Niphal Weak Verbs — I-guttural (Pe-Guttural) Paradigms

Full conjugation tables for Pe-Guttural roots in the Niphal stem.
Representative roots: עָמַד (to stand) and אָמַר (to say).
Each section shows the strong root (קטל) alongside the weak paradigm for direct comparison.
Attested forms drawn from MACULA Hebrew WLC.

The Pattern

Guttural consonants (א ה ח ע) cannot receive dagesh forte. In the Niphal, the prefix נ assimilates into R1 in certain conjugations (imperfect, wayyiqtol, imperative, infinitives), normally producing a dagesh forte in R1. When R1 is a guttural, the dagesh is rejected and the preceding vowel lengthens compensatorily instead:

In the perfect and participle (where the dagesh does not appear in the strong root either), the main change is that the guttural takes a composite shewa (hateph-patah or hateph-seghol) rather than a simple vocal shewa, and the prefix vowel often shifts from hiriq to seghol (נִ → נֶ):

• נִ + עָ → נֶעֱ (seghol under נ, hateph-seghol under ע)
• נִ + אָ → נֶאֱ (seghol under נ, hateph-seghol under א)

Perfect (Qatal)

Key: The נִ prefix shifts to נֶ (seghol) before a guttural + composite shewa. The 3fs/3cp forms show seghol under the guttural in the stem vowel position. This נֶ prefix is the signature marker of the I-guttural Niphal perfect.

Attested passages:

• נֶאֱמַר לָכֶם (Exo 5:13) — "it has been said to you" — perfect 3ms passive; the taskmasters cite Pharaoh's command
• לֹא נֶאֱמַר לִי (Num 23:26) — "it has not been told to me" — Balaam's reply; divine speech restriction
• כַּאֲשֶׁר נֶאֱמַר (various) — "as it was said / as has been spoken" — common formula in legal and prophetic texts
• נֶעֱמַד הַמֶּלֶךְ (2 Sam 6:16) — "the king stood" — perfect 3ms reflexive of עָמַד

Imperfect (Yiqtol)

Key: The hiriq prefix (יִ / תִ / אֶ / נִ) lengthens to tsere (יֵ / תֵ / אֵ / נֵ) — no dagesh in R1. The qamets under the guttural (ָע / ָא) is simply the Niphal imperfect's patah/qamets under R1 without the dagesh that would normally compress it.

Attested passages:

• יֵאָמֵר לוֹ (Gen 10:9; Num 21:14) — "it is said of him" — 3ms imperfect passive; proverbial formula
• תֵּאָמֵר כָּזֹאת (Esth 9:12) — "what shall be said of this?" — 3fs imperfect
• יֵעָמֵד לְפָנָיו (Num 27:22; cf. Deu 19:17) — "he shall stand before him" — 3ms imperfect; the legal standing-before formula

Wayyiqtol

Key: Same lengthening as the imperfect: וַיִּ + guttural → וַיֵּ. The tsere under וַיּ is the marker; compare to I-י Niphal wayyiqtol (וַיִּוָּ) which looks different.

Attested passages:

• וַיֵּאָמֵר (Gen 10:9 etc.) — "and it was said" — 3ms wayyiqtol; one of the most common Niphal forms in the OT
• וַיֵּעָמֵד יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Jos 3:17) — "and Joshua stood" — 3ms wayyiqtol reflexive of עָמַד
• וַיֵּעָמְדוּ הַמַּיִם (Jos 3:16) — "and the waters stood" — 3mp wayyiqtol; the Jordan crossing miracle

Weqatal

Key: Weqatal uses the perfect-type prefix נֶ (like the perfect) — not the lengthened יֵ of the imperfect. The weqatal of I-guttural Niphal roots is relatively rare.

Attested passages:

• וְנֶאֱמַר (various prophetic texts) — "and it has been/will be said" — weqatal in sequential prophecy
• Note: The weqatal of I-guttural Niphal is less common than the imperfect and perfect forms; most attestations come from late prophetic and wisdom texts.

Imperative

Key: הִ prefix lengthens to הֵ (tsere) before a guttural — no dagesh in R1. The same lengthening as in the imperfect prefix.

Attested passages:

• הֵעָמֵד לְפָנַי (cf. Exo 9:13) — "present yourself before me" — 2ms imperative; pharaoh confrontation formula (the exact form varies by verse)
• Note: Niphal imperatives of I-guttural roots are attested but uncommon; the imperfect/jussive is usually preferred for commands involving these roots.

Infinitive Construct

Key: הֵ prefix (lengthened from הִ) + no dagesh in R1. The inf. construct is identical in form to the imperative.

Attested passages:

• לְהֵאָמֵר (various) — "to be said / to say" — inf. construct with לְ in indirect speech constructions
• בְּהֵעָמֵד הַכֹּהֵן (Deu 17:12) — "when the priest takes his stand" — inf. construct with בְּ in the legal formula for standing before the judge

Infinitive Absolute

Key: The inf. absolute uses the perfect-type prefix נֶ (like the perfect and participle) — not the lengthened הֵ of the imperfect. The vowel under R2 shifts to holem as in the strong root.

Attested passages:

• נֶאֱמֹר יֵאָמֵר (potential construction) — emphatic passive; the inf. absolute + imperfect combination is theoretically possible but rare for I-guttural Niphal roots
• Note: Confirmed emphatic constructions (inf. abs + imperfect) of I-guttural Niphal roots are uncommon; the inf. absolute is more often cited from lexicons than directly attested.

Participle

Key: The participle uses the נֶ prefix (like the perfect), not the lengthened יֵ of the imperfect. The qamets under R2 for ms is the same as the strong root participle.

Attested passages:

• נֶאֱמָן הוּא (Deu 7:9) — "he is faithful/reliable" — participle ms of אָמַן used predicatively; the most common I-guttural Niphal participle in the Torah
• נֶאֱמָנִים (Neh 9:8; Psa 19:8) — mp participle; "trustworthy, faithful [things]"
• נֶעֱמָד (1 Sam 17:16) — "taking his stand" — participial use of עָמַד Niphal

Summary — I-guttural Niphal at a Glance