Hebrew Verbal System an Introduction Ch2

Chapter Two: The Verbal System and Vowel Scheme

.Steffen Han Oct 2010 revised ברוך השם

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Chapter Two:

Vowel Scheme and Verbal System

2.1 The most important word in the sentence is the verb ( ה פוע ל ). A verb in Hebrew conveys four miens of information related to the verb: semantic meaning, gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural) and tenses (or aspect). 2.2 Words in Hebrew (nouns, adjectives, and verbs) came mostly in a unit of three consonants, known as the root ש) In language sciences, a .( שור

more technical word for שורש world be lemma or word stem, referred to the headword which is used in dictionary indexing. The lemma is related to lexeme, but it is not necessary to be over curious about it at this point. It is onto the tri-consonantal root specific dyads of default vowels י ם ) יק וד are to be uploaded to ( נ configure the root into various moods and tenses of the verb. No doubt there are words that come in four consonants, especially in Modern Hebrew. 2.3 Hebrew reads from right to left,

Name Calling Nomenclature and terminology would be among some of the many obstacles the beginner students of Hebrew language must overcome, partly due to different textbooks used different nomenclature system. It seems there will be a long way to go before attempt to consolidate the diverse approaches into a unifying system would come about. Specialist terminology is useful only to the extent that it does not in itself become a new problem along side learning the already difficult enough language.

It may appear too complex and, at times, annoying, but different nomenclatures are provided here to facilitate recognition of each part of the grammatical units. In other areas less specialized word will be used. Before the emergence of modern linguistic research, Hebrew grammarians chose the verb which has the meaning “to do” as an ,פעלoperative concept to express the morphology and paradigm of Hebrew verbs. Unfortunately the word פעל has a guttural residing in the middle position, which means that it could not be doubled as in the case with verbs in the Pi’el, Pu’al and Hithpa’el stems. Nonetheless, it has been in used over a long period of time, and the method sticks deep into the system, so modern research would just tag along with it.

The Hebrew Verbal System


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each consonant of the root is named after the sequence of the word פ ע ל (which means to operate, verb), according to the order of the position the consonant occurs, so that the first position is termed as the פ" פ א ) ) position, the second as the "ע ע ין ) ) position, and the third and last is known as the ל" ל מ ד) ) position. Verbs in

Hebrew are to be classified according to this taxonomy. There are other systems to name each alphabet of the root, for sure. 2.4 Verbs in the Hebrew language are expressed across seven stems or binyanim ים ) י נ נ ב plural י ן נ ל) singular), namely, the Pa’al ; ב ע פ ) or Qal (ל ק ), Niph’al

ל) ע פ נ ), Pi’el (ל ע פ or in Modern Hebrew: ל יע פ ), Pu’al ( ל פ ע or ל פוע ), Hiphil

יל) ע פ ה ), Hophal or Huphal (ל ע פ ה or ל ע פ ה ), Hithpa’el (ל ע פ ת ה ), grouped into three or four major groupings: the Simple stem, the Intensive stem, the Causative stem and the Reflexive stem. There are some minor and rare stems as well. Meanings of the בנייני ם 2.5 The Simple binyan ►The Simple stem consists of:

(i) The קל and the נפעל binyanim. ל verbs, an active voice, could be ק

transitive or intransitive, as shown by the sample word: ד ק פ he visited (to visit). The Qal binyan apart from the triconsonantal root and the pronominal affixes, when under inflexion, has no prosthesis in any verbal form of the binyan, not even in the Participles. To each of its seven or so verbal forms, the Qal binyan is given by default a pair of fixed vowels, both the head vowel as well the stem or theme vowel—hence rules pertaining to the topic of theme vowel that often appeared to be a difficult part of conjugation of the Hebrew verb would not be applicable to the Qal binyan—to compose the verb in its respective forms. Weak verbs, irregular verbs or stative verbs in Qal binyan, however, would take [ ] ( ח ת פ ), which in other non-Qal binyan would hint at passive or irregular verbs, as stem vowel mainly in zero vowel sufformative conjugation and consonantal sufformative conjugation in the Qal Imperative, Qal Imperfect and Qal Perfect Tense. Vocalic (vowel) sufformative conjugation of all binyanim would go through a process of abdication of the hind consonant of the root and shortening of the stem vowel to שווא. The Qal Participles, active as well as passive participle, have a separate set of stem vowels each. Only in the simple binyan the passive participle would utilise what is known as the



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alternative vocalic feminine ending, namely, [ ה--- ] ( א קמץ־ ה ) combination, for declension of feminine singular. The declension of the remaining three, namely, the masculine singular is a zero vowel sufformative conjugation, and the other: (i) masculine plural would follow the usual plural declension for masculine noun, which carried the [ ים.] ending; and (ii) the regular plural declension for feminine

nouns, which carried the [ות] ending. Stative verb is available only in the Qal banyan, which stem or theme vowel may have up to three vowel types. Verbs appearing in the Qal binyan would often be active, indicative in meaning.

(ii) Verb in the ל ע פ נ binyan is always headed by a [נ] ( ןנו ) where the

vowel [.] ( הירי ק) beneath the [נ] ( ןנו ) in the nomenclature is shortened

from שווא נע in compliance with the rule of two contiguous שוואי ם occurring in a row (more about this rule later). In the Infinitive Absolute, the Niph’al has two formats of prosthesis: (a) the [נ] ( ןנו )

type, as the [נ] ( ןנו ) in the sample words: תוב כ נ ט , ק נ לו . The vowel composition of this Niph’al format is similar to the vowel pattern used in the Qal Infinitive Construct but with the addition of the [נ] ( ןנו ) prosthesis which together with the default vowels make up a base unit that would be used only in the Niph’al Infinitive Absolute, and (b) the א ) [ה ] ה ) type, as the prosthesis in the sample words: תוב כ ה to be

written, is assimilated (נון) [נ] to be killed where the signatory לו ה ק ט

into the head consonant of the root leaving the [ה] ( א ה ) visible, hence

the presence of a Once again, this .שורש in the first letter of the דגש format is quite similar to the vowel pattern of the Qal Infinitive Absolute with the addition of [ נ ה ] playing the role of default prosthesis. When the prosthesis of this Niph’al format is teamed up with a vowel in the pillion syllable, apart from being an alternative format (צרי) [.. ]of Niph’al Infinitive Absolute, it formed the default base unit which would be used to install the Niph’al Infinitive Construct, the Niph’al Imperative and the Niph’al Imperfect, as the vowels shown in the following two sample words: ב ת כ ה ל , ט ק ה , while the other format:

טול ק נ , with the adoption of the vowel [ ] (פתח), is used to configure the rest of other verbal forms for the Niph’al banyan, such as the



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Niph’al Perfect and the Niph’al (passive) Participle. Basically, ל ע פ נ is

a passive voice verb but it assumes [ ..] ( י ר צ )—a vowel when in the role theme vowel is closely linked with the active voice of a verb—as stem vowel in zero vowel sufformative conjugation to run the Niph’al Infinitive, Niph’al Imperative and Niph’al Imperfect while the Niph’al Perfect would load a [ ] (פתח)—a vowel which is more akin with the passive voice of a verb—as the theme vowel in the counterpart conjugation. The [נ] ( ןנו ) in the prosthesis of ל ע פ נ would be assimilated during conjugation in the formation of Niph’al Imperfect Tense as the case in the sample word: כ ת כ י it would be written or

ל א ט ק I would be killed, where the vowel [.] ( היר יק) is reduced from a

is also used in all cases of consonantal (פתח) [ ] The vowel .שווא נע sufformative conjugation in the Niph’al binyan. The vocalic sufformative conjugation would go through the process of abdication of the hind consonant and shortening the stem vowel to a שווא. The

Niph’al Passive Participle takes the vowel [ ] ( קמץ) to form a

combination of [ ה--- which is immutable, as the stem ,(קמץ־ הא ) [vowel in all its four forms of declension to the participles. In the case of feminine singular in Niph’al Passive Participle, it assumes the alternative vocalic feminine noun ending thus adding another [ ] (קמ ץ),

tailing at the rear of the root, as the vowels in the sample word: ת כ נ ה ב (take note that this word might not be found in use in the ך "תנ ). The

vowel [..] ( צרי) is usually reserved for an active stem and hence sometimes the Niph’al could be either active or passive, and occasionally reflexive, as the sample word: ר מ ש נ to guard oneself. Properly understood, the Niph’al in Hebrew is quite akin to a middle voice, which is passive in form but active in meaning. As the Niph’al binyan is a passive voice verb, there is no Niph’al Active Participle.

2.6 ►The Intensive stem consists of:

(i) פיעל and פועל binyanim. Generally, ל ע פ is active voice transitive verb (Actually, this word is in the Perfect Tense of masculine third person singular). Verbs which in the ל ק binyan are intransitive or

stative, as the sample words: ד ש ק to be (it was) holy, ש ד ק to sanctify (it sanctified), would assume a dynamic nature in Pi’el; thus there



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would be no more distinction between dynamic verbs and stative verbs outside the Qal binyan. Sometimes פיעל is intransitive, as shown by

the sample word: ד ח פ to fear. There are two patterns of Pi’el

Infinitive Absolute, as could be seen from the samples: (a) תו ב כ ,

which is used only by the Pi’el Infinitive Absolute; (b) ב ת כ . It is the

second pattern headed by a [ ] (פתח) in partnership with [..] (צרי) and

a דגש is placed in the middle consonant of the שור ש [ + +צרי+דגש) [

the default combination for Pi’el forming a sort of default base—(פתח

unit (as the case in the Niph’al binyan) which is immutable, and its relation with Aramaic has been explained in the previous chapter—is used to configure practically all other Pi’el verbal forms: the Pi’el Infinitive Construct, the Pi’el Imperative, the Pi’el Imperfect, the Pi’el Active Participle and the Pi’el Perfect Tense: but the Pi’el Perfect Tense is headed by a [.] ( הירי ק) in partnership with [..] (צרי) loaded

with דגש in the pillion syllable instead. Verbs in Pi’el binyan are

known for the ש ג ד present in the middle consonant of the שורש in all verbal forms of Pi’el binyan, which would be omitted in verbal roots where a guttural consonant sits in the middle position of the שורש.

When this happens, the rules for compensatory lengthening the vowel of the preceding syllable or virtual doubling without lengthening the vowel beneath the preceding consonant while rejecting the דגש, in both cases, would be applicable. In the matter of stem or theme vowel, in zero vowel sufformative conjugation as well as all consonantal sufformative conjugations for all verbal forms in the Pi’el banyan, covering Pi’el Infinitive Construct, Pi’el Imperative, Pi’el Imperfect, Pi’el Active

Participle and even Pi’el Perfect Tense, a combination of [ with (צרי) [

] דגש + ] tailing after the head [ ] (פתח) (the default base unit for Pi’el binyan) would be used: the whole affair is rather consistent, except for the consonantal sufformative conjugation of Pi’el Perfect Tense, in which case the vowel [ ] (פתח), and like wise, loads a (דגש), is used as the

theme vowel next after the vowel [.] ( היר יק), which is the default head

vowel for Pi’el Perfect Tense, as the vowels in the sample word: ן ת ב ת כ ; and of course, there is no consonantal sufformative conjugation for Pi’el Participle, and there is no Passive Participle for Pi’el binyan, too. In vocalic sufformative conjugation, the pillion syllable would go through the process of abdication of the hind consonant but to be reused to form a



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new, rare syllable with the vowel coming from the sufformative, and shortening the stem vowel to a שו וא in all Pi’el verbs except the Pi’el Active Participle. The vocalic sufformative conjugation in Pi’el Active Participle would assume a pattern resembles plural feminine noun ending; whereas for the singular, it is segholate noun ending, and masculine plural noun ending for masculine plural active participle. Hebrew participles outside the Simple binyanim would prefix a consonant [ [ מ

ם) מ ), which is immutable and universal (everyone has one), as signatory prosthesis for Participles outside the Qal binyan.

(ii) The ל ע פ binyan is the passive voice of פיעל verbs as shown by the sample word: ש to be sanctified. As a member of the Intensive ק ד binyan, the Pu’al like wise totes a דגש in the middle consonant of the a common feature found in the Intenvive binyan and, again, the ,שורשrules related to compensatory lengthening and virtual doubling of the vowel in the preceding syllable shall be applicable to root which has a guttural residing in the middle position. The head vowel [ ] (ב וץ ק ) is immutable, but the head consonant of verbal root would just sit on it while the preformative pronominal the ן"אית for the Imperfect Tense would be attached in front of the base unit as in: ב ת כ י it would be written, and the vowel [ would be used as stem vowel in all (פתח) [cases of zero vowel sufformative conjugation and consonantal sufformative conjugation in Pu’al verbs. The vocalic sufformative conjugation would go through the same process of abdication of the hind consonant as that of the Pi’el verbs. The next instance of similar mechanical use of vowel [ ] (בוץ ק ) in the conjugation of a passive voice of a binyan would be in the Hophal binyan, which employs [ ה ] instead.

2.7 ►The Reflexive stem consists of only the התפעל binyan, which sometimes

could be passive or intransitive, as shown by the sample words: ש ד ק ת ה to make

oneself ready, to consecrate oneself, ר פ כ ת ה be propitiated, ך ל ת ה ה to walk. Nevertheless, the Hithpa’el sometimes could function as a passive verb, and the Niph’al could resume a Reflexive function. The inflexion of all three forms of conjugation would be identical as that of the Pi’el binyan while the signatory head syllable ת ה is immutable and might require metathesis in certain cases. There is no Active Participle for Pu’al binyan, and the Passive Participle is headed by the consonant , prosthesis for participle outside the Qal binyanim, as the case with the Pi’el Active Participle.



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2.8 ►The Causative stem, an active voice, consists of:

(i) יל ע פ ה and ל ע פ ה binyanim, which sometimes could be intransitive,

as shown by the sample words: ין א ז ה to listen, ד יש ק ח to declare

holy. The passive of Hiphil has two formats: the ל ע פ ה or ל ע פ ה as

the vowels shown in the sample word: ש ד פ ה to be declared holy.

The Hiphil Infinitive Absolute is headed by a prosthetic syllable [ ,[ ה

the key signature in Hiphil binyan headed the deuce with a [..] ( צרי) placed in the pillion syllable as stem vowel forming a default base unit. The prosthetic [ when acting with the head consonant of the [ ה root closes the first syllable, as the vowels shown in the sample word: ב ת כ ה to write. NOTE: The דגש is used because it is at the

beginning of another syllable for the consonant [ת] (ו ת ). The same brace of default base unit (the pairing of vowels) would be used in the Hiphil Imperative for both zero sufformative conjugation and consonantal sufformative conjugation, but only the consonantal sufformative conjugation of Hiphil Imperfect Tense, where the position occupied by [ה] in the prosthesis [ would be replaced by [ ה

a preformative pronominal for the Imperfect Tense, the ן "אית . In the case of consonantal sufformative conjugation for the Hiphil Perfect, it is led by its default signatory [.] ( היר יק) buckled up with [ה] to

compose a unit of [ ] and totes a [ ה as stem vowel: as a (פתח) [

general rule, the vowel [ is conventionally linked with the (פתח) [Hebrew Perfect Tense as theme vowel in all binyanim. Other than that, for the other cases of zero vowel sufformative conjugation and all cases of vocalic sufformative conjugation—overspreading the Hiphil Imperative, the Hiphil Imperfect, the Hiphil Active Participle and the Hiphil Perfect, together with the respective default prosthesis—in the Hiphil binyahn, the default base unit of the Hiphil Infinitive Construct, a combination of teams up with the [ י [ ה +.

( + מלאהי רי ק would be used, as the vowels shown in the sample ,( ה

word: יב ת כ ה to write. The rule of abdication of the hind consonant and shortening of the theme vowel would not be applicable to the Hiphil binyan, as the epenthesis [י .] ( מלא היר יק ) is immutable.



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The active participles in Hebrew decline like a noun, thus the segholate noun declension pattern would be used on feminine singular of the Hiphil Active Participle, and the declension for plural feminine noun would be used pm the counterpart of Hiphil Active Participle feminine plural; similar application of the declension rules for masculine nouns, singular and plural, would be used on the Hiphil Active Participle.

(ii) The Hiphil has two passive formats: (a) ל ע פ ה , and (b) ל ע פ ה . The Infinitive Absolute would be a combination of the prosthesis of each format pairing with [..] (צרי) to form a default unit, as the vowels

shown in the sample word in the Hophal Infinitive Absolute: ב ת כ ה .

NOTE: The דגש is used because it is at the beginning of another

syllable for the consonant [ת] (ו ת ). To install the Hophal Infinitive

Construct, it is a combination of the prosthesis [ ה ] taking the lead

with a [ in the pillion syllable service the role of a theme (פתח) [

vowel, as shown in the sample word: ב ת כ ה to write. This is the base unit, a zero vowel sufformative conjugation, which would be used to configure the Hophal Imperfect Tense and the Hophal Perfect Tense in that conjugation. So far there is no sample of Hophal Imperative available from the ך "תנ . The two Hophal and Huphal binyanim are rather consistent in the sense that apart from the prostheses, the stem vowels for two of them would be the vowel [ in zero vowel sufformative conjugation and consonantal (פתח) [sufformative conjugation. As a general rule, the vocalic sufformative conjugation of all binyanim would go to through the process of abdication of the hind consonant and shortening the stem vowel. The same procedure would be applicable to the conjugation of Hophal and Huphal binyanim. As a matter of general pattern, passive participle outside the Simple binyan would assume a [ ] ( קמץ) as stem vowel pairing with the prosthesis of each respective binyan in zero vowel sufformative conjugation, and the feminine singular would assume a segholate noun ending; for the declension of the plural participles, masculine and feminine, would be a regular pattern for masculine plural noun ending and feminine plural noun ending.

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Only six or seven verbs ( פקד ,עלד ,י דע , חלה, גלה ,בק ע ) are found to have appeared in all the seven בניינים in the Hebrew Bible ( ך "תנ ), namely the Old Testament. 2.10 The system of the Hebrew verbs, not totally unlike English, consists of two Infinitives (ל פוע ם ה ש ), two Participles ( ים ינונ ב ל פוע ), one Past Tense ( ן מ ז ר ב ע ), one Imperfect Tense (ת יד ן ע מ ז ), and the Imperative (יווי צ ), the Jussive

.the Cohortative, the Wav Consecutive and the Wav Conversive ,(תיווי של) 2.11 With the exception of the infinitives, these forms are conjugated to reflect number (singular or plural), person (first I, second you, or third he/she) and gender (masculine or feminine) of its subject. In the case of the Participles, only number and gender would be required. To configure a verb, a student must learn up the three forms of conjugations, namely, the zero vowel sufformative conjugation, the consonantal sufformative conjugation and the vocalic (vowel) sufformative conjugation. The same principle would be applicable to the inflection of verbs in all forms, depending on the person, gender or number involved. Different textbook would offer different approach on inflexion of the Hebrew verbs. Student could choose one that best suits his learning habit. 2.12 As in the case with any other languages, a word in Hebrew consists of vowels and consonants. The consonantal root of the Hebrew words are significant, so are the respective default vowels, which could be shortened or lengthened, one pair for each verbal form and one pair for each binyan: fixed, not mixed, not confused and no cross-over. 2.13 Unlike most Indo-European languages, a verb in the Hebrew language, in most cases, is made up of three consonants (verbs in Modern Hebrew could have up to four or five letters) with a set of two default vowels assigned to each form, mood or tense, originally not displayed in the writing system, at least not before the Messoretic epoch, forming a two-syllable base of a verb, to appear some what like CVCVC (C = consonant; V = vowel). In the case of two-consonant verbs, actually single syllable word, the verb would conjugate without changes to the root or the



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stem vowel, as far as possible. As a rule, default vowels are immutable or unchangeable. 2.14 Inspired or not, the default vowels ( ים יקו ד formed an essential part of the ( נ Hebrew grammar. Each derived stem, each form, mood and tense of the verb is determined by the nature and specific deuce of the default vowels. The sets of default vowels are clearly distinguishable one from the other, not easily giving rise to confusion. In this way, Hebrew is very much a vocalic language. 2.15 A pair of fixed vowels, given by default, is assigned to each mood, tense or verbal forms: the Infinitive Absolute, the Infinitive Construct, the Active Participle, the Passive Participle, the Perfect Tense, the Imperative, the Cohortative, the Jussive and the Imperfect Tense in the Qal binyan. Each of these enjoys a brace of default vowel of its own; and for the other binyanim, the non-Qal binyanim, would utilize the same deuce of default vowels as that expressed in the Infinitive Construct of each binyan, or in its absence, that of the Infinitive Absolute to configure the various forms of the verb for each binyan. 2.16 The two default vowels, the first and the second vowel, or a head and pillion (head and stem), interplays with the rules of vowel reduction or elongation under the influence of shifting accent or stress as and whenever a syllable is added by way of personal pronoun affixes, together with the presence or absence of the laryngeal or guttural consonants, to create meaning for the verb. 2.17 The verb has its base form in the Infinitive. Like English which has the full infinitive and the bare infinitive, there are two of these in Hebrew: (i) the Infinitive Absolute, which appeared some what like the bare infinitive; (ii) the Infinitive Construct, known as the building block of the verb in Hebrew (ים ל בונ פוע ה ). In cases where the verb does not have a known form of the Infinitive Construct, the Infinitive Absolute is used instead. The default vowels of the Infinitive Absolute in the Qal binyan are built around a deuce of [ו + ] ( ל מ א ם הול ץ + מ ק ), which

actually reflects the vowels in the word for Infinitive Absolute in Hebrew: ק ור מ .



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2.18 Hebrew verbs are expressed in seven בניינ ים: these are the Qal stem and six derived stems, including the Niph’al, Pi’el, Pu’al, Hithpa’el, Hiphil, and Hophal, grouped into three main groupings, The vowel patterns in these בנייני ם would be used as the basis for conjugation or inflection of the verb for each stem, both the strong, dynamic as well as the irregular and weak verbs.

2.19 These three groupings are: (i) The simple group, which includes the Qal and Niphal; (ii) The Intensive group, which consists of Pi’el, Pu’al and the Hitpa’el. The Hitpa’el is the reflexive stem, which for practical purpose and convenience, is placed together with the Intensive stem group throughout this grammar.

(iii) The Causative group, which consists of Hiphil and Hophal. (iv) There are other minor stems, i.e. Palel, Palal, and the like. (v) The rare stems Needless to say, there are other ways of naming the binyanim.

2.20 The identification of these בנייני ם is to be based on the default vowels. Once again for emphasis, there are five pairs of these default vowels in use in the vowel schemes, for instance, in the Qal stem. It is out of these five pairs default vowels that other forms of the verb are to be derived for the verb: namely, the Perfect

Reflexive, reciprocal Passive Active Grouping

ל ע פ נ ל ע פ נ

Niph’al

ל / ק ל ע פ Pa’al

Group 1 Simple / Absolute

ל ע פ ת ה Hithpa’el

ע פ ל Pu’al

ל ע פ Pi’el

Group2 Intensive

also known asD-stem group

ל ע פ ה / ל ע הופ Hophal/Huphal

יל ע פ ה Hiphil

Group 3 Causative

← read this direction.

Other ways nomenclature Qal G stem; qatal, qatel, qatolNif’al N stem; niqtal, Pi’el D stem; qittel Pu’al Dp stem; quttal Hif’il H stem; hiqtil Hof’al Hp stem; hoqtal Hitpa’el HtD stem; hitqattel



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Tense, the Participles (Active and Passive), the Imperative, the Jussive, the Cohortative, the Imperfect Tense and the Wav Conversive. 2.21 By nature, the Infinitives are the base form of the verbs: both the Infinitive Absolute and the Infinitive Construct, which in effect is a reduced form of the Infinitive Absolute, given allowance that some grammar textbooks might not agree to this. In cases where the Infinitive Construct of a verb is uncertain, the Infinitive Absolute would be used. 2.22 In the table, the coloured syllable (CV and or CVC combination) at the head of the root are verbal prosthesis, not part of the verbal root. These prostheses are the key signature for each respective בניין. In stems that do not have the prosthesis, the head vowel would assume that role. 2.23 Like other languages, Hebrew in the early stage of development was chiefly a spoken language. Originally the verb, as in the case of all other words in the language, was unmarked with vowel signs, the vowel pointings or nikudim when the written form of the language was first emerged. In the early (ניק ודי ם )

days, even without ניקו דים, speech and communication were coherent and intelligible to the native speaker of the language as the vowel schemes used in the verbal system was simple, consistent and unambiguous. It was not until sometime in the second half of the first millennium in the Christian era that the Tiberian Masoretic נקוד ים were added to the tri-consonantal root. There were other systems of nikudim in use, parallel to the Tiberian system. 2.24 The Default Vowel Schemes There are five yoke of vowels being used in the Qal stem in the verbal system of the Hebrew language, forming a template of two vowels in each pair.

The Infinitive of the seven derived stems

Hophal Hiphil Hitpa’el Pu’al Pi’el (pa’el) Ni’phal Qal

לה ט ק ילה ט ק להת ט ק ל ע פ ל ע פ לה ט ק ט ל ק



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2.25 These five pairs of primary default vowels are:

Sample The scheme

as the vowels in

Default vowel scheme to be used in Hebrew verbs

טול 1 ק קור [ + ו] מ To be used in the Qal Infinitive Absolute.

ל 2 ט ק [ ר [ + ב ע To be used in the Qal Perfect Tense or the Preterite.

טול 3 ק עול [ + ו] פ To be used in the Qal Passive Participle.

ל 4 ק ט ל [˙ + ] פוע To be used in the Qal Active Participle.

ט ל 5 ק נות) ל ( [ + ˙] ב To be used in the Qal Infinitive Construct and other forms of the verb, i.e., the Qal Imperative, the Qal Jussive, the Qal Cohortative and the Qal Imperfect.

2.26 The vowels in other binyanim and each minor or rare stem operate with the same principle as that of the five primary forms and four secondary forms of each stem. 2.27 Grouping of the Vowel Scheme These five pairs of default vowels could be broadly lumped into two groups: the Infinitive group and the Participle group. 2.28 The Infinitive group could be further branched out into the Infinitive Absolute and the Preterite, or the Infinitive Construct.

Vowel Scheme for the Qal Infinitive Groups a [ו + ] To be used in the Qal Infinitive Absolute, as the vowels in the

Hebrew word קור מ origin or Infinitive.

b [˙ + ] To be used in the Qal Infinitive Construct and other verbal forma of the Qal stem, as the vowels in the word נות .to build ב

2.29 For the Qal Preterite group, take a look at the vowels in the Qal Infinitive Absolute as each of the two pairs shared a common first, head vowel [] ( קמץ).

Vowel Scheme for the Qal Perfect Tense



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i [ו + ] To be used in the Qal Infinitive Absolute, as the vowels in the word קו ר מ . Compare the pair with the default vowels in the Perfect Tense given below.

ii [ + ] To be used in the Qal Perfect Tense, as the vowels in the word ר ב ע or ר ב ע for ה/א"ל verbs, where the double קמץ would be due to the hind consonant is a weak alphabet in the root.

2.30 Another group, derived from the five yoke of vowels forming the Participle group, consists of two members, namely the Passive Participle (עול פ ) and the Active

Participle (ל פוע ).

Vowel Scheme for the Qal Participles: ים ינונ ב

a [ו + ] To be used in the Qal Passive Participle, as the vowels in the word עול פ .

b [ + ˙] To be used in the Qal Active Participle, as the vowels in the word ל פוע .

2.31 Alternatively, the five pairs of primary default vowels could be grouped into two groups: that is, [ ] (קמ ץ) and non- [ ] ( ק מץ) group. In any case, how the vowels are to be schemed would not disrupt the function and purpose of the default vowels. The groupings are mere attempts to give the vowel formats some sense of coherence and consistency, some sort of workable principles. 2.32 The Qal Infinitive Construct, which vowel scheme in effect is a reduced form from the Qal Infinitive Absolute, would be used to generate the Qal Imperative, the Qal Jussive, the Qal Cohortative and the Qal Imperfect, the Infinitive derivatives, by directly adding the necessary or relevant personal pronoun affixes to the default vowel scheme, as all of these extended forms of the verb share a common vowel template with the Qal Infinitive Construct. Adjustment to the default deuce, however, would be made in response to the presence or absence of guttural consonant in the verbal root, especially in cases where the head consonant of the root could not receive שווא נע. 2.33 ►Extended application of the Qal Infinitive Construct to form other Tenses and Moods:



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The Qal Imperative, Qal Cohortative, Qal Jussive, the Qal Imperfect Tense and Wav Conversive are extended application of the default vowels given in the Infinitive Construct as all of these forms of the Hebrew Moods and Tense share the same vowel scheme as that of the Qal Infinitive Construct.

a [˙ + ] To be used in the Qal Imperative by adding the appropriate personal pronoun affixes directly to the vowel scheme, as the vowels in the word ת ב כ you man must write.

b [˙ + ] To be used in the Qal Cohortative by adding the

appropriate personal pronoun affixes directly to the vowel scheme, as the vowels in the word ה ב ת כ א Let me write or I must write.

c [˙ + ] To be used in the Qal Jussive by adding the

appropriate personal pronoun affixes directly to the vowel scheme, as the vowels in the word פ ט ש י Let him decide, making adjustment for the contiguous .in the head consonant שוואי ם

d [˙ + ] To be used in the Qal Imperfect Tense by adding the

appropriate personal pronoun affixes directly to the vowel scheme, as the vowels in the word ת ב כ א I’ll write.

e [˙ + ] To be used in the Wav Conversive by adding the

appropriate personal pronoun affixes directly to the vowel scheme, as the vowels in the word ו י and אמ ר he said (and he will say).

2.34



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The Base Form of the Verb: The Infinitive ק ור ) מ ) The Hebrew Infinitives, both the Infinitive Absolute and the Infinitive Construct, as in the case with the English Infinitive, are the base form of the verb from which configuration into other tenses would take place. The vowel scheme shown in the Table is to be used in the Qal Infinitive Absolute: 2.35 Default vowel scheme for the Qal Infinitive Absolute is given as a duo of [ו+ ] ( הולם

which combination reflects the ,(ק מץ +מלא

vowels used in the word קו ר מ origin or Infinitive. This splice of vowels would be used for all verbs in the Qal Infinitive Absolute, the strong as well as the weak verbs, except the Qal binyan of Hollow Verbs, which are mostly single-syllable verbs that loads a [ו] ( מלא הולם ) in the syllable as the main, sole vowel. Hollow verbs could be given two other default vowels. 2.36 In certain cases the [ו] ( מלא הולם ) used in the Infinitive Absolute could be

written as [˙] ( ם הול ר ס ח ) instead. The vowel [ו] (הולם מ לא) would not be used in Tenses or verbal form other than the Infinitive Absolute. Hence, the shorter form of the Infinitive Absolute would be used as the base to install other forms of the verb in cases where there are two formats of the Infinitive Absolute, such as the Niph’al and Pi’el. 2.37 The Infinitive Absolute is the base form of the verb from which the Qal Perfect Tense and the Qal Passive Participle of the Hebrew verbs are to be derived since these two verbal share some vowel features common in the vowel scheme of the Qal Infinitive Absolute, namely [ו + ] ( הולם מל א+קמץ ) combination. By the same token, the same principle is operative in other derived stems of the verb. 2.38 ►The Infinitive Absolute of the Weak Verbs

The Qal Infinitive Absolute vowel scheme: קור מ [ + ו]

to kill טול ק Strong verb

to stand מוד ע ח/ע"פ Guttural

to fall נ"פ נ פול to nurse י"פ י נ ק

to return ו"פ י שוב

to choose חור ב "ע Guttural

to rise up Hollow קוםto reveal ה"ל ג לוה

to wage war בוא צ א"ל



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Taking Qal binyan as a working example, the set of identical vowels would work in the weak verbs in the same manner as in the dynamic, strong verbs. In certain cases the second, stem vowel [ו] ( הולם מלא) is written as [˙] (הולם חסר). 2.39 In the Qal Infinitive Absolute, verbs ending in the strong gutturals, namely ן) ע י ע )

or ית ) ח ח ), tend to take one ח ת פ ה נוב ג (pathach furtive) placed beneath the hind

consonant of the root that has ן) ע י ע ) or י ת) ח ח ), as in the world רוח wind. These two consonants will be discarded or assumed other alphabet in the Qal Infinitive Construct, the Qal Perfect Tense or other forms of the verb. 2.40 Hollow verbs are single-syllable verbs that have [ י] ( יוד) or [ו] ( ו ו ) in the middle radical of a bi-consonantal root. Feature such as this would be visible only in the Qal Infinitive Construct, Qal Imperative, Qal Imperfect form of the verb as well as the Hiphil binyan; but not in the Qal Perfect and Qal Participles as the seemingly middle [י] ( יוד) of the Hollow verbs would be eliminated in the process of transforming or inflection from the Qal Infinitive Absolute to the Qal Perfect Tense. 2.41 ►The Rare Stems There are a few unusual stems known as the rare stems. What commonly known as the minor stems are actually the Intensive stems for the monosyllable verbs or the Hollow verbs. As such, grammatical information pertaining to the minor stems, namely, the Polel, the Polal and the Hithpolel, would be covered under the heading of the Hollow verb. The rare stem verbs would be those verbs coming under the purview of the Poel, the Poal, Hithpoel, which are essentially the same as Pi’el, Pu’al and Hithpa’el in function and meaning, but with a somewhat different vowel formats. Under the general heading of rare stem verbs there is another group of verbs which members consist of the Palel, the Pulal and the Hithpalel. In addition to these, there are a few more: the Pipel, Polpel and Hithpalpel, which could be lumped into a group by itself. That would leave the Pealal as the sole member in the last group. How many groups are there:

• Polel, Polal, Hithpolel • Poel, Poal, Hithpoel • Palel, Pulal, Hithpalel



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• Pilpel, Polpel, Hithpalpel • Pealal

2.42 Nomenclature is a good source of nightmare in Hebrew grammar. For instance, the Polel, essentially is the same as the Pi’el, which also seemed to be known as the Pilel in Gesenius and Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon; but it is not mentioned in other grammar textbooks. Whereas the Polal, which in effect is the same as Pu’al, which in turn is the passive form of the intensive Pi’el, appears to be the same as what is called Pulal in New Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance. Verbs of Poel stem would be referred to Germinate verbs of Pelel type, namely the intensive form of Germinate verb type. 2.43 Actually, there is one more not often heard of stem, known as the Tiphil stem, and it has only one examples in the ך "תנ י : ת ג ל ת ר Tiphil Perfect first person common

singular I trained in Hosea 11:3, which root is ג ל ת ר .

2.44 ►Metathesis Mention must be made of an interesting feature about how Hebrew is used by switching a certain consonant with the prosthesis for easy speech, which appeared to have caused some changes to the verb, but actually no conjugation has been done. In grammar, this is known as metathesis. For instance, the verbal word: שמר to guard, in the Hithpa’el, it is supposed to be ר מ ש ת ה , but it would be very difficult for the Hebrew speaker to twist the tongue to utter this word. So the Hebrew people speak and wrote it as ר מ ת ש ה to be preserved. Another example of this form of metathesis would be the word: ק ד צ

righteous, written as ק ד ט צ ה . It seems when a verb is headed by a strong

consonant, such as [ט] (ית ט ), it may be required to go through similar maneuver,

Hishtaphel ח ות ת ש ה Infinitive Construct (ל)

ח ו ה ת ש מ Participle msg י ח ו ת ש ה Imperative fsg

ת ש י חו Jussive 3msg

ת ש ו י חו Wav consecutive Preterite

Imperfect ח ו ה ת ש י 3msg ח ו ה ת ש ת 2msg ח ו ה ת ש א 1csg

Perfect / Preterite

ח ו ה ת ש ה 3ms ה ית ח ו ת ש ה 3fs

ח ו ש ת ה ית 2ms ח ו ת ש ה י ית 2fs

ח ו ה ת ש י ית 1cs ח וו ת ש ה 3cp



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as in the case with the verb: טמא be contaminated, would be written as א מ ט ה . Apparently, most occurrence of metathesis involved only the Hithpa’el stem. 2.45 ► Hishtaphel There is one controversial verb in Hebrew for the expression to bow down in order to worship. It is used only in the Hishtaphel in the ך "תנ . Older grammar textbooks

believed that the verb came from the root: ה ח ש . Contemporary research drawing

resource from Ugarit suggests that it might have come from the root חוה with

ת ש ה as the prosthesis or verbal prefix, known as the Shaphel stem (שפעל), equating it with the Hiphil in Hebrew. It seems this position is being reversed to the older opinion. Is the case fait accompli? Be that as it may, the word is now appeared as: לחשתחוה in the infinitive Construct. 2.46 ►Quadriliterals Quadriliterals are verbs come in four consonants, as it is defined by the term. Not many of these are in currency in the ך "תנ . 2.47 The population of quadriliteral words in the ך"תנ is small, yet significant. A

popular sample of these words would included: ל כ ל כ (Qal כול; Pilpel Infinitive

ל כ ל כ to support, to sustain; 1 Kings 8:27), ר כ ר כ (Pilpel כרר to gyrate, to

swirl, to dance; 2 Samuel 6:14) ף צ פ צ , (Pilpel צפף to peep, to chirp, Isaiah

10:14), ר ר ק ק (Pilpel קר ר to tear down, to smash, Isaiah 22:5), ע ע ש ש (Pilpel

,(to be amused, to delight, to be entertained, Psalm 94:19 שעע ע ת ת ע (Pilpel תעע

to mock, to burlesque, to hold in contempt, Genesis 27:12) א אט ט , (Pilpel Perfect

3ms to sweep away Isaiah 14:23), ג ש ג ש (Pilpel שוג to raise, to flourish, to prosper,

Isaiah 17:11). Some of these words could be termed as פיעל verbs. 2.48 ►Qal Passive Generally, the Niph’al is already the passive form of the Qal stem. There are, however, some verbs which are marked or vocalized as Pu’al or Hophal in the ך "תנ that seemed to be more in accord with the Niph’al stem. To distinguish them



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from the Niph’al, the term Qal passive has been used to depict these verbs. One popular example of this group would be the verbs: קב ד , הור ד , לקח . 2.49 The Participles: ים ינונ ב

There are two Participles in the Hebrew language: the Passive Participle (עול פ )

and the Active Participle (ל פוע ). Usually the active form of a derived stem would have the Active participle, and the Passive form of a derived stem would have the Passive Participle, which means the Pi’el, the Hiphil, the Hithpa’el would have the Active Participle, but no Passive Participle; whereas the Niph’al, the Pu’al, the Hophal would have the Passive Participle, but not the Active Participle. Only the Qal stem has both the Active and Passive Participle; hence, it appears to have a little confusion out there. 2.50 Except the Qal stem which does not have a prosthesis for the Participles, the Participles of all other binyanim of the verb would have [ ם) [ מ מ ) as the prosthesis for Pi’el, Pu’al, Hithpa’el, Hiphil and Hophal. The Hophal has two Passive Participles, each with merely a different vowel: קמץ or ק בוץ . The Niph’al has [ נ ] .as the prosthesis for the Participle (נון) 2.51 The Passive Participle is used as adjectives, as the way the Past Participle is used in English, as shown in the example: תו ב כ written. For the Qal Passive Participle,

the duo vowels of [ו+] ( ץ מ ק in the scheme, which actually reflects the ( ק בוץ+

vowels of the Hebrew word for Passive Participle עול פ , resembles closely but should not be confused with the default vowels for the Qal Infinitive Absolute: קו ר מ ) [ + ו] הולם מלא+קמ ץ ). The Passive Participle of all the other non-Qal

binyanim would have the respective prosthesis and the [ ] ( קמ ץ) as the stem or theme vowel, allowing adjustment for feminine sufformative conjugation, which follows either one pattern of the feminine noun. 2.52 As the case in the Passive Participle, the default vowels in the Qal Active Participle reflect the vowels used in the Hebrew word for Active Participle ל פוע ,

that is [..+˙] ( י צ +חס ר הולם ) [ו ] In Modern Hebrew, the vowel .( ר מלא הו לם ) is



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used instead of [˙] ( חסר הולם ) in the Active Participle, which would make the

verb to appear like ב כות he writes. The Active Participle is used as the Present

Tense (הו ו ה ) in classical as well as Modern Hebrew, as the way it is being used in English; but unlike English, it does not require the use of verb to be in the formation of Hebrew Present Tense, especially so in sentences depicting a situation or a simple connecting relationship between the subject and the predicate. Usually, this is termed as verbless or zero verb sentence. The participles would be conjugated to agree in number and gender with the nouns and pronouns associated with them; it may precede or follow the subject of the sentence. Other than the Active Participle, there are other ways to express the sense and meaning of a Present Tense in Hebrew. 2.53 The Perfect Tense: ר ב ן ע מ ז Similar operation could be seen at work from the yoke of default vowels [ +] ( פתח+קמץ ) in the Qal Perfect Tense, where the stem vowel is a reduction from [ו] under heavy stress, unmarked, hence invisible, when it falls in the (הולם חסר)

last syllable, as the vowels in the word ב ר ע he crossed over. Default vowels for

the Qal Perfect Tense would be [ + ] ( פתח+קצץ ), but it is [ + ] ( קמץ +ק מץ ) in

the case of ה"ל א ) ד־ה מ ל ) verbs and (למד־אלף) א"ל verbs, as the vowels in the

word א ר ב he created, reflecting the vowels in: ר ב ע . 2.54 The Qal Perfect Tense is used as illustration how the mechanism works, and the same principle would be applicable to other בני ינים, such as, the Pi’el, Hiphil, and so on. 2.55 Default Vowel Scheme: A summary of קמץ group

Perfect ר ב ע

Passive Participle עול פ

The base: Infinitive Absolute

קור מ

Qal פעל/קל

strong verbs + ו + ו + most of the weak verbs + ו + ו +



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+ ו / ◌ + + ו ◌ + ה"ל and א "ל verb

or III- ה/א

Hollow verbs ו ו (biconsonantal)

+ו + + + ו + III-ע/ח By the natural design of the language, it is really unnecessary to rote learn the verbal paradigms in Hebrew, as the vowels used in the verbal system are rather fixed by default, each form of the verb is assigned with a definite pair of vowels: the whole system is consistent and not confusing. What a student really needs to do is to understand how the five couples of the primary vowels in the scheme would operate; and the other four deuces, which actually is only one pair, namely, the duo used in the Infinitive Construct of each binyan, the way how the deuce vowels would response to the presence of a guttural or weak consonant in any one position of the root, which means, more often than not, the פ" position being the one experiences the most frequent mutation. For the first or head syllable, it is the rules for contiguous שוואי ם and propretonic reduction of the head vowel during pluralization; and for the stem or the pillion syllable, it would be abdication of the hind consonant and shortening of the stem vowel during conjugation induced by affixing pronominal suffixes, both vocalic and consonantal suffixes to the root. Reduction of vowel would not occur to unchangeable long vowel, such as ק הירי Details of the rules and mechanic of operation of the procedures are set out .מלאin the next chapter of this grammar under the heading of syllable and vowels rules. The Hebrew language speaks in vowels. 2.56 ►Verbs of non-קמץ based default vowels The Infinitive Construct of each binyan is the based form for other what is known as the secondary forms of the verbs: namely, the Imperative, the Cohortative, the Jussive and the Imperfect Tense, also known as the Infinitive derivatives. These forms of the verbs share a common head vowel, for example in the case of Qal stem, the שווא נע, which required adjustment in response to the presence of a

weak or guttural consonant at the head of the root of the verb; for other בניינ י ם,

the prosthesis of each ב ניין would be used together with the stem, pillion vowel. 2.57



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Default vowels in the Imperative: ווי צ ך ה ר ד The Imperative Mood is used to issue command or instruction to the second person singular and plural, masculine and feminine. The Cohortative and Jussive would be used in the case of the first person and third person respectively to achieve a similar volitional purpose. 2.58 The Infinitive Construct, the Imperative, the Jussive and the Cohortative of each binyan share a brace of default vowels identical with the twosome used in the Infinitive Construct of each respective בניין. The shape of the Infinitive, as in many languages, is identical with the Imperative. For instance, “to go” is the full Infinitive in the English language. By removing the lead preposition “to” the bare infinitive is formed, thus the verbal form “go” is obtain, which in effect is the Imperative. So is the same with the Hebrew language. 2.59 The Imperative is found or in currency in the Active binyanim together with the two members in the Simple stems: the Qal and the Niph’al. To install the Imperative, which virtually is the Infinitive Construct of each respective active voice binyan, the same set of default vowels would be used. Except the Niph’al, which is a passive, there is no Imperative for all other passive binyanim. The Niph’al Imperative, as the case with other active binyanim, takes [..] ( י צ as the ( ר pillion vowel. 2.60 The Imperative in Hebrew is conjugated for second person both gender and number by adding one of the three sufformatives, namely, נה-ו-י (the נה "יו ): there is no sufformative for second person masculine singular for the Hebrew Imperative, the zero vowel sufformative conjugation. 2.61 The Cohortative and Jussive: יווי א The Cohortative and Jussive, which required personal pronoun affixes, the base vowels of these two forms of the verbs are the same as the vowel scheme used in the Infinitive Construct of each respective derived stem. Under certain condition the stem vowel for Cohortative could take a vowel [ ] (סגול) such as the presence of a laryngeal.

Imperative sufformative

plural singular

2m ו

2f י נ ה



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2.62 The Cohortative is conjugated for the first person only, both singular and plural, common gender. The suffix would not be added to ה"ל verbs as this category of

the verb is already being given a [ ה] (א ה ) in the rare position by default. 2.63 The same principle and operative manner would be applicable to install the verbal root into Jussive mood by adding the key prosthesis for the third person singular and plural of the verb, which has been given by default and the vowels identical to those in the Infinitive Construct of each derived stem. 2.64 These broad principles shall apply to all binyanim of the Hebrew verb: namely, the Qal, the Pi’el, the Hiphil and so on; the active and passive voice of Qal, the Intensive forms and the Causative forms, both the strong as well the weak verbs and other ב ניינים. 2.65 The Imperfect Tense: ת יד ע The Imperfect Tense of the Hebrew verb, used as the Future Tense, is obtained by adding personal pronoun affixes, the ן "אית , both prefixes and suffixes, the נה "יו , embedding the verbal root, using the same deuce of the theme or default vowels as they are given in the Infinitive Construct of each binyan, making adjustment to contiguous שוואי ם and or ו א ף ש ח ט (composite shewa) when a weak or guttural consonant is present at the head of the root. The stem vowel for the Qal Imperfect Tense, except for the Stative Verbs, which take [ ] (פתח) instead of [˙] ( חול ם as stem or theme vowel, is the—same as those used in the Qal Infinitive (חסר

Construct—stative verb with a laryngeal or guttural may not load the פתח as stem

vowel. Adjust the stem vowel or the pillion vowel of the verbal root to [] (שווא) if the personal pronoun suffix to be added begins with a vowel (the vocalic) and the abdication of the hind consonant from the pillion syllable, which would merge with the vowel from the pronominal to form a new syllable. Beware of the accent shift. The presence of a laryngeal or guttural consonant in the second or pillion syllable of the root compels the stem or theme vowel under the pillion syllable to be adjusted for ף ח ט ו א ש and or the rules for דגש, that is, compensatory

Cohortative sufformative

plural singular

ה--- נ ה--- א



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lengthening or virtual doubling, must come to play when adding personal pronoun affixes to verbs other than the Qal stem. 2.66 The Wav Consecutive At this stage of research, the pedagogical insight is that wayyiqtol and weqatal should not be treated as a single class of “vav-prefixed” verbal forms. Rather, they are quite distinct from each other.

Hebrew Verbal System an Introduction Ch2

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