Piel here is not the simple Qal meaning of ק = “he

laughed”, as in: Gen. 17:17; 18:13 etc. Rather, it is an intensification of the

Qal, denoting: idolatrous behaviour or immoral behaviour or even murder-

ous intentions.

4 Deuteronomy 24:5

כאאבב א וב תנק אואב אאת




If a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, and he shall not

be assigned any task. He shall be free for his home one year and make the

wife whom he took happy.


תא תווותר,א תר,א וו

ת .ואותרא,ו,א


means “he shall gladden his wife” and its correct Targum renderingו

is ת ת א ו. The one who renders ת א ו “he shall

rejoice with his wife” is in error, for this is not the (Aramaic) rendering of

ו (Piel) but of . (Qal)ו


Rashi has explained the causative meaning of ו (Piel perf. 3 m.sg. +

vav consec.“and he shall make happy”). Rashi refers to two different ren-

derings in the Aramaic Targum. The correct rendering uses the Aramaic

Aphel conjugation, which has a causative meaning: ת ת א ו “he

shall make his wife happy” and the ת , equivalent to Biblical Hebrew תא, indicates the definite direct object. The incorrect rendering uses the Ara-

maic equivalent of the Qal to render ו and takes את in the sense of

“with”, ת א ו “he shall be happy with his wife”.

5 Deuteronomy 25:18

ר רא כר וואא

How he encountered you on the way and cut off your rear, all those wholagged behind you; and you were tired and weary.




Comment of Ibn Ezra on ב

נבך ת ,כ רו , א כ .א


He cut off your tail, that is, those who were shattered behind you, who had

no strength to go.


By stating נבכ ת “he has cut off your tail”, Ibn Ezra is pointing out

that ב (Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec.) is a denominative/privative

Piel, derived from the noun נב = “tail”. The denominative Piel may ex-

press the taking away or injuring of the object denoted by the noun and this

is termed a privative Piel. Hence, the Piel verb ב literally means “injure

the tail” and by extension “rout the rear (of an army)”.

6 Isaiah 5:2

ק ו י ו ו

He fenced it around, and cleared it of stones; he planted it with choice

shoots.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ו

כב ן נ ,נבא ר ו ן .ו נ א,וא

אבנ ר ,ו: ר וא)נ(


From the heavy conjugation (Piel), and it means “he removed the stones”.If it was in the Qal, it would mean “heap up stones” and similarly, Psalm

52:7: “He will uproot you from the land of life”.





Ibn Ezra explains that ו (Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec.) “and he cleared it of stones”, is a privative Piel. Ibn Ezra compares

ך ר ו (Psalm 52:7) “and he will uproot you”, because this is also a priva-

tive Piel, derived from the noun ר = “root”; hence, the Piel verb =

“uproot”. (Note the suggestion in GK 52h that is an example of a

denominative although the noun from which it is derived is no longer

found).

7 Psalm 109:10

ו נ וונבא רו תו ו ב ר

May his children constantly wander and beg, and may they seek from their

ruins.

נו = “quiver, tremble, totter”; ר n.f. = “waste, desolation, ruin” >

pl. ת ו ב .

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ו א ו

אב ו א א ו כב ו)"(ו א ו ו ו ר ו

ו ב


ו א ו is a Piel, like ו א in II Sam. 20:18. ו ר (“and let themו seek”)

has the same meaning as ו א .” , “let them seek breadו


Ibn Ezra clarifies that ו א ו is a Piel verb. It is in fact Piel perf. 3 pl. + vav consec., pausal; the non-pausal form is ו א . Ibn Ezra points to the




only other occurrence in the Old Testament of the Piel of א = “ask”, in

II Sam. 20:18, where it is preceded by the Qal infinitive absolute או . In

II Sam. 20:18 ו א א may be translated as “they shall surely ask” in

the sense of “inquire carefully, ask counsel”. In Psalm 109:10, however, the

Piel of א means “ask repeatedly, beg”. Note also that א is an ‘ayin-

guttural root and that the Piel imperf. ו א shows compensatory

lengthening of pataḥ to qamets under the shin to compensate for lack of

strong dagesh in the middle root letter. However, in Psalm 109:10, the form

ו א וshows virtual doubling of the ’aleph, since the ḥireq under the shin

has not been lengthened to tsere (as in אן = “he refused”).

8 Psalm 104:17

ר נרא ק ו ר ת

For there the birds nest; as for the stork, the fir-trees are her house.

Comment of Rashi on ו נ ק

ור .ון קן


The verb is connected with the noun, a bird’s nest.


Rashi points out that the verb ו נ ק (Piel imperf. 3 m.pl. pausal) is derived

from the root קן = “nest”. Hence, ן ק (“make a nest, nest”) is a

denominative Piel.

Polel, Polal, Hithpolel

It is rare to find examples in Biblical Hebrew of ‘ayin vav verbs in Piel, Pualor Hithpael, because these conjugations are formed by doubling the middle




root letter (or by lengthening the preceding vowel); since, however, the me-

dial vav has no status as a consonant, it cannot be doubled. Consequently,

‘ayin vav verbs repeat the third root letter, resulting in the following forms:

POLEL POLAL HITHPOLEL

e.g. from the root :, we derive the formsקו

קו (Polel instead of Piel)

קו (Polal instead of Pual)

ו ק ת (Hithpolel instead of Hithpael)

Typical Polel verbs are:

קו = “raise up”; ותת = “slay, kill”; רו = “raise”; כונן =

“establish”;

ובב = “bring back, restore”; ר ו = “arouse”.

In late Biblical Hebrew, however, a few Piel formations from ‘ayin vav

verbs can be found. See GK 72m: “The formation of the conjugations Piel,

Pual and Hithpael is, strictly speaking, excluded by the nature of the verbs

" . It is only in the latest books that we begin to find a few secondary

formations, probably borrowed from Aramaic, on the analogy of verbs "

with consonantal vav—e.g. the Piel to surround, only in נ ו Ps.

119:61; and with change of ו to , קי Esther 9:31, ו קי Esther 9:27 etc.—

Exercise:

In the following biblical verses, identify and parse verbs with a con-

sonantal vav for their second radical (see GK 72gg).

(See explanatory notes at end of section)




1 Examples in Qal

a) Numbers 20:3

ר רב א י אונ נ א

The people quarreled with Moses and said, ‘If only we had perished in the

perishing of our brothers before the Lord”.

b) I Samuel 16:23 אוו ו ר א א וו כ ת א ונ

ואו וו ור

And whenever the spirit of G-d was on Saul, David took the harp and

played with his hand, and there was relief for Saul and he would feel better,

and the spirit of evil would depart from him.

c) Isaiah 29:22

אן אבאקאכ אאת

רוקבו

Therefore, thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, to the House of

Jacob: Jacob will not be ashamed now, and his face will not pale.

d) Isaiah 42:11

ו א ורקרברר

ו




The desert and its cities will raise (their voices in song); (so too will) the

open cities where Kedar dwells; those who live on rocks will sing out; they

will cry from mountain peaks.

Explanatory notes to examples in Qal:

a) Numbers 20:3

ו נ Qal perf. 1 c pl = expire, perish; > Qal inf. cstr.

ו נ א = lit. “in the perishing of our brothers”. i.e. when ourbrothers perished.

b) I Samuel 16:23

ו Qal perf. 3 m.sg. + vav conjunctive; = be wide.

c) Isaiah 29:22

ר = be white. Qal imperf. ר > pl. pausal: רו

d) Isaiah 42:11

= cry aloud. Qal imperf. 3 pl. pausal > ו

ר n.m. settlement, village. always in pl. ר (BDB p 347)

2 Examples in Piel

a) Genesis 49:33

א י א ו א י ו נ ת א תו קב

ו א

Jacob finished instructing his sons and he gathered his feet to the bed and

he expired and was gathered to his people.




b) Isaiah 5:4

נב ת ו ת ק ו ו ת א ו ר ו ת ו :אי

What more could I have done to my vineyard that I have not done to it?

Why did I hope to produce fine grapes but it brought forth stinking ones?

c) Psalm 71:4

ו ו כ נ א

My G-d, deliver me from the hand of the wicked one, from the palm of the

unjust and ruthless.

d) Psalm 119:61

א תך ו נ ו ר ב

The bands of the wicked have surrounded me, I have not forgotten Your

law.

e) Psalm 146:9

ר ת א ת אווור

The Lord protects strangers. He relieves orphan and widow, but He makes crooked the way of the wicked.

Explanatory notes to examples in Piel:

a) Genesis 49:33

ת ו Piel inf. cstr. + lamed; ו . “to charge”.




b) Isaiah 5:4

ת ק Piel perf. 1 c.sg. .”. “I hopedקו

c) Psalm 71:4

Piel part. m.sg. ו . “acting wickedly”.

d) Psalm 119:61

נ ו Piel perf. 3 c.pl. + sf. 1 sg. ו . “They have surrounded me”.

Note that the Polel of the same root ו occurs in Psalm 146:9 (see below), but with a different meaning (“restore, relieve”).

e) Psalm 146:9

ת Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. ת . “bend, make crooked”.

Exercise:

In the following biblical verses, identify and parse Polel formations.

(see explanatory notes at end of section).

a) Exodus 15:17

ו תךותבא בונ

כוננא

You shall bring them and You shall plant them in the mountain of Your

inheritance, a fixed place for Your dwelling, which You have made O Lord, a sanctuary, Lord, which Your hands have established.




b) II Samuel 1:9,10

תתנאיא נכו א בכנתת א ככאנ

And he said to me, ‘Stand over me and put me to death, for cramp has

seized me, while my soul is still within me’. So I stood over him and put

him to death, for I knew that he would not live after his falling.

c) Isaiah 44:26

אאבבק ו ר ו

ו ונ תנ ו ב ר אקוו

Who confirms the word of His servant and fulfils the counsel of Hismessengers; Who says of Jerusalem, ‘it shall be settled’ and of the citie of

Judah, ‘they shall be rebuilt and I will raise up its ruins’.

d) Psalm 23:3

ו ן ק ב נ נ ובב נ

He restores my soul; He leads me on paths of righteousness for the sake of

His Name.

e) Psalm 30:2

ב א א ו תנ כ ך ו ר א :

I will extol You O Lord for You have drawn me up and have not let my

foes rejoice over me.

f) Psalm 146:9

תרא אווור




The Lord protects strangers, He relieves orphan and widow, but He makes

crooked the way of the wicked.

g) Psalm 147:6

אר ר נ ו

The Lord restores the humble, He brings the wicked low to the ground.

h) Song of Songs 2:7

תאונ ו ר ואבאו א

ו ר ררא ו אב א ת א

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of

the field, that you will not waken nor arouse love until it pleases.

Explanatory notes to verses with Polel:

a) Exodus 15:17

כוננו Polel perf. 3 pl. כון “(they) have established”.

Note the Dagesh Forte Dirimens in ; “when a consonant with sheva

is strengthened—to make the sheva more audible”. (GK 20h).

Note that is not in construct state here (qamets under dalet, not

pataḥ ).

b) II Samuel 1:9,10 (The Amalekite telling David how he killed Saul)

תתנ ו Polel imperat. m.sg. + sf. 1 sg. ות . “put me to death”.

ו תת א Polel imperf. 1 sg. + sf. 3 m.sg. + vav conjunctive. ות .

(although the meaning seems to be as if it were vav consec. “and I put him




to death”, i.e. vav + qamets, ו תת א corresponding to א earlier in

the verse).

c) Isaiah 44:26

ו קא Polel imperf. 1 sg. .”; “I will raise upקו

d) Psalm 23:3

ובב Polel imperf. 3 m.sg. וב ; “he restores, refreshes”.

e) Psalm 30:2

ך ו ר א Polel imperf. 1 sg. + sf. 2 m.sg. .”; “I will extol, exalt youרו

“draw water” > Piel (only here): “You have drawn me up”.

f) Psalm 146:9

ו ; “he will restore, relieve”. ו Polel imperf. 3 m.sg.

Contrast Piel of this root in Psalm 119:61 (see above).

and see BDB p 728: ו = “return, go about, repeat, do again” ).

> Piel: = “surround”; Polel: = “restore, relieve”.

g) Psalm 147:6

ו Polel participle m.sg. ו .

h) Song of Songs 2:7

ורר Polel imperf. 2 m.pl. ור ; “you will rouse, incite”.

אי n.f. hind, doe > pl. ות אי > cstr. ת ו א




H IPHIL

Try to recognise Hiphil verbs


PARSE and TRANSLATE all the HIPHIL verbs.

The student may consult the verb tables in any reliable Biblical Hebrew

grammar book. Explanatory notes are found at the end of the section.

1 Exodus 14:10

ר אקרו אי בנ ת א ו נ

אראא

And Pharoah drew near and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes and

behold the Egyptians were marching after them and they were very afraid.

2 Leviticus 8:13

ב יק ת א ר אבנאתיכיא

ב וי

And Moses brought near Aaron’s sons and he clothed them (with) tunics

and he girded them with girdles and he bound turbans on them.

3 Isaiah 6:7

תניאי ונוךת א ו

ר

And he caused (it) (the burning coal) to touch my mouth and he said,

‘behold this has touched your lips, and your iniquity will depart and your sin

will be atoned for’.




4 Genesis 24:18 (Rebekkah to Eliezer, Abraham’s servant)

ר א תנ א כ

And she said, ‘drink my Lord’ and she hastened and let down her pitcher on

her hand and she gave him to drink.

5 Exodus 1:20

ב א ר

And G-d dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and grew

very mighty.

6 Leviticus 26:9

ת נ תאו ותאת ר תאתו תק ר ת א

א

And I will turn to you and I will make you fruitful and multiply you and

establish My covenant with you.

7 Lamentations 2:5

וא א כא ת ו נ רא בכ

רב י ו ת בנאינ

The Lord was like an enemy, He has swallowed up Israel, He has swallowed

up all her palaces, He has destroyed his strongholds, and He has increased

in the daughter of Judah, mourning and moaning.




8 Deuteronomy 9:14

ר אואו ת א ואותך ו

Let me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under

Heaven and I will make you a nation mightier and more numerous than it.

9 Hosea 2:14

תנאאתאאותאנתנתב א ות א

And I shall devastate her vines and her fig trees of which she said, ‘they are

my hire, which my lovers have given me’, and I shall make them into a

forest, and the beasts of the field will eat them.

10 Deuteronomy 2:31

ארתנתרא ת א ור

ו אר את

See, I have begun (to) give before you Sihon and his land; begin (to) take

possession, in order to inherit his land.

11 Numbers 30:16 (concerning vows)

ר אותאאנוו את

And if he will surely annul them after he has heard (them), then he shall

bear her iniquity.




12 Deuteronomy 26:6

ו ראתני נ ו נ ני בק

And the Egyptians maltreated us and afflicted us, and put hard labour on

us.

13 Deuteronomy 28:52 (vv 15-68: The Warnings)

ר ור רתו ב ור ו

And He will cause you distress in all your gates until your high and fortified

walls come down.

14 Lamentations 3:2

וינאות א א ו

Me, He has led and brought into darkness and not light.

15 Lamentations 3:5

א ות רא י

He has built against me and surrounded (me) with venom and hardship.

16 Lamentations 1:5

בררו וכא ב ר ו

ו בנ

Her adversaries have become chief, her enemies are at ease, for the Lord

has caused her sorrow for her many sins, her children have gone into

captivity before the enemy.




17 Hosea 2:13

ו ו כווו

I will put an end to all her joy, her feast days, her new moons and her

Sabbaths, and all her appointed times.

18 Genesis 41:54

ו ר א ר א כ אוב ב ב נ

And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said.

Explanatory notes for try to recognise Hiphil verbs

1 Exodus 14:10

ב קר Hiphil perf. 3 m.sg. .קרב “He came near, made an

approach”.

Note the apparent intransitive sense of Hiphil here (see Use of Hiphil,

below).

2 Leviticus 8:13

יק Hiphil imperf. apoc. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. .קרב

“And he caused to come near”. See WHG p 114 b: “It is to be noted very carefully that the Hiphil is the only part of the regular verb which has a shortened form of the Imperfect, thus: (Imperf.) is shortened to

(Jussive); to , and that the Waw Consecutive takes the

shortened form of the Imperfect when there is one, so that, e.g. ‘and he

made great’ is י (and not י ).”Hence, in our verse, Leviticus 8:13,

it is written ב יק and not ב יקר .

י Hiphil imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl. + vav consec.




“and he clothed them”. (lit. caused them to wear). Note that י is the equivalent of אתי .

נת כ n.f. = tunic > pl. נת כ

אבנ n.m. = girdle; ת ו n.f.pl. = head-gear, turban

3 Isaiah 6:7

י Hiphil imperf. apoc. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. נ = “he touched”.

“and he caused to touch”. Longer form of Hiphil imperf. is .

4 Genesis 24:18

ר Hiphil imperf. apoc. 3 f.sg. + vav consec. = “he came, went

down, descended”. “And she caused to come down, brought down, let

down”. The longer form of the Hiphil imperf. is ור/ ור .

5 Exodus 1:20

ב י Hiphil imperf. apoc. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. ב . “And he did

good to, dealt well with”. The longer form of the Hiphil imperf. is ב

which is a true pe-yod verb, as opposed to pe-yod verbs which were originally

pe-vav ; see JM 75.

And see JM 76 a-d: “The verbs with primitive as the first radical number

only seven—. The primitive is maintained in all the forms.”

(they are: נן )

6 Leviticus 26:9

תו Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. + vav consec. = “bear fruit, be

fruitful”; > “and I will make (you) fruitful”.




ת ר ו Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. + vav consec. ב = “be, become

much, many, great”; “and I will multiply, increase.”

ת ק Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. + vav consec. = “arise”; “and I willקו

cause to arise, establish”.

7 ירב Hiphil imperf. apoc. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. ב . “and he

made much, increased”. Longer form of Hiphil imperf. ר . This

pattern of shortened Hiphil imperfect is typical of lamed-hey verbs;

e.g. ן י (Judges 15:4), נ = “turn”;

י (II Kings 17:6), = “go into exile”

Note: אנ = mourn > אני n.f. = “mourning”; אני n.f. =

“mourning”.

ר cut off, make inaccessible > ר ב n.m. = “fortification, fortress,

stronghold”.

8 Deuteronomy 9:14

ר Hiphil imperative m.sg. shortened form; “let drop, let

alone”.

Longer form: ר (II Kings 4:27); “leave (me) alone”.

או Hiphil imperf. 1 c.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl. + vav conjunctive;

.“that I may annihilate them”.

9 Hosea 2:14

ת Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. + vav consec. = “be desolated”;

“and I shall devastate”.




10 Deuteronomy 2:31

ת Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. . “I have begun”.

Hiphil imperative m.sg. ; “begin”. (compare בב / ב ).

is a pausal form of (Qal imperat. m.sg. ) “take possession of”.

11 Numbers 30:16 (concerning vows)

ר ר Hiphil inf. abs. + Hiphil imperf. 3 m.sg. רר .

“he will surely break, make ineffectual, annul”.

12 Deuteronomy 26:6

ו י Hiphil imperf. 3 m.pl. + vav consec. ,. “and they did hurtר

evil”.

13 Deuteronomy 28:52

ר ו Hiphil perf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. ר (I) = “bind, tie up, be

restricted, narrow”. “and he will make narrow (for you), cause distress”.

Note also: ת ר lit. “until the coming down of”, + inf. cstr. Qal,

ר .

14 Lamentations 3:2

י Hiphil imperf. apoc. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. . “and he has led,

brought”. Longer form of Hiphil imperf. ו .

15 Lamentations 3:5

י Hiphil imperf. apoc. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. נק (II) = “go

around”. “and he has surrounded”. Longer form of Hiphil imperf. .




Note also: רא n.m. / רו n.m. = venom (poisonous herb);

א = be weary > א n.f. = weariness, hardship

16 Lamentations 1:5

ו Hiphil perf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 f.sg. = “suffer” (not in Qal); “he

has caused her grief, sorrow”. Note also: / = “be quiet, at ease”.

17 Hosea 2:13

ו Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. + vav consec. בת . “and I will cause to

cease”. Note that the final root letter, tav, has assimilated into the tav of the

suffix; ת > .

18 Genesis 41:54

נ Hiphil imperf. 3 f.pl. + vav consec. . “and (they)

began”.

Uses of Hiphil

The following summary of the uses of Hiphil is based on the analyses of

modern grammarians (see Bibliography).

I: Causative of Qal

ק oversee > ק make overseer, entrust to

ק be holy > ק sanctify

e.g. II Kings 25:23:

ו ינ א וק כ

ו ת א




“All the officers of the army, they and their men, heard that the king of

Babylon had appointed Gedaliah”.

Verbs which are intransitive in Qal, simply become transitive in Hiphil.

א he went out; א ו he took out.

If the Qal already has a transitive meaning, e.g. א = “he saw”, = א

“he ate”, then the Hiphil takes two accusatives:

e.g. Exodus 16:32:

ן ארתאאאתא

“So that they may see the food that I fed you (caused you to eat) in the

desert”.

e.g. Exodus 33:18:

כבראנ את

“Please show me (cause me to see) Your glory”.

II: Declarative/estimative

ק declare one to be ק , in the right; acquit

ר declare one to be , in the wrong; condemn

ק consider someone insignificant, despise.

( ק = be slight, swift, trifling)

e.g. Deuteronomy 25:1:

ק ו ת א ר ו ת א




“They will declare the innocent in the right and declare the guilty in the

wrong”

III: Inwardly transitive/intensive

The Hiphil is very frequently used of actions or states which we express by

an intransitive verb.

ק “he was strong” ן א “he trusted”

“But we must not say that the Hiphil is intransitive or that it stands for theQal: the transitive idea is genuinely present to Semitic feeling; e.g. ק todevelop strength, ר to keep silence” (Davidson, 1932)

e.g. Genesis 34:5: א קב ר ו

“Jacob remained silent until they came”.

Gesenius (GK 53d, p 145) distinguishes the following categories:

a): Hiphil stems which express the obtaining or receiving of a concrete or

abstract quality.

ר א to be long (acquire length)

to have success

א to become red (Isaiah 1:18)

e.g. I Kings 8:8: ן א ו א י ו ויאר

“The poles projected (were long) so that the ends of the poles were visible

from the sanctuary”.

e.g. Genesis 39:2: א ו ת א

“The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man”.




(The root in the Hiphil is also found with a transitive meaning.

e.g. Genesis 24:21).

b): Stems which express in Hiphil the entering into a certain condition

and being in that condition.

וק to become hard, difficult

וב to become dry

e.g. Genesis 35:17

כ רא א ת ר א ת ק ב

ן

“While she was labouring ( ת ק ;ב ; Hiphil inf. cstr. + sf.) in herק

delivery, the midwife said to her, ‘Do not fear, for this one, too, is a son for

you.’”

e.g. Joel 1:10:

ר א רו וב ן כ

“For the grain has been robbed, the wine dried up, and the oil devastated”.

The Hiphil forms of some verbs of motion are a variety of this class:

ב קר to come near; ק ר to withdraw far off

(also used as causatives)

e.g. Exodus 14:10:

ב קר ר ו

“And Pharoah drew near”




e.g. Leviticus 1:13:

את ן כ ב קר ו

“The priest shall offer everything”

c): Stems which express action in some particular direction.

ב to act well, to do good

ת to act corruptly

e.g. Isaiah 1:4:

תנ וכ

“Woe! They are a sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, seed of

evildoers, corrupt children”.

The root ת is also found in Hiphil with a causative sense. e.g. Genesis

19:13: כ קו ת א ו נ נא ת “For we are destroying this

place”.

d): Denominatives

(See GK 53g: he regards these Hiphils as causative since they “express the

bringing out, the producing of a thing”).

ר grow roots (Job 5:3); ן go to the right;

א go to the left

e.g. Genesis 13:9:

נאא אנ וא

ן י אוא או




“Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left,

then I will go to the right and if to the right, I will go to the left”.

( א n.m. = the left; ן n.f. = right hand)

e.g. Jeremiah 4:31:

בכ כ ו כ קו כ

“For I have heard an outcry like that of a woman in labour, in pain like a

woman giving birth for the first time”.

( בכ Hiphil participle f.sg. ר .ב ור n.m. first-born).

Exercise

Study the following extract from the Book of Numbers (17:6-15) and

answer the following questions:

1 Parse and translate all the Niphal verbs.

2 Parse and translate all the Hiphil verbs.

נ6 אכי ר א או

7אתא

רן א נו אי כבי ווא ריב8 ואאוא

9 אא10רא

א תאכי נ11איר א א

ת א ן ת וא ור וק ו

א ו כ רי12 ואיכאא




רי ת א 13י

ת ן בו 14ית

ראאב קתבאוו בר

ר15 ואתאא ונ

Key to exercise

Niphal verbs:

נו י ון ; imperf. 3 m.pl. + vav consec. “and they murmured”.

.”; inf. cstr. + prep. “in (its) being gatheredק

י .”; apoc. imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec. “and (it) appearedרא

ו ר ; imperat. m.pl. “be lifted up”.

ר ר ; imperf. 3 f.sg. + vav consec. “and it was restrained”.

נ ר ; perf. 3 f.sg. pausal; “it was restrained”.

Hiphil verbs:

ות ; perf. 2 m.pl. “you have killed”.

ו ו; imperat. m.sg. “take” (lit. “cause to go”).

; perf. 3 m.sg. “it has begun”.

Views of medieval scholars on use of Hiphil

This section presents the views of medieval scholars on the uses of the Hi-

phil conjugation. Their comments are presented in the original rabbinic

Hebrew, together with translation and explanation. A glossary of some of

the Hebrew grammatical terms used by these scholars is found at the end of

the section, as well as brief biographical sketches of these scholars. Students




should study the biblical verses and compare the views of the medieval

scholars with the views in modern grammar books.

1 Genesis 12:11

בוקרכא איאא

כאאר ת א

“And it was that when he came near to entering Egypt, he said to Sarai, his

wife, ‘Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman’”.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ב קר

ו ואנ ואא י

ו ו


He brought near. i.e. his camp, or (translating as ‘he came near’) it is one of

the intransitive verbs, for some verbs are both transitive and intransitive.


Ibn Ezra suggests that the Hiphil perf. 3 m.sg. form ב קר could have

either a transitive or an intransitive sense in this verse. If it has a transitivesense, then the reader must ‘supply’ the direct object, and we understand

the verse as if it said, ו נ ב קר “he brought near his camp”, even

though the word ו נ is not actually written in the biblical text. Alterna-

tively, says Ibn Ezra, ב קר in this verse could have an intransitive sense

and mean “he drew near”. Note Ibn Ezra’s terms for “transitive verb”

א ) ו ו ) and “intransitive verb” ( ו ו ). (compare GK 53d, p

145, on “inwardly transitive” or “intensive” Hiphils).




2 Genesis 12:8

ק יא ת אאב ויתן ב קי

“He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel and pitched his tent;

Bethel was to the west and the Ai to the east. He built there an altar to the

Lord and He called in the name of the Lord”.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ק י ן נ בכוו ו(וו ו)א ק ו

ו ק א ו ו :ו


The word ק י (Hiphil apoc. imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav consec.) ( קת =

move, proceed, advance) is Hiphil and transitive because the Qal imperf.

form ק ו in Job 18:4 is intransitive (“shall the rock be removed out of

its place”) and the direct object of ק י is “his tent”, even though this

word is not actually written in the biblical verse.


Ibn Ezra explains that the Hiphil form ק י is transitive and that theimplied direct object is “his tent”. Hence, the verse should be translated:

“He removed his tent from there to the mountain east of Bethel—.”

However, the word “his tent” ( ו ) is not actually written in the biblicalא

text. Ibn Ezra bases his opinion on the occurrence of the root תק in the

Qal in Job 18:4, where it has an intransitive meaning. Note Ibn Ezra’s term

for the Hiphil: ן כבנ (lit. “the additional heavy/intensive

conjugation”). His term for the Piel is “the heavy conjugation”, ן נכב . Note also Ibn Ezra’s terminology for “direct object” – ו .




3 Genesis 37:23:

ו ר א כוא ויא נאת כ ת א כתנת אאת

“And it was when Joseph came to his brothers that they stripped Joseph of

his tunic, the striped tunic that was on him”.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ו י

רונוו .אותיא


“And they stripped”. A transitive verb which takes two direct objects, for

they told him to take it off by himself.


Ibn Ezra explains that the Hiphil verb ו י (imperf. 3 m.pl. + vav

consec. ) takes two direct objects in this verse, i.e. “Joseph” and “his

tunic” (both marked by -את ). This is due to the fact that the verb in

the Qal is already transitive; see:

Leviticus 6:4

ר: א ב ו ו ת א ו

“He shall take off his clothes and put on other clothes”.

4 Genesis 42:6

ו ואוו א




“Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the grain-seller for all the peo-

ple of the land”.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ר

ת בווו .ונווו


The word ר (Hiphil participle, m.sg. + definite article) is from the

root בר and means “sell”. It is a transitive verb, taking two direct objects

(accusatives).


Ibn Ezra connects ר with the noun בר = “corn, grain” (see Gen

42:1, 43:2 etc) and the denominative verb בר which, in the Qal, means

“buy grain” (BDB p 991). בר in the Qal is transitive; see Gen 43:2: א ו נ ו ר ב = “buy us a little food”, and accordingly, Ibn Ezra

concludes that in the Hiphil, this verb takes two accusatives. This is seen

clearly in Deuteronomy 2:28: נ כ א “you shall sell me food

for money”, where the suffix on the Hiphil imperfect ( נ ) constitutes

one direct object, and the noun א (“food”) is the second direct object.

In Gen 42:6, the reader must “assume” a second direct object to be inher-

ent in the Hiphil participle, ר . i.e. “Joseph was the one selling

( ) grain ( רב ) to all the people of the land”. However, the noun

“grain” is not actually written in the biblical text.

5 Exodus 16:7

כבוראובק את ת ת א

ו נ וכתנו]נ ת[נ




“And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, as He hears your

complaints against the Lord. Who are we that you cause others to complain

about us?”

Comment of Rashi on ו נ ו ת]נ ת[

רובנוובא,אנר .ו

נקואכרו ות תנ,ב ו

ו ת רקו.


That you make everyone murmur against us, your sons and your wives and

your daughters and the mixed multitude. I am forced to explain ו נ ת inthe sense of “you make people do something” (i.e. Hiphil) because of the

lamed having a dagesh and because of the Keri (with yod , whereas the Ketiv has

vav – ו נ ו ת , which could be read as ו נ ו , as a Niphal imperfect).


One might have translated the verse as “and what are we that you should

complain against us”, but that meaning would presuppose the Ketiv, ו נ ו ת ,

which could be read as a Niphal imperf. ו נ ו “you complain”. However,

Rashi feels compelled to follow the Keri, which can only be read as a Hiphil

ו נ , which must then have a causative sense, and this makes it necessary

to supply the direct object, which Rashi does – “your sons and your wives

and your daughters and the mixed multitude”.

For the root ון (II), see BDB p 534. ון (I) means “lodge, pass the night”,

but ון (II) means “murmur” and occurs only in Niphal and Hiphil in:

Exodus 15, 16, 17; Numbers 14, 16, 17 and Joshua 9:18.




6 Numbers 17:20

אאו ר באת כ ו ת א א אנ

“The man whom I will choose – his staff shall blossom. I will rid Myself of

the complaints of the children of Israel, which they complain against you”.

Ibn Ezra’s comments on ת כ (Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. )

ת)ק(כ, :אתת

ת )ת תו:)א כ ,ב

.נוא


This is a geminate verb (double ‘ayin), like ת ת ( ת Hiphil) in Ezekiel 22:15: “and I will consume your filth out of you”, from the same

root as in Esther 7:10: “and the anger of the king abated”. The

meaning of ת כ “and I will cause to abate, decrease; allay” is

anthropomorphic, “to find rest”.


Ibn Ezra points out that the root of ת כ is geminate, , like the

root of ת ת , . He also explains the meaning by referring toת

Esther 7:10, where the Qal root, , means “abate, decrease”. Accord-

ingly, the Hiphil perf. + vav consec. ת כ has a causative meaning, “I

will cause to abate”. Hence, G-d is stating that He will “rid Himself” of the

complaints of the Israelites, which Ibn Ezra suggests is an anthropomor-

phic statement, for G-d does not need to “rid Himself” in a literal sense.




7 Deuteronomy 4:31

ךאאכ תור וכת ר ת א תבאאנ

“For the Lord your G-d is a merciful G-d; He will not forsake you, nor ruin

you, nor forget the covenant of your forefathers that He swore to them”.

Comment of Rashi on ךא ר

ק ,ו ךו ,ור

ון .ר


ך ר א (means) He will not let loose of you from keeping hold of you in

His hands. ך ר is a Hiphil (i.e. with a causative meaning); He will not give

you any looseness.


Rashi explains that ך ר is a Hiphil verb with a causative meaning. (Qal) = “sink, relax”; in the Hiphil, the meaning is “let drop, abandon, for-

sake”. ך ר is Hiphil imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 2 m.sg. equivalent to: ר

.אתך

Note that there is another Hiphil verb in this verse: ך ת א ו (root

ת ; Hiphil imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 2 m.sg.). It is possible that א וך ת is another example of a causative Hiphil, although the root ת

does not occur in the Qal. BDB suggests a theoretical meaning of “go to

ruin” for ת . Hence, ך ת א ו = “and He will not cause you to go

to ruin, destroy you”.




But see Isaiah 1:4 below for the inwardly transitive meaning of ת in the

Hiphil (“act corruptly”). See also Deut. 4:25.

Note also that Lambdin (157) suggests a permissive use of Hiphil. “This is

closely related to the causative meaning and can be decided only from con-

text.” e.g. Genesis 48:11: ך ר ת א א את רא “andו

behold G-d has allowed me to see your children also” (Jacob to Joseph). It

is possible that a permissive meaning could be perceived in the Hiphil verbs

in Deut. 4:31.

8 Deuteronomy 15:6

ךאכ אכרב ואוו

בא ת ו וךבו

“For the Lord your G-d blessed you as He had spoken to you; you shall

lend to many nations, but you will not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you”.

Comment of Rashi on ב ו

או ו כ,ונכ

ת ו ו,ב באווו נוו

ת ו ו Translation of Rashi

In the case of every term that denotes transacting a loan, when it refers to

the lender, the Hiphil form is used (i.e. cause someone to give a pledge, i.e.

lend), e.g. ת ו ו( ו ; Hiphil); ב ו ( ב ; Hiphil), but if it stated

ב ו (in the Qal), it would apply to the borrower (i.e. give a pledge), e.g.

ת ו ו ( ו ; Qal).





Rashi simply explains that the roots ב and ו are both used in the Qal to mean “borrow” and in the Hiphil to mean “lend”.

ב is in fact a denominative verb derived from the masc. sg. noun ב

= “pledge”. Thus, the Qal form means “give a pledge, borrow”, while the

Hiphil form means “cause to give a pledge, lend”.

9 Isaiah 1:4

תנ וכו ב

ת א אנק אאת ר ונ א

“Woe sinful nation, a people weighed down by iniquity, seed of evildoers,

corrupt children; they have forsaken the Lord, spurned the Holy One of

Israel, turned their back to Him”.

Ibn Ezra’s comment on ת

או רכנ


Themselves or their way.

Radak’s comment on ת

ר ת נ


Children corrupting their ways.




Explanation of Ibn Ezra and Radak

Both Ibn Ezra and Radak have supplied a direct object to the Hiphil masc.pl. participle form, ת . It is possible to take ת as an

inwardly transitive/intensive Hiphil (GK 53f) and translate as “children

acting corruptly”.The Hiphil participle ( ) in the same verse canר

also be taken as an inwardly transitive/intensive Hiphil, “a seed of

evildoers”. However, Ibn Ezra and Radak are both suggesting that

ת should be understood in a causative sense and therefore they

supply direct objects; “children who corrupt themselves” or “children who

corrupt their way(s)”. See Genesis 19:13 for another example of the

transitive use of ת in the Hiphil and see II Chronicles 26:16 for an

example of the inwardly transitive use of ת in the Hiphil.

10 Isaiah 1:18

א ו נואאאנ נככ ו א כוא

“Come now, let us debate together, says the Lord. If your sins are like

scarlet they will become as white as snow. If they become as red as the

scarlet worm, they will become as white as wool.”

Comment of Isaiah of Trani on ו נ and ו א נ,כב"א אא רו א ,)"(ראי

ר)ו( .קרו

Translation of Isaiah of Trani

Even though these verbs are Hiphil, they are not transitive, like: I Kings 8:8:

“the poles were long” and Exodus 14:10: “Pharoah drew near”.




Explanation of Isaiah of Trani

Isaiah of Trani points out that the Hiphil imperfects ו נ (root בן ) and

ו א (root ) are not transitive, just like the Hiphils in I Kings 8:8א

ו ) יאר ) and Exodus 14:10 ( ב קר ). Isaiah of Trani has in fact pointed

out the phenomenon of inwardly transitive or intensive Hiphils – see GK

53d, p 145.

H ITHPAEL

Spot the Hithpael

Study the following biblical verses. PARSE and TRANSLATE all the

HITHPAEL verbs. The student may consult the verb tables in any reliable

Biblical Hebrew grammar book. Explanatory notes are found at the end of

the section.

1 II Kings 11:3

א תנתא

And he was with her hidden in the house of the Lord for six years, while

Athaliah reigned over the land.

2 Deuteronomy 3:23

ן תאאוא

And I beseeched the Lord at that time, saying.

3 Psalm 18:24

א ת א נו




And I was innocent with him and I kept myself from my iniquity.

4 Micah 6:2

ו ו ב ר ככ ת א

For the Lord has a controversy with His people and He will contend with

Israel.

5 Genesis 44:16

ק ו ר נ א ר א ו ר יא

And Judah said, ‘What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? How

shall we justify ourselves?’

6 Leviticus 21:1

ר נא כ א ר רא נאוא א

Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them, ‘none

shall defile himself for a (dead) soul among his people’.

7 Job 5:4

ן וא

ר ב

כאו ו

י

ו ב

קו ר

Let his children be far from safety and let them be crushed in the gate, with

none to deliver.

8 Numbers 7:89

אובב וא איתא

ו רא כרבאראכ ו א




And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he

heard the Voice speaking to him from above the covering that was on the

Ark of Testimony, from between the two Cherubim and it spoke to him.

9 Leviticus 14:8

ו ת א ור כ וואת

And he that is to be purified shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair

and bathe in water and he shall be clean.

10 Jeremiah 23:13

א תרוובנב אתא בתי ת א א ת א

And among the prophets of Samaria I have seen folly; they prophesied by

Baal and caused my people Israel to err.

11 Genesis 9:21

א תו ית כר י ן ן

And he drank from the wine and became drunken, and he was uncovered in

the midst of his tent.

12 II Samuel 13:5

ת כבך ו ב ב נ ו ו ר א י

And Jonadab said to him, ‘lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick’.








11 Genesis 9:21 (Noah planted a vineyard and became drunk)

ית Hithpael imperf. 3 m.sg. apoc. + vav consec. = “uncover,remove” > (here): “and he was uncovered”. Longer form of Hithpael im-

perf. would be ת .

12 II Samuel 13:5 (Jonadab’s advice to Amnon, David’s eldest son, who

was sick with love for his half-sister, Tamar)

ת ו Hithpael imperative m.sg. shortened form, pausal. = “be

weak, sick” > (here): “make (yourself) sick”. Longer form of imperative

m.sg. would be ת .

Uses of Hithpael

The following summary of the uses of Hithpael is based on the analyses of

modern grammarians. (see Bibliography).

I: Reflexive of Piel

תק he sanctified himself

ר תא he girded himself

א ת he hid himself

e.g. Exodus 19:12: נו כ אקת

“Even the priests who approach the Lord must sanctify themselves”.

II: A more intensive meaning

implying that one shows himself as, gives himself out as, imagines

himself as, performing the action of the simple verb.

תנ he showed himself revengeful (Niphal: take revenge)

ר ת he gave himself out to be rich, feigned himself as rich




ת he made himself great, he acted proudly

כ ת he showed himself wise, crafty

ת he pretended to be ill

ר he made himself a prince

א תנ he acted in an excited manner like a prophet, he raved

e.g. Numbers 16:13:

בבאתנכ תנו

ר ת נכ

“Is it too little that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and

honey to have us die in the desert, that you would make yourself ruler over

us?”

e.g. I Samuel 18:10:

וראא יתנא

ת ו ת ב

“On the following day a spirit of melancholy from G-d came upon Saul,

and he raved in the house.”

III: Reciprocal action

See Waltke/O’Connor p 431: “When two or more subjects act in

relationship to each other according to the notion expressed by the verbal

root, the action is reciprocal. Although the Hithpael is used to designate

such action, it is rare.”

א ת look upon one another




ר converse

ת feel shame before each other

e.g. Genesis 42:1:

בכק רא איקנבא ת

“And Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt and Jacob said to his sons:

‘Why do you look upon one another?’”

e.g. Numbers 7:89:

אובב וא איתא

רא כ

“When Moses would enter the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he

would hear the Voice speaking to him from above the cover.”

(but compare Rashi’s view on ר ; see below, Views of Medieval Schol-

ars on Use of Hithpael, no 6).

e.g. Genesis 2:25:

תוואארונ

“They were both naked, the man and his wife, yet they felt no shame before

each other.”

IV: Action upon or for oneself

(in one’s own special interest, doing something for oneself, for one’s own

benefit, to one’s own detriment) (called by Lambdin, ‘Indirect Reflexive’)




a): with accusative of object

ק ת tear off from oneself (Exodus 32:3)

תנ strip from oneself (Exodus 33:6)

ת strip from oneself (I Samuel 18:4)

ת loosen from oneself (Isaiah 52:2)

י take (something) as one’s provision (Joshua 9:12)

e.g. I Samuel 18:4:

ו ר א ת א ןתנו תי

“and Jonathan took off (lit. stripped from himself) the robe he was

wearing.”

b): without accusative

ת walk about for oneself (Lambdin cites hlk as the only example of

the iterative use of the Hithpael)

ת pray for oneself

e.g. Job 1:7:

ר א י א אביתא א י

תאו ו

“And the Lord asked the Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ The Satan

answered the Lord, ‘From wandering and walking about the earth.’”




V: Seldom passive (tends to be found in later biblical literature)

e.g. Proverbs 31:30:

תתראתאיוק

“Grace is false, and beauty vain; a woman who fears the Lord, she should

be praised.”

e.g. Ecclesiastes 8:10:

ו ב כ ו

“and they are forgotten in the city.”

Exercise: identify the Hithpael verbs in the following biblical verses;

discuss their form and use. (see explanatory notes at the end).

1 Genesis 44:16

ר נאויא א ו

“And Judah said, ‘What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak

and how shall we justify ourselves?’”

2 Exodus 33:6

ת א א ב ו ותנ ר

“The children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from

Mount Horeb.”

3 Numbers 16:13

בבאתנכ תנו

ר ת נכ




“Is it too little that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk

and honey to have us die in the desert, that you should act the prince

over us?”

4 Joshua 9:12

ת א ו נ תא ו נו ותא ונ ו נ

“This is our bread we provided hot for ourselves from our houses on the

day we went out to go to you.”

5 Isaiah 52:2

ו ת ו ר ב ר קו ר ]ת[תנ ו

ת ב א וי

“Shake yourself from the dust, arise and sit down, O Jerusalem; loose from

yourself the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”

6 Proverbs 31:30

א תת ת אר א י ב ן ו קר

“Grace is false and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she

shall be praised.”

Explanatory notes (for: identify the Hithpael verbs)

1 Genesis 44:16

ק See “Spot the Hithpael” (above, no 5) for form (imperf. 1 c.pl.

pausal,

ק ; metathesis of with ת of Hithpael prefix). See “Views of MedievalExegetes” (below, no 2) for Rashi’s comment. The Hithpael is here the re-




flexive of the Piel and for the Piel use of this root, see: Job 32:2: קו א ו נ “because he justified himself rather than G-d”, where

קו is Piel infinitive construct + sf. 3 m.sg. followed by the definite direct

object ו .נ

2 Exodus 33:6

The root נ occurs in the Piel in the sense of “strip off, spoil” (e.g. Exod.

3:22; 12:36). The Hithpael occurs only here ( ו תנ ; imperf. 3 m.pl. + vav

consec.) as the reflexive of the Piel: “they stripped from themselves”(Lambdin’s Indirect Reflexive) and taking a direct object ( = “their

ornaments”). One should compare Exod. 32:3 and Rashi’s comment there

(see Views of Medieval Scholars on Hithpael, no 4 below).

(I) = ornament, deck oneself > n.m. (coll.) = “ornaments”

> ך ו/ etc.

3 Numbers 16:13

ר ) ) denom. from ר n.m. = “chief, ruler, prince” > Hithpael imperf. 2

m.sg. ר ת followed by infinitive absolute Hithpael, ר . Note

metathesis of the sibilant with the ת of the Hithpael preformative. Note

also compensatory lengthening (qamets under tav) due to absence of dagesh

in resh (middle root letter). More intensive use of Hithpael > “that youshould act the prince over us.”

4 Joshua 9:12

נו denom. Hithpael perf. 1 c.pl. ו from the masc. noun =

“provision, food”. Note the metathesis of the (1st root letter) with the תof the Hithpael preformative, which has become an emphatic . This type

of Hithpael expresses action upon or for oneself, called Indirect Reflexive

by Lambdin. “We supplied ourselves with provisions”. The words in this




verse are uttered by the Gibeonites, who pretended to be poor travellers

from afar, so that they would be permitted to make a covenant with Joshua,

since the Israelites had been forbidden to make agreements with their

neighbours.

5 Isaiah 52:2

ר נ = “shake” occurs also in Piel in the sense of “shake out, off”; e.g.

Exod. 14:27: תו ת א ר נ “and the Lord shook

off the Egyptians into the sea”. The Hithpael occurs only here in Isaiahר ) 52:2 תנ ) as imperative f.sg. in the reflexive sense of “shake yourself”.

ת is the only occurrence in the Hithpael of the root ת =

“open”. The Piel of ת has the sense of “loosen, free” (see I Kings

20:11) and the Hithpael here is the (indirect) reflexive of the Piel – “loosen

from yourself”. The Keri ( ת ) is imperative f.sg. and see GK 54 f:

“It (Hithpael) more often indicates an action less directly affecting the sub-

ject, and describes it as performed with regard to or for oneself, in one’s

own special interest. Hithpael in such cases readily takes an accusative,—.”

Here, the ‘accusative’ (i.e. the direct object) is א ו “the bands of

your neck”. The noun ר ו (= ר א ) n.m. = “band, bond” (pl.

ת ו ר ו ) is derived from the root ר א = “bind, imprison”.

6 Proverbs 31:30

The root occurs in Piel with the meaning of “praise” and in Hithpael

sometimes has the reflexive meaning of “glory, boast” (i.e. praise oneself);

e.g. I Kings 20:11; Psalm 34:3. Here only, in Prov. 31:30, the Hithpael

occurs in a passive sense: תת = “she shall be praised” (imperf. 3 fem.

sg. pausal).

Views of medieval scholars on use of Hithpael

This section presents the views of medieval scholars on the uses of the

Hithpael conjugation. Their comments are presented in the original rabbinic






one another”, as the same expression is used when the King of Judah,

Amaziah, unwisely challenged the King of Israel, Jehoash.

2 Genesis 44:16

ק ו ר נ א ר א ו ר יא

And Judah said, ‘What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak and

how shall we justify ourselves? (clear ourselves)’

Comment of Rashi on ק

באו"ובכו,ון

ן ו תאנת,תונ"ק נ"ב נותנוא

ואונ ובאאברא ת ו א ,

ון כ נ ,י .


ק is derived from the root ק . Every root whose first letter is

when used in the Hithpael or Nithpael, takes instead of ת (in the prefix);

however, it is not placed before the first root letter, but after the first root

letter (and before the second root letter), e.g. ק נ from the root ק ;

י (“let him be wet”) (Daniel 4:12) from the root ב . Explanation of Rashi

Rashi explains the Hithpael formation ק (imperf. 1 c.pl. pausal). The

expected prefix for Hithpael imperf. 1 pl. would be , but since the firstנת

root letter is (a sibilant), the ת has become and has changed places

with the . (See WHG p 120 for rules of Hithpael when the first root letter

is a sibilant or dental. See also GK 54 b,c,d).




3 Exodus 1:10 (words of Pharoah about the children of Israel)

ו כ נת ב

Come, let us deal wisely with him.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on כ נת

ר א ר .נב


Let us seek a way of wisdom, that he should not multiply.


Ibn Ezra comments on כ ., imperf. cohortative 1st c.plנת

“bewise”. Ibn Ezra’s words suggest that he saw כ נת as an “intensive”

Hithpael, implying that Pharoah wants to “show himself, give himself out

as wise” in his dealings with the Israelites.

4 Exodus 32:3

רן א ו א א בי נ א ר ב א נ את רקו כ ית

All the people broke off from themselves the golden earrings which were intheir ears, and brought them to Aaron.

Comment of Rashi on רקו ית

קון נכ,ר אא נק

, — אנ.כ.כת א כא)ו

(.





“And they unloaded themselves”. רק denotes unloading a burden. Whenthey took them (the rings) from their ears, they became “unloaded” from

their rings—. את (indicates definite direct object) is the equivalent to ן

(from). Like Exodus 9:29 where את has the force of ן in את ת א כר “when I departed (from) the city”.


The Hithpael imperf. + vav consec. רקו ית is here followed by את which normally indicates a definite direct object. One would not expect a

Hithpael (reflexive) to be followed by a definite direct object. Consequently,

Rashi explains that רקו ית really is reflexive, in the sense that by remov-

ing the rings from their ears, the people “unloaded themselves” from the

rings. This interpretation causes Rashi to assert that the particle את here

has the force of the preposition ן “from”. i.e. “the people unloadedthemselves from the golden rings”. Rashi compares Exodus 9:29 where אתagain has the force of ן . Contrast Rashi’s view with the statement in GK

54 f : “It (Hithpael) more often indicates an action less directly affecting the

subject, and describes it as performed with regard to or for oneself, in one’s

own special interest. Hithpael in such cases readily takes an accusa-

tive.”Hence, according to Rashi, the translation of כ רקו ית

נ את is: “All the people unloaded themselves from the rings” whereas, according to GK, the translation is: “All the people unloaded from

themselves the rings”.

5 Leviticus 18:24

או נ א ב כ א או א נ א ר א ו

נ




Do not defile yourselves in any of these, for in all these, the nations, which

I am sending away from before you, defiled themselves.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on או

"ת ו ת א נ"ת ו ת ן נ"ו נ ו,ן

ת ו "כ .


The dagesh in the is due to the assimilation of the ת of the Hithpael, and

is not due to the assimilation of the נ of Niphal. The proof is the dagesh in

the according to the rule (of Hithpael; dagesh in middle root letter).


The Hithpael verb או is derived from the root א = “be impure”.

Since the first root letter is a dental ( ), the ת of the Hithpael prefix isassimilated into the as indicated by the strong dagesh. Ibn Ezra explains

this and also points out that one cannot mistake the strong dagesh in the

as due to the assimilation of the נ of the Niphal, since dagesh in middle

root letter (as in the of וא ) is characteristic of Hithpael, but not of

Niphal. One may add that the Niphal imperf. of א would also have

qamets under the (not pataḥ ), i.e. ו א . Ibn Ezra’s point is well worth

making because both the Niphal and the Hithpael may have a reflexive

sense and may mean “defile oneself” (BDB p 379).

6 Numbers 7:89

ו ת א י ו ר א ו א א רובבא

ת ןרא ר רת א כ ו רא כרב ן

ו א




And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he

heard the Voice speaking to him from above the covering that was on the

Ark of Testimony, from between the two Cherubim and it spoke to him.

Comment of Rashi on ר

ר ת ו ר כ,כ ו ו ו ב כ,ו ן ב נו ר

ו א ו :ו


ר is the same as ר ת “uttering itself”. It is out of reverence for

the Most High that Scripture speaks thus: (the Voice) was speaking to itself

and Moses heard it of his own accord.


Rashi explains that ר is a Hithpael participle m.sg. with the assimila-tion of the ת of Hithpael into the , respresented by the strong dagesh.

Rashi explains that the Reflexive (Hithpael) is used here out of reverence

for the Divine, because it would not have been respectful to have used the

Piel, ר , implying that G-d spoke directly to Moses as it were. Rather,

the Voice spoke to Itself and Moses could not help hearing it.

7 I Samuel 18:4

ו י ו ר א ת א ןתנו תי

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to

David.






Amnon was distressed enough to make himself sick for the sake of Tamar

his sister.

Comment of Radak on ת ו ת

קו ב ו ר ו נרא ב


Until he seemed ill, from his great desire for her.


Radak explains that ת ו ת (Hithpael inf. cstr. + lamed; ) ex-

presses a more intensive meaning, implying that Amnon was not actually ill,

but seemed ill, even pretended to be ill. (Amnon, David’s eldest son, was

sick with love for his half-sister, Tamar).

9 II Samuel 13:5

ו ר א י ת כבך ו ב ב נ ו

Jehonadab said to him, ‘Lie on your bed and pretend to be ill.’

Comment of Radak on ת ו

ו ך רא


Show yourself to be ill.


ת ו is the apocopated imperative (pausal) Hithpael, (shortened

from ת ). Radak again explains that it implies pretence of illness. Je-




honadab advised Amnon to pretend to be ill in order that he could seduce

Tamar.

10 Isaiah 1:16

ו ו ר ר וכ ו

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil of your deeds

from before My eyes, cease to do evil.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on כו

ת ו ב ו ת ן ת"נ ו ב ו" ן: ק ו

רא( ק ו (


This is a Hithpael and the ת of the Hithpael prefix has been assimilated

into the , like: Leviticus 14:4: where the ת of the Hithpael prefix is

assimilated into the of ר .


Ibn Ezra clarifies that כו is a Hithpael imperative m.pl. root (be

clean, pure) with assimilation of ת into the . i.e. כו instead of ו כ ת ,just like ר (Levit. 14:4) instead of ר ת (“unto him who purifies

himself”). Compare GK 54 d: “Metathesis would likewise be expected—

when ת and come together, as well as a change of ת to . Instead of this,

in the only instance of the kind, ( וכ ), the ת is assimilated to the –

unless indeed ו כ imperative Niphal of is intended.”

Note, however, the comment of SHADAL (Samuel David Luzzatto, 1800-1865, Italian scholar): ור נ ו,וא




– “If it was Niphal from , the accent on כו would not be on the

ultimate but on the penultimate syllable.”

11 Proverbs 13:7

ב ן ו ו ו ר ת ן כ ר וא ת

There is one who pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; (there is another)

who pretends to be poor, but yet has great riches.

Comment of Rashi on ר ת

ר ו רא


He shows himself to be rich.


Rashi comments on the Hithpael participle m.sg. ר ת , root ר ,

which does not have the simple reflexive meaning of “make oneself rich”

but the more intensive meaning of “pretend to be rich”, “give oneself out

as rich”. One may note the other participle in this verse, ו ר ת , a

Hithpolel (root, ר/ רו ), which also has this more intensive meaning,

“pretend to be poor”.

THE THEORY OF THE QAL PASSIVE

According to this theory, a number of supposed perfects of Pual are in fact

passives of Qal and a number of supposed imperfects of Hophal are in fact

imperfects of the passive of Qal. Moreover, there are some examples of

supposed participles of Pual without the preformative mem which could be

participles of former passives of Qal. In this section, examples of these

three categories will be discussed, based on the analyses found in modern




grammar books. (GK 52e; 52s; 53u; JM 58a-d; IBHS 22.6). At the end of

the section there will also be discussion of the opinions of some medieval

scholars.

I: Supposed perfects of Pual

With regard to some verbal forms which are apparently Pual perfect forms,

see GK 52e: “According to the convincing suggestion of Bottcher—many

supposed perfects of Pual are in reality passives of Qal. He reckons as such

all those perfects, of which the Piel (which ought to express the corre-

sponding active) is either not found at all, or only (as in the case of )

with a different meaning, and which form their imperfect from another

conjugation, generally Niphal.”

In the following biblical verses, identify the verbal forms which could

be construed as Qal Passives and explain why.

1 Isaiah 32:14

ו ת ו ר ב ן ב ב ר ון נ ן ו רא כ

ר ר א ו

For the palace has been abandoned, the city’s multitude forsaken; the

mound and tower have become dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture

of flocks.

נ appears to be Pual perf. 3 m.sg. pausal. (the pataḥ characteristic

of Pual perf. 3 m.sg. has been lengthened to qamets under the influence of

the accentuation). נ = “leave, forsake”. However, this root does not

occur in Piel, and the ‘Pual’ occurs only here.

ב appears to be Pual perf. 3 m.sg. pausal. (the pataḥ characteristic

of Pual perf. 3 m.sg. has been lengthened to qamets under the influence of the ’Athnaḥ ). However, this root ( ב = “leave, forsake”) does not occur




in Piel. The ‘Pual’ occurs only here and in Jeremiah 49:25 (3 f.sg. ב ).

The Niphal imperf is found four times (Lev 26:43; Isa 7:16; 18:6; Job 18:4).

2 Jeremiah 29:22

ך ר א בב ר א ו ת ו ק ו

ב ק ר ב א א ו ו ק כא

And there will be derived (lit. taken) from them a curse by all the exile of

Judah that is in Babylon, saying: ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah andlike Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted in fire. ( ק = “roast”).

ו appears to be Pual perf. 3 m.sg. (+ vav consec.) from ק = “he

took”. However, the Piel of ק is not attested and the meaning of וis the passive of the Qal (“was taken”).

3 Genesis 2:23

את אכאא ק

She shall be called Woman, because she was taken from Man.

ק appears to be Pual perf. 3 f.sg. ק , but the Piel of ק does

not occur (see above, no 2). For absence of dagesh in middle root letter ( ק )

and ḥaṭeph-qamets under the —, see GK 52d: “The Dagesh Forte, whichקis characteristic of the whole of Piel and Pual, is often omitted—when the

middle radical has sheva under it—. The vocal character of the sheva under

the litera dagessanda is sometimes in such cases—expressly emphasized by

its taking the form of a ḥaṭeph, as in ק Gn 2:23, with owing to the

influence of the preceding u,—.”see also GK 10h.

Ibn Ezra, however, considers ק to be a Pual formation, as is evidentfrom his comment on this verse, where he states that it is כב ן נ

which is his terminology for Piel and Pual. (lit. “the heavy conjugation”).




קו א נ בק"ו ן בנ וא ו ון ק את א נ א .וא

“The koph of ק lacks the strong dagesh in order to facilitate pronun-

ciation. The form is Pual, even though the Piel is not found.”

4 Genesis 4:26

ת ו וקי ת א נא

And to Shet, to him also, there was born a son and he called his name

Enosh.

appears to be Pual perf. 3 m.sg. However, the meaning (“there was

born”) is passive of the Qal ( = bear, bring forth, beget) and although

the Piel of is attested, it has the meaning of “cause, help to bring forth,

assist, tend as midwife”. (the Piel participle f.sg. ת = “midwife”; see

Gen 35:17 etc).

5 Ezekiel 15:34

ו א או ת ו נ ת ן ב

And the contrary is in you from (other) women, in your fornications, but

fornication was not done (in going) after you.

ו is apparently Pual perf. 3 m.sg. נ = “commit fornication, be a

harlot”, but the root נ is unattested in the Hebrew Bible in Piel and

occurs only here in ‘Pual’.

6 Job 33:21

רא]ו[ו א

ו ת ו




His bones are laid bare, are not seen. (Ketib: ו = “and bareness”)

( = sweep bare).

ראו could be Pual perf. 3 c.pl. א , but this root is unattested in Piel in

the Hebrew Bible and this apparent ‘Pual’ is a Hapax, suggesting that it is

Qal passive.

II: Apparent Hophal imperfects

With regard to some verbal forms which are apparently Hophal imperfects,

see GK 53u: “According to Bottcher—and Barth (see above 52e) a numberof supposed imperfects Hophal are, in fact, imperfects of the passive of

Qal. As in the case of the perfects passive of Qal (see above, 52e) the ques-

tion is again of verbs of which neither the corresponding causative (i.e. here

the Hiphil), nor the tense of the same conjugation (i.e. here the perfect Ho-

phal) is found; —.”

In the following biblical verses, identify the verbal forms which couldbe construed as Qal Passives and explain why.

1 Genesis 18:4

ו א ו

Let a little water be taken and wash your feet.

appears to be Hophal imperf. 3 m.sg. ק = “he took”.

However, the corresponding Hiphil is not attested (i.e. ק / ), nor

the perfect of the ‘Hophal’. See GK 53u: “In point of fact it would be very

strange, especially in the case of ן and that of these frequently used

verbs, amongst all the forms of Hiphil and Hophal, only the imperfect Ho-

phal should have been preserved.” Waltke/O’Connor (22.6b) point out

(note 29) that the root lqh shows an apparent Pual eight times and an ap-

parent Hophal six times.




2 Leviticus 11:38

וא א ו ת ב ונ ן ו

But if any water be put upon the seed and any part of the carcass fall on it,

it shall be unclean.

ן appears to be Hophal imperf. 3 m.sg. נתן = “he gave”, but the

corresponding Hiphil is not attested (i.e. ן נ ן/ ) and the ‘Hophal’

perfect does not occur. Moerover, the meaning is the passive of the Qal:“he will be given/put”. The Niphal imperf. of נתן is well attested. Note,

however, Ibn Ezra’s comment on Levit. 11:38, where he indicates that both

ן and are Hophals.

ו ת ו כ ן) : ת א ר ב ( א בכ ן נ

.ו

“The word ן is like (Gen 18:4) from the intensive/heavy

conjugation.”

3 Genesis 4:24

ב ו ב ן ו ת ב כ

If Cain will be avenged sevenfold, then Lemech (will be avenged) seventy-seven times.

appears to be Hophal imperf. 3 m.sg. נק = “avenge, take

vengeance”.

However, neither the Hiphil nor the Hophal perfect are attested. (see also:

Gen 4:15; Ex 21:21).




III: Apparent Pual participle forms without preformative mem.

With regard to these apparent Pual participle forms, see GK 52s: “A few

examples occur of the participle Pual without the preformative ( ), e.g.

אכ (Ex 3:2); ו (for ) Ju 13:8; 2 K 2:10; Isa 54:11.

These participles are distinguished from the perfect (as in Niphal) by the a

of the final syllable.—Notice, however, Barth’s suggestion—that, as the

active of forms like אכ only occurs in Qal, they are perfect participles of

former passives of Qal.”

See also: JM 58b: “Corresponding to the perfect passive Qal ק there is a

participle ק , just as there is a participle נק corresponding to the

perfect . Thus one hasנק אכ eaten, consumed, Ex. 3.2, corresponding

to the perfect ;אכ ו (for ) born, Jdg. 13.8 corresponding to the

perfect ; taken 2 Kg 2.10 corresponding to the perfect .”

In the following biblical verses, identify the verbal forms which could

be construed as Qal Passives and explain why.

1 II Kings 2:10 (Elijah to Elisha)

א ן א ן וא ך א את רא א

If you will see me taken from you, it will be so for you, but if not, it shall

not be so.”

is a strange verbal form because it appears to have the form of a

Pual perf. 3 m.sg. However, the qamets under the ק is hard to explain since

the word does not carry a pausal accent. Furthermore, syntactically, a parti-

ciple form is required. Consequently, here is either a Qal passive par-

ticiple or it is equivalent to , that is, Pual participle m.sg.

2 Exodus 3:2

ו אכ נ א נ ו א ר נ ו




And, behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

אכ appears to be Pual perf. 3 m.sg. pausal (the non-pausal form would beאכ with patah in the second syllable). However, the verbal form

אכ here is preceded by ן א as a negative and not by א , indicating a

participle form. Furthermore, אכ possesses the passive force of the Qal,

,, which does not occur in the Piel in the Hebrew Bible. Consequentlyא

the form אכ here must be taken as Qal passive participle, although there

is a view (see GK 52s) that it is a shortened form of אכ (Pual partici-

ple). The qamets in the last syllable is characteristic of all passive participles

( /נק ק / ק ) and compare above (1).

3 Judges 13:8 (words of Manoah to G-d)

ו י ר

What shall we do to the child that will be born?

ו י could be a shortened form of י (Pual part. m.sg. + def. art.

) but is likely to be Qal passive participle, since the Piel of occurs

only with the meaning of “cause to bring forth, tend as midwife”, while the

Qal = “bear, bring forth”. The definite article prefix makes it even less

likely that the form is a Pual perfect.

IV: Views of medieval scholars on the Qal Passive

See David Kimḥi’s Hebrew Grammar (Mikhlol) systematically presented

and critically annotated by William Chomsky. Published by Bloch Publish-

ing Company New York 1952. 24 k: Rem. 4, pp 88-89 and Chomsky’s edi-

torial note 146, p 103.

Radak points out the occurrence of some verbs in the Pual even though

there are no corresponding Piel forms. Radak then suggests that one may

create Piel forms on the basis of these Puals, as for example: ו






Glossary of rabbinic Hebrew grammatical terminology

ת ו י תוא the root letters

n.f. > cstr. ת - root (lit. cutting, shape)

" > ר בר א another interpretation

כב ן נ (used by Ibn Ezra) the heavy conjugation/Piel

ו כב ן נ (used by Ibn Ezra) the additional heavy conjuga-

tion/Hiphil

the meaning

ו its meaning

“accent” (see Shadal on Isaiah 1:16)

ו strange, foreign language (in Rashi refers to Old French) (seePsalm 114:1: ו )

foreign language (Old French in Rashi)

ו n.m. root > בו = the root of the word (Rashi)

א ת ו כ as it says

ן א it is not possible/not likely

ר ו ק infinitive absolute (used by Radak)

ק (morphological) pattern

ק (morphological) pattern (i.e. word pattern, formation)

ו verb




וו transitive verb

ו ו intransitive verb

ו ו ו א י verbs that are both transitive and intransitive

ו direct object

וו נ א ו a transitive verb which takes two direct

objects

כבו Piel

double ‘ayin verbs (lit. verbs of doubling)

ב n.f. word

ו ר lit. = “translation”, i.e. the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew

Bible.

Brief biographical sketches of medieval scholars

(in chronological order)

Menaḥem ibn Saruq (910 – 970 CE)

He wrote the first complete dictionary in Hebrew, called נ ת ר ,

and since it was written in Hebrew, it was very popular among the Jews of Christian Europe who had no access to Arabic, unlike the Jews of the Span-

ish school, who were flourishing in the tolerant Islamic civilisation of Spain

at that time.

Judah ibn Ḥayyūj (950 – 1000 CE)

Native of Fas, who wrote in Arabic and who virtually discovered the basic

triconsonantal nature of the verbal stem. He was quoted twenty-three timesby Ibn Ezra in his commentaries.




Jonah ibn Janaḥ (’Abu’l Walid ibn Merwan) (c. 985 – c. 1040)

Born in Cordova. He wrote a grammar and a dictionary, preserved both in

the Arabic original and in the Hebrew translation by Judah b. Tibbon. He

was often quoted by Ibn Ezra.

Samuel ha-Nagid (993 – 1055/6)

Vizier of Granada (medieval Muslim Spain). Notable for his high status

among both the Arabs and Jews of his time. Mainly a poet and halakhist.

Rashi (Rabbi Solomon Yishaki) (1040 – 1105)

Born in Troyes, France. It is crucial to remember that despite all the pro-

gress made by the end of the eleventh century in Hebrew grammar and

lexicography, the results were accessible only to those who knew Arabic,

thereby excluding the Jews of Christian Spain, France, Germany and Italy.

Hence, Rashi relied on נ ת ר (see above), quoting it by name

more than one hundred and fifty times. However, despite its merit,

ת ר נ posited uni, bi, tri, quadre, quinque consonantal radicals,

and as a result, Rashi’s grasp of the triconsonantal nature of the verbal stem

was incomplete. Nevertheless, in complete independence of the Spanish

school, Rashi founded a new school of exegesis in Northern France, which

endeavoured to arrive at a literal interpretation of the Bible, the peshaṭ, and

which used the old Midrashic exegesis selectively.

Joseph Kara (1050 – 1125 CE)

A colleague or student of Rashi in the pesha ṭ school of N France. He wrote

commentaries on most of the books of the Bible, of which some have sur-

vived. Even more than Rashi, he moved away from reliance on midrashic

sources in his exegesis and applied the principles of contextual exegesis.

Rashbam (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir) (c. 1080-85 – c. 1174)

Commentator on Bible and Talmud. Born in Ramerupt in Northern France.

Studied under his grandfather, Rashi, in Troyes. He also wrote a grammati-






Naḥmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman/Ramban) (1194 – 1270)

Born in Gerona, Spain, he was a halakhist and a biblical commentator, as

well as a physician, inheriting the scholarship of both N France and

Provence.

Isaiah ben Mali di Trani (the Elder, born c. 1200 CE?)

An outstanding Italian scholar.

Isaiah ben Elijah di Trani (the Younger, c. 1235 – 1300 CE)

Grandson of Isaiah ben Mali di Trani the Elder. There is some confusion

concerning some biblical commentaries which have been ascribed to di

Trani the Elder which perhaps should be ascribed to di Trani the Younger.

Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal) (1800 – 1865)

Italian scholar. Appointed Professor of the rabbinical college of Padua in

1829. He wrote Hebrew commentaries on many parts of the Hebrew Bible.








{iv} as an English gerund (a verbal noun – part verb, part noun – that

functions as a noun in a clause). This is a rare use of the Infinitive

Absolute however.

The explanatory notes further clarify these usages.

The student should consult the reference grammar books in the

bibliography for further study.

Exercise: identify the Infinitive Absolute forms in the following

biblical verses. Discuss their form and use.

I: A strengthening complement to finite verbs from the same root,

placed either before or after the verb. (1-23).

1 Genesis 2:17

ךכתאוו א ו

ות

But from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it,

for on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.

2 I Samuel 9:6

א א אאא כנו ר א ו

בוא

Behold, now, there is in this city a man of G-d, and the man is honourable;

all that he says will surely come about.

3 Exodus 21:28

ו וא ור ו ק קו ת א או את א ר אתר נק ו רו וב ת א א



P ART T WO: THE INFINITIVES IN BIBLICAL HEBREW 165

If an ox gores a man or a woman and they die, the ox shall surely be stoned

and its flesh shall not be eaten, and the owner of the ox shall be free.

4 Jeremiah 32:4

תן ן ת כ כ א ו ו קי ו

ב

And Zedekiah King of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the

Chaldeans, but he shall surely be delivered into the hand of the King of Babylon.

5 Deuteronomy 7:26

ב תו ו ו כ ר ת ו ךת א ב ו ת א תב א ו

וא ר כ ו ב ת

And you shall not bring an abomination into your house and become a

devoted thing like it, (but) you shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly

abhor it, for it is a devoted thing.

6 Exodus 22:3

ור ור נב ו א ב ת א א

If the thing stolen shall indeed be found in his hand, whether ox or ass or

sheep, alive, he shall restore double.

7 Exodus 22:11

ו ב ו ב בנ וא






And Na‘aman was angry and he went away, and he said, ‘behold I thought,

he will surely come out to me, and he will stand and call on the name of the

Lord his G-d, and he will wave his hand over the place and he will heal the

leper’.

12 Genesis 31:15

ו נ כ את ו א א י ו נ ו כ בנו נ ת ו י ר וא נ

Are we not accounted as foreigners to him, for he has sold us and hasindeed consumed our money.

13 Numbers 11:32

ו א ת ו ו ו או ו י כ ק

ו ו י ר א ו ת א

נ בות ב

And the people arose all that day and all the night and all the next day, and

they gathered the quails; he that gathered least gathered (a quantity of) ten homer, and they kept spreading for themselves round the camp.

14 Genesis 8:7

א י ב ת א א ת ב ב ו או

And he sent forth the raven and it went out and back continually until the

waters were dried up from upon the earth.

15 II Kings 2:11

ו א ב ר ר ו ו ו ן ו ר י א ו

ו י א י נ






20 Isaiah 30:19

יוכ ו ר בת קקננואתו כ

For, O people that dwells in Zion, in Jerusalem, you shall weep no more;

He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry, when He hears it,

He will answer you.

21 Amos 9:8

את ו א ו א

א נ בק ת ת א א א כ א א

Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom, and I shall

destroy it from upon the face of the earth, except that I will not utterly

destroy the House of Jacob, says the Lord.

22 Numbers 11:15

ר נא נ ר א כ ךוא נ ן ת א א

ת ארא וא

And if thus You are doing to me, please kill me, if I have found favour in

Your eyes, and let me not see my evil.

23 Genesis 46:4

ך א נ או ך א ואנ ת ו ו

ך נ




I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up, and

Joseph will place his hand on your eyes.

II: An adverbial complement to finite verbs from a different root

(24-26).

24 I Samuel 3:12

ו ת א ר ר א כ תא א וא אק יו

ו

On that day I will fulfill for Eli all that I have said concerning his house,

from beginning to end.

25 I Samuel 26:21

וב ת א או ר א י ר ת א ו ך א א כ ו נ

א

ר

א

כ

יו ך נ

נ

ק

And Saul said, ‘I have sinned, return, my son, David, for I will no longer

harm you, because my life was precious in your sight this day; behold, I

have acted foolishly and have erred greatly’.

26 Exodus 32:8

ו ו ו י ו ת ו ר א ר ן ר ו ר א רו א א י ו ו י אר וך ר א א ך

They have turned aside quickly from the way which I commanded them,

they have made for themselves a molten calf and they have bowed down to

it and sacrificed to it and they said: ‘these are your gods, O Israel, who

brought you up from the land of Egypt’.




III: Infinitive Absolute as a substitute for any form of a finite verb

(27-44).

27 Judges 7:19

ת ר א רא נ ק ו א ר א א א ו ן ו אבי

נ ו ו רות ונ ו ו יתק ר ת א ו ק א

ר א כ

So Gideon and the hundred men with him came to the edge of the camp, at

the beginning of the middle watch, (when) they had just stationed the

sentinels, and they blew the trumpets and shattered the pitchers which were

in their hand(s).

28 Exodus 8:11

א א ו ו ת א ו ר ת כ ר רא

ר ר א כ

And Pharoah saw that there was respite and he hardened his heart, and he

did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken.

29 Genesis 41:43

ונתון ו אב וארקי ו ר א נ ת ב כ ר ירכב אתו

אר כ אתו

And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had and they

called out before him Avrekh and they placed him over the whole land of

Egypt.




30 Zechariah 3:4

א ו ר ר א ו נ א ר א י ן ות ו ךתא ו ךנו ך בר ו רא ר א יא

And he answered and he spoke to those who stood before him, saying,

‘remove the filthy garments from upon him’, and he said to him, ‘see, I

have caused your iniquity to pass from upon you and I will clothe you with

robes’.

31 Ecclesiastes 9:11

ר ו א ו ו ר א כ ת ת א ו ב

ו א ו א ר ו נ ב א

כ ת א קר ת כ ן י

I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the

battle to the strong, nor even is bread to the wise, nor wealth to men of

understanding nor favour to men of skill, but time and chance happens to

them all.

32 Jeremiah 14:5

א א ב כ ו ו ת אי כ

Even the hind in the field gives birth and (then) abandons (its young),

because there is no grass.

33 Jeremiah 32:44

ן נ אר ו ו ת ו ר ב ו ת ו ונק כ ות

וב בו ר בו ו וב ו ר ב ב וב ת ו ב ת א ב א ב כ




They will buy fields with money and they will write (it) in the book and they

will seal (it) and they will call witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the surroundings of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah and in the cities of the

mountain and in the cities of the Lowland and in the cities of the South, for

I will return their captivity.

34 Esther 8:8

ו ת ו נ וב כ ו י כתבו וא

ת ו ונ ב נ ר תב א כ ת ב ן א

And you write about the Jews as is good in your eyes in the name of the

King, and seal (it) with the ring of the King, for a writing which is written

in the name of the King and sealed with the ring of the King, one cannot

revoke.

35 Exodus 20:8

ו ק ת ו ת א רו

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

36 Deuteronomy 5:12

קור ת ו ת א

Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it.

37 Jeremiah 2:2

ר ר א ר כ א ו ר נ ת בא א ו

אר ר א ת ו בת כ א ו נור א




Go and call in the ears of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I

remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials,

when you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown’.


ק ת ר ארון אתו ו ו ר את

ך ו א

Take this book of the Law and you shall place it beside the Ark of theCovenant of the Lord your G-d, and it shall be there as a witness against

you.

39 Deuteronomy 1:16

ו א ן ר א א ו ת ת א ו א

ק

And I commanded your judges at that time saying, ‘hear (the claims)

between your brothers and you shall judge justly’.

40 Hosea 4:2

ו נ ו ו נב ונא ו ו ו א

There is swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing

adultery; they break all bounds and blood touches blood.

41 Jeremiah 7:9

א א ו ר קו ר ק ב ו נא נב

א ר א ר א




Will you steal, murder and commit adultery and swear falsely and burn in-

cense to Baal, and will you go after other gods which you do not know?

42 Jeremiah 3:1

וב ר א א ת ו ו א ו ו א את א ן

ת נ א וא אר נו וא ו א

וב או

If a man sends away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another

man’s, can he return to her again? Shall not that land be greatly polluted?

And you have played the harlot with many lovers, and will you return to

me?

43 Numbers 15:35

אתו באבני ו א ת ו תו א ר א

נ ו כ

And the Lord said to Moses, the man shall surely be put to death; all the

congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.

44 Deuteronomy 15:2

ו ר ו א כ ו רב ו א ק ו כ א ת א ו ו ת א א

And this is the manner of the release; every creditor (lit. every possessor of

a loan of his hand) who lends to his neighbour, he shall not exact (it of) his

neighbour and his brother, for he has proclaimed a release to the Lord.




IV: Use of Infinitive Absolute as an English gerund (a verbal noun –

part verb, part noun – that functions as a noun in a clause) (45-

50).

45 Proverbs 28:21

ר ב ת ו בו א נ ר כ

Showing partiality (in judgment) is not good; for a morsel of bread, a man

will sin.

46 Isaiah 1:17

ו ב ר תו ו ו רו א ו ר ב ו א

Learn to do well, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the orphan, plead

for the widow.

47 Isaiah 42:24

ו ו][נתן וא ב א ו בק

אב א ו ו ו נ א ת ו ת ו א ו ו ו ב ו

Who gave Jacob for a spoil and Israel to robbers? Was it not the Lord,

against Whom we have sinned, and they were not willing to walk in His

ways and they did not listen to His Law.

48 Isaiah 22:13

ו ו ן ו ן תות ר ו אן א קר ו

ות ר נ תו כ ו ו א

And behold there is joy and gladness, slaying cattle and killing sheep, eating

meat and drinking wine; let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die.




49 I Samuel 1:9

ב ן כ ו ת וא ב א א ק ת ו א כ

And Hannah arose after eating in Shiloh and after drinking, and Eli the

priest was sitting on the chair by the doorpost of the Temple of the Lord.

50 II Kings 13:17

ר א י רוי א ר א י י ן ו ת ר א י כ ו א ב ו ו ו ק א א ת א ת

כ

And he said, ‘open the window eastward’ and he opened (it); and Elisha

said, ‘shoot’ and he shot; and he said, ‘an arrow of deliverance for the Lord

and an arrow of deliverance from Aram; and you shall strike Aram

completely in Aphek’.

Explanatory notes to identify infinitive absolute forms

1 ות ות Qal; ות ; inf. abs. followed by Qal imperf. 2 m.sg. The

inf. abs. serves as strengthening or emphasizing complement before

the verb. Here it strengthens the certainty of the threat. “You shall

surely die”.

2 בוא או Qal; .; inf. abs. followed by Qal imperf. 3 m.sgבוא

emphasizes certainty of fulfillment. Saul’s servant is speaking to Saul

when Saul despaired of finding the lost asses belonging to his father,

Kish. “(it) will surely come about”.

3 ק קו Qal; ק ; note that although the stem of the inf. abs.is oftenest of the same stem as the finite verb, nevertheless the inf.

abs. Qal expresses the idea of the verb in general and may be joined




with any other stem. Here, inf. abs. Qal gives emphasis to the injunc-

tion conveyed by the Niphal imperf. ק “the ox shall surely be

stoned”. נ = “gore”. Note also the use of -את in this verse. For

א את או א את see GK 117d: “On the other hand אתoccurs very seldom in prose before a noun actually or apparently

undetermined. In Ex. 21:28—perhaps the את is used in order to

avoid the combination ור א —.” For רו ת א א א ו see

GK 121b: “—The passive, however, is also used impersonally (in the

3rd sing. masc.), —more frequently with the object of the active

construction still subordinated in the accusative, e.g. Gen. 27:42: י ו ב ת א רבק “and there were told (i.e. one told) to

Rebekah the words of Esau”.

4 תן ן ת כ Niphal; ; The inf. abs. before the finite verbנתן

(Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. תן ) emphasizes the antithesis introduced by

כ after the preceding negative clause. “He will not escape BUT he will

surely be delivered”. Note that both inf. abs. and finite verb are of the

same stem.

5 Piel; ק = “detest”

ו ב ת ב תו Piel; ב ת = “abhor”

Here, both inf. abs. forms (each before a finite verb of the same stem) em-phasize the antithesis following the preceding negative clause, although

there is no introductory antithetical particle as in no 4 above. “And you

shall not bring—BUT (implied) you shall utterly detest it and you shall ut-

terly abhor it”.

6 א ת Niphal; א ; here, the inf. abs. before the finite

verb gives emphasis to the supposition. Both the inf. abs. and the fi-

nite form are Niphal. “If —shall indeed be found”.




7 נוא Qal; נב ; but the finite verb is Niphal ( ב ). The

inf. abs. before the finite verb emphasizes the supposition. “But if it

shall indeed be stolen”.

8 ו נ Qal; ; the inf. abs. before the finite verb

strengthens the question.

ו אנ Qal; ; the inf. abs. before the finite verb

strengthens the question.

Note the method for asking an alternative question: — א

9 א Qal; ; The inf. abs. before the finite

verb strengthens the question. “Did I not indeed send—?”

10 ב Piel; ; note compensatory lengthening of vowelבר

under beth due to absence of strong dagesh in resh . Note place of inf.

abs. after the finite verb, here with the same function of emphasis as when before the finite verb.

11 וא א Qal; א ; note inf. abs. after finite verb. “He will surely

come out”. נו = “move to and fro, wave” > Hiphil: “wave (hand)”.

Na‘aman, Aramean army captain, seeks a cure for his leprosy from El-

isha.

12 א אי Qal; ,; note inf. abs. after finite verbא

strengthened with . “He has indeed consumed”. Words of Leah and

Rachel about Laban their father.

13 ו ו י Qal; ; note furtive pataḥ due to lamed-

guttural verb. The inf. abs. after the verb often seems to suggest an in-

definitely prolonged state of the action, and therefore to express con-

tinuance, prevalence. “They kept spreading them out”. ו n.f. =

“quail”; ר n.m. = “homer” (a dry measure) > pl. ר .




14 ב ו או א י Qal א ; Qal וב . Note that the nuance of

continuity becomes clearer when an inf. abs. of another verb (here,

וב ) is added. “It went out and back continually”. See also JM 123m:

“The postpositive inf. abs. followed by a second inf. abs. expresses the

simultaneousness or quasi-simultaneousness of a second action—Gn

8:7 ‘and he went out just to come back again (soon)’;—.” Note also

infinitive construct Qal from ב ת – ב .

15 ו Qal; ; Piel: בר . This is another

example of a second inf. abs. after the finite verb conveying the idea of

continuity “Walking along talking as they went”.

16 בו ו — י Qal ; Qal וב . “The waters returned

continually”. Note the use of inf. abs. of together with the inf.

abs. of the verb וב , following the finite verb בו י . This expresses

the idea of long continuance.

17 ו — י ונ Qal; ; Qal . This example may beנ

compared with the one above (no 16), namely, the use of the inf. abs.

of the verb together with the inf. abs. of the verb , followingנ

the finite verb י , to express the idea of long continuance. “He

journeyed continually”.

18 ו

ו

“and he (Isaac) grew more and more”. Qal; .Note the use of the Qal finite form of the verb ( ), followed

by the inf. abs. Qal of the same stem ( ו ), followed by the mascu-

line participle form, (or adj. see BDB p 152), all following the fi-

nite verb י (cognate with ). The effect is again to express the

idea of long continuance.

19 וב “crying continually as he went”. ; Note the

Qal active participle , followed by the Qal inf. abs. , followed

by the Qal active participle of a different verb, . Ishmael son ofוב










אב many Egyptian derivations proposed. e.g. “prostrate yourself”, or,

e.g. (Assyrian), “grand vizier”.

רכב n.f. chariot; נ n.m. double, copy, second.

30 ת ו ךתא ו “And I will clothe you with robes”. ו is Hiphil inf. abs. ב . Here, the Hiphil inf. abs. follows the Hiphil

perf. בר . The use of inf. abs. leaves open the question of

whether the angel or those standing before him clothe Joshua. “In-

deed, so neutral a form is the inf. abs. that in the case of Zechariah 3:4it may have even the force of a passive, i.e. ‘and thou shalt be

clothed’.”(Rubinstein, p 366).

= “draw off, out” > n.f. = “robe of state” (taken off in

ordinary life).

וא > א adj. filthy > pl. א

Historical setting: the Jews who had returned from Babylon had started to

restore the Temple, but work was halted due to the hostility of their

neighbours. Haggai and Zechariah urged the people to carry on the

rebuilding. In ch 3 (th 4th Vision), Joshua, the High Priest, is accused by the

Satan and acquitted.

v 3: “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before theangel.”

v 4: “—take the filthy garments from off him—and I will clothe you with

robes.”

31 אב ו Qal; .; “I returned and I saw”. Qal inf. absרא

following finite verb ב (qatal form, Qal perf. וב ). Compare use

of finite forms in: Ecclesiastes 4:1: ארא אנ ב ו and

Ecclesiastes 4:7: ארא אנ ב ו




n.m. occurrence, chance;

ן Niphal part. pl. נבנ “intelligent, discerning, with understanding”.

32 ב ו ו Qal inf. abs. ב + vav, following a qatal form, “gives

birth and abandons”. אי n.f. = hind, doe (here > ת .( אי

33 קנות

ו ת ו ר ב ו ת ו

ו Qal תב ; Qal ת ; Hiphil ו .

Three vav + inf. abs. forms following a Yiqtol form, קנו .

34 ב נ — נו Vav + inf. abs. Niphal, ת , following a Niphal

participle m.sg. תב .

35 ור Qal; ר ; inf. abs. for imperative. See GK 113bb: the fullform occurs in Deut. 6:17: ן ו ר רו and in Deut. 7:18: רר כ . i.e. it is an elliptical form.

36 ור Qal; ר ; inf. abs. for imperative.

37 Qal; ; inf. abs. for imperative.

38 ק Qal; ק ; inf. abs. for imperative. Moses commanding theLevites to put the Book of the Law by the side of the Ark of the

Covenant.

39 Qal; ; inf. abs. for imperative.

40 נב ונא ו ו ו א

א Qal ;א ו Piel ; ו Qal ;ר נו Qal נב ; ונאQal . A series of inf. abs. forms used in place of inflected forms forנא




vivid description of prevailing conduct. = “break through, break over

(limits).”

41 ב ו נא ונב ר קו ר ק

A series of inf. abs. forms used in place of inflected forms in indignant

question about prevailing conduct.

נב Qal, נב ; Qal, ;ר נא Qal, ;נא ב ו Niphal,

ב ; ר קו Piel, ר ;ק ו Qal, .

42 ב א ו ו “and will you return to me?”. Inf. abs. Qal, וב , used

in place of inflected form in indignant question about prevailing con-

duct. Note also נ נו “be greatly polluted”, Qal inf. abs. pre-

ceding finite verb for emphasis, נ = “be polluted, profane”. ן =

“lo! Behold! if.”

43 אתו “They shall stone him”. Use of inf. abs. Qal, ,רinstead of finite verb, with SUBJECT expressed ( -כ ).

Punishment for man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath.

44 ו כ ו “Every possessor of a loan of his hand

shall let drop/fall”. Use of Qal inf. abs. , instead of finite verb,

with SUBJECT expressed. = let drop > n.f. = a letting

drop (of exactions), a remitting (every 7th year is נת ). נ= lend, become a creditor >Hiphil: lend > n.m. = loan. נ =oppress.

45 -כר Hiphil; ר .; subject in a nominal clauseנ

lit. “regard for faces (partiality) is not good”.

46 ב Hiphil; ב ; direct object of a transitive verb.

ב ר (Qal) = strive, contend;




ו ו ר א = “set right the ruthless” or: “relieve the oppressed”.see

BDB p 330: ( ) = “be ruthless”; only Qal part. ו ו (Psalm 71:4);

ו n.m. = “the ruthless” (only here); Vrss. give passive, perh. ו =

“oppressed”.

47 Qal; ; object complement of an intransitive verb.

n.f. “booty, plunder”.

48 )ק(ר Qal; ר ; taking a direct object.

)א( Qal; ; taking a direct object.

)(א Qal; .; taking a direct objectא

ת ו ת )( Qal; ת ; taking a direct object.

ו תא ו “let us eat and drink” (use of inf. abs. in place of finite verb)

compare: ת ו ת and תו as variant forms of Qal inf. abs. from ת

49 ת וא Qal; ת ; following a preposition (not common).

“after drinking”.

50 כ Piel; ; following a preposition. JM 123c: suggest

that כ has become an adverb here, “until completion” = “com-

pletely”. > Qal imperative m.sg. = “shoot”; > Hiphilimperf. shortened after vav consec. וי = “and he shot”. (The

prophet Elisha and King Joash of Israel).

I NFINITIVE C ONSTRUCT

In this section, the student is asked:

{i} to identify the Infinitive Construct forms in the forty-six biblical verses

reproduced here.






Exercise: identify the Infinitive Construct forms in the following

biblical verses; discuss their form and use.

I: Nominal function of Infinitive Construct (1-7)

1 Genesis 2:18

ו נ כ ר ו ו א ב א ות וב א

It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make for him a helpmate

corresponding to him.

2 I Samuel 15:22

וב ב

Behold, listening is better than sacrifice.

3 Genesis 2:17

ות ו ך א ו ו כ א ת א וב ת ו

ות

And from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat

from it, for on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.

4 Hosea 2:5

ו ר ו ו כ ו ר א ן

א י כאר

Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make

her as the wilderness and set her like a land of drought and slay her withthirst.






man spoke to me’, that he came to the man and behold he was standing by

the camels at the well.

9 Genesis 4:8

ו ר י ו א ב ן א ק ת ו ו

And it was, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his

brother and killed him.

10 I Kings 6:7

כ ן כ ר ו ת ו ב ו נב ן ב א ות נ ת ו

ו ת נ ת נ א בר

And the House, when it was being built, was built of stone perfect (at the)

quarrying, and no hammer nor axe nor any iron tool were heard in the

House, while it was being built.

11 Genesis 45:1

ו א א ו ת ו א א א ו

And no man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his

brothers.

12 Genesis 13:14

ך ורא נ א א ו ו ר א אב ר א א ו

נ נ א ר א קו ן

And the Lord said to Abram after Lot was separated from him, ‘Lift up

your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward

and eastward and westward’.






And now, because you have done all these deeds, says the Lord, and I have

spoken to you, speaking early and often, but you did not listen.

18 Isaiah 30:12

ו ר ק א קן כ ו ב בר א ן א

ו נו ו ונ

Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, ‘because you despise this word

and trust in oppression and crookedness and lean on it’.

19 Exodus 17:7

ת נ ו א ב ר ב ר ו קו א יק

ת א

And he called the name of the place Massah and Merivah (lit. Trial and

Dispute) because of the dispute of the children of Israel and because of

their testing of the Lord.

20 Jeremiah 2:35

א אות נ ננ ו ב א א ת נ כ ר א

ת א א

And you said, ‘because I am innocent, surely His anger has returned from

me;’ behold I will enter into judgment with you, because you said, ‘I have

not sinned’.

21 Genesis 27:1

ראת ו ן ק ן כ






And the sun was about to set and a deep slumber fell on Abram and

behold, a terror, great darkness, was falling on him.

26 Joshua 2:5

ו אנ א ו א נ א ו ר ו ר

אנ

And the gate was about to close at dark and the men went out; I do not

know where the men went.

27 II Kings 4:13

את כ ו את נ א א א ר א ו ר יא

בא ר א וא א ר ת ו

Say now to her, ‘Behold you have taken all this anxious care for us, what is

to be done for you? Should one speak for you to the king or to the captain

of the host?’

28 II Kings 13:19

כ א ת א ת כ א או ת ו כ ר א י

א כ או ת

And he said, ‘you should have smitten five or six times; then you would

have smitten Aram until annihilation; whereas now you will smite Aram

only three times.’

29 Isaiah 5:4

ו ת א ו ר ו ת ו נב ת ו ת ק ו

א




What more should I have done to my vineyard which I did not do to it?

Why did I hope to produce (fine) grapes, but it produced stinking grapes?

30 Amos 6:10

א כ ר או ר כ

And he will say, ‘Hush! for one must not mention the name of the Lord’.

31 Esther 4:2

בו ר א או ב ן א כ ר וא ב י

ק

And he came up to the front of the king’s gate, for none might enter the

king’s gate with clothing of sackcloth.

V: Gerundial use of Infinitive Construct + lamed (32-38)

32 I Kings 5:23

ת תת ת א וא

And you will accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

33 Genesis 37:15

ר א א ו א י ת ו ו א א י

ב

And a man found him and behold he was wandering in the field, and the

man asked him saying, ‘what are you looking for?’










4 Niphal; + sf. 3 f.sg. “her being born”. Genitive func-

tion;“as the day of her being born”. י n.f. = “dryness, drought”;

> Hiphil:“set, place”; ת > Qal perf. 1 c.sg. “I have put,

set” (note assimilation of tav, third root letter, into tav of suffix).

5 בא את Qal; א ; Qal; ; “going out and coming in”. Bothבוא

these inf. cstr. forms are functioning as objects (accusative) of the verb

א א “I do not know”. Note qamets under vav conjunctive before

tone syllable. Note also the nominal circumstantial clause introduced

by vav, followed by subject and then predicate. “Even though I was a

young lad, not knowing how to go out and come in”. (The dream of

Solomon at Gibeon. He asks G-d for understanding and ability to

judge the people. G-d grants his prayer and also gives him wealth and

glory).

6 א נ Qal; א ; object of verbנ ת א ;”; “I am weary of bearingנ

7 נא Qal; נא ; object of verb ו ו י ; “they continued hating

him”.

8 כראת Qal; רא + prep. ; lit. “as the seeing”.

ו ו Qal; + prep. + sf. 3 m.sg. lit. “as his hearing”.

The two inf. cstr. forms express time; “when (he) saw—and when heheard”.

Rebekah’s brother, Laban, approaches Abraham’s servant.

9 ת ו Qal; + sf. 3 m.pl. + prep ; lit. “in their being”, i.e.

“when they were”; inf. cstr. + prep expressing time.

10 ו ת נ Niphal; בנ + sf. 3 m.sg. + prep ; inf. cstr. + prepexpressing time; lit. “in its being built”; i.e. “when it was built—”.




n.m. = “quarry, quarrying” > אבן “stone perfect

(at the) quarrying”, i.e. “when it was quarried”; נקב = “pierce” >

בת n.f. = “hammer” > pl. ת ו ב ; ן ר n.m. = “axe”. Neither

hammer nor axe was used in the building of the Temple. The stones

were fitted together with one of the marvels of Creation, the

SHAMIR, a kind of worm which could cleave the stones. (Hertz p

338).

11 ת Hithpael; + prep ; lit. “in (Joseph’s) making himself

known”, i.e. “when Joseph made himself known”; inf. cstr. + prep ex-

pressing time.

12 ר -א Niphal; ר following the prep . Noteא

segol under resh, shortened from tsere, due to maqqef. (Words joined

by maqqef lose their primary accent unless they are the final word in

the unit and may undergo vowel changes due to the loss of accent).

Lit. “after the separating of Lot from him”; i.e. “after Lot separated

from him”. the prep א + inf. cstr. Expressing time.

13 'נ Piel; ת following prep נ ; lit. “before the

Lord’s destroying Sodom & Gomorrah”; i.e. “before the Lord de-

stroyed Sodom & Gomorrah”; inf. cstr. + prep expressing time.

14 וב Qal; וב following the prep = “until”; lit. “until thereturning of your brother’s anger from you”, i.e. “until your brother’s

anger returns—”; inf. cstr. + prep to express time. Note that in the

previous verse, the temporal clause is expressed by א + the

finite verb, וב . Rebekkah advising Jacob to flee Esau’s wrath and

take refuge with her brother Laban.

15 בר Qal; בר + sf. 3 m.sg. following the prep ; lit. “as

often as his passing”. ( is made up of the prep ן and the con-

struct form of = “sufficiency, enough” > “out of the sufficiency




of”). Inf. cstr. + prep expressing time, i.e. “whenever he passed by, he

used to—”. The Shunamite lady’s hospitality to Elisha the Prophet.

16 רך א Piel; בר + sf 2 m.sg. following prep א ; lit. “since

your speaking”; inf. cstr. + prep expressing time, i.e. “since you

spoke”. Moses pleading lack of rhetorical ability.

17 ותן Qal; ; following prep ן ; lit. “because of your

doing”; inf. cstr. + prep expressing cause, i.e. “because you did—”.

18 א ן Qal; א + sf. 2 m.pl. following prep ן ; lit.

“because of your rejecting”; inf. cstr. + prep expressing cause. ו >

Niphal part. ו נ = “crooked” > “crookedness”. “This word” refers

to the prophetic warning against alliance with Egypt.

19 ותו נ Piel; נ + sf. 3 m.pl. following prep ; lit. “upon

their trying”; inf. cstr. + prep expressing cause, i.e. “because they

tried—”.

20 א- Qal; ר א + sf. 2 f.sg. following prep ; lit. “upon

your saying”; inf. cstr. + prep expressing cause, i.e. “because you

said—”.

21 ת ו א ר Qal; רא + prep ; lit. “from seeing”; inf. cstr. + prep

to express negative result, i.e. “so that he could not see”.

22 - Qal; + sf. 2 m.sg. following prep ; inf. cstr. +

prep to express concession; lit. “upon your knowing”, i.e. “although

you know—”.

23 ראת Qal; רא + lamed prefix, expressing purpose; “in order to

see”.






31 וא ב ן א Qal; בוא + prefix lamed, preceded by ן ; negative ofא

gerundive use of inf. cstr. “for none might enter”.

32 תת Qal; נתן + prefix lamed; gerundial use of inf. cstr. plus

lamed, “to state motives, attendant circumstances, or otherwise

to define more exactly” (GK 114); “to explain the circumstances or

nature of a preceding action” (Davidson, Syntax, p 127 f). “This ge-

rundial use is very common” (Davidson, Syntax, p 127). Hiram of Tyre

has agreed to supply timber for the Temple and comes to a mutual

agreement with Solomon.

33 ר א Qal; ר א + prefix lamed; gerundial use of inf. cstr. “The

man asked him, saying—”. A man found Joseph looking for his broth-

ers, who were tending the flock in Shechem.

34 ו א Qal; א + prefix lamed; gerundial use of inf. cstr. “in your

asking for a king”.

35 א Qal; א + prefix lamed; gerundial use of inf. cstr. “The

people are sinning in eating with the blood.”

36 ת Qal; + prefix lamed; gerundial use of inf. cstr. “Behold

like one of us, in knowing good and evil”.

37 ת Qal; + prep ; lit. “from doing”; inf. cstr. + prep toexpress negative result, i.e. “so that you will not do”.

ת Hiphil; ות + prefix lamed; gerundial use of inf. cstr. “in

slaying/to slay the righteous with the wicked”.

38 תת Qal; נתן + prefix lamed; gerundial use of inf. cstr. “to give

the younger before the elder”.






V IEW OF M EDIEVAL S CHOLARS ON THE F ORM AND U SE OF

I NFINITIVE A BSOLUTE AND I NFINITIVE C ONSTRUCT

The comments of the medieval scholars are presented in the original rab-

binic Hebrew, together with translation and explanation. Students should

study the biblical verses and compare the views of the medieval scholars

with the views in modern grammar books.

Note the following grammatical terms used by Rashi and Ibn Ezra for in-

finitive forms: Rashi’s terms for ‘infinitive absolute’ are: ו and ו ו .

The term ו ו is often employed by Rashi to a form in the perfect or im-

perfect, an infinitive absolute or participle, when Rashi deems such forms

to have the force of a frequentative or customary action, or long continu-

ance. The terms ו and ו ו are often interchangeable. However, Rashi

has no special term for the ‘infinitive construct’, labeling the Qal inf. cstr.

ו and the Niphal inf. cstr. (see below, Rashi’s comment on

Genesis 34:15). Ibn Ezra’s term for the ‘infinitive construct’ is ו ו and his term for the ‘infinitive absolute’ is נו א ו ו or ת ו ו .

1 Exodus 8:11

ו ת א ו ר ת כ ר רא

And Pharoah saw that there was respite and he hardened his heart.


ואבי):ברא: (,וון ונ

כוב]יכ[):(ו או ו ת א

)ו(






Translation of Ibn Ezra’s comments

The infinitive is used instead of the finite verb. (note that Ibn Ezra does notoffer any explanation for the phenomenon).

2 Exodus 20:8

קור א ת ו ת

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Comment of Rashi on ור

תא):: (,וון וכו נ

ובאאי):ו(

ן נו ו ר ת ,נו כ אא נ

נ, .

Translation of Rashi on Exodus 20:

ור is an expression of continuity, like: Isaiah 22:13: “let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we shall die”; II Samuel 3:16: “and her husband went with

her, weeping as he went”. This is the explanation; pay attention to remem-

ber continually the Sabbath day, that if something nice comes your way, set

it aside for the Sabbath.

Explanation of Rashi on Exodus 20:8

Rashi compares ור with two examples. In Rashi’s first example, (Isaiah

22:13), the two inf. abs. forms, תו ו ו א are used in place of finite

verbs, “let us eat and drink”. In Rashi’s second example (II Samuel 3:16),the inf. abs. forms, וב ו coming after the finite verb, י ,








4 Isaiah 6:10

ן ב או ור נן בו אבובב בו ו

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and besmear

their eyes, lest one will see with one’s eyes and hear with one’s ears, and

one’s heart will understand and will return and be healed.

( = “be smeared over, blinded” > Hiphil imperative m.sg. =“besmear”)

Comment of Rashi on ן and

: (ו א):ות ו-. ןו ו .ון

ו ו ו ו ו נ א ו ן ו ו .ו


Like Exodus 8:11: “and (he) hardened his heart”, an expression of

continuity. Their heart continually becomes fatter and his ears are becoming

heavier and heavier so that they do not hear.


Rashi takes ן (also and ) as inf. abs. forms, labeling them

ו ון ו ון . They could have been taken as Hiphil imperative

m.sg. since they have the same form as inf. abs. Hiphil, but such a view

gives rise to the problem that the prophet would hardly be asked to fatten

the people’s hearts, harden their ears and smear their eyes. Hence, Rashi

avoids this problem by taking these forms as inf. abs., an expression of a

continuous action.






Comment of Ibn Ezra on כ ו

ת"ו א " ר (א א וא)נ ת"בא ," ת ן ות ר תו ת וא

ו" כ ת ו ו .א


The yod in כ ו replaces hey. Compare א (Daniel 9:24) =

“to finish the transgression”, in which case the ’aleph similarly replaces the

hey. Both of these words ( כ ו and א ) are rare; for the proper form

of the inf. cstr. (when derived from) a lamed-hey verb is ת ו (to finish),

ת ו כ (to wait).


Ibn Ezra is explaining that the regular form of Piel inf. cstr. from thelamed-hey root would be ת ו כ (= waiting). Hence, כ ו is a

strange form, where one would have expected ת ו כ ו . Similarly, the

regular Piel inf. cstr. form of the root would be ת ו and from the

context, the form א in Daniel 9:24 clearly means “to finish”, which

presupposes the Piel of the root and not א . (For discussion of

relation between verbs lamed- ’aleph and lamed-hey, see GK 75nn-rr).

6 Isaiah 42:19,20

ר ו ר כ א א כ ו ב א ר כ

ב תכ א]או[א ו א קו ר א ת ת ו ו

Who is blind but My servant or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Whois blind as he that is perfect and blind as the servant of the Lord? Seeing






Translation of Rashi’s comment

is infinitive, like: א ‘their speaking’; ות ‘their doing’ (i.e.they speak, they do), so here – they begin to do.

Explanation of Rashi’s comment

Rashi points out that in the word (Hiphil inf. cstr. + sf. 3 m.pl.

, “their beginning”), the suffix is subjective, (i.e. ‘they begin’) where the

suffix acts as the subject of the verb. This is comparable to א ‘their

speaking’ and ות ‘their doing’. Rashi’s clarification arises from the fact

that the suffix on an inf. cstr. form may be either subjective or objective.

That is, ו ק “his killing” may mean “slaughter committed by him” (sub-

jective) or the “slaughter of him by another” (objective). Only the suffix of

the 1st pers. sg. has two forms: נ ק can mean only “to kill me”, while

the subjective use is always expressed by ק (Silbermann p 263, appen-

dix to p 45).

8 Exodus 29:46

אר את ת א ו ר א א אנ ו כ ו

ב נ ות

And they shall know that I am the Lord their G-d who brought them out

from the land of Egypt that I may dwell in their midst.

Comment of Rashi on נ

ו ת ב ן אנ ו כ תנ . Translation of Rashi

in order that I may dwell in their midst.









ו ו או-ור א: וא ת ו ו.ו


is an infinitive form like: “Remember the Sabbath day” (Exodus

20:7), but (the meaning is as if it was written) “surely hear” or “hear surely”.


Ibn Ezra compares to ור – both Qal inf. abs. forms used for

imperatives (“hear”, “remember”). However, Ibn Ezra construes such inf.

abs. forms as elliptical, that is, he suggests that the meaning is as if the inf.

abs. form either followed or came before the imperative form, i.e. ו(“hear surely”) or (“surely hear”). See GK 113bb.

12 Hosea 10:4

כרא ו ת ר וא כרת ת ו א בר רו

They speak words, swearing falsely, they make covenants and justice

sprouts like a poisonous herb on the furrows of the field.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ת ו א

ו נו א ו ו ו ת ב כ רו ו כא ר

ן ו ר תוא ר ו ב ןכ .או







221

P ART THREE: S YNTAX

FINAL OR PURPOSE CLAUSES

Final or purpose clauses are clauses which express the purpose or aim of an

action. The main methods for expressing PURPOSE in Classical Biblical

Hebrew may be summarized as follows:

1 Vav Conjunctive + Imperf. or Cohortative

2 Inf. cstr. + lamed

3 ן א + imperf.

4 ן + imperf.

5 ן + inf. cstr.

6 ר א + imperf.

7 ר ו ב א + imperf. (less usual)

8 ר ו ב + imperf.

9 ר ו ב + inf. cstr.

The main methods for expressing “negative purpose” in classical Biblical

Hebrew may be summarized as follows:

1 ב + inf. cstr.

2 ב + imperf. (only twice)

3 ר א + imperf.









P ART THREE: S YNTAX 225

9 Amos 2:7

א ו ו ואב קוא ת א ן

A man and his father go to the (same) girl in order to profane My holy

name.

ן “in order to profane” ( ; Piel)

VI: ר ש א +imperf.

10 Deuteronomy 4:10

א ב ת א או ת א אתק רא ן ו ר

Gather the people to Me that I may let them hear My words, in order that

they may learn to fear Me.

ן ו ר א “in order that they may learn”. (Note או “in order

that I may let them hear”; vav conjunctive + imperf. Hiphil + sf. 3

m.pl.).

11 Joshua 3:7

א כ ך א יו ו א ר א י

א ת ר א כ ן כ ו ר א

And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘this day I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of

all Israel, so that they shall know that I will be with you as I was with

Moses.

ר וא “so that they shall know”






IX: ר ו ב ב + inf. cstr.

15 Exodus 9:16

ר ן ו כ ת א ךתאר בור ך תא בור ו א ו

אר

Nevertheless I have caused you to stand for this purpose, in order to show

you My power and in order to recount My Name in all the land.

כ ת א ראתך בור “in order to show you My power” ( ;ראHiphil). (note also

ן + inf. cstr. Piel, ר ן ו )

16 II Samuel 18:18

יו ו ב ב י ק י[ואב ]ב ק ר ת א ב ת א

ר כ בור בן ן א ר א כ

And Absalom had taken, in his lifetime, and set up for himself the pillar

which is in the Valley of the King, for he said, ‘I have no son to keep my

name in remembrance’.

ר כ בור “to keep my name in remembrance”

(note: ב נ > Hiphil: ב = “set up” > n.f. ב/ ב = “pillar”)

X: Some rare usages in late biblical Hebrew

17 Ecclesiastes 3:14

ן ו א ו וא א ר א כ כ

ראו א ו ר ן ו א ו ו






20 Genesis 38:9 (Onan was unwilling to perform levirate duty for Tamar,

widow of his older brother, Er. Er, Onan and Shelah were sons of

Judah and Bat-Shua)

ו א נתן ב ת אר ו ו ת א א א א א ו

And it was, whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, he destroyed (his

seed) on the ground, so as not to give seed to his brother.

ב נתן “so as not to give seed” ( ב + inf. cstr. Qal; ( נתן21 II Kings 23:10 (reign of Josiah, a righteous king of Judah)

ר ת א ת א א ונב ]ב[א ר ב ב

א ו ת א ו ו נ ת א

And he defiled Tophet which is in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so that no

one might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

בב “so that no one might cause to pass through” ( ב +

inf. cstr. Hiphil + lamed; בר ). (Joseph Kara suggests that Tophet = “pit”.

It may also be from an Aramaic word, tepat = “fireplace”).

22 Exodus 20:17

א ת את ו נ ר ו ב ב ו כ א א א ר א י ו א ת ב נ ראתו ר ו ב בו א

And Moses said to the people, ‘do not fear, for G-d has come in order to

test you and in order that the fear of Him should be on your faces, so that

you do not sin’.

ו א ת ב “so that you do not sin”. ( ב + imperf. only twice;

here + II Sam 14:14). (note also: ת ו נ ר ו ב ב “in order to test”, Piel inf.




cstr. ;( נ ראתו ר ו ב בו “and in order that the fear of Him

should be”).

23 Genesis 11:7

ו ת ו א א ר א ת ונב נר ב

Come, let us go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall

not understand one another’s speech there.

ו א ר א “so that they shall not undersand” ( א ר א + imperf.).

Note also = mingle, mix, confuse > Qal imperf. 1 c.pl. נב =

ב . And forנ ב see BDB p 396, ב “give” > Qal imperat. ב >

emphatic imperat. ב = “come now”.

24 Exodus 24:26

תך ר ת א ר א ת ב ת א ו

Do not ascent My altar by steps, that your nakedness may not be exposed

upon it.

ר תא תךא ר “that your nakedness may not be exposed”

( ר א + imperf. ; Niphal imperf.).


א ר ן א תב ו ת כ ו ו את

In order that they may not teach you to do according to all their

abominations.

ן א א תא“in order that they may not teach you”.

( ן א + imperf.)






Study the following biblical verses in order to trace the biblical

origins of:

י בימנכ ש ב

1 Malachi 3:10

נ ו נ בו ת ב ר ר ו ו א ת א ר כ או את ב

ת ו ר א תא א א ות א א ב ר א ת א אנ

קת ר

Bring all the tithe into the storehouse and let there be food in My House

and put Me to the test with this, said the Lord of Hosts if I will not open

for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing immeasurable

(lit. until there is not sufficiency).

( is a substantive meaning “sufficiency, enough”, occurring here in pause.

It occurs in the absolute state only three times; see: Esther 1:18; II Chron

30:3. The construct state, , occurs five times and + suffix occurs four

times; see below).

2 Exodus 36:7 (The building of the Tabernacle)

ותר ו ת את ו א ת א ו

For the material they had was sufficient for all the work to do it, and too

much.

( means literally “their sufficiency”. For + suffix, see also: Jeremiah

49:9; Obadiah v 5; Proverbs 25:16). (Note also: תר > Hiphil inf. abs.

ותר “shewed excess, had more than enough”).




3 Deuteronomy 15:8 (Israelite warned against letting the approach of the

Jubilee Year hinder him from helping the poor)

ת כך ת א ב ארבו

ו

But you shall open your hand wide to him and you shall surely lend him

sufficient for his need that he lacks.

(Construct occurs by itself five times; see also: Leviticus 5:7; 12:8; 25:28;Isaiah 40:16. רו means literally “the sufficiency of his need”. Note

also the Hiphil inf. abs. + Hiphil imperf. + suffix, ו ב ב ,ו a

denominative verb derived from

בו n.m. = “pledge, article pledged”. The Hiphil verb means “cause to

give a pledge, lend”).

4 Leviticus 25:26 (redemption of land)

אכוא ו ו כת א

If a man has no redeemer, but he has sufficient means, and he has acquired

enough for his redemption.

ו ) ת א כ means literally “according to the sufficiency of hisredemption”. כ = “according to the sufficiency of” occurs four times in

the Hebrew Bible; see the other three examples below. Note also: נ >Hiphil: = “reach, overtake” > ו = “one’s hand has

reached”, i.e. one is able, has enough).

5 Deuteronomy 25:2 (against excessive punishment)

תו ר ו כ נ ו כ ו ו ו כות ן א ור








Notes for ‘purpose’ sentences

1

באו ו ר רא-אבאובבו

.ב

2 For “visions”, see BDB p 909: רא n.f. > pl. ת ו א ר = “visions”;

and see BDB p 302: > ן ו n.m. > pl. ת ו נ = “visions”; and

see Joel 3:1: ווקנ ו ונאר “your

old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”. For

“be sorrowful”, see BDB p 864: ר (I) = “be narrow etc” > Qal

imperf.+ vav consec. ר י = “and it was narrow for him”, i.e. “he

was in distress”; and see Gen 32:8: א קב א ר י “and

Jacob was greatly afraid and he was distressed”. See also BDB p 780:

ב = “hurt, pain, grieve”; see Gen 6:6: ו ב א תי “and he

was grieved to his heart” (see also Gen 34:7); and see I Chron 4:10: ב “so that I should not be saddened”.

ב)ראו(נויראנאב)(

).א(

3 For “let me be”, see BDB p 951: = “sink, relax” > Hiphil: “let

drop, let go” > imperative m.sg.

ר / see Deut. 9:14; see also

BDB p 292: = “cease”, see Exod 14:12.

את/ את)וא(ר)(ר

קא נ(אתוא ו(נ וכנאבת א .

4 See BDB p 382: / ר (mostly + imperf.) = “not yet, before

that”; see, e.g. Gen 27:4; 37:18. .אאי




A NTITHESIS I N B IBLICAL H EBREW

In English, antithesis and contrast are expressed by a variety of adversative

particles (but, yet, however, nevertheless, while, on the other hand). Biblical

Hebrew lacks this variety and often uses vav, although other conjunctions

are also used, as demonstrated below. (e.g. ו א ו/ /או / and alsoא כand אכ after negation). There are, however, other devices in biblical

Hebrew which may contribute to the expression of antithesis and contrast,

as follows:

(i) Chiasmus (the reversal in the second clause of the word order in the

first clause).

(ii) Highlighting in initial position in each clause the two persons or

entities which are contrasted.

(iii) Use of antonyms (opposites).

(iv) Negation of first or second clause.

Study the following biblical verses and analyse the various methods

used to express antithesis and/or contrast; explanatory notes are

provided with each verse.

I: Chiasmus, antonyms and contrast (1-5)

1 Genesis 37:11

בר ת א ר ו ו ואב א בו ו א נק

And his brothers envied him, but his father guarded the matter.

Note the chiastic structure of this verse. In the first clause, the verb pre-

cedes the subject (BA), while in the second clause, the subject precedes the

verb (AB). The two clauses are connected by simple vav, which is best

translated by English “but”.




2 Genesis 41:54

ת ו ו א ב אר ב

And there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was

bread.

Note the chiastic structure; the place of famine (“all the lands”) comes at

the end of the first clause, but the place of bread (“all the land of Egypt”)

comes at the beginning of the second clause. Note also the use of anto-nyms, ב in the first clause and in the second clause. Again, biblical

Hebrew simple vav may be translated as “but”.

3 Genesis 13:12

ככר ב ו ן ו כ ר א ב אב

Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley.

The two personages, Abram and Lot, are set in contrast by being high-

lighted in initial position in each clause. The meaning here is not completely

antithetical but rather contrastive, expressed by biblical Hebrew simple vav ,

English “while”.

4 Proverbs 10:1

ת ו אב ובן כ אן

A wise son makes a father glad but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

Again, the contrasting elements are highlighted in initial position in each

clause ( ן “a wise son” in the first clause, and ובן כ “a foolish














19 Numbers 36:6

נ ב ו ר א תו נ ב ר א רבנ נ אב ת א נ נ

This is the word which the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters

of Zelophehad, saying, ‘let them be wives to the one who is pleasing in their

eyes, but let them be wives (only) to the family of the tribe of their father.

א here introduces a clause with an imperfect verb ( נ — א ).

20 I Kings 17:13 (The widow from Zarephat; Elijah asks her to give him

first from her sparse provisions).

א ב א רא א ו י א ר א א י

ר א בנ ו ו ת א ו ו נ ברא ק

And Elijah said to her, ‘do not fear, go do according to your word, but

make me a small cake from there first and bring it out to me, and for you

and your son, you shall make last’.

א here introduces a clause with an imperative ( ; Qal fem. sg. ).

21 II Samuel 3:13

ך א א אנ א בר ת א ר ך רת א א וב אנ ר יא

And he said, ‘good, I will make a covenant with you, but one thing I ask of

you’.

א here introduces a clause with a participle ( א ; Qal m.sg. א ) (the

only such example). David’s words to Abner, about to request the return of

Michal.




VII: ל ב א in late biblical Hebrew (22-23)

It is only in Late Biblical Hebrew that אב has an adversative force =“howbeit, but”.

22 Daniel 10:7

א ו ר א נ א ו רא ת א ב א נ אנ ת א ו

בא ו יבר נ אב רא ת א וא

And I Daniel alone saw the vision and the men who were with me did not

see the vision, but a great trembling fell on them and they fled into hiding.

23 II Chronicles 33:17

ת ו ב ו אב

But the people still sacrificed in the high places.

VIII: ל ב א in older biblical Hebrew (24-25)

In older Hebrew אב has an asseverative force = “verily, of a truth”.

24 Genesis 42:21

ננו ת ו ת נ ונ א ר ו א נ א ו נ נא א אב

ו נ א ו ו נ א

Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, that we saw the distress of his

soul when he besought us and we did not listen.

Rashi comments on אב here as follows:

ו ו :כתר ו ק .ב ת א ו"ו א ו ר אנ =אב,ר .






4 Those who love G-d in truth will rejoice, and sinners and wrong-doers

will perish.

5 The son returned to his father’s house, but the slave drove him away.

6 They will rebuild the house of G-d, but not as it was before.

Suggested translations for sentences with contrast and antithesis.

1 אכ\אכק)-א(א )(

See: Gen 17:5, 15; 32:29. Antithesis after negation.

2 א'א ב-נ א :א-וב

See: II Sam 24:14. Negation after positive statement + chiasmus.

3

ו את ני א א ו ו-כ-יק וא-א ו ב-אנ נתן וא-ואת ר ו -ק א ו : א

See: I Kings 1:9,10. Antithesis by negation after positive statement +

chiasmus.

4 ו א ב-'א

ו אב ו א ו:

( ו Deut 25:16; Isaiah 1:28)

Chiasmus + antonyms.

or:

ב א'א






And the uncircumcised male, the flesh of whose foreskin is not circum-

cised, that soul shall be cut off from its people; (because) he has broken My

covenant.

2 Exodus 23:9

אר ת ר ר כ נ את וא א ת ר ו

And you shall not oppress a stranger; for (because) you know the soul of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

3 Genesis 3:14 (G-d to the serpent)

ת כ ו כ ר א ו ר א תא ת כ

Because you have done this, you are more cursed than all the cattle and

than all the beasts of the field.

4 Genesis 8:9

כ ב א ו ב א ו נ נ ו י א א ו

אר

And the dove did not find rest for the sole of her foot and she returned tohim to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole land.

5 Genesis 42:21

ננו ת ו ת נ ונ א ר ו א נ א ו נ נא א אב

ו נ א ו ו נ א

Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, who/because we saw the

distress of his soul when he besought us and we did not listen.




6 Genesis 30:18

א ק א ת נת ר א ר נתן א א ר א ר ו

And Leah said, ‘G-d has given me my reward, because I gave my maiden to

my husband’ and she called his name Issachar.

7 Genesis 22:16,17

ך ת א ךנ ת א א ו בר ת א ת ר ן אך ר בא ב כ

Because you have done this thing and you have not withheld your son, your

only son, I will surely bless you.

8 Deuteronomy 1:36

ר א אר ת א ן א ו ו רא וא ן ב כ ת ו

א א ר ן א ו ב ו

Except Caleb the son of Yephunneh, he will see it, and to him I will give

the land which he has trodden on, because he has wholly followed the

Lord.

9 Numbers 20:12

נ ק נ א א ן רן א וא א ר יא

ת א וא א תב ן א רא א

נת ר א






And there shall be to him and to his seed after him a covenant of everlast-

ing priesthood, because he was zealous for his G-d and he made atonement

for the children of Israel.

14 II Samuel 12:6

רא כב ת א ו רב ת א ר קב א

א ר א ו

And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing andbecause he had no pity.

15 II Kings 22:16,17

קו א א ב ננ ר א ו אתכ ב ו

ו א ק ר ר א ב וכ ר ק ונ ב ר ת א

ר א א

Thus says the Lord, ‘behold I will bring evil upon this place and upon its

inhabitants, all the words of the book which the King of Judah read,

because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods’.

16 II Samuel 12:10

תנ ב קב כ ו תך רב ר ו ת א וך ת ו ת אור א אאת

And now the sword will not depart from your house for ever, because you

despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.






21 Exodus 19:18

ר א נ ו ן כ נ ר או ו

And the whole of Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord descended on it in

fire.

22 Judges 6:27

ו ת ו ר אנ ת א ו ו ת אב ת א א ר א כ

And it was, since he feared his father’s household and the men of the city

from doing (it) by day, so he did (it) by night.

Explanatory notes to ‘causal and explicative clauses’

1 The last three words, -את ת ר “he has broken my covenant”,

constitute a causal clause, expressing the reason for the soul being cut

off. The causal clause is merely juxtaposed to the previous clause, with

no expressed syntactical link.

2 The first causal clause is introduced by simple vav וא“and you know”, i.e. “because you know”, while the second causal

clause is introduced by ,כ -כ ר “for you were strangers”.

3 The causal clause is introduced by ,כ אכ ת , “Because you

have done this”.

4 The causal clause is introduced by ,כ - -כ א-נ , “for the waters were on the face of the whole land”.

5 The relative construction ר א can have a weak causal sense and in

this verse we see how such a development could arise, for the words -ו ת נ נו א ר א ו נ א could be understood either as








19 The causal clause is introduced by ר א + perf. ( ת , Hiphil,

ות ), ת ר א “because he had slain”. Compare use of -

אבר in II Sam 13:22 and כ in Judges 3:12.

20 The nominal causal clause is introduced by ר א , א ר -או א “because you are his wife”.

21 ר א נ followed by Qal perf. 3 m.sg. introduces the causal

clause.

22 Note the unusual use of ר כא to introduce a causal clause,

א ר כא

“since he feared”. Gideon destroyed the Baal altar and Asherah belonging

to his father.

Exercise: translate the following English sentences into fully pointed

biblical Hebrew.

The sentences contain causal clauses which should be rendered with as

great a variety of constructions as possible. Suggested translations will be

found at the end.

1 Because the king’s heart is haughty, I am hastening to accomplish this

thing.

2 And when Asenath had ceased making confession to the Lord, behold,

the morning star rose out of heaven in the east. And Asenath saw it

and rejoiced and said: ‘So the Lord G-d listened to my prayer, because

this star rose as a messenger and herald of the light of the great day’.

3 The judge acquitted him on the grounds that he was living in Egypt at

the time that his wife was murdered.

4 Because you have slain his anointed one, you also shall die.




5 They approached him and bowed down to the ground, for they feared

him greatly.

Suggested translations for sentences with causal clauses

1

ב ב (ן רו ות את)בב כ ר אנ

:בר

(see: II Chron 26:16)

2

ת ו כ ) ר ת )כא ת נת ב'א ו כ

נת א אתו א ר רק)אר(

ר א : כ- א-'כ ת /א / ר ן א

ו יו ר אור ב ו א כ ב ו כ :

(see: Gen 41:45,50; Ezra 10:1; Exod 2:6)

3

ן ק אתו /א /כ בק / בק ר ר

:א/ -ת

(see: Gen 38:27: ת = “at the time of her giving birth”)

4 ו/ כ ות א ו את ר :ת א

5 אר ו א ו י ו ו א וי רא ראו אתו : כ




QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN BIBLICAL HEBREW

Exercise: spot the ‘hey interrogative’ in the following biblical verses and deduce the rules for the pointing of the ‘hey interrogative’;

explanatory notes are found at the end.

1 Genesis 4:9

ר א א ר א י ך א ב ן א ק א ר א י

אנ

And the Lord said to Cain, ‘where is Abel your brother?’ and he said, ‘I do

not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’

2 Genesis 18:17

ר אנ א אב אנ ר א ו

And the Lord said, ‘shall I hide from Abraham that which I am about to

do?’

3 Exodus 2:7

ן נקת א ת א קו א ר ת א ות ר א א

אתבר נק ית ות

And his sister said to Pharoah’s daughter, ‘shall I go and call for you a

nursing woman from the Hebrews, that she may nurse the child for you?’

4 Job 1:9

ר א י ת א ן ן א בויא א

And the Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘is it for nothing that Job fears

G-d?’




5 Numbers 11:23

בר קרך תרא ר ק א ר א י א א

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘is the Lord’s hand too short? Now you will

see whether My word will befall you or not’.

6 Numbers 11:12

ו נ א א כ תא ת ר נ א

Have I conceived all this people or have I begotten them?

7 Genesis 24:5 (Eliezer to Abraham about Rebekah)

אר א ת א א ב א ת א או ב ו ר א א י

ת א ר א אר א נך ת א ב ב א את

And the servant said to him, ‘perhaps the woman will not be willing to go

after me to this land; shall I indeed bring your son back to the land from

where you came out?’

Explanatory notes to ‘spot the hey interrogative’

For rules of ‘hey interrogative’ see: WHG p 80; GK 100k-n.

1 אנ ר א “am I my brother’s keeper? Hey int. takes ḥateph-

pataḥ generally before non-gutturals with a firm vowel.

2 אנ “shall I hide?” Before a consonant with sheva (here )

hey int. usually takes pataḥ without a following dagesh forte. Less fre-

quently, in about ten passages, pataḥ with a following dagesh forte (see

below).




3 א “shall I go?” Before gutturals not pointed with qamets or

ḥateph- qamets, hey int. takes pataḥ.

4 “is it for nothing?” See above, no 3.

5 ר ק “Is the Lord’s hand too short?”

Before non-gutturals hey int.takes ḥateph-pataḥ.

א א בר קרך “Will My Word befall you or not?” Note the dis-

junctive question, introduced by in the first clause and by א in the

second clause.(GK 150 c; JM 161e).

6 נ א The hey int. takes segol before gutturals pointed with qamets

or ḥateph-qamets. Note the disjunctive question; אנ-א — אנ

7 ב ב א “Shall I indeed bring back?” Hey int. + inf. abs. Hiphil,

וב. The hey int. takes segol before gutturals pointed with qamets or

ḥateph-qamets.

Exercise: analyse the use of ‘hey interrogative’ in the following

biblical verses.

Remember that before a consonant with sheva hey int. usually takes pataḥ

without a following dagesh forte. Less frequently, in about ten passages,

pataḥ with a following dagesh forte. (GK 100l). (Explanatory notes are pro-

vided at the end).

1 Numbers 13:18-20

ב י ת א ו א ו אר ת א ת ואורא ק

ב וא א בו ב א ו ר א אר ו

א נ ב ו א ו ר א ר ו א א ו




ר ב וא א נ אר ןו א א

נב ו כ י ו אר ר ק ו ק ת ו

And you shall see the land, what it is; and the people who dwell in it,

whether they are strong or weak, few or many. And what the land is that

they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what are the cities in which

they dwell, whether in camps or in strongholds. And what the land is,

whether it is fertile or barren, whether there are trees in it or not, and you

shall strengthen yourselves and take from the fruit of the land, and the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

2 Genesis 17:17

נ א ן ב ו ר יא ק י ו אב י

ת ב או

And Abraham fell upon his face and he laughed and he said in his heart,

‘shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah,

who is ninety years old, give birth?’

3 Genesis 37:32 (Joseph’s brothers to Jacob concerning Joseph’s coat)

א אכ ו ךנ נת ת כ נא ר

Observe, is it your son’s coat or not?

4 I Samuel 10:24

ן א כ ו ר ר א ת א כ א וא ר א י

רו א י ו יר ו כ




And Samuel said to all the people, ‘do you see him whom the Lord has cho-

sen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people

shouted and said, ‘Long live the King’.’

Explanatory notes to ‘analyse hey int. in biblical verses’

1 Numbers 13:18-20

Note five examples of disjunctive questions (see no 5 in preceding exercise

and GK 150 c):;

וא א וא א,-וב א-,- ,א-

ו נ א א-,ר ב א נ ;

Note also two examples of hey int. with pataḥ with a following dagesh: נ and נ . (GK 100 l).

2 Genesis 17:17

נ א ן ב Note that hey int. has pataḥ with following dagesh be-

fore consonant with sheva.

או Note disjunctive question.

ת ב Note repetition of after וא in a question which

implies disbelief (GK 150 g).

3 Genesis 37:32

נת ת כ Hey int. has pataḥ with following dagesh before consonant with

sheva.

א א Note disjunctive question.




4 I Samuel 10:24

ת א “Do you see?” Note hey int. with pataḥ before consonant withsheva with a following dagesh forte, even in resh. (GK 100 l; see also: I Sam

17:25; II Kings 6:32).

Study the following biblical verses and discuss the formation of

interrogative sentences in biblical Hebrew.

I: Without any particle, by the mere tone of voice

(perhaps most common in animated speech)

a) II Samuel 18:29

ו אב ר ו ר יא

And the king said, ‘is the young man Absalom safe?’

b) Judges 14:16 (Samson to his wife about the riddle)

א א ו אב א ו

Behold, I have not told my father and mother, but to you I should tell?

c) II Samuel 11:11

נ א ת ו כ ב ו א ו ן ו ר א ו א ר אורי א י נ א ב אואב ו ת א א ו ב א אנ נ

בר ת א א ך א נ יך ו א כב ו ת ו ו

And Uriah said to David, ‘the Ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths,

and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping out in the field;




shall I then go into my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife? By

your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing’.

(note use of א after expression of oath to express a negative. GK 149).

II: The simple question is often expressed by hey interrogative.

Note also ש ה = “is there?” and the negatives א ל andה ין א ה =

“is there not?”

a) Genesis 24:58

ת רו א א י רבק יקראו א

And they called Rebekah and said to her, ‘will you go with this man?”

( ת )

b) Genesis 24:23 (Eliezer to Rebekah)

ן ו נ קו אב ת

Is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge? ( )

c) Judges 14:3 (Samson’s marriage)

א כ א בו ך ות א נ ב ן א ו ו וא ו אב ר א י

א

ת

ו

And his father and his mother said to him, ‘is there not a woman among the

daughters of your brothers or among all my people, that you go to take a

wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ ( ן א )

d) Genesis 13:9 (Abraham to Lot)

ך נ אר א




Is not all the land before you? ( א )

III: The disjunctive or alternative question is put by heyinterrogative in the first clause and by ם אא in the second

clause (or ם לא if negative).

a) Genesis 27:21

א ו א נ א

Are you my son Esau or not? ( -א — )

b) Joshua 5:13 (Joshua to the captain of the host of the Lord)

ו נ א ו א נ

Are you for us or for our adversaries? ( א — )

c) I Kings 22:15

ת א נ ו ו א ר א י

נ א

And the king said to him, ‘Micaiah, shall we go against Ramot Gilead to war

or shall we desist/leave off?’ ( א — )

IV: The indirect question is made in the same way

a) Genesis 8:8

ו י ת א אוארא

And he sent forth the dove from him, to see if the waters had abated from

upon the face of the ground. ( ו = “if (they) had abated”)




b) Genesis 24:21 (Abraham’s servant encounters Rebekah)

ר א א רכו או ת

And the man was gazing at her, keeping silence, to know whether the Lord

had made his way prosperous or not. ( — א- )

V: Note use of ם א ה (twice only, see BDB p 50)

a) Numbers 17:28 (the people were in despair after so much death)

ו ו נ א

Shall we ever have finished dying? [Note = “be complete, finished” >

Qal perf. 1 pl. (here): ו נ (for ו נ ו see GK 67 dd: aramaizing form).]

b) Job 6:13

ב ת ן א א

(perhaps) “Is it that my help is not in me?” (see BDB p 50: “a forcible

means of expressing that that which might be thought impossible is never-

theless the case”).

VI: כי adds force to the question

a) II Samuel 9:1 (David showed kindness to Mephiboshet, lame son of

Jonathan, son of Saul)

ו וא או ת ב ר נותר א ו ו ר יא

ונתב ור

And David said, ‘is there yet any that is left of the House of Saul, that I may

deal kindly with him for the sake of Jonathan?’ ( )




b) II Samuel 13:28 (Absalom plotting murder of Amnon)

א ת אנ תוא כ

Is it not that I have commanded you? ( כ או )

VII: The interrogative particle may be strengthened by other particles

a) Genesis 18:13

נ אנ א א א

Shall I indeed give birth although/seeing as I am old? ( אא )

( א = “also, yea”; BDB pp 64-65; > א = “indeed? really?”

נ א adv. = “verily, truly, indeed”; BDB p 53).

b) Genesis 18:23

ק א

Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ( א )

Study the following biblical verses and consider how answers to

questions are formulated in biblical Hebrew. I: The answer is usually made by repeating part of the question, or

by the use of some word suggested by it.

a) Genesis 24:58

ר א א א ת רו א א י רבק יקראו

And they called Rebekah and they said to her, ‘will you go with this man?’

And she said, ‘I will go’. (Question: ת Answer: ( א




b) Genesis 27:24 (Isaac to Jacob)

ר אנ יא ו נ ר א א י

And he said, ‘are you really my son Esau?’ And he said, ‘I am’.

(The question is by tone of voice: ו נ א and the answer אנcorresponds to the question).

c) Genesis 29:5 (Jacob asking about Laban in Aram)

ו נ ור א י רו נ ן בן ת א ר יא

And he said to them, ‘do you know Laban son of Nahor?’ And they said,

‘we (do) know (him)’. (Question: Answer: ו נ )

d) II Samuel 9:2 (Ziba was servant to Mephiboshet, lame son of

Jonathan, son of Saul)

ר א י א ו ו א רקי בא ו ו ב או ת ב ו

א ו בא ר יא בא

The House of Saul had a servant whose name was Ziba and they called him

to David and the king said to him, ‘are you Ziba?’ and he said, ‘your

servant’.

(Question: בא Answer: ך ב )

e) II Kings 10:15 (Jehu to Jehonadab)

ב נו ר א י ךבב בב ר ר כא בבך ת א

‘Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?’ And Jehonadab said, ‘itis’.




(Question: Answer: )

f) Judges 4:20 (Sisera, captain of Canaanite host, to Yael, wife of Heberthe Kenite)

ן א ר או א ר וא א בוא ו א א ו

And it shall be, if anyone will come and ask you and say, ‘is anyone here?’

then you will say, ‘there is not’.

(Question: Answer: ן ( א

II: The negative reply to a simple question may be א ל = “no”. (see

BDB p 519: א ל - “in answer to a question or request, to deny, or

decline”).

a) Judges 12:5

כ ו י ר א כ א ן רי רות ת א

א ת א נא ו ו ר א י ב א א אי

And Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan (which belonged) to Ephraim

and it was, whenever the fugitives of Ephraim would say ‘let me cross’, the

men of Gilead said to him, ‘are you an Ephraimite?’ And he said, ‘no’.

(Question: ת א א Answer: א )

b) Genesis 19:2 (Lot to the angels)

א ו נא ר ו כ ו ו ו ו נ ו ב ת

ן ב נ ו רב א כ רו א י רכ




Please turn aside to the house of your servant, and stay the night and wash

your feet, and you shall rise up early and go on your way, and they said, ‘no,

but we will spend the night in the street’.

א ) is often followed by כ = ‘no: for, but’; BDB p 519).

c) Haggai 2:12,13 (What was ceremonially holy hallowed what it touched

but not more. What was ceremonially impure infected not only the

person in contact with it, but whatever he touched as well. So with the

people; the wicked can easily infect the righteous, but the righteouscannot so easily influence the wicked).

אן ו נ ו ונ ק ר א

נ כ נו י ק א כ ן וא ן וא א ו א ו

א רו א י א נ א א ר נויא י א

א ור א י נ כ

‘If one carries holy meat in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt he

touches bread or pottage, or wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?’

And the priests answered and said, ‘No’. And Haggai said, ‘if one who is

unclean by a dead body touches any of these, will it become unclean?’ And

the priests answered and said, ‘it will become unclean’.

(Question: ק Answer: א ; Question: א Answer: א )

(for ן see BDB p 243: sometimes = (but less common) and

sometimes = “if”).

III: The use of ןכ in biblical Hebrew

(the common post-biblical usage of ןכ = “yes” is only perhaps hinted at in

the Hebrew Bible; see below). (see BDB p 485: כן adv. = “so, thus”).




a) Exodus 1:12

ר ן ו ר ו אתו כן ר א ו

But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and increased.

( ר כ — כא lit. ‘according as—so, thus’).

b) Exodus 10:14

כן א ו או ו כ ן אר א ו נ

There was not before it locust like it and after it there will not be such.

( א — כא “there was not such—there will not be

such”).

c) Numbers 13:33

נ ו נ ן ו ב נו כ נ ב

And we were in our own eyes as grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.

d) Joshua 2:4 (the two spies sent by Joshua)

אנ ת א א או א ר כן א ו נ

ן א א ו אנ

And the woman took the two men and hid them and she said, ‘yes, the men

came to me but I do not know from where they are’.

(It is possible that in this verse כן = “yes”).




(Note also ו נ = (lit) “she hid him”; i.e. m.sg. verbal suffix instead of

plural; see comment of Rashi for various explanations, e.g. she hid each one

by himself so that they would not be found.)

Note the use of ן in Genesis 30:34: ר ברביא

“And Laban said, ‘all right, may it be like your word’.” See comment of

Rashi here:

ברקון “language of acquiescence”.

Exercise: translate the following English interrogative sentences into

fully pointed biblical Hebrew; suggested translations will be

found at the end.

1 Will you build me a house?

2 Are they not written in the book?

3 Is the guilt mine or did I judge badly?

4 Will these things exist for us until the end? And will these things befall

us always?

Suggested translations for interrogative sentences

1 בנ ב-א

(see: II Sam 7:5)

2 ר וב ת כ א

(see: I Kings 11:41 etc)

3 וא א -אנ (ו ו )וא

(see: Psalm 82:2: ת ו ) (see also BDB p 732: ו n.m. =

injustice, unrighteousness).




4

ראברנו נואיא נקרת ו ר א

( ק = ‘meet, encounter, befall’; see: Gen 42:29; 44:29; Numb 11:23)

Note the use of the conjunction או = “or” in biblical Hebrew. (BDB pp

14-15).

Occasionally, the second member of a disjunctive question is introduced by

.או

See: GK 150 g: “The second member is introduced by או ‘or’ in 2 K 6:27,

Jb16:3, 38:28, 31:36, (Mal 1:8 ), in each case before , and hence noאו

doubt for euphonic reasons, to avoid the combination .”א

Note then the occurrence of וא to introduce the second member of a dis-junctive clause in Malachi 1:8; this is the only such occurrence without the

euphonic reason explained in GK 150 g.

Malachi 1:8 (rebuke of priests)

ן א ו ו ת ו ן א ר ן ו ת ו

ת ו א ב ר א ך נ א וא ך ר ך ת אנ ו ב קר

And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if you offer a lame

or sick animal, is that not evil? Offer it now to your governor; will he be

pleased with you or will he show you favour? Says the Lord of Hosts.

( ך נאר lit. “will he show you favour or will he lift up

your face?”

— א — ).



275

P ART FOUR : USE OF TENSES IN BIBLICAL

HEBREW

It is generally agreed that the two forms in Biblical Hebrew, which are tradi-

tionally called ‘Perfect’ and ‘Imperfect’, express not just ‘tense’ but also ‘as-

pect’ or ‘mood’. Thus, the ‘Perfect’, which has afformatives and is also

termed ‘Qatal’, may be used not only for the past, but also for the present

and even for the future; it may express the quality of an action as completeand finished, and may identify a situation or event as static or at rest. See

below for examples of the uses of Qatal/Perfect for: English past; English

pluperfect; English present; English future perfect; the so-called ‘performa-

tive perfect’; ‘perfect of experience’; ‘perfect of certainty’ and ‘prophetic

perfect’.

The ‘Imperfect’, which has both preformatives and afformatives and is alsotermed ‘Yiqtol’, may be used not only for the future, but also in the sphere

of the present and the past; it may express the quality of an action as in-

complete or unfinished, and identify a situation or event as fluid or in mo-

tion. See below for examples of the uses of Yiqtol/Imperfect for: contin-

ued/durative or repeated action in the sphere of past time; its use after cer-

tain particles for past action; its use in the sphere of present time for re-

peated or durative action or for the expression of general truths and truths

of experience; and its use in the sphere of future time, whatever the aspect.




U SE O F P ERFECT /Q ATAL

Exercise: in the following biblical verses, discuss/analyse uses of the Perfect/Qatal.

I: Completed actions where English also uses past tenses

a) Genesis 22:1

אב את נ א ו א בר ר א

And it was after these things that G-d tested Abraham.

נ Piel, perf. 3 m.sg. ‘he tested’; action completed at a time indicated

by the narrative.

b) Genesis 4:6 (G-d to Cain)

ך נ ו נ ו

And why has your face fallen?

ו נ Qal perf. 3 c.pl. action finished in the past, but continuing its

effects into the present.

c) Genesis 2:2

ת ביי א כ

And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Qal perf. 3 m.sg. ‘had done’; the perfect is used to express the

English pluperfect, to indicate that one of two actions was completed

before the other. It is obvious from the context that the work of ‘doing’

was completed before G-d desisted from the work of creation.



P ART FOUR : USE OF TENSES IN BIBLICAL HEBREW 277

d) Genesis 31:32 (Jacob to Laban)

ך ר כ ו נ א נ א ך א ת א א ר אא ו ו תבנ קב כ

With whoever you will find your gods, he shall not live; in front of our

brothers identify what of yours is with me and take (it); but Jacob did not

know that Rachel had stolen them.

נבת Qal perf. 3 f.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘she had stolen them’; Englishpluperfect.

e) Judges 13:23 (the words of the wife of Manoah, father of Samson)

ו נ י א תנו ו ו ו א ר א

נ ו

And his wife said to him, ‘if the Lord desired to kill us, He would not have

taken from our hand a burnt offering and a meal offering’.

ו ‘if He had desired’; א ‘He would not have taken’.

The perf. is used here in both the protasis and the apodosis of a

hypothetical conditional sentence.

II: Completed actions where English uses the present

“expressing facts which were completed long before or conditions and at-

tributes which were acquired long before, but of which the effects still re-

main in the present” (GK 106 d)




a) Genesis 14:22 (Abram and Melchizedek)

ק ן ו א א ת ר א ר אב יאאר

And Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I raise my hand to the Lord, Most

High G-d, possessor of Heaven and Earth’.

ת ר Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. ; lit. ‘I have raised’ > ‘I raise’; i.e. an actionרו

completed in the immediate past.

b) Genesis 27:2

ו א נ א ר א י תו

Behold now I am old, I do not know the day of my death.

נ Qal perf. 1 c.sg. ‘I am old’; Qal perf. 1 c.sg. ‘I do (not)know’.

נ is a stative verb, i.e. it describes a mental or physical condition. The

primary meaning of stative verbs is that of the present, although the perf. of

stative verbs can also be used for the past (JM 112 a,b). English, by its pre-

sent tense, expresses the condition, while Hebrew expresses rather the act

which has resulted in it. Sometimes an active verb is treated like a stative verb, i.e. when its meaning comes close to a stative meaning (JM 111h); the

verb ‘know’ is very often treated like a stative verb (JM 112a).

c) Genesis 27:4 (Isaac)

ב ר א א כ

Make me tasty food as I love.

ב א Qal perf. 1 c.sg. ‘I love’; stative verb.




d) Genesis 32:11 (Jacob praying before his meeting with Esau)

ך ב ת א ת ר ת א א כ ו כ נ ק

I am too insignificant for all the kindnesses and all the truth which you have

performed with your servant.

נ ק Qal perf. 1 c.sg. ‘I am small’; stative.

e) Numbers 11:5

רנו ת א א נ ר א

We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt for nothing.

רנו Qal perf. 1 c.pl. ‘we remember’; ר is treated like a stative verb.

(JM 112a).

f) Deuteronomy 26:3 (presentation of first-fruits at Sanctuary; declaration

to priest)

א יוובאת ו א ר וא י ר ן א כ

תת ו נ ת ב א ר נ א אר א באת ך כ א

נו

And you will come to the priest who will be in those days and you shall say

to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord your G-d that I have come to the

Land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us’.

Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. ; ‘I declare’; “The qatal is used for anנ

instantaneous action which, being performed at the very moment of the

utterance, is assumed to belong to the past. Hence this use of the perfect is

sometimes called ‘performative’ (JM 112f).




g) Deuteronomy 8:19

ואבכיבת אב

I testify against you today that you will surely perish.

ת Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. ו ; ‘I take as witness’; ‘performative’ perfect

(see f above).

h) Jeremiah 8:7

ו ותר ו ו ב ]ו[ו ור ור

תא ו א ו אנ ת ת א

Even the stork in heaven knows her appointed times and the turtle and the

swift and the crane observe the time of their coming; but My people do not

know the judgment of the Lord.

Qal perf. 3 f.sg. ‘(she) knows’; רו Qal perf. 3 c.pl. ‘(they)

observe’;

These verbs express actions of frequent occurrence which are proved by

experience. Therefore, this use of Qal perf. may be termed ‘perfect of

experience’.

III: Use of Perfect to express future actions

“When the speaker intends by an express assurance to represent them as

finished, or as equivalent to accomplished facts” (GK 106 m).

a) Genesis 23:11 (Ephron the Hittite to Abraham; Abraham bought the

Cave of Machpelah from Ephron)

ך נת ו ר א ו נת נ נ א א




No, my lord, hear me; the field I (will) give to you, and the cave which is in

it, to you I (will) give it.

נת Qal perf. 1 c.sg. ; “I (will) give”. The perfect is here used forנתן

an action that belongs to the near future, in the context of making a

contract.

b) Genesis 15:18

ך ר ר א ת ר אב את ת וא כ נתיו

ת ר נ ר ר ת א אר ת א

On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, ‘to your seed

I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the Great River, the

Euphrates’.

נת Qal perf. 1 c.sg. ; “I will give”. Contrast this use ofנתן נת with its use in Gen 23:11 (see a, above), where the act of giving took place

almost immediately. Here, the act of giving is after a lapse of some time.

c) Numbers 17:27 (after Koraḥ’s rebellion)

ו נ בא ו נ כ ו נ בא ו נ ן ר א א א ו ר א י

Behold, we (will) die, we (will) perish, we (will) all perish.

ו נ בא ו נ Qal perf. 1 c.pl. ו , ; “we (will) die/perish”; this use ofאב

perf. is “to express facts which are undoubtedly imminent and therefore in

the imagination of the speaker already accomplished” (GK 106 n). This use

of perf. may be termed “perfect of certainty”.

d) Isaiah 5:13

א ונו ב ת ו ו ב ו ת ן




Therefore My people have gone into captivity (will go into captivity)

because they have no knowledge and their honoured (men) are men of

hunger and their multitude is parched with thirst.

Qal perf. 3 m.sg. lit. ‘has gone into captivity’ > ‘will go into cap-

tivity’; this use of the perf. may be termed ‘prophetic perfect’ (JM 112 h;

GK 106 n), since it occurs most frequently in the writings of the prophets,

where “the prophet so transports himself in imagination into the future that

he describes the future event as if it had been already seen or heard by

him”. (GK 106 n). “This prophetic perfect is not a special grammatical per-

fect, but a rhetorical device” (JM 112 h).

e) Isaiah 25:8

ת ר ו נ כ א ו נ ת ו

אר כ ר ו כ

He will swallow up death for ever and the Lord G-d will wipe away tears

from upon all faces and the reproach of His people He will remove from

upon all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

Piel perf. 3 m.s.g lit. ‘He has swallowed’, but the sense is clearly in

the future, a ‘prophetic perfect’. (see above, d)

f) Hosea 5:5

כ ונ ו כ א ו א ו ו א ן ו א ו

ו

And the pride of Israel will testify in his face, and Israel and Ephraim will

stumble in their iniquity, Judah will also stumble with them.




כ Qal perf. 3 m.sg. lit. ‘he has stumbled’. However, כ follows

the Niphal imperf. ו כ and the perf. + vav consec. ו and so the

narrative sequence plus context demonstrate that כ is here a ‘prophetic

perfect’; ‘Judah will stumble’.

IV: Use of Perfect in sense of Future Perfect.

“to express actions or facts, which are meant to be indicated as existing in

the future in a completed state” (GK 106 o), that is, to indicate that an ac-

tion, though future, is finished in relation to another future action.

a) Genesis 24:19 (Rebekah’s words to Abraham’s servant)

ו כ א אב ך א ר א קתו

And she finished giving him to drink and she said, ‘for your animals also I

will draw (water) until they shall have finished drinking’.

כ א Piel perf. 3 c.pl. ; ‘until they shall have finished’

b) Isaiah 6:11

ב ו ן א ר ו א א ר א ר א י א ת ר א

א א ו ן א א וב

And I said, ‘how long Lord?’ And He said, ‘until cities will have crashedinto ruins without inhabitants, and houses without man, and the ground will

be ruined into a desolation’.

אא א Qal perf. 3 c.pl. א ; ‘until they will have

crashed into ruins’.




U SE OF I MPERFECT /Y IQTOL

Exercise: in the following biblical verses discuss/analyse use of Im- perfect/Yiqtol

I: Sphere of past time

a) To express actions, events or states which CONTINUED

throughout a longer or shorter period (GK 107) (labelled ‘durative

action’, see JM 113f)

(i) Genesis 2:6 (description of earth before man)

א כ את ו אר ן וא

A mist was constantly rising and watering the face of the whole earth.

Qal imperf. ; ‘was (constantly) rising’

ו Hiphil perf. + vav consec. ק ; ‘was watering’.

(ii) Genesis 37:7

ת א ן ו ת א נ ת ו

And behold your sheaves were surrounding and bowed down to my sheaf.

נ ת Qal imperf. 3 f.pl. בב ; ‘were surrounding’

(iii) Exodus 1:12 (Israel in Egypt)

ר ן ו ר ו אתו כן ר א ו

The more they afflicted him, the more he multiplied and spread abroad.

ו Piel imperf. נ ; ‘they (continuously) afflicted’




ר Qal imperf. ’; ‘he (continuously) multipliedרב

ר Qal imperf. ר ; ‘he (continually) spread abroad’

b) To express actions, events or states which were repeated in the

past, either at fixed intervals or occasionally (GK 107) (labelled

‘repeated action’, see JM 113e )

(i) Genesis 29:2 (Jacob reaches a well)

ו באר ירא ו ן רב א

ר קו א ו רא ן כ

And he looked and behold a well in the field and behold there were three

flocks of sheep lying by it, for from that well they would water the flock.

קו Hiphil imperf. ק ; ‘they would water’

(ii) Exodus 33:7

נ ן ק ר נ ו ו ו א ת א ו

And Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, at a distance

from the camp.

Qal imperf. ק ; ‘he used to take’

ו Qal imperf. + vav consec. ‘he used to pitch’

(iii) Numbers 9:18 (the fiery cloud upon the tabernacle)

ן כ ר א נו כ ו א ו

נ ן כן




According to the command of the Lord the children of Israel would jour-

ney and according to the command of the Lord they would encamp, all the

days that the Cloud would abide upon the Tabernacle, they would encamp.

ו Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. ;’; ‘they would journeyנ נו Qal imperf. 3

m.pl נ ; ‘they would encamp’; ן כ Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. ן ; ‘(it) would

abide’.

c) Yiqtol with the value of Qatal“There are some yiqtols with no iterative or durative aspect, and thus hav-

ing the value of qatal, which would be the expected form” (JM 113h). “Al-

most all instances belong to the elevated or poetic style” (ibid).

(i) Deuteronomy 32:10 (G-d’s care of Israel)

ו א אתבו

He found him in a desert land and in a waste of howling of a desert (= in

the howling waste of a desert).

ו א Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.sg. א ; ‘he found him’.

(ii) Job 3:3

ו אב א

May the day perish on which I was born.

א Niphal imperf. 1 c.sg. ; ‘I was born’.

(iii) Psalm 8:6

ו אב ו ו




You have made him lack little of G-d and with glory and honour you have

crowned him.

ו Piel imperf. 2 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.sg. ר ; ‘you have crowned

him’.

Note the narrative sequence; the Yiqtol form follows a Vayiqtol form,

ו .

(iv) Exodus 15:5,12,14

ו בו ר

“(They) have covered them”; “(it) has swallowed them”; “(they) trembled”.

These verbs from the Song of the Sea (see detailed analysis in Part Five of

this book) are included by Jouon/Muraoka in the category of Yiqtol verbs

having the value of Qatal verbs, with no iterative or durative aspect (113h).However, see GK 107b for a different analysis, according to which these

verbs (Ex. 15:6,12,14,15) are used in the sphere of past time “to express

actions etc which continued throughout a longer or shorter period”, i.e. GK

views these verbs as expressing durative or continuous action in the past.

d) Imperfects after certain particles (זא = “then”; ם ט = “before,

not yet”; ם בט = “before”; ד = “until”). (JM 113i-k, view these

imperfects as part of the preceding category, c).

(i) Joshua 8:30

ב ר א א ו בנ א

Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord G-d of Israel on Mount Ebal.

בא “Then he built” ( בנ Qal imperf. .( בנ א + imperf. used of

past action is even a little more common that א + perf. (JM 113i); see I




Kings 9:24 for same verb ( ) in perf. afterבנ א > א ו ת א א“Then he built the Millo”. Compare e.g. Joshua 10:33: א with II

Kings 12:18: א both meaning “then he went up”. Jouon/Muraoka

(113i) conclude that this phenomenon (occurrence of same verb in both

perf. and imperf. after א used of past action) suggests that this use of im-

perf. “is not conditioned by ”. See, however, GK 107c: “The perfect isא

used after א when stress is to be laid on the fact that the action has really

taken place, and not upon its gradual accomplishment or duration in the

past, e.g. Gen 4:26: קרא

ו

א

“then it was begun to call

on the name of the Lord”; Exod 15:15: ו א ו א ו נב א “then the

chiefs of Edom were dismayed”.

See note on א below, at end of section.

(ii) Genesis 19:4 (two angels came to Sodom to Lot’s house)

ן ו ר

ת

ו נ

אנ

ר

ואנ

כבו

ר

Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded

the house, from young to old.

כבו ר ‘before they lay down’; ר + imperf. = ‘before’ is always

used for a past action.

(iii) Genesis 27:33 (Isaac to Esau)

בוא ר כ א ר אב

And I ate from all before you came and I blessed him.

בוא ר ‘before you came’; ר + imperf. = ‘before’ is used of

past action.




(iv) Genesis 24:45

אאנ אוברא

I had not yet finished speaking to my heart and behold Rebekah was

coming out.

א ר ‘I had not yet finished’; Piel imperf. 1 c.sg. ; ר =

‘not yet’, almost always + imperf. (see Gen 24:15; I Sam 3:7 for ר +

perf.).

(v) Joshua 10:13 (the sun stood still to give the Israelites time to conquer

the Amorites)

ו ב א ו ו י

And the sun was still and the moon stood until the nation had avenged

itself of its enemies.

ו ‘until (the) nation had avenged itself’; Qal imperf. ;נק

+ imperf. occasionally used for past action; here, “poetic, and perhaps nu-

ance of purpose” (JM 113k).

Note on use of זא = “then, at that time”

(whether temporally or logically, but not in the sense of ‘subsequently,

next’)

1) For א without a verb for past time, see Gen 12:6.

2) For א + perf. of past time, see: Gen 4:26; Exod 4:26.

3) For א + imperf. of past time, see: Exod 15:1; Num 21:17; Deut 4:41;

Joshua 10:12; I Kings 3:16; I Kings 8:1.




4) For א + imperf. of future time (usually where some emphasis is in-

tended), see: Isaiah 35:5; Micah 3:4.

5) For א + imperf. of future time, with an accompanying logical force,

implying the fulfilment of a condition, see: Gen 24:41; Exod 12:48;

Joshua 1:8.

e.g. Genesis 24:41: תא אכובת א

“then (i.e. on condition that this has been done) you will be clear of my

oath, when you will come to my family”.

6) For א expressing only logical sequence, see: Isaiah 58:13,14; II Kings

5:3.

II Kings 5:3 (Hebrew slave girl to Naaman’s wife)

א ן א ו ר ר א א ב נ א א בר ר א א

אתו

And she said to her mistress, ‘would that my lord was before the prophet

who is in Samaria; then he would gather him from his leprosy’.

אתו א א “then he would gather/heal him”.

Note also א from א “my wish”; see BDB p 25.

Isaiah 58: 13,14

ת ת א קו ק ו ך ות ך ת ב א

א ו ך ת ו ו ו ו ק ךנ

בר ר ו ת א




If you will bring back your foot because of the Sabbath, from doing your

business on My holy day, and you will call the Sabbath a delight, holy of the

Lord, honoured, and (if) you honour it from doing your ways, from seeking

your desire and speaking a word; then you will delight in the Lord.

ת א ‘then, (under those conditions), you will delight’

II: Sphere of present time

a) Durative action, to express actions events or states which are

continued for a shorter or longer time.

(i) Genesis 24:31 (Laban to Abraham’s servant)

ת

Why are you standing outside?

(ii) I Samuel 1:8

ו תבכ א ק א ר א י ו א ת א

בב

And Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘Hannah, why are you weeping and

why do you not eat and why is your heart sad?’

b) Repeated action, to express actions, events or states which may

be repeated at any time or are customarily repeated.

(i) Deuteronomy 1:44

ר א כ ו את רי ת א ק וא ר ב י ר א א י

ר ב נ




And the Amorites who dwell in that mountain came out to meet you and

pursued you as bees are accustomed to do.

נ Qal imperf. 3 f.pl. ; ‘are accustomed to do’.

(ii) Genesis 32:33

י כ ר א ת א א ב ו א א ןכ

יו

Therefore the children of Israel do not eat the sinew of the vein which is

upon the hollow of the thigh, until this day.

ו א א Qal imperf. .’; ‘they do not (customarily) eatא

c) Truths of experience or general truths

(i) Exodus 23:8

ק ר קכ ב

For the bribe blinds the clear-sighted and perverts the words of the

righteous.

ר Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. ור ; ‘blinds’.

Piel imperf. 3 m.sg. + vav conj. ; ‘perverts’.

(ii) Proverbs 15:20

א ו א ו בא ן

A wise son makes a father glad but a foolish man despises his mother.

Piel imperf. ; ‘(he) makes glad’.




III: Sphere of future time

a) From the standpoint of the speaker’s present time

(i) Exodus 6:1

ב כ ר ר א א תרא א ר א י

ו אר ר ק וב ק

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘now you will see that which I shall do to

Pharoah, for with a strong hand he will let them go and with a strong handhe will drive them out of his land’.

תרא Qal imperf. ;רא א Qal imperf. ; Piel

imperf. + sf. 3 m.pl ; ר Piel imperf. + sf. 3 m.pl. ר .

(ii) I Kings 12:27 (Jeroboam I planning the calf worship)

ב ב ו ו ר ת ב ב ות או ב ר א נ א א

If this people will go up to perform sacrifices in the House of the Lord in

Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, to

Rehoboam.

Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. ; ‘(it) will go up’.

b) To represent actions which may be regarded as future from some

standpoint in the past (corresponding to English: will, shall,

may, can, am to, would, should, might, could, was to).

(i) Genesis 43:7 (sons of Jacob speaking to Jacob)

א ת א ו ור ר א כ נ ו




Were we to know that he would say ‘bring down your brother?’

אכ ‘that he would say’

(ii) II Kings 3:27 (when the King of Moab saw that the war with Israel

was going against him, he offered up his son for a burnt-offering)

ו ר א ר ו ו נ ת א י

And he took his eldest son who was to reign after him.

ר א ‘who was to reign’

(iii) II Kings 13:14

ו ת ו ר ו א ת א א ו

And Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die.

ו ת ו ר א ‘of which he was to die’

c) Potential or permissive sense, to express what can or may

happen, or in a negative sense, what cannot or should not

happen.

(i) Genesis 2:16

א ן א כ

From every tree of the garden, you may indeed eat.

אא Qal inf. abs. + Qal imperf. ‘you may indeed eat’.




(ii) Genesis 42:37

ו א א אב ת א בנ ת א ר א ו אב בן א ו א ר ר א י ך א

And Reuben spoke to his father saying, ‘my two sons you may put to death

if I do not bring him to you’.

ת Hiphil imperf. ות ; ‘you may put to death’.

(iii) Genesis 29:26

תת ו נ ו ק ן א ןב ר יא

And Laban said, ‘it ought not so to be done in our place, to give the

younger before the elder’.

ן א Niphal imperf. 3 m.sg. ; ‘it ought not so to be done’.

(iv) Genesis 32:13 (Jacob reminds G-d of His promise to multiply

Abraham’s seed)

א ר א י ו ך כ ר ת א ור ר

And I shall place your seed as the sand of the sea which cannot be

numbered for multitude.

ר א ר א Niphal imperf. ר ; ‘it cannot be numbered’.

(v) I Kings 8:27 (Solomon praying at the dedication of the Temple)

נ א אכ ו אר א ב

ת נ ר א ת כ ך א ו כ




For will G-d indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven

of heavens cannot contain You, how much less this house that I have built?

ך ו כ א Polel imperf. 3 m.pl. + sf. 2 m.sg. ו ; ‘(they) cannot

contain You’. (The English states the impossibility of the Heavens

containing G-d, whereas the Hebrew merely expresses the fact that they do

not habitually and there is no likelihood that they will contain Him).

VIEWS OF MEDIEVAL SCHOLARS ON USE OF PERFECT AND

IMPERFECT 1 Genesis 21:1

ו ת א אכאכ ר א

And the Lord had remembered Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did to

Sarah as He had spoken.

Comment of Rashi on ק (Rashi recognizes the PLUPERFECT)

וברבכ רו

ו ת א ב,ונ,א,תיו,'ו:

א את אבכבק,-אק'ו ר :קו


(Scripture) juxtaposes (this section to the preceding one) to teach you that

whoever requests mercy for his fellow, when he needs the same thing, (his

prayer) is answered first, as it is said (Gen 20:17), ‘and Abraham prayed (for

Abimelech etc)’ and it juxtaposes ‘and the Lord had remembered Sarah’, for

He had already remembered her, before He healed Abimelech.





Rashi explains that ק is a pluperfect; G-d had remembered Sarah, for G-d remembered Sarah before He healed Abimelech and family.

2 Exodus 4:21 (Rashi recognises the Future-Perfect)

ת כ רא ב ו ך א ר יא

ק את א אנ ר ת ך ב ר א א ו ו

ת א

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘when you go to return to Egypt, see all the

wonders which I shall have placed in your hand, and do them before

Pharoah, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go’.

Comment of Rashi on

ואותוא ר ו א ,נרנראות א י,ונאנ,

א תא תאנו ,כ) :ו(

ראכ

,כ,אכתאתוא כ

:כבו


Not concerning the three signs mentioned above (earlier in Exod 4), for He

had not commanded to do them before Pharoah, but before Israel, that

they should believe him, and we do not find that he did them before

Pharoah, but, (G-d meant) the wonders which I will have placed in yourhand in Egypt, like: (Exod 7:9): ‘when Pharoah will speak to you etc’, and




do not wonder that it is written ר א (Qal perf.), for this is what it

means: when you will speak with him (Pharoah), I shall have already placed

them in your hand.


The word (Qal perf. 1 c.sg. ) is a future-perfect, ‘I shall have

put’. G-d was not referring to the signs already mentioned in Exod 4

(Moses’ rod became a serpent, his hand became leprous, the water of the

Nile turned to blood), because they were not performed before Pharoah,but before Israel. Rather, G-d referred to signs which Moses had not yet

received; see Exod 7:9.

3 Isaiah 25:8 (Rashi, Ibn Ezra and Radak recognise the Prophetic Perfect)

נאונו כ

He has swallowed (will swallow) death for ever and the Lord G-d will wipe

away tears from upon all faces.

Comment of Rashi on

אווו י.


He will cover it and hide it for ever from Israel.


is Piel perf. 3 m.sg. lit. = ‘he has swallowed’; however, the context

suggests a future meaning, as indicated by Rashi’s comment, where he uses

verbs in the future tense to explain the meaning of . Rashi also suggeststhat G-d will destroy death only from Israel.





את ב = “it will swallow them”.


Ibn Ezra suggests that Death will destroy them, not that G-d will destroy

death. However, Ibn Ezra does confirm a future meaning.

Comment of Radak on

ת ו ב ת ו ."ב ת א ת קר ת .


He will destroy and nullify death that is, accidental death, not natural death.


Radak suggests that G-d will destroy only accidental death. He uses verbs in

the future to interpret .

4 I Samuel 2:19 (use of Yiqtol in sphere of past time to express repeated

action)

ות י ו ת ו ו ו א ן ק ו

י ב ת א א את

And his mother made him (used to make him) a little coat and she brought

it up to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer

the yearly sacrifice.




Comment of Radak on ו

ו ו כ ו ת ו ו ו או.כ ת א כ ר או ת כ ו כן ו ו ו א כ א ב .א


Like ‘she made’ (Qal perf.) and there are many (examples) like it. Or, he

used the imperf. because she did not make him only one coat, but as he

grew bigger, so she made him a new coat according to his size.


is Qal imperf. 3 f.sg. = ‘she will make’. Radak offers two explana-

tions for the use of the imperf. here: either, it is simply the equivalent of the

perf. ת = ‘she made’; or, it expressed repeated action in the past; she

made him a new coat every time he outgrew the old one. The latter explana-

tion is in line with that of modern grammarians (see above).

5 Psalm 1:1,2 (Ibn Ezra on ו ן = ‘standing time’)

א א ר וב ר ת א ר א א א

ו א וב תו ב ו ת בו ו ת ו ת א כ

ו

Happy is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked and in

the way of sinners does not stand and in the seat of scorners does not sit;

but in the Law of the Lord is his delight and in His Law he meditates day

and night.




Comment of Ibn Ezra on ב, , ,

ר כא ן אות נ ון ו ן ,ת ו ר א – .ו ן ר ו ר ר א ו

ת)ו (= בר ן ו ו ר ,ו)ו (ו ינ

ן א ת ו א ו ו ות א :א ו

ו ובת ת ו .


It is the rule of the Holy Tongue to insert a sign to all verbs when they are

‘future’; becomes and when they wish to speak in ‘standing

time’, they use either perfect or imperfect, as in Isaiah 6:4: “and the door-

posts shook at the sound of the one calling and the Temple was filled with

smoke”. Likewise, “who does not walk” and “in His Law he meditates”.


Ibn Ezra explains that prefixes are placed before the verbal stem to indicate

the ‘future’ in Hebrew, i.e. becomes . Moreover, either perfect

or imperfect may be used to express ‘standing time’, ו ן , that is, to

express continuation, repetition, duration; in other words, for the expres-

sion of ‘standing time’ (also termed ו ו ), the tenses are virtually inter-

changeable. This may be illustrated in Isaiah 6:4, which contains a descrip-

tion of the Temple during Isaiah’s vision; in the first half of the verse, the

verb is ו ינ (Qal imperf. + vav consec. נו ; ‘and they shook’), while in the

second half of the verse, the ‘parallel’ verb, א is Niphal imperf. ‘was

being filled with’. Likewise, in Psalm 1:1, the verbs are Qal perf. ב while the ‘parallel’ verb in 1:2, with the same subject, א , is in the

imperfect ( ). All these verbs express ו ן , i.e. “happy is the man who does not (habitually) walk—stand—sit, but—he meditates”.




Ibn Ezra’s comment on Isaiah 6:4 makes the same point:

ן א ו בר ו ו ינ ר א ן(ו וא ו ת ון )ו ו ן א ר ו ב נ ו ו ן ן

ב ב .בר

“Behold, it says ו ינ (past tense) and behold ן א (future tense, i.e.

standing time), because in the Holy Tongue there is no specific way to

express ו ן and it is the custom of the Hebrews to mix their words.”

(See also Ibn Ezra’s comments on: Isaiah 1:21; Hosea 6:1).

6 Genesis 29:3 (Rashi on ו ו ון )

ר ו א נ ווק ו רא ן ב א ת א ו ו

ק רא ן ב א ת א ו ב ו ן א ת א

And all the flocks were (customarily) gathered there and they would roll the

stone from upon the mouth of the well and they would water the sheep and

they would return the stone to the mouth of the well, to its place.

Comment of Rashi on ו א נ ו /ו ו

ו א נ ו .א ו ן ,ר ב א ת .ו.

ו ו,ו נ:ותר ו ר.ן ו ר ו ו ון כבר ן ו בו ת,ת ו כבר ת ו ו בר כ

.ות


They were accustomed to being gathered there, because the stone was big. And they used to roll (the stone). The Targumic rendering is ן ר נ ו (a

participle). Frequentative action may be expressed differently in either fu-




ture (imperf.) or past (perf.), because all continuous action has already been

and will be in the future.


Rashi explains that the Niphal perf. + vav, ו א נ ו expresses the idea of

repeated or continuous action in the past and likewise ו ו (Qal perf. +

vav). Rashi terms this usage ו ו ון and states that either perf. or im-

perf. may be used for ו ו ון . Rashi often applies the term ו ו to a

form in the perf., imperf., inf. abs. or participle, when Rashi deems suchforms to have the force of a frequentative or customary action, or to have

the force of long continuance. Compare Ibn Ezra’s explanation of ןו (on Psalm 1:1,2).

7 Job 1:5 (Rashi on use of imperf. for repeated action in the past)

קר כ ו ק איוב י ו כ

ו ר בו או בנ או ר איוב א כ כ ר תו ו

י איוב כ כ בב א

And it was when the days of feasting had completed their circuit, Job sent

and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt

offerings according to the number of them all, for Job said, ‘perhaps my

sons have sinned and cursed G-d in their heart’. Thus Job used to do all thedays.

Comment of Rashi on

ו ו ות.כ ו ו בר כתב כת,ר כ ב

ת ון ו רב ון .ו





has the meaning of ו , ‘used to do’. When Scripture writesafter the event about a continuing or repeated action, at times it uses past

tense (perf./qatal) and at times, future (imperf./yiqtol).


Rashi explains that the imperf. expresses repeated action here and

that for this usage, either the perf. or the imperf. can be used.

8 Exodus 33:7 (Rashi on repeated action in the past)

נ ן ק ר נ ו ו ו א ת א ו

And Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, at a distance

from the camp.

Comment of Rashi on

וא ו ו – ון ו ו ו נ ו ו א וק .


is ו ון (used here of repeated action in the past). He used to

take his tent and pitch it outside the camp.

9 Genesis 23:11 (Ephron To Abraham) (Rashi on use of perf.)

נת נ נ א א

No my lord, hear me, the field I (will give) (have given) to you.

Comment of Rashi on נת:תכ





See it is as though I have given it to you.


The verb נת (Qal perf. ) is problematic in that Ephron has not yetנתן

given over the field. Hence, Rashi comments that it is as though he has

given over the field. Modern grammarians suggest that we have here the use

of perfect to express future actions.

10 Genesis 23:13 (Abraham to Ephron) (Rashi on use of perf.)

כ נת

I have given/am about to give/am giving the money for the field.

Comment of Rashi on נת

א וא ן כב,ו נת א ו:


The money is ready with me and I wish that I had already given it to you.


Rashi explains the Qal perf. נת as a wish, for it can hardly refer to the

past, since Abraham’s next words are ‘take (it) from me’.

11 Psalm 27:10 (Ibn Ezra on the interchangeability of the tenses)

נ א ונ ב וא אב כ

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will gather

me (has gathered me).




Comment of Ibn Ezra on נ א

נ א ון ,וא וא ר,וא ת (כ א ר ב ( ק כ קו(נת ב-)ות

ו ו


נ ) א has the meaning of ) ‘you have gathered me continually’, even

though it is imperf., like Gen 23:13, ‘I am about to give you the money of

the field’ and Psalm 106:19, ‘they made a calf at Horeb and bowed down to

a molten image’.


Ibn Ezra explains that נ א (Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 1 c.sg. ( א

expresses continuous action in the past, even though the imperf. is used. The tenses thus seem to be used interchangeably, as in Gen 23:13, where

נת (Qal perf. ) expresses near future and in Psalm 106:19, whereנתן

-ו means ‘they made a calf at Horeb’, that is, the Qal

imperf. ו is used of past action; this is quite clear from the context,

Psalm 106 being a historical psalm in which the psalmist gives an overview

of the early history of Israel.

12 Genesis 14:22 (Rashi on use of perf. for English present) (Abram and

Melchizedek)

א א ת ר א ר אב קיא ן ו

אר

And Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I raise my hand to the Lord, most

High G-d, possessor of Heaven and Earth’.




Comment of Rashi on ת ר

ו ב ןו.ו א את אנ ו.ר נ ן ב( ת א ר ב (,נא ,נ ק כ ן נת ו

)ברא( ו ,נותן אנ .ק


ת ר (Hiphil perf. 1 c.sg. רו = lit. ‘I have raised’) is an expression of

oath (to be understood as an English present), ‘I am raising my hand to G-d

Most High’. Similarly, ‘by Myself I have sworn’ (Gen 22:16), (to be

understood as an English present), ‘by Myself I do swear’. Similarly, (Gen

23:13), ‘I have given the money of the field, take from me’, (to be

understood as an English present), ‘I am giving the money of the field, take

from me’.


In all these examples, the perfect is used for the English present, as though

the act is already completed.

13 Genesis 4:23 (Ibn Ezra on interchangeability of tenses) (The War Boast

of Lemech)

ת א א נ ן קו ו ו נ ר א י א תכ ו

And Lemech said to his wives, ‘Ada and Tsila, hear my voice, women of

Lemech, listen to my words, I would kill a man for (i.e. to avenge) my

wound, even a boy for my bruise’.





רו ת א ו ת ו .ו ו ו ) ת א ר ב (כ נת.


The word (I killed) is in place of רו א (I would kill), and likewise,

“I gave (would/will give) (Gen 23:13) the money of the field”.


Ibn Ezra responds to a problem in the text. One might translate

(Qal perf.) as “I killed”, but why should Lemech boast of killing a child?

Rather, we should take as in place of רו א (Qal imperf.) “I would

kill”, noting the crescendo effect in the parallel structure of the verse; “(not

only) would I kill a man for my wound, (but even) a boy for my bruise”. As

regards this interchangeability of tenses, Ibn Ezra again refers to Gen 23:13,

where the Qal perf. נת means “I am about to give, I am giving” (see

above, nos 10, 11, 12).

14 Song of Songs 1:2 (Ibn Ezra on the interchangeability of tenses)

ן ך וב ו כ קות קנ

May he kiss me (according to Ibn Ezra, ‘he has kissed me’) with the kisses

of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on קנ

א ק ר ן בר כ בר קנ ר א ר ו ב ת .וא

ר ו (א ב)ות קו(ו )ת

בר (,ו וו)ת או א א




ו ר ת א ו ך ק ת א ו א ך ת נו

ו ו .כ


Do not be surprised that it says קנ for a past action, for that is

characteristic of biblical language, e.g. ‘then sang Moses’ (Exod 15:1); ‘they

made a calf at Horeb’ (Ps 106:19); and the opposite, e.g. ‘A psalm of Asaph,

O G-d, nations have come (i.e. will come) into Your inheritance, they have

defiled (i.e. will defile) Your holy temple, they have made (i.e. will make)

Jerusalem (into) ruins’ (Ps 79:1). And many such examples.


Ibn Ezra understands קנ (Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 1 c.sg. ק ; lit. ‘heנ

will kiss me’) as referring to the past, and he compares Exod 15:1, where

ר (Qal imperf. lit. ‘he will sing’) is understood as referring to the past,‘then Moses sang’; Ibn Ezra also compares Ps 106:19, where ו (Qal

imperf. , lit. ‘they will make’) refers to a past action, ‘they made’. Ibn

Ezra also brings an example of the opposite phenomenon, whereby a per-

fect refers to the future, as in Ps 79:1, where the verbs או (Qal perf. בואlit. ‘they came’); א (Piel perf. lit. ‘they defiled’) and ו (Qal perf.

lit. ‘they placed’) are all ‘prophetic perfects’, referring to the future,

since at the time of writing, Jerusalem has not yet been invaded and defiled.

15 Isaiah 42:16 (Rashi on the prophetic perfect) (The return of the exiles)

א ר ו א א תוב נת ו א ר ור ו ו

ו ת בר ר א ו ק ו ור א נ א

ב




And I will lead the blind by a way they did not know, I will guide them in

paths they did not know, I will make darkness light before them, and

crooked places (into) a level plain; these are the things which I will do (lit.

have done them) and I will not forsake them (lit. have not forsaken them).

Comment of Rashi on ת

אוכ.א ו ב נתאכ.


I will do. Thus is the language of prophecy, to speak about a future action

as if it had already been done.


Rashi has identified ת (Qal perf. 1 c.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl. ) as a

‘prophetic perfect’ (see above, Use of Perfect to express future actions, IIId; see also JM 112h; GK 106n).

THE USE OF PARTICIPLES IN BIBLICAL HEBREW

The main characteristics of the active participle are as follows:

1 The participle is often used to imply continuity.

2 The participle itself does not express time; the time setting is indicated

by the context in which the participle occurs, and this may be: past,

present or future.

3 Participles may function as: verbs, adjectives or nouns.




Exercise: identify the participle forms in the following biblical verses

and discuss their use and function.; explanatory notes are added.

I: verbal function (1-6)

1 Genesis 37:16 (Joseph to the man)

ב נ א א את

I am seeking my brothers.

ב Piel part. m.s.g. verbal function, expressing continuous action in

the present.

2 I Samuel 1:12

ת א ר ו ת ת ר כ ו

And it was as she prayed much before the Lord, that Eli watched her

mouth.

Qal part. m.sg. verbal function, expressing continuity in the past.

3 Genesis 37:2

ן א ו א ת א ר נ ב ן ו

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was tending the flock with his brothers.

ר The verb sometimes precedes the participle in its verbal

function to express continuous action in the past. See also, e.g. Gen 4:17; I

Sam 2:11.

4 Genesis 6:17

אר ו ת א א ב ננ אנ




Behold I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth.

א ב ננ Hiphil part. m.sg. ; use of participle in its verbalבואfunction to express imminent (Divine) action. See Driver S R: A Treatise on

the Use of Tenses in Hebrew and some other syntactical questions. OUP

1892. Eerdmans 1998, p 168: “The participle is used—of future time which

it represents as already beginning: hence, if the event designated can only in

fact occur after some interval, it asserts forcibly and suggestively the

certainty of its approach. In the latter case, however, its use is (naturally)

pretty much restricted to announcements of the Divine purpose.” For

further examples, see e.g.Gen 18:17; 19:13; 20:3.

5 Genesis 18:1

י כ א ת ב וא א ו א ו א א י

And the Lord appeared unto him at the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat (lit.

and he was sitting) at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.

ב וא ו ‘and he was sitting’; i.e. ‘when, as, while he was sitting’.

This is an example of a circumstantial clause, which “expresses some cir-

cumstance or concomitant of the principal action or statement” (A B

Davidson, Hebrew Syntax, T & T Clark. p 186) “In such a clause the subj.

is naturally prominent, hence it stands first, the order being - vav, subj.,

pred. This simple vav may need to be rendered variously, as if, while, when,

seeing, though—.” For further examples, see, e.g. Gen 19:1; Isaiah 6:1. For

examples of circumstantial clauses with forms other than participles, see,

e.g. Gen 18:13; 24:56.

6 II Kings 17:32

ת א א ו י




They were fearing the Lord.

א ו י ‘and they were fearing’. Qal part. m.pl. א and preceded by the verb in Qal imperf. + vav consec. Compare no 3 above, Gen 37:2.

See Driver S R ‘A Treatise on the Use of Tenses etc’; pp 169-170:

“Occasionally, the idea of duration conveyed by the ptcp. is brought into

fuller prominence, and defined more precisely, by the addition of the

substantive verb. —But altogether the more frequent use of the combination is

characteristic of the later writers - in the decadence of a language, the older

forms are felt to be insufficient, and a craving for greater distinctness

manifests itself: the rarer, however, its occurrence in the earlier books, the

more carefully it deserves notice.” Hence, there are many examples in II

Kings 17, which describes the mixed forms of worship in Israel after the

Assyrian exile in 722 BCE.

II: Adjectival function (7-8)

7 Deuteronomy 4:24

וכ א ך א א

For the Lord your G-d is a consuming fire.

אא Active part. Qal f.sg. א qualifying the fem. noun, א

(agrees in number and gender).

8 Genesis 13:5

ו ובא באת ו ן א א ו

And also to Lot, who went with Abram, there were flocks and herds and

tents.




Qal part. + def. art. The part. + def. art. function as a relative clause,

“who went” (lit. ‘the one going’). This usage is common; see, e.g. Gen 35:3:

ת ו את נ “who answers me on the day of my “distress”.

III: Noun function (9-10)

9 Isaiah 19:20

ו ב ו ו א ו ק כ

For they will cry to the Lord because of (the) oppressors and He will sendthem a saviour and will plead and will deliver them.

Qal part. m.pl. ; ‘oppressors’.

ו Hiphil part. m.sg. ; ‘a saviour’.

10 Jeremiah 18:6

ר א ת א ר כן ו י

Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house

of Israel.

ר ו י ‘The potter’; Qal part. m.sg. ר = ‘form, fashion’.

THE FORM AND USE OF THE JUSSIVE IN BIBLICAL HEBREW

The lengthened form of the imperfect is termed cohortative (usually occurs

only in 1st pers. sg. or pl. e.g. א /נ ) and the shortened form

of the imperfect is termed jussive (usually occurs in 2nd or 3rd pers.). In the

strong verb, the form of the jussive is the same as that of the imperfect and

is therefore recognized only by its context, except in Hiphil (indicative:

ק; jussive:

ק ). However, in weak verbs, the jussive often takes a

shortened form of the imperfect. The jussive is used to express a command




or a desire that something should/should not happen and is often strength-

ened with the addition of אנ. It is often translated by English ‘may’, ‘let’.

e.g. Genesis 47:4: ן אר ך ב א ו ב “And now pleaseו

let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen”. The negative before a

jussive is .א

Exercise: identify the Jussive in the following biblical verses and ana-

lyse/discuss its function; explanatory notes are added.

1 Genesis 33:14 (Jacob to Esau)

ו ב נ א א ר ב

Please let my lord pass before his servant.

א ר ב Shortened form of רב (Qal imperf. בר ) due to makkef

and consequent loss of accent. Strengthened with .’. ‘Please let him passנא

2 Genesis 41:33

אר ו ת ו נבון ו א ר רא ו

And now let Pharoah look out a discerning and wise man and set him over

the land of Egypt.

רא Shortened from רא Qal imperf. .’; ‘let him seeרא

ו ת ו Qal imperf. ת + sf. 3 m.sg. + vav conj. ‘and let him put,

set him’ (same form as ordinary imperf. + sf.).

3 Genesis 44:18

נ א ר א י ו ו א ני א א בר ך ב נא ר

ך ב ך ר א או




And Judah drew near to him and he said, ‘O my lord, please let your servant

speak a word in the ears of my lord, and let not your anger burn against

your servant’.

נר Shortened from ר (Piel imperf. בר ) due to makkef and

strengthened with .נא

ר או ר is shortened from ר (Qal imperf. = ‘burn, be

kindled’) and made negative with .’. ‘And let it not burnא

4 Genesis 44:33

או ר ו נ א ב ר ת ך ב א ב

And now please let your servant dwell instead of the lad as servant to my

lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.

א ב Shortened from ב (Qal imperf. ב ) due to makkef. ‘Pleaselet him dwell’.

Shortened from (Qal imperf. ); ‘let him go up’.

5 Numbers 6:25,26

ך ו א אר

ך ו ך ו א נ א

May the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; May

the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

אר Shortened from ר א (Hiphil imperf. ” ) ‘may He cause to shineאור

ו Shortened from (Qal imperf. + vav conj.) ‘may He

place/put’




(note that א and have the forms of ordinary imperfs. but carry a

jussive meaning here.)

6 Deuteronomy 20:5

תו ב ב ו ו נ א ו ת ב ר א א

Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let

him go and return to his house.

Qal imperf. ; ‘he will go’, but here with jussive meaning, ‘let

him go’.

ב ו Shortened from וב (Qal imperf. וב + vav conj.) ‘and let him

return’.

7 I Samuel 1:23

אתו א ב נ ב ו א קנ א ר יאברו ת א

And Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘do what is good in your eyes, stay

until you wean him, but may the Lord establish His word’.

Shortened from ק (Hiphil imperf. , ) ‘may He raise upקו

establish’.

8 Psalm 27:9

ך ב א א ך נ ר א

Do not hide Your face from me and do not turn away Your servant in

anger.




א א + shortened imperf. (longer form > ר Hiphil,

תר ) to express prohibition/negative command, ‘do not hide’.

א is shortened from (Hiphil imperf. נ = ‘bend, turn,

incline’), ‘do not turn away’.



319

P ART FIVE: POETIC HEBREW/ELEVATED

S TYLE

Bibliography:

Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. Basic Books Inc. New York.

1985.

Gillingham, S E. The Poems and Psalms of the Hebrew Bible. OUP. 1994.

Jouon Paul, Muraoka T. A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Editrice Pontificio

Istituto Biblico – Roma 1996. Part One, pp 11-12.

Kugel, James L. The Idea of Biblical Poetry. Parallelism and its History.

Yale Univ. Press. 1981.

Seow, C L. A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Abingdon Press Nashville,1995. Excursus E, Poetic Hebrew, pp 157-159.

Introductory remarks

It is difficult to define what we mean by Biblical Hebrew poetry. It is true

that some parts of the Bible are traditionally regarded as ‘poetry’, such as

the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15) or the Song of Deborah (Judges 5), but it

is also the case that some features of ‘poetic’ or ‘elevated’ style may befound in parts of the Bible normally considered to be ‘prose’. The main

grammatical features of ‘elevated style’ are the focus of this section and they

are presented here to facilitate the student’s grasp of the plain meaning of

the ‘poetic’ sections of the Hebrew Bible. A summary outline of these fea-

tures is followed by a more detailed treatment of some features. However,

this is a complex topic and the student is referred to the Bibliography for

further study.




Finally, an analysis of some grammatical features of the Song of the Sea

(Exodus 15:1-18) is presented.

A SUMMARY OUTLINE OF THE GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF

‘ ELEVATED STYLE ’.

1 Frequent absence of: definite article, relative pronoun ( ר ) andא

marker of definite direct object ( תא ); none of these occur in the Song

of the Sea after verse one, i.e. Exodus 15:2-18.

2 Brevity and terseness of expression. For example: Psalm 8:5:

כראנו ת אכ ן ב ו כק ת

‘What is man that You should remember him and (what is) the son of man

that You should visit him?’ The interrogative pronoun in line one has

to be mentally repeated in line two.

3 Freedom in use of tenses. For example, Psalm 38:12:

ב בנוא ו ר קו

‘My lovers and my friends stand afar from my plague; and my kinsmen

stand at a distance’. Note the variation of tenses in two balancing lines,

imperf. ו in line one, and perf. ו in line two.

4 Variable word order. For example, Numbers 23:7:

ק ר ואב ק ב נ נ א ן

‘From Aram Balak has guided me, the King of Moab from the mountains

of the East’. Line one has: circumstance + verb + subject; line two has:

subject + circumstance, with omission of verb, which has to be suppliedmentally.



P ART FIVE: POETIC HEBREW /ELEVATED S TYLE 321

5 Some vocabulary which is typical of poetry. For example,

אנו for א = ‘man’; for א = ‘see’; את for בוא = ‘come’.

6 Endings ḥireq-yod and vav-ḥolem ( ḥireq compaginis, see below) on

nouns, adjectives and participles; longer forms of prepositions, e.g.

א for א and for .

7 Longer pronominal suffixes, ◌/ / ו (see below).

8 Unassimilated energic nun (see below).

9 Use of: word-pairs, rhyming, repetition, alliteration and chiasmus.

(‘chiasmus’ is the reversal in the second line of the word-order in the first

line).

10 Parallelism – a feature which is concentrated in the ‘poetic’ books, but

in fact is to be found throughout the Bible. Parallelism of clauses

means that the second clause corresponds in some way to the first

clause; the second clause is a continuation of the first clause, often

“particularizing, defining, expanding or even contrasting with the

meaning” (Kugel, 1981, p 8). For example, Psalm 145:10: ך ו ו ו ר ב ך ך ;כ ך (‘Your works’) is parallel

to ך (‘Your pious ones’) and וך ו (‘they will praise You’) is

parallel to ו ר ב (‘they will bless you’). Note also the chiasmus:

line A has verb + subject; line B has subject + verb (reversal of order).

The second line is not, however, a mere restatement of the first line in

different words. Rather, ך refers to a smaller, more pious group

than ך כ while ו ר ב expresses a closer relationship to G-

d than וך ו . This progression can be conveyed in English by

translating the conjunction vav as ‘but’; “O Lord, all Your workspraise You, but, Your pious ones bless You”.




Genesis 21:1:

ו ת א אכאאכ

‘And the Lord remembered Sarah as He had said and the Lord did for

Sarah as He had spoken’.

This is an example of parallelism in a ‘prose’ section of the Bible. The verb

ק in line A is parallel to in line B, but note the small chiastic

arrangement, ו subject + verb, verb + subject.

E NERGIC N UN AND U NASSIMILATED E NGERGIC N UN (S EE

GK 58 I , K , L ; WHG PP 130-131)

There are alternative forms of the verbal suffix on the singular imperfect

which have energic nun assimilated before the suffix. These forms give

greater emphasis to the verb and are especially frequent in pause. For ex-

ample, ‘he will guard me’ may be either נ (no energic nun) orר where the energic nun is assimilated into the nun of the verbal

suffix, which therefore has dagesh forte. Note also that the tsere under the

resh has modified to segol under the influence of the tone. Likewise, ‘he

will guard you’ may be either רך (no energic nun) or ר with

dagesh forte in the final caph to indicate the assimilated energic nun and

segol under the resh due to the tone. The other forms are: ‘he will guard

him’, ו (no energic nun) or ו ר (with assimilated energic nun)

and ‘he will guard her’, ר (no energic nun) or ר (with

assimilated energic nun). These contracted forms with energic nun (where

the nun is assimilated to the following consonant) are quite frequent even in

prose. However, there are also uncontracted forms, where the nun is not

assimilated and these forms are rare, occurring only in poetic or elevated

style. e.g. Psalm 72:15: י נכ בר ו ‘all the day he will bless him’;

(instead of ו בר without energic nun).




Exercise: in the following biblical verses, identify the verbal suffixes

with Energic Nun, both contracted and uncontracted.; explana-

tory notes are found at the end.

1 Leviticus 1:3

ו ב קר ר רק ן ו נ רק א

If his offering is a burnt-offering of cattle, he shall offer an unblemished

male.

2 Numbers 23:25

א ק ר א י רבת א ו ב א ת קב

And Balak said to Balaam, ‘you shall indeed not curse him and you shall

indeed not bless him’.

3 Exodus 15:2

ו נ ר א אב א ו נאו א

This is my G-d and I will adorn Him (or, build Him a dwelling), the G-d of

my father and I will extol Him.

4 Deuteronomy 32:10

ו רנ ו בוננ ו בבנ ן ו ר ובת אר ו א

נו ן ו אכ

He found him in a desert land, in the howling waste of a wilderness, He

encompassed him, attended him, kept him as the apple of His eye.




5 Jeremiah 5:22

ו ר א ו א ת נ א ו א נ ו א ת א ת ו א י ובו ו ו ו ו א ו ו ת ו ברנ א ו ו ק

ו ברנ א ו

Will you not fear Me? Says the Lord, Will you not tremble at My presence?

I have placed sand as a boundary for the sea, an everlasting statute and

none may pass it; its waves toss themselves, but cannot prevail, they roar,

but they cannot pass it.

Explanatory notes to exercise on energic nun

1 ו ב קר Hiphil imperf. 3 m.sg. קרב + sf. 3 m.sg. assimilated energic

nun. The form without energic nun would be ו ב קר ; ‘he shall offer

it’.

2 ו ב ת Qal imperf. 2 m.sg. קבב + sf. 3 m.sg. assimilated energic

nun. Note that inf. abs. קב precedes the negative. ‘You shall curse

him’.

ו תבר Piel imperf. 2 m.sg. בר + sf. 3 m.sg. assimilated energic nun.

‘You shall bless him’.

3 ו נ ר א Polel imperf. 1 c.sg. רו + vav conj. + sf. 3 m.sg.unassimilated energic nun. ‘I will extol/exalt Him’.

4 ו בבנ Polel imperf. 3 m.sg. בב + sf. 3 m.sg. unassimilated

energic nun. ‘He encompasses/surrounds him’. (Note use of imperf.

for continuous action).

ו רנ Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. ר נ + sf. 3 m.sg. unassimilated energic

nun. ‘He watches, guards, keeps him’.

Note also: ן ב = ‘discern’ > Polel (only here): ‘he attentively considers him’.




ון א n.m. = ‘pupil of eye’

= ‘be desolate’ > ן ו n.m. ‘waste, wilderness’

n.m. = ‘howling’ (of beasts); lit: ‘in a waste of howling of a desert’

( וובת ו )

5 ו ברנ Qal imperf. 3 m.sg. בר + sf. 3 m.sg. unassimilated

energic nun. ‘He shall pass it’. Note also: ו ברנ Qal imperf. 3 m.pl.

בר + sf. 3 m.sg. ‘they shall pass it’; see GK 60e: “Suffixes are also

appended in twelve passages to the plural forms in ” (for Paragogicון

Nun, see GK 47m: “Instead of the plural forms in ו there are, espe-

cially in the older books, over 300 forms with the fuller ending ןו (with

Nun paragogicum), always bearing the tone.”)

,ו (BDB p 296) = ‘whirl, dance, writhe’

> Qal imperf. ו ‘be in severe pain, anguish’

= ‘shake, quake’ > Hithpael: ‘shake back and forth, toss’

= ‘murmur, growl, roar’

RARE FORMS OF PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES OF THE VERB AND

NOUN With regard to rare forms of pronominal suffixes of the verb, see GK 58g:

“The forms , ,ו occur 23 times, all in poetry (except Ex 23:31)”.

With regard to pronominal suffixes of the noun, see GK 91l: “The termina-

tion ו ◌ like ו and , occurs with the noun (as with the verb 58g)

almost exclusively in the later poets—and cannot, therefore, by itself be

taken as an indication of archaic language. On the other hand there can be

no doubt that these are revivals of really old forms. That they are con-

sciously and artificially used is shown by the evidently intentional accumula-




tion of them, e.g. in Ex 15:5,7,9; Ps 2:3,5; 140:4,10, and also by the fact—

that in Ex 15 they occur only as verbal suffixes, in Dt 32 only as noun suf-

fixes.”

Exercise; in the following biblical verses, identify the rare forms ,מו

מ,מו ◌ of the pronominal suffixes of the verb (with the perf.

imperf. and imperat.); explanatory notes are added.

I: Examples with Perfect

a) Exodus 15:10

ו כ ך ו ר ב נ

You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them.

ו כ Piel perf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘(it) covered them’.

b) Exodus 23:31

א נכ ו ו אר ב את ן

For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall

drive them out before you.

ו ו Piel 2 m.sg. ר + sf. 3 m.pl. + vav consec. ‘and you willdrive them out’. Note that this is the only example in prose rather than

poetry.

c) Psalm 73:6

א ו ת נ ן

Therefore pride is their necklace.

ו ת נ Qal 3 f.sg. נק + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘(it) is necklace for them’ ( =




אתנק ). Compare ת=את ‘she guarded them’, see

WHG p 123.

(The verb נק is a denominative from the masc. noun נק = ‘neck’).

II: Examples with Imperfect

a) Exodus 15:7

ו כ א ךנר

You sent forth Your anger, it consumed them like stubble.

ו א Qal 3 m.sg. א + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘(it) consumed them’.

b) Exodus 15:9

ו נ א ק א ו רו ר ק אר

I will divide (the) spoil, my appetite will be full of them, I will draw my

sword, my hand will dispossess (destroy) them.

ו א Qal 3 f.sg. א + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘(it) will be full of them’

ו רו Hiphil 3 f.sg. ר + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘(it) will dispossess/destroy

them’.

c) Exodus 15:12

ת ו אנ ב נך

You stretched forth Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.

ו ב Qal 3 f.sg. ב + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘(it) swallowed them’.




d) Exodus 15:15

אואא

As for the leaders of Moab, trembling seized them.

ו א Qal 3 m.sg. א + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘(it) seized them’.

e) Exodus 15:17

תך ר נ ו תו ו בא

You shall bring them and You shall plant them in the mountain of Your

inheritance.

ו בא Hiphil 2 m.sg. בוא + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘You will bring them’.

ו תו Qal 2 m.sg. נ + sf. 3 m.pl. + vav conj. ‘and you will plant

them’.

f) Psalm 2:5

ו ב נו ו ר בו ו ו בא א ר א

Then He will speak to them in His anger and in His wrath He will terrify

them.

ו ב Piel 3 m.sg. ב + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘he will terrify/dismay them’.

Note also the ו suffix on the preposition ,, henceא ו א for א =

“to them”.

See GK 103k: “The syllable ן — in ונ — כ is, in poetry, appended to the

three simple prefixes כ even without suffixes, so that ,כ,ו appear as independent words, equivalent in meaning to כ . Poetry is

here distinguished from prose by the use of longer forms.”




g) Psalm 22:5

ו ו נו ו אבת ך

Our fathers trusted in You, they trusted and You delivered them.

ו Piel 2 m.sg. + vav consec. + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘and You

delivered them’.

III: Example with Imperative

a) Psalm 59:12

ו ור ך ו ב ו נ

Cause them to wander with Your might and bring them down.

ו נ Hiphil imperat. m.sg. נו + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘cause them to wander’.

ו ור ו Hiphil imperat. m.sg. ר + sf. 3 m.pl. + vav conj. ‘and

bring them down’.

Exercise: in the following biblical verses, identify the rare forms ,מו

מ,מו ◌ of the pronominal suffixes with the noun.

Explanatory notes are added.

1 Psalm 2:3-5

ו3 בת ו נו ו ת ו ר ו ת א ק ננ

ו4 נ ק א ב ו

ב5 נו ו ר בו ו ו בא א ר א

Let us tear apart their bonds and let us cast from us their cords;




He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord mocks them;

Then He will speak to them in His anger, and in His burning wrath He willterrify them.

ו ת ו ר ו ‘their bonds’. ר א > ר ו n.m. (= ר א ) > pl. ת ו ר ו

ו בת ‘their cords’. בת > בת n.m. & f. = twisted cord, rope

> pl. בת/ בתת

ו = ‘to them’ (GK 103k); note the rare suffix on prepositions as

well as nouns.

ו א = א ‘to them’; see GK 103k.

2 Deuteronomy 32:27,32,37,38

ב ו ררת נב ת כ א רו

ו ב רו ו א ר א אוא ו ב ב ר א

Lest their adversaries misinterpret (lit. treat as foreign); their grapes are

grapes of poison, their clusters are bitter (lit. bitter clusters to them); and

He shall say, where are their gods, (the) rock in whom they trusted? who

would eat the fat of their sacrifices.

ו ‘their adversaries’ (= ); ר n.m. = ‘adversary, foe’ > pl.

ר

ו נב ‘their grapes’; נב n.m. = ‘grape(s)’ > pl. נב > cstr. ב

Note dagesh forte dirimens in nun of ב and see GK 20 c: “a dagesh is

sometimes strengthened merely for the sake of euphony—”; GK 20 h:




“when a consonant with sheva is strengthened by dagesh forte dirimens to

make the sheva more audible.”

ו = ‘to them’

ו א = א ‘their gods’

ו ב = ב ‘their sacrifices’

For ו = ו ‘they sought refuge’ ( ), see GK 75 Verbs " > GK

75 u: “The original yod sometimes appears even before afformatives begin-

ning with a vowel—.”

3 Psalm 89:18

ו א ארת ת כ

For You are the glory of their strength.

ו ‘their strength’; n.m. = ‘strength’

Ḥ IREQ COMPAGINIS

See GK 90: Real and Supposed Remains of Early Case-endings; JM 93:

Paragogic vowels.

JM 93l: “The paragogic vowel ◌. This vowel is called ḥireq compaginis(linking i) because it is usually found in nouns in the cst. state, and therefore

in close link with other nouns. Because of its ordinary use and of its origin

this ◌can be called i of the construct state. It is the ◌ which is found in

the cst. state of the biliteral nouns of kinship אב א . This ◌ was

used in poetry in nouns, adjectives and especially participles, at first to ex-

press the construct state in the strict sense or in the loose sense, then as a

purely rhythmic vowel.”




Exercise: in the following biblical verses, spot the Ḥ ireq Compaginis

in nouns, adjectives and participles. note also the instances

where a preposition is inserted between the cstr. state and its genitive; explanatory notes are added.

1 Genesis 49:11 (Judah)

ר ן ר אתנ]ר[א נ ו

Binding his foal to the vine and to the choice vine his ass’s colt.

ר א Qal part. m.sg. ‘binding’. The regular form would be ר א .

See GK 90 m: “otherwise than in the cstr. state the ḥireq compaginis is only

found in participial forms, evidently with the object of giving them more

dignity”.

אתנו נ ‘the son (colt) of his ass’. נ instead of ן , cstr. from ן n.m.

2 Zechariah 11:17

ן א ב

‘that leaves the flock’.

ב for ב (Qal part. m.sg.). See JM 93n: “In participles the ◌ of

the cst. state is rather frequent. This is because on the one hand a participlepreceding a substantive is often put in the cst., on the other hand because a

participle, for example ק , usually retains in the cstr. state: a form such

as ק had thus the advantage of expressing the cst. state clearly”.

3 Deuteronomy 33:16

נ נ ן ו רו

And the good will of Him that dwells in the bush.




נ for ן ‘dwelling’.

4 Jeremiah 49:16

נ

Dwelling in the clefts of the rock.

נ Note the cstr. state before a preposition.

5 Isaiah 22:16 (Isaiah denounces a powerful official of King Hezekiah,Shebna, who was constructing for himself a rock sepulchre).

ו כן ב קק קברו רו ב

Hewing out his tomb on high, cutting in a dwelling place for himself in the

rock.

ב Qal part. m.sg. for ב ‘hewing out’

קק Qal part. m.sg. for קק ‘cutting in’

6 Lamentations 1:1

כ ת ת ר ב ב וא ב ת א

ת

נות

ת

How does the city sit solitary, that was full of people, she has become like a

widow; she that was great among the nations and princess among the

provinces, she has become a vassal.

ת ‘abounding in people’; ת = ת , fem. cstr. from adj.

,ב = ‘much, many, great’.




ו ב ת ‘great among the nations’; note cstr. adj. with ḥireq com-

paginis before a preposition, which does not nullify the cstr. relation.

נות ‘princess among the provinces’; ת = ת , cstr.

from n.f. = ‘princess’. Again, note the preposition between the cstr.

state and its genitive.

7 Genesis 31:39

בת נ ו ו נבת

Stolen by day or stolen by night.

נבת = נבת , which is cstr. from וב נ , pass. part. f.sg. נב , = ‘stolen’.

See JM 93o: “There is a probable example of the passive participle in Gn

31:39—: this probably is the only example of paragogic ◌ in prose.”

8 Isaiah 1:21

ו ן ק ת א א נ קר ונ ת א

How the faithful city has become a harlot, she that was full of judgment,

righteousness lodged in her, and now murderers.

ת א ‘full of judgment’; ת א = את cstr. from א ,

fem. of א adj. = ‘full’.

9 Psalm 113:5,6,7,9

ת ב ואר ר ק

ת תרק ב ו




Who dwells on high. Who makes low to see. Raises (the) poor from (the)

dust. He makes the barren of the house to dwell.

Hiphil part. m.sg. ב ; Hiphil part. m.sg. ;

ק Hiphil part. m.sg. ;קו ב ו Hiphil part. m.sg. ב .

See GK 90m: “We must distinguish, however, between passages in which

the participle nevertheless does stand in close connexion,—; and passages

in which the i added to the participle with the article merely serves as an

ornamental device of poetic style, e.g. in the late Psalms, 113:5,6,7,9; 114:8;

123:1.”

See also JM 93o: “The ◌ is simply incorrect in Ps 113:8 ב ו ( ◌

brought about by the preceding and following paragogic ◌ ).”

10 Genesis 1:24

ר נ י נ אר א ו ר א יא

ן אר ו ת ו

And G-d said, ‘let the earth bring forth living creature after its kind, cattle

and creeping things and animals of the earth, after its kind,’ and it was so.

See JM 93r: Paragogic Vowel

ו: “This vowel is found only in a few nouns in

the construct state, notably י animal. —It is used in some cases in the

cst. state instead of ◌ for reasons unknown. Instead of נ (Gn 49:11) we

find ור נו ‘son of Zipor’ (Num 23:18), ר נו ב ‘son of Beor’ (Num

24.3,15). (poetic and archaic texts). —Finally we find ו ת 7 times (one of

which occurs in a prose passage).

In Gn. 1:24 אר ו ת ו —the poetic form may have been chosen to avoid

א-ית , which may have been thought too harsh (but vs 25:




אית with the article); cf. Ps 79.2 ו ת -א .”

11 Psalm 114:8

ר ו ו נ א

Who turns the rock into a pool of water, (the) flint into a fountain of water.

‘who turns’ = (Qal part. m.sg.)

ו נ Note paragogic . But see JM 93r: “Instead ofו ו נ Ps 114:8 one should phps read the plural נ (cf. LXX, Pesh., Vulg.).”

PARAGOGIC NUN

See JM 44e,f; GK 47m.

JM 44e: “Added to the sufformative ו of the 3rd pers. pl. m. and 2nd pl. m.

ו ק,ק we often find a ן called paragogic nun, i.e. added Nun. Inreality the ן belongs to primitive forms and is found in Ugaritic, Arabic,

Aramaic etc. The total of 305 examples are pretty widely spread in the Old

Testament;—. The reasons for the presence of a form with ון can be the

antiquity of a text, a deliberate archaism, Aramaic influence, and metre. But

the usual reason seems to be preference for a fuller and more emphatic

form. This explains why one finds forms with ון especially in pause (in ma-

jor and intermediate pauses).”

Exercise: study the occurrence of Paragogic Nun in the following

biblical verses, noting its occurrence with and without the pause,

in both prose and poetic texts; explanatory notes are added. 1 Exodus 15:14

ן ו ר ו

The people hear and quake.




ן ו ר Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. ; this form occurs in pause and the pausalר

vowel of the 2nd syllable (qamets) is retained. i.e. ו ר > ו ר > ן ו ר

2 Psalm 104:28

ן ו ק ו ו

You give to them, they gather in, You open Your hand, they are sated with

good.

ן ו ק Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. ק ; this form occurs in pause and the

pausal vowel of the 2nd syllable (holem) is retained. i.e. ו ק > ו ק >

ן ו ק

ן ו Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. ב ; not in pause.

3 Deuteronomy 4:10

ן ו נ ת א ו

And their sons they will teach.

ן ו Piel imperf. 3 m.pl. ; ו > ו (in pause) > ן ו

(retention of pausal vowel + paragogic nun).

4 Genesis 18:28

ק ן ו ר או

Perhaps the fifty righteous ones will lack five.

ן ו ר Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. ר ; not in pause.

5 Genesis 18:29

אר און או




Perhaps forty will be found there.

און Niphal imperf. 3 m.pl. א ; not in pause.

6 Numbers 16:29

תון א א ות כ כ א

If these shall die like the death of any man.

תון Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. ות ; some examples may be due to euphonicreasons, here to avoid a hiatus before ’aleph (GK 47m).

7 Isaiah 26:11

בוך קנאתו

O Lord, (when) Your hand is lifted up, they will not see; they will see and

be ashamed (Your) zeal for (the) people.

ן ו ‘they will not see’; Qal imperf. ; retention of archaic yod

of " verbs; paragogic nun in pause.

ו without paragogic nun in the same verse but not in pause sug-

gests that it was “the pause especially which exerted an influence on the

restoration of this older and fuller termination”. (GK 47m).

8 Ruth 2:8

רת נ ן ק ת ו

But stay close to my maidens.

ן ק ת Qal imperf. 2 f.sg. בק ; see JM 44f: “Similarly, to thesufformative of the second pers. sg. f. one sometimes adds a paragogic

Nun.” Note the retention of the pausal vowel. ק > ק >

ן ק




A GRAMMATICAL OVERVIEW OF THE SONG OF THE SEA

( EXODUS 15:1-18)

(based on both medieval and modern scholarship)

Nahum Sarna (The JPS Torah Commentary, p 75) suggests that the Song of

the Sea “may be the oldest piece of sustained poetry in the Hebrew Bible”

and it certainly contains a concentration of grammatical features of

“elevated” or “poetic” style.

This section will present a verse-by-verse analysis of these grammatical

features but will not encompass a complete analysis of all the literary

features which characterize biblical “poetry”, for which other works may be

consulted. A number of these grammatical features have already been dealt

with separately in Parts Four and Five of this book, but will be explained

again or the student will be referred back to the relevant section.

Exodus 15:1

את ת א א ובנ ר אא רו א י

א א א כ

ב בו ר ו ו

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to the Lord and they

spoke, saying, ‘I will sing to the Lord, for He is surely exalted, horse and its

rider He has cast into the sea’.

ר א “Then (Moses) sang”; for use of imperf. in sphere of past

time, imperf. after certain particles and note on use of , see Part Four ofא

this grammar book.




אא Qal inf. abs. + Qal perf. 3 m.sg. א = ‘rise up, be lifted up,

exalted’.

Qal perf. 3 m.sg. = ‘cast, shoot’.

Notice the ‘parallelism’ of clauses (see summary outline of the grammatical

features of ‘elevated style’, Part Five of this grammar book).

Views of medieval scholars on ר י ש אז י

1 Comment of Ibn Ezra in his longer commentary on the Pentateuch

ת א בר ת ת ון ר ו ו ון .

Translation of Ibn Ezra:

It is the custom of the Holy Language to use imperfect instead of perfect

after the word א

2 Comment of Ibn Ezra in his shorter commentary on the Pentateuch

ר א א ן או בר ו ת ת

ן ן ו ן תוא בר ו ן ו ו ר א ןכ ו


Then sang Moses. Imperfect instead of perfect. It is my opinion that it is

א ן and there is no method (to express) it in the Holy Lan-

guage, therefore they use past or future.

Explanation of Ibn Ezra’s comments

א ן




another term used by Ibn Ezra for ‘standing time’, ו ן – see Part

Four, views of medieval scholars on use of perf. and imperf., no 5, where

Ibn Ezra’s comments on Psalm 1:1,2 are presented and the concept of ןו is explained. i.e. either perfect or imperfect may be used to express

‘standing time’, that is, to express continuation, repetition, duration.

3 Comments of Rashi

ר ר א י ו א כ ו---א נ

א נ ב וו יו וב אב ו ן ת ית ת כאן ר נו ות ו ר א


Then sang Moses. Then, when he saw the miracle, it arose in his heart that

he would sing a song—we learn that the yod (i.e. future tense) indicates the

intention; that is the plain meaning. But (according to) the midrashicexplanation, our rabbis of blessed memory said, from here there is an

allusion in the Torah to the revival of the dead.


Rashi suggests that א here indicates the thought/intention to sing, fol-

lowed by the actual uttering of the song, expressed by

ר א רו א י

i.e.

“Then Moses intended/decided to sing—and they spoke, saying—.” Ac-

cording to the midrashic interpretation brought by Rashi, the use of the

imperf. here indicates the Messianic era, the time of the revival of the dead,

“then, in the future, Moses will sing—.” Rashi argues that ר א is not

an imperf. indicating continuous action (for which a past or future may be

used), for ר א expresses an action that happened once only.

RAMBAN (see glossary) criticizes Rashi and points out that there are future

forms which refer to past actions which happened only once (e.g. Psalm




106:19: ב ו ‘they made a calf at Horeb’). Ramban seems to

conclude that the tenses are interchangeable; the narrator places himself at

the point of time he desires in order to convey the event realistically; this is

usual in prophecy.

Exodus 15:2

ו ו

ו נאו א

ו נ ר א אב א

Translation according to interpretation of Rashi

The strength and the vengeance of G-d has become to me a salvation; this

is my G-d and I will adorn Him (or, build Him a dwelling), the G-d of my

father and I will extol Him.

Translation according to interpretation of Ibn Ezra

G-d is my strength and the song of (my strength) and has become to me a

salvation, this is my G-d and I will build Him a dwelling, this is the G-d of

my father and I will extol Him.

n.m. = ‘strength, might’; the usual form of + sf. 1 c.sg. is (see Jeremiah 16:19). The form with qamets-ḥateph occurs only here and in

the same phrase in Isaiah 12:2 and Psalm 118:14.

n.f. ‘song, melody’; the expected form in cstr. state would be ת

(pataḥ under resh, not qamets). The form with sf. 1 c.sg. would be ת

( ḥireq yod at end) = ‘my song’. Hence, ת is a strange form, although

rarer fem. endings do include ,, see GK 80g and see II Chron 31:3ת נת ו.




IBN EZRA states that there is no difference between and and that

= ‘my strength’. He also takes ת as a fem. noun in cstr. state =

‘song of’ and he regards ת ו as elliptical, suggesting that we

need to understand the word a second time, i.e. ת ו ‘G-

d is my strength and the song of my strength’.

See Ibn Ezra’s following comment:

ת ו ת וןו כ רת וא

ת ו וב ת כ ו כא

“And in my opinion, the word pulls itself and another with it (i.e. is

understood twice over) according to the custom of the Holy Language, as if

it was written, ‘my strength and the song of my strength’.

RASHI takes an altogether different view, suggesting that although

(with qibbus) is noun + sf., (with qamets-ḥateph) is a noun without asuffix, but with an extra ḥireq-yod ◌ (see above, Ḥireq Compaginis). Rashi

also takes ת as a noun in cstr. state, but connects it with a different

root ר = ‘trim, prune’ (see Levit 25:4 and BDB p 274). Rashi then un-

derstands the verse: “the strength of and the vengeance of G-d has become

to me a salvation”.

ו נאו can be understood in two different ways:

(i) based on נו (I) – only found in Hiphil = ‘beautify, adorn’

> “I will beautify/adorn Him” (BDB p 627)

(ii) based on נו (II) – a denominative derived from נו n.m. = ‘abode of

shepherd, habitation’ > “I will build Him a dwelling” (BDB p 627).




RASHI brings both views, while IBN EZRA brings only the latter view,

which is derived from the Aramaic Targum.

ו נ ר א ; Polel imperf. 1 c.sg. + vav conj. + sf. 3 m.sg. withרו

unassimilated Energic Nun (see Energic Nun, Part Five, above); these

forms are rare, occurring only in poetic or elevated style (GK 58 i,j,k,l).

ו נ ר א אב א ו נאו א

Note the terseness of expression typical of poetic style; the reader is left todeduce the climactic ascent in the parallel structure here; the second line

adds something:

“(Not only) is He my G-d and I will adorn Him, (but also) He is the G-d of

my father and I will extol Him”; i.e. not only is He my G-d, but also my

father’s G-d; not only will I adorn Him, but also I will extol Him. Note also

the ellipsis of the word , which must be understood a second time, ‘This

is my G-d—and (this is) my father’s G-d—.’ The ellipsis is pointed out by

Ibn Ezra: ר ר א ו ב ת ‘this serves a second time’.

Exodus 15:4

ב ו ו ר רכבת

ו ו ב ו ר ב ו

The chariots of Pharoah and his army He threw into the sea, the choicest of

his officers were sunk in the Reed Sea.

‘throw, shoot, cast’; ר ב n.m. ‘choicest, best’;

n.m. ‘officer’;

ב ‘sink’ > Pual perf. 3 c.pl. ו ‘they were sunk’.




Exodus 15:5

ו ת

אב ו ת כ ו ב ו ר

The depths covered them, they sank in the deep like stone.

ו n.f. (& m) ‘deep, sea’ (usu. poetic)

ו > ו n.f. ‘depth, deep’

ו כ (BDB p 455) functioning here as a poetic synonym of כ = ‘like, as’

Piel imperf. 3 m.pl. with retention of original yod (see GK

75u: verbs lamed-hey were originally either lamed-vav or lamed-yod and

“the original yod sometimes appears even before afformatives beginning

with a vowel”). Note also the ו ending instead of the rare suffix ו and

see GK 58g: “The forms ו ו ו ◌ occur 23 times, all in poetry (except

Ex. 23:31)”. RASHBAM suggests that the ו form is due to assonance with

the sound earlier in the verse.


ו כ ת ו א ק ר בו ו ת ת א ו י ו ו ו כ

ר אנך רך ו בו) )בר

ת ן ן ) (רו

נ ו א ר ו ו בו ו ר כ ת ון

ו ר י כ ו אותו ו




Translation and Explanation of Rashi

Like ו (Piel imperf. 3 m.pl. + sf. 3 m.pl. ‘they will cover them’, )and the middle yod is superfluous; this is typical of Biblical Hebrew, like:

Deut 8:13: ‘your cattle and your sheep will multiply’ ( ן ר = ו ר Qal

imperf. 3 m.pl. ב but has retained the archaic yod and also has paragogic

nun), and Psalm 36:9: “they are abundantly satisfied with the fatness of

Your house” ( רו = רוו , Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. , but has retained theרו

archaic yod and also has pargogic nun). And as for the first yod (i.e. the fact

that the verb is imperf.) explain it thus: ‘they were sunk in the Reed Sea in

order that the waters should return and cover them’. (i.e. Rashi has joined

the beginning of v 5 to the end of v 4 in a relation of effect and cause; this

accords with the notion that biblical Hebrew poetry is characterized by

terseness, which leads to ellipsis of thematic connections, and consequently,

Rashi makes explicit the thematic connection which is not expressed in the

biblical text in actual words). (Rashi’s explanation also accounts for the fact

that ו is imperf. while all the other verbs in vv 4-5 are perf. –

רו ).

Exodus 15:6

כנך ר נא

אונך ר

Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in strength, Your right hand, O Lord,

crushes (the) enemy.

ר נא Niphal part. m.sg. ר א ‘majestic, glorious’; for the ḥireq

compaginis, see above, Part Five of this book. Note the preposition

inserted between the cstr. state and its genitive ( כ ר נא ‘glorious in

strength’).

‘shatter’ (only Exod 15:6 and Judges 10:8)




ן n.f. ‘right hand’ (also n.m. see Ezekiel 2:9)

The words כ ר נא could be taken in two possible ways:

(i) as addressed to G-d > ‘Your right hand, O Lord, You who are glori-

ous in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters (the) enemy’. (This is the

view of Ibn Ezra and it accords with a pattern of repetitive parallelism

found elsewhere, e.g. Psalm 92:10; 93:3; 94:3).

(ii) alternatively, כ ר נא refers back to נך ‘your right hand’, since

ן is also found as masculine (Ezekiel 2:9), i.e. ‘Your right hand, O Lord,

is glorious in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters (the) enemy’.

Exodus 15:7

נ ו א ברבוך

ק ר

ר נך

ו כ א

And in the greatness of Your majesty, You overthrew those who rose up

against You, You sent forth Your burning anger, it consumed them like

stubble.

Note the assonance created by the repetition of ך, perhaps drawing atten-

tion to G-d’s supreme power. Note also use of imperf. in all the verbs to

express repetition and continuity, and use of the rare suffix form ו ◌ in

ו א = א (imperf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl.) (GK 58g). > ן ו ר n.m. = ‘burning (of anger)’; ק n.m. = ‘stubble’; = ‘throw down,

break, tear down’.




Exodus 15:8

ו ר ך נ א ו ר בו

נ ו וב נ

ב ת או ת

And with the breath of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, the floods

stood upright like a heap, the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

> Niphal: ‘be heaped up’; ; n.m. ‘heap’ (of waters)נ ב נ > Niphal

perf. בו נ ‘stood upright’; נ > Qal part. נ = ‘waters, floods’; א ק =‘thicken, congeal’.

Exodus 15:9

ק א א ב אר ו א ר א

ו רו ר ק אר ו נ א

The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide (the) spoil; my

appetite will be full of them, I will draw (lit. empty out) my sword, my hand

will dispossess (destroy) them’.

Note alliteration of letter ’aleph ( ק א א אר ב ו א ר א ) and

three parallel clauses all ending in ◌ ( רנ ). Note also two

occurrences of the ו ending: ו א Qal imperf. + sf. 3 m.pl. א ;

ו רו Hiphil imperf. 3 f.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl. ר .

ק ר > Hiphil = ‘empty out’; נ > Hiphil = ‘reach, overtake’

Exodus 15:10

ו כ ך ו ר ב נ




ר א ת ר ו כ ו

You blew with Your wind, (the) sea covered them, they sunk like lead in the

mighty waters.

Note ו ending on ו כ ‘(it) covered them; Piel perf. 3 m.sg. + sf. 3 m.pl.

.

ת ר ו n.m. = ‘lead’.

Exodus 15:11

א

ר אנ כ

א ת ת א ו נ

Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, majestic in

holiness? Fearful in praises, doing wonders. ( א ו נ > Niphal participle,

א ).

Notice the repetition ( כ- ), typical of ‘poetry’.

Exodus 15:12

ו אר ב נך ת נ

You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.

Note that ת נ is perf. (Qal ), whileנ ו ב is imperf. (Qal ב +sf. 3 m.pl. rare form, ו ), demonstrating the customary variation of tenses

in ‘poetry’.

See GK 107d: “Also those actions etc which might be regarded in them-

selves as single or even momentary are, as it were, broken up by the imper-




fect into their component parts, and so pictured as gradually completing

themselves. Hence, ו ב represents the Egyptians in a vivid, poetic

description, as being swallowed up one after another.”

Exodus 15:13

ך ק נ ך א ב נ א ו ך ב ת נ

You, in Your mercy, have led (the) people whom You have redeemed, You

have guided (them) in Your strength to Your holy habitation.

Comment of Ibn Ezra on ת נ

ת בר וא ר ת כ ך ב ת בר,נ ו

ת ת בר ן ו א ב ו ר .כר ו

נ ק וא נ ו ר א א יב ן. ו ו

נ נ ו ו את ב נ ר וא ו נ

א ו


You have led/will lead in Your lovingkindness: it is the opinion of all the

commentators that this verb refers to the future, and I have already

mentioned why the Prophets use the perfect to refer to the future. The

meaning here is that G-d will guide them until He brings them to Jerusalem,

which is the Holy Habitation. And it is correct in my eyes that the Holy

Habitation is Mount Sinai, where they will serve G-d, and there the Torah

was given to Israel.




Explanation of Ibn Ezra’s comment

Ibn Ezra has clearly understood the verb ת נ (Qal perf. 2 m.sg. נ =‘lead, guide’) as a Prophetic Perfect, which is characteristic of prophetic,

elevated style.

Note also: א ו “the people whom You have redeemed”; see BDB

p 262 and GK 138g. ו is a pronoun used in ‘poetic’ language; it can be:

(i) a demonstrative. e.g. Habakkuk 1:11: ו ו כ ‘this his strength’

(ii) a relative. e.g. Exod 15:13 (here) and Exod 15:16: ‘the people whom

You have acquired’ ת ו קנ . See also: Isaiah 42:24. See also Seow

p 157, 1b: “The relative particle ר א is absent from the oldest poetic

texts and is uncommon in standard poetry. Instead, one finds asyn-

detic (unmarked) relative clauses, and ו used in its place”. e.g.

Psalm 74:2: ן ו י ר נ ‘Mount Zion wherein You

dwell’.

( . ) in Piel: lead, guide (to a watering-place) > perf. 2 m.sgנ נ – here,

parallel to ת נ and therefore also prophetic perfect.

Exodus 15:14

ן ו ר ו

ת ב א

The people heard and quaked, trembling took hold of the inhabitants of

Philistia.

n.m. writhing, anguish

be agitated, quiver, quake > ן ו ר (Qal imperf. 3 m.pl. +

paragogic nun; see above and GK 47m; JM 44e,f.). Note retention of pausal




vowel in second syllable. ו ר > ר > ן ו ר Note also variation of

tenses, ו ן ו ר

Exodus 15:15

ו א ו א ו נב א

ו א באו א

ן ב ו כ נ

Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified,

the leaders of Moab, trembling took hold of them,

all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.

Note variation of tenses: ו נב (Niphal perf. ;( ב ו א (Qal imperf.

;( א ו . (Niphal perfנ ו ).

Note also rare suffix form ו on ו א = lit. ‘it will take hold of them’.

נבא see GK 107c for א + perf. (see note on א in Part Four of

this book, use of imperf. in sphere of past time).

ו א באו א Note use of extrapolation; instead of

א א וא ‘trembling took hold of the leaders of Moab’

i.e. subject + verb + object,

the text has first the extrapolated object ( באו + ) followed by verbא

suffix (referring back to the extrapolated object) followed by subject. The

effect is to juxtapose ו אא and ואא .




Finally in 15:15, note the climactic ascent in the parallel structure, plus the

ellipsis of the thematic connection (compare 15:5).

“Not only were the chiefs of Edom terrified,

but even the leaders of Moab trembled,

in fact, all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.”

Exodus 15:16

ת א

ו כאבן ך ו ר

ך ר ב

בר ת ו קנ

Fear and dread will fall upon them,

in the greatness of Your arm they will be silent like stone,

until, O Lord, Your people pass,

until the people pass, whom You have acquired

For the form ת א ‘fear, terror’, see JM 93c-i: Paragogic vowel

◌.“This unstressed vowel, formerly thought to be a vestige of the old

determinate accusative, is no longer so considered in the light of Ugaritic,

which also attests to a form such as arsh “to the ground”, where the final

letter is not a mater lectionis, but a consonant. It is mainly used to indicate

direction towards, or destination to, a place.” (93c) “Sometimes the no

longer has its original force; its use is purely rhythmic. In poetry sometimesit could have been used out of metrical necessity:—This is rather frequent




in the feminine, where we have the ending . In some cases this formת

seems to have been chosen to avoid the contact of two stressed syllables:—

.” (93i) as in ת א from the fem. noun -. (see also GK 90cא

g). Compare, e.g. ת ‘help’ (= ) (Ps 44:27); ת ו ‘salvation’

(= ו ) (Ps 3:3)

Note the repetition: ר ב — רב

The Song of the Sea divides naturally into three sections:

vv 1-6; vv 7-11; vv 12-16 + conclusion, vv 17-18.

A repetition marks the conclusion of each section:

v 6 נך — נ

v 11 —

v 16 בר — ב

And there is a simile before each repetition, exhibiting parallelism of

thought.

v 5 ו אב-כ ‘like stone’

v 10 ת ר ו כ ‘like lead’

v 16 כאבן ‘like stone’

Exodus 15:17

תך ר נ ו תו ו בא

ך ב ון

כוננו




You will bring them in and You will plant them in the mountain of Your

inheritance, (in) (the) establishment, O Lord, (which) You have made for

Your dwelling, (in) (the) Sanctuary, O Lord, (which) Your hands have

established.

Note that the relative pronoun (‘which’, ר ) and the definite articleא

(‘the’) have to be supplied in translation; their omission is characteristic of

biblical Hebrew poetry.

RASHI’s comments on this verse supply the word ר א twice, as follows:

ך ב און כ ן כנ רק א

.

א בת ו ר ו ק ו

ך ר כוננו א


The Sanctuary below is placed exactly opposite ( כן ) the (Divine)

Throne above, which ( ר ) You have made. The accent on the wordא

is zakeph gadol, to separate it from the Divine Name after it. i.e.

The Sanctuary which ( ר . ) Your hands have established, O Lordא


Rashi takes ון as ן (exactly opposite), referring to ‘the mountain of

Your inheritance’ תר נ i.e. Mt Moriah, the site of the Temple, which

is exactly opposite G-d’s dwelling on High ( ך ב ) which (to be sup-

plied) ‘You (G-d) have made’ ( ).

Rashi notes that the accent on the word is disjunctive, meaning thatis not in cstr. state (indicated also by qamets under the dalet, not




pataḥ ) and therefore the sense is not ‘the sanctuary of the Lord’, but ‘Lord’

is vocative (‘O Lord’) and one must supply the relative pronoun ר א be-

fore .כוננו

ו בא Hiphil imperf. 2 m.sg. בוא + rare sf. form 3 m.pl.

ו תו Qal imperf. 2 m.sg. נ + rare sf. form 3 m.pl. + vav conj.

Note the dagesh forte dirimens in the koph of “to make the sheva

more audible”

(GK 20h)



357

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361

INDEX

accent (conjunctive, disjunctive,retraction of), 72, 73, 148, 154,157, 201, 314, 355

Accusative (object), 52, 58, 81, 89,90, 116, 117, 119, 120, 125, 134,137, 138, 142, 145, 158, 163, 178,186, 187, 188, 199, 200, 205, 320,332, 352

Amidah, 156 Amos, 20, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32,

33, 42, 64, 65, 69, 73, 169, 196,225

Aphel, 89 Arabic, 67, 158, 159, 160, 336 Aramaic, 30, 55, 89, 93, 158, 229,

336, 344Brown, Driver, Briggs (BDB), ix, 31,

36, 37, 42, 56, 58, 59, 95, 100,119, 120, 122, 130, 143, 180, 181,182, 187, 228, 230, 231, 236, 267,268, 270, 271, 273, 274, 290, 325,343, 345, 351, 357

Case-endings, 331causal clause, 188, 190, 254, 255,

256, 257, 258Causative, 49, 109Chiasmus/chiastic structure, 237,

238, 239, 240, 247Chomsky, 33, 155, 156, 357Christian France, 67Cohortative, 221, 222compensatory lengthening, 25, 73,

74, 92, 137, 179Completed action, 276, 277Continuity/continuance, 179, 180,

206, 303Contrast/contrastive, 84, 100, 142,

145, 238, 246, 281

dagesh (weak, strong, forte,dirimens), 25, 58, 59, 72, 73, 74,76, 87, 92, 120, 137, 143, 144,150, 151, 179, 260, 261, 263, 264,322, 330, 356

Davidson, 50, 111, 188, 204, 312,357, 358

Declarative, 80, 85, 110

Denominative, 85Dictionary, 160Durative action, 291Ecclesiastes, 35, 36, 45, 47, 80, 135,

172, 184, 227, 228Ellipsis/elliptical, 185, 218, 343Esther, 39, 40, 70, 75, 79, 93, 121,

173, 196, 232Estimative, 85

Ezekiel, 22, 30, 63, 121, 151, 347Factitive, 79, 85final root letter, 109first root letter, 25, 26, 56, 59, 75,

129, 140, 143Frequentative action, 302Genitive, 199, 200Gerundial, 196Gerundive, 194, 203GK (Gesenius), ix, 27, 29, 30, 33, 40,

41, 55, 61, 62, 63, 74, 76, 78, 81,82, 87, 91, 93, 99, 111, 113, 116,125, 126, 129, 130, 138, 140, 142,145, 147, 149, 150, 152, 154, 155,178, 181, 185, 204, 210, 213, 214,217, 218, 234, 241, 260, 261, 263,264, 265, 267, 274, 277, 280,281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 287, 288,310, 322, 325, 328, 330, 331, 332,335, 336, 338, 342, 344, 345, 347,349, 351, 352, 354, 356, 357

Hammershaimb, E., 183




Ḥayy ūj, Judah ibn, 67, 158Hey interrogative, 260, 261, 263, 264Hiphil imperative, 107, 108, 211Hiphil imperfect, 107, 119, 126Hiphil participle, 114, 119, 125Hithpael imperative, 131, 147Hithpael imperfect, 129, 130, 131,

137, 139, 140, 142, 145Hithpael participle, 129, 130, 144,

148Hithpael perfect, 40, 130, 137Hithpolel, 92, 93, 148

holem, 337Hophal imperfects/imperfects of hophal, 152

Hosea, 16, 23, 31, 33, 103, 105, 107,109, 174, 189, 212, 218, 219, 282,302

Ibn Barun, 156, 160Ibn Ezra (Abraham), 36, 56, 57, 60,

62, 65, 66, 86, 87, 90, 91, 116,117, 118, 119, 121, 124, 125, 139,

141, 143, 147, 150, 153, 156, 157,158, 159, 160, 206, 207, 208, 212,213, 214, 218, 219, 298, 299, 300,301, 302, 303, 305, 306, 307, 308,309, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 347,350, 351

Imperfect, 105, 275, 284, 327, 340infinitive absolute, 42, 60, 63, 64, 75,

77, 108, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181,

182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 207,208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 218, 219,232, 233, 261, 294, 302, 324, 340

infinitive construct, 40, 58, 66, 77,85, 87, 95, 96, 108, 112, 115, 146,181, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205,206, 209, 210, 213, 215, 216, 217,219, 221, 224, 227, 228, 229, 230,255, 256

Intensive, 77, 84

Inwardly transitive, 111Isaiah, 17, 24, 26, 32, 42, 44, 45, 46,

47, 61, 66, 70, 74, 76, 82, 90, 94,

95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 106, 111,113, 123, 124, 125, 126, 134, 136,138, 147, 149, 157, 161, 169, 176,183, 190, 193, 195, 208, 211, 212,213, 233, 247, 281, 282, 283, 290,298, 301, 302, 309, 312, 313, 333,334, 338, 342, 351

Isaiah of Trani, 125, 126Ithpael, 55 Janaḥ, Jonah ibn, 159 Jeremiah, 16, 17, 19, 25, 27, 28, 33,

34, 35, 36, 39, 40, 58, 62, 63, 75,

114, 128, 130, 150, 165, 168, 172,173, 174, 175, 192, 193, 232, 234,235, 251, 280, 314, 324, 333, 342

JM (Jouon/Muraoka), ix, 72, 79, 81,84, 106, 149, 154, 156, 163, 180,187, 210, 255, 261, 278, 279, 282,284, 285, 286, 287, 289, 310, 331,332, 334, 335, 336, 338, 351, 353,358

Job, 50, 84, 85, 113, 117, 127, 130,

134, 137, 150, 151, 194, 259, 267,286, 303

Joseph Kara, 159, 229 Jussive, 105, 314Keri, 120, 138Ketiv, 120Lambdin, 52, 79, 85, 123, 133, 134,

137, 145, 358Lamed, 75, 76

Lamed-hey, 75, 76Lamentations, 39, 40, 44, 66, 102,104, 108, 109, 333

maqqef, 72, 201, 205medieval scholars, ix, 52, 85, 115,

116, 133, 137, 138, 139, 149, 155,158, 206, 296, 340, 341

Metathesis, 147Micah, 24, 32, 41, 65, 127, 129, 290middle root letter, 26, 58, 72, 73, 74,

76, 87, 92, 93, 137, 143, 150negative purpose, 205, 221, 228Negative purpose, 228

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