getting to know קַל passive verbs

Biblical Hebrew

by Chris Heard

Getting to Know קל Passive Verbs

Table of Contents

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AbbreviationsGetting ReadyThe קל Passive ParticipleRare קל Passive FormsCredits

Abbreviations

1, 2, 3 indicate grammatical personm, f, c indicate grammatical genders, p indicate grammatical numberR1, R2, R3 indicate root letters

3

Getting Ready

Before we start getting to know the קל passive, let’s run a few preflight checks.

4

Do you remember how a Hebrew verb changes to form the various combinations of person, gender, and number, as well as perfect and imperfect?

5

Do you know your Masoretic vowels well enough to distinguish between the three classes (a, i, and u)?

6

If you answered “yes,” you’re ready for the קל passive!

7

Remember that certain patterns can create predictable variations. This slideshow focuses on core patterns. It does not illustrate every possible variation.

8

Furthermore, this slideshow is intended to supplement, not replace, classroom instruction and practice.

9

The קל Passive Participle

The קל passive participle appears over 950 times in the קל but other forms of the ,תנ״ךpassive are very rare.

10

Therefore, most readers don’t need to learn any קל passive form except the participle.

11

בר ך12

The ms קל passive participle looks like the 3ms קל active perfect, but with ו as R2’s vowel:

ברך

ו

3ms active perfect

ms passive participle

בר כ

13

The plural and feminine participles inflect like the קל active participle, with predictable vowel changes:

בר ךו

ms participlefs participle

ברכברכ

ותmp participlefp participle

ו ה ים     

Note that R2 tends to take a in the singular and a שורק in the plural, though קבוץthis isn’t a firm rule. Either vowel can be used.

14

The קל passive participle can serve as a noun. For example, the כ in תנ״ך stands for כתבים, “Writings” (i.e., “[things that have been] written”).

15

The קל passive participle can also serve as an adjective, as in כל–האלה כתובה בספר הזה, “every curse written on this scroll” (Deut 29:19).

16

Rare קל Passive Forms

Alert! Most readers of the תנ״ך need only learn the קל passive participle. The קל passive perfect and imperfect occur, but they’re very rare.

17

Therefore, you don’t really need to learn the information the following pages supply. They’re given here for those inquiring minds who want to know more.

18

Recognizing קל Passive Perfects

The קל passive perfect is characterized by R1 taking a .דגש and R2 gaining a קבוץ

19

ילד

לקח 

לקה 

ילד 

ת

R1’s קבוץ and R2’s דגש indicate a קל passive.

The suffix indicates a perfect.

תם

20

  ה

In words where R2 rejects the דגש, R1’s vowel becomes a חולם instead of a קבוץ.

21

The קל passive perfect and פעל perfect look alike. Fortunately, since both express passive voice, any confusion between them rarely affects the sense.

22

If you need to precisely identify a particular verb as a קל passive perfect or a פעל perfect, look it up in a lexicon.

23

Recognizing קל Passive Imperfects

The קל passive imperfect is quite rare—fewer than 25 instances in the תנ״ך.

24

All שרשים used in the קל passive imperfect exhibit a “weakness”—such as a נ as R1, as R2 (biconsonantal), or י or וR2 = R3 (geminate)—and therefore the patterns vary.

25

On the other hand, all but one of the קל passive imperfects in the are 3ms or 2ms, which is תנ״ךconvenient for those trying to learn this conjugation.

26

The most consistent feature of the קל passive imperfect is the u-class prefix vowel, normally a קבוץ.

27

That u-class vowel is supplied by the קל passive conjugation. All of the other variations are based on characteristics of the שרש.

28

Over half of the קל passive imperfects in the תנ״ך are instances of a שרש that has which) לקח in R1, or of נbehaves like a 1-נ verb).

29

As usual, R1’s נ (or ל in לקח) will undergo aphaeresis (disappear) in the prefix pattern, and R2 will compensate by taking a דגש.

30

The rest of the קל passive imperfects are split between biconsonantal verbs (R2 = ו or י) and geminate verbs (R2 = R3). Of these, biconsonantal verbs are more common, by about 2:1.

31

Both biconsonantal and geminate verbs in the קל passive imperfect will lose R2 to aphaeresis, and the prefix’s vowel will be שורק (or, for some biconsonantal verbs, Geminate verbs also .(חירק מלאgain a דגש in R1 if possible.

32

תן

קחי

י

שת

שדת

The u-class prefix vowel indicates a קל passive.

The affixes indicate an imperfect.

33

וי

ו

1

1

2

3

1 R1=      2 Biconsonantal     3 Geminateנ

The קל passive imperfect and .imperfect can look alike הפעלFortunately, since both express passive voice, any confusion between them rarely affects the sense.

34

If you need to precisely identify a particular verb as either קל passive imperfect or הפעל imperfect, look it up in a lexicon.

35

Summary

3ms perfect3ms imperfectms participle

36

לקחAll forms have u-class vowels, but in different places.

קח ובר ך

  י 

CreditsDead Sea photo by Wikimedia Commons contributor Xta11. Used under a CC-SA license.

All other content by Dr. Chris Heard, Associate Professor of Religion, Pepperdine University. Released under a CC-BY license.

Grammatical terminology used in this presentation follows J. Cook and R. Holmstedt, Beginning Biblical Hebrew (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013).