BBH Chapter 12 — Introduction to Hebrew Verbs · 20 items
Part A: For each Hebrew verb form and its gloss, identify (1) the stem, (2) whether it expresses Active, Passive, or Reflexive meaning, and (3) the three-letter root.
Part B: For each English description of an action, identify which Hebrew stem would be used and explain briefly why.
Note: Conjugation and PGN parsing are not required here — those begin in Ch13. Focus on stems and roots.
| # | Verb | Gloss | Stem | Active / Passive / Reflexive | Root | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | שָׁמַר | "he guarded" | ||||
| ✓ | שָׁמַר | "he guarded" | Qal | Active | שמר | |
| 2 | כָּתַב | "he wrote" | ||||
| ✓ | כָּתַב | "he wrote" | Qal | Active | כתב | |
| 3 | נָתַן | "he gave" | ||||
| ✓ | נָתַן | "he gave" | Qal | Active | נתן | Weak: I-נ and III-נ, but Qal 3ms looks like a strong root here |
| 4 | הָלַךְ | "he walked" | ||||
| ✓ | הָלַךְ | "he walked" | Qal | Active | הלך | III-guttural (ך), but Qal 3ms is straightforward |
| 5 | נִשְׁמַר | "he was guarded / he kept himself" | ||||
| ✓ | נִשְׁמַר | "he was guarded / he kept himself" | Niphal | Passive or Reflexive | שמר | Niphal marker: נִ prefix before R1 |
| 6 | נִכְתַּב | "it was written" | ||||
| ✓ | נִכְתַּב | "it was written" | Niphal | Passive | כתב | Niphal marker: נִ prefix |
| 7 | הִשְׁמִיר | "he caused to guard" | ||||
| ✓ | הִשְׁמִיר | "he caused to guard" | Hiphil | Active (causative) | שמר | Hiphil marker: הִ prefix + tsere/hireq under R2 |
| 8 | הוֹלִיךְ | "he caused to walk / he led" | ||||
| ✓ | הוֹלִיךְ | "he caused to walk / he led" | Hiphil | Active (causative) | הלך | Hiphil of הלך; holem waw in prefix reflects I-ה weak pattern |
| 9 | כִּתֵּב | "he wrote intensively / repeatedly" | ||||
| ✓ | כִּתֵּב | "he wrote intensively / repeatedly" | Piel | Active (intensive) | כתב | Piel marker: daghesh forte in R2 (ת) + hireq under R1 + tsere under R2 |
| 10 | שִׁמֵּר | "he kept carefully / he tended" | ||||
| ✓ | שִׁמֵּר | "he kept carefully / he tended" | Piel | Active (intensive) | שמר | Piel marker: daghesh forte in R2 (מ) + hireq under R1 |
| 11 | כֻּתַּב | "it was written (intensive passive)" | ||||
| ✓ | כֻּתַּב | "it was written (intensive passive)" | Pual | Passive | כתב | Pual marker: daghesh forte in R2 + qibbuts (u-vowel) under R1 |
| 12 | הִתְהַלֵּךְ | "he walked about / to and fro" | ||||
| ✓ | הִתְהַלֵּךְ | "he walked about / to and fro" | Hithpael | Reflexive | הלך | Hithpael marker: הִתְ prefix; הִתְהַלֵּךְ occurs frequently in Genesis (e.g., Gen 5:24) |
| # | Description | Stem | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "God caused Abraham to go out from Ur" | |||
| ✓ | "God caused Abraham to go out from Ur" | Hiphil | The Hiphil is the causative active stem — a subject causes someone else to perform the action (here, God causes Abraham to go out). | |
| 2 | "The letter was written by the scribe" (simple passive) | |||
| ✓ | "The letter was written by the scribe" (simple passive) | Niphal | The Niphal is the simple passive (and reflexive) stem — the passive counterpart to the Qal. | |
| 3 | "David walked around in his palace repeatedly" | |||
| ✓ | "David walked around in his palace repeatedly" | Hithpael | The Hithpael of הלך (הִתְהַלֵּךְ) means "to walk about / to move to and fro" — reflexive and intensive action. | |
| 4 | "The king was caused to reign (someone put him on the throne)" | |||
| ✓ | "The king was caused to reign (someone put him on the throne)" | Hophal | The Hophal is the causative passive — the passive counterpart of the Hiphil. Someone caused the king to reign; the king received the causation. | |
| 5 | "She kept/guarded herself" (simple reflexive) | |||
| ✓ | "She kept/guarded herself" (simple reflexive) | Niphal | The Niphal also serves as the simple reflexive when the subject acts on itself without intensive or thoroughgoing connotation. | |
| 6 | "He inscribed over and over" (intensive passive of writing) | |||
| ✓ | "He inscribed over and over" (intensive passive of writing) | Pual | The Pual is the passive counterpart of the Piel. If Piel = intensive active writing, then Pual = intensive passive writing. | |
| 7 | "He killed himself thoroughly / destroyed himself" (reflexive intensive) | |||
| ✓ | "He killed himself thoroughly / destroyed himself" (reflexive intensive) | Hithpael | The Hithpael combines reflexive force with the intensive/thorough quality of the Piel root. It is the reflexive intensive stem. | |
| 8 | "Moses guarded (simple active, base meaning)" | |||
| ✓ | "Moses guarded (simple active, base meaning)" | Qal | The Qal is the base, simple active stem — the unmodified root meaning with no intensification, causation, or reflexivity. |