Chapter 21 — Qal Infinitive Absolute Morphology Deck
32 cards · 7 root class groupings + disambiguation · covers all IA patterns, IC/IA contrasts, and functional uses.
Group 1 — Strong A-class (שמר, זכר, אבד)
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 1 |
שָׁמ֣וֹר |
Qal IA · שמר · Strong A · "surely keep" — qamets R1 + holem-waw R2; contrast IC שְׁמֹר (shewa R1) |
| 2 |
זָכ֕וֹר |
Qal IA · זכר · Strong A · Imperatival — "Remember!" (Exo 20:8); no paired finite verb; IA as stand-alone command |
| 3 |
אָבֹ֖ד |
Qal IA · אבד · Strong A · Emphatic — "utterly perish"; holem (no waw); Deuteronomy threat formula |
| 4 |
גָּאֹ֖ל |
Qal IA · גאל · Strong A · Emphatic — "surely redeem"; qamets + holem; Leviticus legal formula |
Group 2 — Strong B-class / Guttural R3 (שמע, שכח)
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 5 |
שָׁמ֣וֹעַ |
Qal IA · שמע · Strong B (gutt. R3) · Emphatic — "hear attentively"; qamets + holem-waw + patach before ע |
| 6 |
שָׁכֹ֤חַ |
Qal IA · שכח · Strong B (gutt. R3) · Emphatic — "ever forget" (Deu 8:19); qamets + holem + patach before ח |
| 7 |
שָׁמ֣וֹר vs. שָׁמ֣וֹעַ |
IA contrast: שמר (A-class, no gutt.) = שָׁמ֣וֹר; שמע (B-class, gutt. R3) = שָׁמ֣וֹעַ — both qamets + holem-waw; B-class adds patach before guttural |
Group 3 — III-ה roots (ראה, עשה, היה)
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 8 |
רָאֹ֣ה |
Qal IA · ראה · III-ה · Emphatic — "surely seen" (Exo 3:7); ה retained in IA; qamets + holem |
| 9 |
עָשׂ֑וֹה |
Qal IA · עשה · III-ה + I-gutt. · Emphatic — "surely do"; ה retained (sometimes dropped: עָשׂ֥וֹ); qamets + holem-waw |
| 10 |
הָי֧וֹ |
Qal IA · היה · III-ה · Emphatic/Verbal noun — "being/surely be"; ה retained |
| 11 |
III-ה IA vs. IC |
IA: ה retained (רָאֹ֣ה) · IC: ה → וֹת (רְאוֹת) — this ה/וֹת distinction is the clearest III-ה IA vs. IC diagnostic |
Group 4 — Biconsonantal roots (מות, שוב, בוא)
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 12 |
מ֥וֹת |
Qal IA · מות · Biconsonantal · Emphatic — most common IA in OT (49×); holem-waw + taw; identical to bare IC |
| 13 |
מ֥וֹת תָּמוּת |
Emphatic IA construction · מות · "you shall surely die" — IA + Imperfect 2ms; death-penalty formula (Gen 2:17) |
| 14 |
שׁ֣וֹב |
Qal IA · שוב · Biconsonantal · Manner — "returning"; full shureq; paired with הָל֣וֹךְ in manner idiom |
| 15 |
Biconsonantal IA vs. IC |
Biconsonantal IA = bare IC in form (מ֥וֹת, שׁ֣וֹב); distinguished only by context: IA never follows a preposition; IA paired with same-root finite verb |
Group 5 — I-י roots (הלך, יצא, ידע)
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 16 |
הָל֣וֹךְ |
Qal IA · הלך · I-י · Manner/Progressive — "going"; retains full yod-shape (contrast IC לֶ/כֶת); qamets + holem-waw |
| 17 |
הָל֣וֹךְ וָ/שׁ֑וֹב |
Paired IA idiom · הלך + שוב · Manner — "going and returning" (Gen 8:3); progressive/iterative motion |
| 18 |
הָלוֹךְ֙ וְ/גָדֵ֔ל |
Paired IA idiom · הלך + גדל · Progressive — "growing greater and greater" (Gen 26:13) |
| 19 |
יָצוֹא֙ |
Qal IA · יצא · I-י + III-א · Emphatic — "going out"; I-י IA retains yod-shape (contrast IC: צֵאת) |
| 20 |
יָדֹ֣עַ |
Qal IA · ידע · I-י (gutt. R3) · Emphatic — "surely know"; qamets + holem + patach before ע |
Group 6 — I-נ roots (נתן, נסע)
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 21 |
נָת֤וֹן |
Qal IA · נתן · I-נ · Emphatic — "surely give"; both nuns retained (contrast IC: תֵּת where both nuns drop) |
| 22 |
I-נ IA vs. IC |
נתן: IA = נָת֤וֹן (both nuns) · IC = תֵּת (both nuns drop) — most dramatic IA/IC contrast in the paradigm |
Group 7 — I-aleph roots (אכל, אמר)
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 23 |
אָכֹ֥ל |
Qal IA · אכל · I-aleph · Emphatic — "freely eat" (Gen 2:16); qamets under aleph; holem on R2 |
| 24 |
אָכֹ֥ל תֹּאכֵֽל |
Emphatic IA construction · אכל · "you may freely eat" (Gen 2:16) — permission formula; same structure as מ֥וֹת תָּמוּת but opposite meaning |
| 25 |
I-aleph IA vs. IC |
אכל: IA = אָכֹ֥ל (qamets under aleph) · IC = אֱכֹל (hateph-seghol) — vowel under aleph is the key |
Group 8 — Disambiguation and Functional Patterns
| # |
Hebrew |
Answer |
| 26 |
שָׁמ֣וֹר (in isolation) |
Qal IA of שמר — qamets under R1 distinguishes it from IC/Imper. שְׁמֹר (shewa) and Perfect שָׁמַ֣ר (qamets + patach) |
| 27 |
שָׁמַ֣ר vs. שָׁמ֣וֹר |
Perfect 3ms vs. IA: שָׁמַ֣ר = qamets + patach; שָׁמ֣וֹר = qamets + holem-waw — the R2 vowel distinguishes them |
| 28 |
זָכ֕וֹר אֶת-יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת |
Imperatival IA (Exo 20:8) — IA used as command (no paired finite verb of same root); contrast שָׁמ֣וֹר תִּשְׁמְר֗וּן (emphatic: IA + finite verb) |
| 29 |
שָׁמ֗וֹר vs. שָׁמ֣וֹר תִּשְׁמְר֗וּן |
Imperatival IA vs. Emphatic IA: stand-alone IA = command; IA + finite verb of same root = emphatic intensifier |
| 30 |
מ֥וֹת preceded by לָ |
IC, not IA — the preposition לָ forces IC reading; IA never takes a preposition prefix |
| 31 |
רָאֹ֣ה רָאִ֛יתִי |
Emphatic IA construction · ראה · III-ה · "I have surely seen" (Exo 3:7) — IA + Perfect 1cs; burning bush |
| 32 |
טָרֹ֥ף טֹרַ֖ף |
Emphatic IA construction · טרף · Strong A · "surely been torn" (Gen 44:28) — IA + Passive Perfect; dramatic narrative |
Tags: ia, infinitive-absolute, bbh-ch21