Chapter 30 — Qal–Piel Contrast Drill

Chapter 30 — Piel Strong

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A 17-item Qal-to-Piel contrast exercise organized in three parts: Part A (7 items) covers Intensive roots where the Piel performs the Qal action more forcefully or completely; Part B (5 items) covers Factitive roots where the Piel causes an object to enter the stative state described by the Qal; Part C (5 items) covers Simple Action and Denominative roots where the intensification model breaks down. All forms are drawn from attested OT texts (Genesis 1–43, Exodus 19, 32, Leviticus 4 and 21). Students translate each Piel, name the function, and check their answer; three discussion questions press on the Intensive-vs.-Factitive distinction, the grammatical object that Factitive verbs require, and why the three non-Intensive categories cannot be explained by intensification.

Sample Questions

Q1. 1 שָׁבַר to break שִׁבֵּר (Perfect 3ms) Exo 32:19 Intensive Factitive Iterative Denominative Simple Action

A: Intensive · he smashed to pieces · Moses shattered the tablets completely; not merely "broke" but dashed them into fragments — an emphatic, total breaking

Q2. 2 כָּסָה to cover יְכַסּוּ (Wayyiqtol 3mp) Gen 9:23 Intensive Factitive Iterative Denominative Simple Action

A: Intensive · they covered thoroughly · Shem and Japheth covered their father completely; the Piel emphasizes an emphatic, total covering

Q3. 3 שָׁלַח to send יְשַׁלַּח (Wayyiqtol 3ms) Gen 8:7 Intensive Factitive Iterative Denominative Simple Action

A: Intensive · he sent out / released · The raven was let go definitively; Piel = send away completely, not merely dispatch