Hebrew OT — Verb Stems by Book¶
Build script: scripts/ot/verbs/build_verb_morphology_by_book.py
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Verb stem distribution (binyanim) as a percentage of all verbs in each Hebrew OT book.
Stems included: Qal, Hiphil, Piel, Niphal, Hithpael, Pual, Hophal, Other (rare/Aramaic stems).
Chart¶
Data Table¶
| Book | Qal | Hiphil | Piel | Niphal | Hithpael | Pual | Hophal | Other | Verbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 78.3% | 8.7% | 6.2% | 4.3% | 1.0% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 4,613 |
| Exodus | 70.9% | 9.3% | 11.2% | 5.1% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 0.2% | 3,425 |
| Leviticus | 60.2% | 14.8% | 13.7% | 7.7% | 1.2% | 0.6% | 1.7% | 0.1% | 2,344 |
| Numbers | 72.3% | 9.8% | 10.2% | 5.1% | 1.5% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 2,913 |
| Deuteronomy | 74.7% | 9.7% | 8.5% | 5.1% | 1.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 2,930 |
| Joshua | 75.9% | 10.2% | 6.9% | 5.6% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 1,775 |
| Judges | 78.1% | 10.1% | 4.7% | 5.3% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 2,348 |
| Ruth | 82.1% | 6.9% | 6.6% | 3.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 379 |
| 1 Samuel | 75.0% | 11.1% | 5.1% | 5.8% | 2.1% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 3,205 |
| 2 Samuel | 75.7% | 10.2% | 6.5% | 4.8% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 2,513 |
| 1 Kings | 76.9% | 8.9% | 7.4% | 4.0% | 1.4% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 2,807 |
| 2 Kings | 76.5% | 11.8% | 6.2% | 3.2% | 0.9% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 2,779 |
| 1 Chronicles | 64.5% | 20.2% | 6.7% | 5.5% | 2.1% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 1,353 |
| 2 Chronicles | 67.3% | 15.4% | 7.6% | 5.5% | 2.8% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2,574 |
| Ezra | 51.7% | 17.0% | 10.1% | 5.5% | 2.6% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 11.2% | 507 |
| Nehemiah | 63.8% | 18.8% | 7.7% | 6.9% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 868 |
| Esther | 65.3% | 11.6% | 8.1% | 12.4% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 605 |
| Job | 66.2% | 13.3% | 10.0% | 5.7% | 2.5% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 2,155 |
| Psalms | 62.7% | 12.7% | 14.8% | 6.1% | 2.4% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 4,580 |
| Proverbs | 64.1% | 13.7% | 8.8% | 8.8% | 2.4% | 1.8% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 1,739 |
| Ecclesiastes | 74.6% | 9.1% | 7.5% | 6.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 682 |
| Song of Songs | 76.5% | 10.2% | 7.1% | 2.7% | 0.4% | 2.7% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 226 |
| Isaiah | 66.2% | 12.3% | 8.0% | 8.8% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 4,376 |
| Jeremiah | 70.3% | 11.0% | 7.7% | 8.2% | 1.3% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 4,849 |
| Lamentations | 68.1% | 10.5% | 13.3% | 5.6% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 430 |
| Ezekiel | 72.0% | 9.7% | 7.6% | 8.2% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 3,891 |
| Daniel | 61.5% | 14.4% | 7.1% | 5.3% | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1.3% | 8.0% | 1,342 |
| Hosea | 71.0% | 11.1% | 9.0% | 5.6% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 587 |
| Joel | 67.4% | 12.4% | 9.9% | 8.2% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 233 |
| Amos | 67.4% | 16.9% | 6.9% | 7.7% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 478 |
| Obadiah | 75.0% | 11.7% | 1.7% | 10.0% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 60 |
| Jonah | 74.7% | 12.1% | 5.8% | 4.2% | 3.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 190 |
| Micah | 71.2% | 14.1% | 7.1% | 5.4% | 1.7% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 354 |
| Habakkuk | 67.0% | 12.6% | 12.6% | 3.3% | 2.7% | 1.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 182 |
| Zephaniah | 59.2% | 14.8% | 10.7% | 12.4% | 1.8% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 169 |
| Haggai | 81.4% | 11.5% | 1.8% | 2.7% | 1.8% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 113 |
| Zechariah | 75.9% | 8.4% | 5.8% | 7.0% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 758 |
| Malachi | 67.4% | 9.1% | 13.5% | 7.4% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 230 |
Observations¶
- Qal dominates every book, ranging from ~59% (Leviticus, Zephaniah) to ~82% (Ruth, Haggai). The Qal's strong presence is expected — it is the basic active stem.
- Leviticus has the lowest Qal rate (60.2%) and elevated Hiphil (14.8%) and Piel (13.7%), reflecting its ritual/legal register. Causative (Hiphil) and intensive/declarative (Piel) actions are frequent in priestly law.
- Psalms has the highest Piel rate (14.8%) among major books, consistent with its lyric/hymnic register — the Piel is common in praise and petition vocabulary.
- 1 Chronicles has the highest Hiphil rate (20.2%), partly driven by its royal/cultic register and Levitical/priestly narratives.
- Ezra and Daniel have elevated "Other" rates (11.2% and 8.0% respectively) because both books contain substantial Aramaic sections, which carry Aramaic stems (Haphel, Pael, Shaphel) not present in Hebrew.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT (CC BY).