Chapter 22 — Causative & Passive Stems: Capstone Review Drill

Basics of Biblical Aramaic, Van Pelt — Ch22: The Aphel, Shaphel, and Hophal Stems

Instructions

This is a capstone review covering all nine Aramaic stems. For each numbered verb form from Daniel or Ezra, enter: Stem (Peal / Peil / Ithpeel / Pael / Ithpaal / Haphel / Aphel / Shaphel / Hophal), Conjugation, Root, PGN, and Translation. Click ▶ Answer to reveal the answer key row.

All Nine Stem Diagnostics:

Prefix / Marker	R2 Dagesh?	Stem
No prefix; standard root vowels	no	Peal
qəṭīl vowel pattern	no	Peil
אִתְ-/הִתְ- prefix	no	Ithpeel
No prefix	yes	Pael
אִתְ-/הִתְ- prefix	yes	Ithpaal
הַ- perf / יְהַ- imperf / מְהַ- ptcp	no	Haphel
אַ- prefix, tsere in R2	no	Aphel
שַׁ-/שֵׁ- prefix	no	Shaphel
הֻ- (heh + qibbuts = u-vowel)	no	Hophal

Form

Stem

Conjugation

Root

PGN

Translation

שֵׁיזִב

Stem: Shaphel | Conj: Perfect | Root: יזב | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he delivered / he rescued (Dan. 3:28: שֵׁיזִב לְעַבְדוֹהִי "he delivered his servants"; שֵׁ- = Shaphel prefix with tsere due to I-yod root; root יזב; the key Shaphel verb in Daniel)

הֻנְעַל

Stem: Hophal | Conj: Perfect | Root: עלל | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he was brought in (Dan. 5:13: דָּנִיֵּאל הֻנְעַל קֳדָם מַלְכָּא "Daniel was brought in before the king"; הֻ- = Hophal prefix [heh + qibbuts u-vowel]; passive of Haphel הַעֵל "to bring in"; nun of root assimilates)

אַחֲוִי

Stem: Aphel | Conj: Perfect | Root: חזה | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he showed / he declared (Dan. 5:12; 7:16; אַ- = Aphel causative prefix [aleph + patach]; alternate causative to Haphel; root חזה "to see" → Aphel "to cause to see / to show / to declare"; III-he root with -ִי ending in 3ms perfect)

יְשֵׁיזְבִנְּכוֹן

Stem: Shaphel | Conj: Imperfect | Root: יזב | PGN: 3ms + 2mp object suffix | Trans: he will deliver you (pl.) / who will deliver you? (Dan. 3:15: מַן הוּא אֱלָהּ דִּי יְשֵׁיזְבִנְּכוֹן "who is the god who will deliver you?"; יְ- imperfect prefix + שֵׁי- Shaphel stem + זְבִן- root + כוֹן 2mp object suffix; Nebuchadnezzar's taunt)

לְשֵׁיזָבָה

Stem: Shaphel | Conj: Infinitive | Root: יזב | PGN: N/A | Trans: to deliver / to rescue (Dan. 6:15: "he tried to deliver him"; לְ- prefix + שֵׁי- Shaphel + זָ R2 with qamets [infinitive lengthening] + בָה R3 + -ָה infinitive ending; structure parallels Haphel infinitive)

אַסְגִּי

Stem: Aphel | Conj: Perfect | Root: סגא/סגה | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he made great / he magnified / he increased (Aphel of סגא/סגה "to be great/many" → Aphel causative "to make great / to increase / to magnify"; אַ- prefix + III-he/III-aleph root; -ִּי ending = III-he Aphel/Haphel 3ms pattern)

הֻרְמִי

Stem: Hophal | Conj: Perfect | Root: רמה | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he was cast / was thrown (Hophal of III-he root רמה "to throw / cast"; הֻ- = Hophal prefix [heh + qibbuts]; passive of Haphel causative "to cause to be thrown / to cast" → Hophal "to be cast"; -ִּי = III-he Hophal 3ms ending)

שֵׁיזְבָךְ

Stem: Shaphel | Conj: Perfect | Root: יזב | PGN: 3ms + 2ms object suffix | Trans: he delivered you (Dan. 6:21: אֱלָהָךְ הוּא שֵׁיזְבָךְ "your God — he has delivered you!"; שֵׁיזְבָ + ךְ 2ms suffix; the king's climactic recognition of Daniel's God as the true deliverer)

כְּתַב

Stem: Peal | Conj: Perfect | Root: כתב | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he wrote (Peal = G stem, simple active; no prefix, no R2 dagesh, a-vowel under R1; base-level action "to write"; appears in Daniel and Ezra contexts with royal decrees and inscriptions)

כְּתִיב

Stem: Peil | Conj: Participle (stative passive) | Root: כתב | PGN: ms | Trans: written / it is written (Peil = Gp passive stem; qəṭīl vowel pattern [i-vowel under R2]; no prefix, no dagesh; stative meaning "it stands written / is recorded"; frequently used in Ezra for official documents)

אִתְכְּתִב

Stem: Ithpeel | Conj: Perfect | Root: כתב | PGN: 3ms | Trans: it was written / was recorded (Ithpeel = Gt reflexive/passive of Peal; אִתְ- prefix [no R2 dagesh]; the process of being written as opposed to the Peil stative; appears in Ezra for royal edicts and records)

קַטֵּל

Stem: Pael | Conj: Perfect | Root: קטל | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he killed (intensively) / he slaughtered (Pael = D stem; dagesh forte in R2 [טּ] is the defining marker; patach under R1 + tsere under R2; D-stem intensive/declarative/factitive function; parallel to Hebrew Piel)

אִתְקַטַּל

Stem: Ithpaal | Conj: Perfect | Root: קטל | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he was killed / he was slaughtered (Ithpaal = Dt reflexive/passive of Pael; אִתְ- prefix plus R2 dagesh forte [טּ]; combines the reflexive אִתְ- prefix with the D-stem doubling; the presence of BOTH the אִתְ- prefix AND the R2 dagesh is the decisive Ithpaal marker)

הוֹדַע

Stem: Haphel | Conj: Perfect | Root: ידע | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he made known / he revealed (Dan. 2:23: הוֹדַעְתַּנִי "you made known to me"; Haphel of I-yod root ידע; הַ- prefix + I-yod contraction → הוֹ-; most common Haphel verb in Daniel; causative of "to know" = "to make known / to reveal")

מְהַקְטֵל

Stem: Haphel | Conj: Participle | Root: קטל | PGN: ms | Trans: causing to kill (model form); מְ- = derived-stem participle prefix + הַ Haphel marker + קְטֵל strong root; no R2 dagesh (contrast Pael participle מְקַטֵּל which has R2 dagesh); the הַ inside the stem after מְ- is the decisive Haphel participle marker

יְהַקְטֵל

Stem: Haphel | Conj: Imperfect | Root: קטל | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he will cause to kill (model form); יְ- imperfect prefix + הַ Haphel marker in stem + קְטֵל; the Haphel imperfect is recognized by: imperfect prefix (יְ-/תְּ-) + visible הַ inside the stem; the הַ does not disappear in the imperfect — it remains embedded in the stem

מְהוֹדֵעַ

Stem: Haphel | Conj: Participle | Root: ידע | PGN: ms | Trans: making known / revealing (Dan. 2:28: גָּלֵא רָזִין מְהוֹדַע; מְ- participle prefix + הוֹ- [Haphel + I-yod contraction] + דֵעַ; the הַ appears as הוֹ- due to I-yod root; III-aleph ַע ending on R3; Haphel participle of ידע)

הַקִּים

Stem: Haphel | Conj: Perfect | Root: קום | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he set up / he established (Dan. 3:1: "he set it up in the plain of Dura"; Haphel of hollow root קום; הַ- prefix + contracted hollow root → הַקִּים; dagesh in מ is compensatory from hollow root contraction, NOT D-stem doubling; causative of קום "to stand/rise" = "to cause to stand / to set up")

מְקַטֵּל

Stem: Pael | Conj: Participle | Root: קטל | PGN: ms | Trans: killing intensively / slaughtering (Pael participle ms; מְ- derived-stem participle prefix + קַ R1 patach + טּ R2 with dagesh forte [D-stem doubling] + ֵל R2-tsere + ל R3; the R2 dagesh is the decisive Pael marker; contrast Haphel participle מְהַקְטֵל [no R2 dagesh, but הַ in stem])

יְשֵׁיזִב

Stem: Shaphel | Conj: Imperfect | Root: יזב | PGN: 3ms | Trans: he will deliver / he will rescue (Dan. 3:15: base form without suffix; יְ- imperfect prefix + שֵׁי- Shaphel stem + זִב root; Shaphel imperfect of "to deliver"; this form answers Nebuchadnezzar's rhetorical question — the answer of Daniel 3 is: Israel's God will indeed deliver)

Reflection Questions

Items 1 (שֵׁיזִב), 14 (הוֹדַע), and 18 (הַקִּים) are all perfect 3ms forms. Two are Haphel and one is Shaphel. (a) What diagnostic feature identifies item 1 as Shaphel rather than Haphel? (b) Why does שֵׁיזִב show שֵׁי- rather than the expected שַׁ-? What type of root is involved?
Items 2 (הֻנְעַל) and 14 (הוֹדַע) both begin with הַ-/הֻ-. What single feature distinguishes the Hophal from the Haphel, and what does that difference signal about the verb's function?
Item 3 (אַחֲוִי) is Aphel and item 16 (יְהַקְטֵל) is Haphel imperfect. (a) What morphological difference marks item 3 as Aphel and not Haphel? (b) In what sense are Aphel and Haphel functionally equivalent?
Items 9 (כְּתַב), 10 (כְּתִיב), and 11 (אִתְכְּתִב) are all from the same root. Name the stem of each and describe the semantic relationship among them.
Items 12 (קַטֵּל) and 19 (מְקַטֵּל) are both Pael. What is the difference in conjugation, and what single morphological feature is diagnostic for the Pael in both forms?