ch31-function-sort

Chapter 31 — Piel Weak

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BBH Chapter 31 · Piel Weak Verbs

A 20-item semantic function sort using weak-root Piel forms only. Students classify each verb as Intensive (I), Factitive (F), Iterative (It), Simple Action (SA), or Denominative (DN). Items span I-Guttural roots (ברך, חזק, ענה), III-ה roots (גלה, צוה, כלה, בנה, שׁנה), and strong roots that are common Piel verbs (בקש). Verbs are drawn from attested OT texts (Genesis 1–47, Exodus, Psalms, Amos, Isaiah). Two items (4 and 12) have dual-acceptable analyses (I or F) and the answer key explains both.

File	Format
ch31-function-sort.md	Static reference with answer key
ch31-function-sort.html	Interactive (fillable, ▶ Answer per row)
ch31-function-sort.pdf	Fillable PDF

Sample Questions

Q1. 1 בֵּרַךְ Perfect 3ms ברך Gen 1:28 "God blessed them" I F It SA DN

A: I — Intensive. Qal ברך ("to kneel") is rare and not used for blessing; Piel is the standard, intensive bestowal of divine favor. Middle radical ר (quasi-guttural) resists dagesh forte → compensatory lengthening: bēr- (tsere) instead of expected bir- .

Q2. 2 גִּלָּה Perfect 3ms גלה Gen 35:7 "God revealed himself to him" I F It SA DN

A: I — Intensive. Qal גָּלָה = "to uncover / go into exile"; Piel = "to reveal completely, disclose thoroughly." III-ה root: dagesh forte in ל (R-2), ה falls away in perfect 3ms.

Q3. 3 חִזֵּק Perfect 3ms חזק Exo 4:21 "I will harden his heart" I F It SA DN

A: F — Factitive. Qal חָזַק = stative "to be strong / hard"; Piel = "to cause to be in that state → harden." Classic Factitive. R-1 ח (guttural) resists dagesh → virtual doubling only; no visible dagesh in ח.