Chapter 28 — Hiphil/Hophal Contrast Drill

BBH Chapter 28 · Hophal Strong Verbs

Each row gives a Hebrew verb form from the biblical text and its scripture reference. For each item: identify the root, select the stem (Hiphil or Hophal), the conjugation, the person–gender–number, and type a translation. Click ▶ Answer to check; the answer row aligns under each question column.

Diagnostic clues: Hiphil — prefix הִ (perfect); prefix הַ / יַ (imperfect/wayyiqtol/imperative/infinitive); causative force; typically active.
Hophal — prefix vowel Qibbuts (קֻ) in strong roots; Shureq (וּ) in biconsonantal/I-yod roots; passive of the corresponding Hiphil.
# Hebrew Form Ref Root Stem Conjugation PGN Translation
1 הִגִּיד Gen 3:11
נָגַד HiphilPerfect3ms he told you / who told you?
2 הַכּוֹת Gen 4:15
נָכָה HiphilInfinitive Construct— to strike / lest anyone strike him
3 הוּחַל Gen 4:26
חָלַל HophalPerfect3ms it was begun (to call on the name of the LORD)
4 וַיַּגֵּד Gen 9:22
נָגַד HiphilWayyiqtol3ms and he told his brothers
5 הָמִית Gen 18:25
מוּת HiphilInfinitive Construct— to put to death / to kill
6 וַיַּחֲזִיקוּ Gen 19:16
חָזַק HiphilWayyiqtol3mp and they seized / took hold of (his hand)
7 וַיֻּגַּד Gen 22:20
נָגַד HophalWayyiqtol3ms and it was told to Abraham
8 וַיּוּשַׂם Gen 24:33
שִׂים HophalWayyiqtol3ms and food was set before him
9 יוּמַת Gen 26:11
מוּת HophalImperfect3ms he shall be put to death
10 הַשְׁלִיכוּ Gen 37:22
שָׁלַךְ HiphilImperative2mp throw him! (into this pit)
11 וַיַּשְׁלִכוּ Gen 37:24
שָׁלַךְ HiphilWayyiqtol3mp and they threw him (into the pit)
12 הוּרַד Gen 39:1
יָרַד HophalPerfect3ms he was brought down to Egypt
13 הוּשַׁב Gen 42:28
שׁוּב HophalPerfect3ms it was returned (into my sack)
14 הוּבְאוּ Gen 43:18
בּוֹא HophalPerfect3cp we were brought in (to Joseph's house)
15 וַיַּחֲזֵק Exo 4:4
חָזַק HiphilWayyiqtol3ms and he grasped it (by the tail)
16 וַיֻּכּוּ Exo 5:14
נָכָה HophalWayyiqtol3mp and the Israelite overseers were beaten
17 מֻכִּים Exo 5:16
נָכָה HophalParticiplemp being beaten / your servants are beaten
18 וַיּוּשַׁב Exo 10:8
שׁוּב HophalWayyiqtol3ms and Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh
19 וַיֻּגַּד Exo 14:5
נָגַד HophalWayyiqtol3ms and it was told to the king of Egypt
20 הַכֵּה Exo 17:6
נָכָה HiphilImperative2ms strike! (the rock)
21 יוּמַת Exo 19:12
מוּת HophalImperfect3ms he shall be put to death (Sinai boundary law)
22 וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ Exo 32:19
שָׁלַךְ HiphilWayyiqtol3ms and he threw them (the tablets) from his hands
23 הוּקַם Exo 40:17
קוּם HophalPerfect3ms the tabernacle was set up / erected
24 הוּסַר Lev 4:31
סוּר HophalPerfect3ms it was removed (from the sacrifice)

Discussion Questions

  1. Items 1 and 4 (Hiphil of נָגַד) show a person as the active subject — God asks who told Adam (Gen 3:11); Ham tells his brothers (Gen 9:22). Items 7 and 19 (Hophal of נָגַד) have information as the grammatical subject: "and it was told." What does this distinction reveal about when Biblical Hebrew chooses the Hiphil versus the Hophal for the root נָגַד?
  2. Items 10, 11, and 22 are all Hiphil forms of the strong root שָׁלַךְ ("to throw/cast"). Item 10 (Gen 37:22) is an Imperative 2mp; item 11 (Gen 37:24) is Wayyiqtol 3mp; item 22 (Exo 32:19) is Wayyiqtol 3ms. Looking only at the Hebrew form — not the context — what morphological features reveal each form's conjugation and PGN?
  3. Items 6 (Gen 19:16) and 15 (Exo 4:4) are both Hiphil Wayyiqtol of חָזַק. Item 6 is 3mp (the angels seize Lot); item 15 is 3ms (Moses grasps the snake). The forms differ only in the suffix: וַיַּחֲזִיקוּ vs. וַיַּחֲזֵק. What is the clue in the form that marks the plural versus the singular?
  4. Items 9 (Gen 26:11) and 21 (Exo 19:12) both show the Hophal Imperfect form יוּמַת. In Gen 26:11 Abimelech uses it in a civil decree protecting Isaac; in Exo 19:12 God uses it to protect Sinai. The form is identical in both. What does it mean that the same Hophal Imperfect works in a royal edict and in a divine boundary law? What does the passive express that an active verb like "I will kill" would not?
  5. Items 16 (Exo 5:14) and 17 (Exo 5:16) both come from root נָכָה in the Hophal. Item 16 is Wayyiqtol (narrative past: the overseers were beaten); item 17 is a Participle (ongoing state: the foremen are being beaten). How does the shift from a finite verb to a participle change the picture? In your English translation, how do you capture the aspectual difference between a completed beating and a continuing state of being beaten?