Chapter 32 — Piel–Pual Contrast Drill

BBH Chapter 32 · Pual Strong Verbs

The Pual is the passive of the Piel. The defining Pual diagnostic: Qibbuts (ֻ) under R1 + Dagesh Forte in R2.

Part A: Active/passive pairs — identify stem, parse, translate.
Part B: Mixed Piel / Pual / Hiphil / Hophal — identify stem, then parse fully.

StemR1 vowel (perfect 3ms)R2Function
PielHiriq (קִ) or patach (קַ)Dagesh ForteActive
PualQibbuts (קֻ)Dagesh FortePassive of Piel
HiphilHiriq under הִNo extra dageshActive causative
HophalQibbuts/qamets-hateph under הֻ/הָNo extra dageshPassive of Hiphil
Key: Pual and Hophal can both show qibbuts under their first visible consonant. The tell: in the Pual there is always a dagesh forte in R2 (the Piel stem marker); in the Hophal there is no such dagesh in R2.

Part A — Active/Passive Pairs

Pair 1 — בָּרַךְ (to bless)
#FormReferenceStemConjugationPGNTranslation
1תְּבָרֵךְNum 22:6
Piel · Imperfect · 2ms · "you bless" — tsere as Piel stem vowel; ר rejects dagesh → compensatory lengthening to tsere; active; context: Balak to Balaam "whom you bless is blessed"
2מְבֹרָךְNum 22:6
Pual · Participle · ms · "is blessed" — Pual passive participle; qibbuts expected under ב (R1) but ר (R2) rejects dagesh forte → vowel compensatorily lengthened to qamets (ָ) under ר
Pair 2 — קָדַשׁ (to be holy)
#FormReferenceStemConjugationPGNTranslation
3וְקִדַּשְׁתָּExo 29:36
Piel · Weqatal · 2ms · "and you shall consecrate" — hiriq under ק + dagesh forte in ד; Piel active weqatal with ו conjunction
4יְקֻדַּשׁExo 29:37
Pual · Imperfect · 3ms · "it will be consecrated" — qibbuts under ק + dagesh forte in ד — the classic Pual signature; passive of Piel
Pair 3 — כָּסָה (to cover)
#FormReferenceStemConjugationPGNTranslation
5יְכַסֶּהExo 10:5
Piel · Imperfect · 3ms · "he will cover" — patach under כ + dagesh forte in ס; III-he Piel imperfect: seghol + ה ending; active
6יְכֻסּוּGen 7:19
Pual · Imperfect · 3mp · "they were covered" — qibbuts under כ + dagesh forte in ס; III-he Pual 3mp: shureq ending; passive (the mountains were covered)
Pair 4 — שָׁנַן (to sharpen / teach diligently)
#FormReferenceStemConjugationPGNTranslation
7שִׁנַּנְתָּםDeu 6:7
Piel · Perfect · 2ms + 3mp suffix · "you shall teach them diligently" — hiriq under שׁ + dagesh forte in נ; Piel active perfect + pronominal suffix; the great Shema command
8שֻׁנָּן(expected)
Pual · Perfect · 3ms · "it has been sharpened/taught" — qibbuts under שׁ + dagesh forte in נ; Pual passive of Piel שִׁנֵּן; expected passive of Deu 6:7 command
Pair 5 — יָלַד (to give birth / beget)
#FormReferenceStemConjugationPGNTranslation
9יּוֹלֶדGen 5:3
Hiphil · Wayyiqtol · 3ms · "and he fathered/begat" — I-yod root: הוֹ prefix contracts with wayyiqtol prefix; holem-vav visible; active causative; used throughout Genesis genealogies
10יֻלַּדGen 4:18
Pual · Perfect · 3ms · "was born/begotten" — qibbuts under י + dagesh forte in ל; Pual passive; used in genealogies alongside the Hiphil active counterpart

Part B — Identification Drill

Identify the stem first (Piel / Pual / Hiphil / Hophal), then parse fully.

#FormReferenceStemConjugationPGNRoot
11מְבֹרָךְNum 22:6
Pual · Participle · ms · בָּרַךְ — is/was blessed; Pual passive participle; ר rejects dagesh → qamets compensatorily under ר
12תְּבָרֵךְNum 22:6
Piel · Imperfect · 2ms · בָּרַךְ — you bless; tsere stem vowel; ר rejects dagesh; active; contrast with Pual מְבֹרָךְ just above it in the text
13יֻלַּדGen 4:18
Pual · Perfect · 3ms · יָלַד — was born; qibbuts under י + dagesh forte in ל; Pual passive of causative "beget"
14יְכֻלּוּGen 2:1
Pual · Wayyiqtol · 3mp · כָּלָה — were finished/completed; qibbuts under כ + dagesh forte in ל; III-he Pual 3mp (shureq ending); "the heavens and earth were completed"
15יְכַסֶּהExo 10:5
Piel · Imperfect · 3ms · כָּסָה — he will cover; patach under כ + dagesh forte in ס; III-he seghol + ה ending; active
16יְכֻסּוּGen 7:19
Pual · Imperfect · 3mp · כָּסָה — they were covered; qibbuts under כ; Pual passive; shureq 3mp; the flood narrative: all mountains were covered
17יְבָרֵךְGen 1:22
Piel · Wayyiqtol · 3ms · בָּרַךְ — and he blessed; patach under prefix; tsere stem vowel (ר rejects dagesh → lengthened); active; God's first blessing in creation
18יֻּגַּדGen 22:20
Hophal · Imperfect · 3ms · נָגַד — it was told; qibbuts under יּ (Hophal imperfect prefix); dagesh forte in ג is from I-nun assimilation (not Piel dagesh); Hophal: no separate Piel active implied; "and it was told to Abraham..."
19וַיְקַדֵּשׁExo 19:14
Piel · Wayyiqtol · 3ms · קָדַשׁ — and he consecrated; patach under ק + dagesh forte in ד; Piel active; Moses consecrated the people at Sinai
20יְקֻדַּשׁExo 29:37
Pual · Imperfect · 3ms · קָדַשׁ — it will be consecrated; qibbuts under ק + dagesh forte in ד — the Pual textbook example; everything touching the altar will be consecrated
21שִׁנַּנְתָּםDeu 6:7
Piel · Perfect · 2ms + 3mp obj. suffix · שָׁנַן — you shall teach them diligently; hiriq under שׁ + dagesh forte in נ; Piel active; pronominal suffix refers to "these words"
22קֻדַּשׁExo 29:21
Pual · Perfect · 3ms · קָדַשׁ — it was consecrated; qibbuts under ק + dagesh forte in ד; Pual passive perfect 3ms
23הוּקַםExo 40:17
Hophal · Perfect · 3ms · קוּם — it was set up; הוּ Hophal prefix (holem-vav under ה); biconsonantal root קוּם; NOT Pual — no dagesh forte in R2; "the tabernacle was erected"
24הִקְדִּישׁLev 27:14
Hiphil · Perfect · 3ms · קָדַשׁ — he dedicated/consecrated; הִ Hiphil prefix + hiriq-yod medial; active causative; a man "who dedicates his house to the LORD"
25כֻּסָּהExo 15:5
Pual · Perfect · 3ms · כָּסָה — it was covered; qibbuts under כ + dagesh forte in ס; III-he Pual perfect 3ms (qamets + ה ending); Song of the Sea: "the deep covered them"

Discussion Questions

  1. What is the one feature that distinguishes a Pual perfect 3ms from a Piel perfect 3ms when you look at R1? List the expected vowel under R1 for each stem and explain what that difference signals.
  2. Item 11 (מְבֹרָךְ): the expected Pual marker is qibbuts (ֻ) under R1, but this form has qamets (ָ) under ר. Why? What phonological rule governs this substitution, and which other letters share this behavior?
  3. Compare items 18 (יֻּגַּד, Hophal imperfect) and 13 (יֻלַּד, Pual perfect). Both have qibbuts under the first visible consonant. State two structural features that reliably distinguish a Hophal from a Pual when the forms look similar.
  4. Item 10 (יֻלַּד, "was born/begotten") appears dozens of times in the genealogies of Genesis. The Niphal of the same root (נוֹלַד) also means "was born." Is there a semantic distinction between Pual יֻלַּד and Niphal נוֹלַד in the OT genealogies? What does the Pual's connection to the Hiphil/Piel causative system suggest about how the text presents lineage?