לקח in 2 Kings 2:10

[Glenn Dean]

Hi:

I had a question on 2 Kings 2:10 and the parsing for the word לֻקָּח. Here's the verse:

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִקְשִׁ֣יתָ לִשְׁא֑וֹל אִם־תִּרְאֶ֨ה אֹתִ֜י לֻקָּ֤ח מֵֽאִתָּךְ֙ יְהִֽי־לְךָ֣ כֵ֔ן וְאִם־אַ֖יִן לֹ֥א יִהְיֶֽה׃

when I saw the word I immediately thought it was Pual stem, but BibleHub says it is the "Qal passive participle ms". I would of thought there would be a shureq on the 2nd root consonant (if it were passive participle, as in לָקוּח).

Help me to understand why it is the Qal passive participle - thanxs!

Glenn

[Jason Hare]

Great question! It is indeed a qal passive. This form (קֻטָּל) looks identical to the pual perfect. We had a discussion about it recently on the forum, in which I referred to Kutz and Josberger's treatment on the topic. I'll get back to you with more information later. I'm just on the verge of the leaving the house.

[Glenn Dean]

Thanxs for confirming it is passive-participle - I'll wait for your response when you get back,

(BTW, I do have Kutz & Josberger)

Glenn

[Jason Hare]

This particular form, קֻטָּל, appears as both the perfect 3ms and as the ms participle.

The first mention of the qal passive in Kutz and Josberger is on page 229:

The niphal is the primary verb stem for expressing the passive and reflexive meaning of the qal verb. Hebrew does on rare occasion show evidence of a historic verb stem devoted exclusively to expressing a qal passive. However, the niphal almost completely displaced this qal passive and is used for both the passive voice and reflexive meaning in Biblical Hebrew.

Chapter 21 has an entire section on it. Can you read that chapter from the textbook rather than me posting it all (since it has tables and such)?

The most common word in which the qal passive is found is לָקַח, which appears nine times in the Bible.

Genesis 2:23
וַיֹּאמֶר֮ הָֽאָדָם֒ זֹ֣את הַפַּ֗עַם עֶ֚צֶם מֵֽעֲצָמַ֔י וּבָשָׂ֖ר מִבְּשָׂרִ֑י לְזֹאת֙ יִקָּרֵ֣א אִשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֥י מֵאִ֖ישׁ‬ לֻֽקֳחָה־זֹּֽאת׃

Genesis 3:19
בְּזֵעַ֤ת אַפֶּ֨יךָ֙ תֹּ֣אכַל לֶ֔חֶם עַ֤ד שֽׁוּבְךָ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כִּ֥י מִמֶּ֖נָּה לֻקָּ֑חְתָּ כִּֽי־עָפָ֣ר אַ֔תָּה וְאֶל־עָפָ֖ר תָּשֽׁוּב׃

Genesis 3:23
וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֛הוּ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים מִגַּן־עֵ֑דֶן לַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֻקַּ֖ח מִשָּֽׁם׃

Judges 17:2
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאִמֹּ֡ו אֶלֶף֩ וּמֵאָ֨ה הַכֶּ֜סֶף אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֻֽקַּֽח־לָ֗ךְ וְאַ֤תְּי‬ אָלִית֙ וְגַם֙ אָמַ֣רְתְּ בְּאָזְנַ֔י‬ הִנֵּֽה־הַכֶּ֥סֶף אִתִּ֖י אֲנִ֣י לְקַחְתִּ֑יו‬ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִמֹּ֔ו בָּר֥וּךְ בְּנִ֖י לַיהוָֽה׃

2 Kings 2:10 (your verse)
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִקְשִׁ֣יתָ לִשְׁאֹ֑ול אִם־תִּרְאֶ֨ה אֹתִ֜י לֻקָּ֤ח מֵֽאִתָּךְ֙ יְהִֽי‬־לְךָ֣ כֵ֔ן וְאִם־אַ֖יִן לֹ֥א יִהְיֶֽה׃

Isaiah 52:5
וְעַתָּ֤ה פֹה֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה כִּֽי־לֻקַּ֥ח עַמִּ֖י חִנָּ֑ם מֹשְׁלֹו יְהֵילִ֨ילוּ֙‬ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה וְתָמִ֥יד כָּל־הַיֹּ֖ום שְׁמִ֥י מִנֹּאָֽץ‬׃

Isaiah 53:8
מֵעֹ֤צֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט֙ לֻקָּ֔ח וְאֶת־דֹּורֹ֖ו מִ֣י יְשֹׂוחֵ֑חַ כִּ֤י נִגְזַר֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּ֔ים ‬מִפֶּ֥שַׁע עַמִּ֖י‬‬ נֶ֥גַע‬ לָֽמֹו‬׃

Jeremiah 29:22
וְלֻקַּ֤ח מֵהֶם֙ קְלָלָ֔ה לְכֹל֙ גָּל֣וּת יְהוּדָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּבָבֶ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר יְשִֽׂמְךָ֤ יְהוָה֙ כְּצִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ וּכְאֶחָ֔ב‬ אֲשֶׁר־קָלָ֥ם מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֖ל בָּאֵֽשׁ׃

Jeremiah 48:46
אֹוי־לְךָ֣ מֹואָ֔ב אָבַ֖ד‬ עַם־כְּמֹ֑ושׁ כִּֽי־לֻקְּח֤וּ בָנֶ֨יךָ֙ בַּשֶּׁ֔בִי וּבְנֹתֶ֖יךָ בַּשִּׁבְיָֽה׃

This verb also appears in the qal imperfect passive six times, which looks like the hufal.

Genesis 12:15
וַיִּרְא֤וּ אֹתָהּ֙ שָׂרֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה וַיְהַֽלְל֥וּ אֹתָ֖הּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה וַתֻּקַּ֥ח הָאִשָּׁ֖ה בֵּ֥ית פַּרְעֹֽה׃

Genesis 18:4
יֻקַּֽח־נָ֣א מְעַט־מַ֔יִם וְרַחֲצ֖וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם וְהִֽשָּׁעֲנ֖וּ תַּ֥חַת הָעֵֽץ׃

Isaiah 49:24
הֲיֻקַּ֥ח מִגִּבֹּ֖ור מַלְקֹ֑וחַ וְאִם־שְׁבִ֥י צַדִּ֖יק‬ יִמָּלֵֽט׃

Isaiah 49:25
כִּי־כֹ֣ה׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה גַּם־שְׁבִ֤י גִבֹּור֙ יֻקָּ֔ח וּמַלְקֹ֥וחַ עָרִ֖יץ יִמָּלֵ֑ט וְאֶת־יְרִיבֵךְ֙‬ אָנֹכִ֣י אָרִ֔יב וְאֶת־בָּנַ֖יִךְ אָנֹכִ֥י אֹושִֽׁיעַ׃

Ezekiel 15:3
הֲיֻקַּ֤ח‬ מִמֶּ֨נּוּ֙ עֵ֔ץ לַעֲשֹׂ֖ות לִמְלָאכָ֑ה אִם־יִקְח֤וּ מִמֶּ֨נּוּ֙ יָתֵ֔ד לִתְלֹ֥ות עָלָ֖יו כָּל־כֶּֽלִי׃

Job 28:2
בַּ֭רְזֶל מֵעָפָ֣ר יֻקָּ֑ח וְ֝אֶ֗בֶן יָצ֥וּק‬ נְחוּשָֽׁה׃

Of course, there are some other verbs in which this conjugation appears, but this is the verb with the most instances of it.

[Jason Hare]

Look up the following verses for instances of אָכַל in the qal passive:

Exodus 3:2; Isaiah 1:20; Nahum 1:10; Nehemiah 2:3, 13

יָלַד appears in the qal passive 30 times:

Genesis 4:26; 6:1; 10:21, 25; 24:15; 35:26; 36:5; 40:20; 41:50; 46:22, 27; 50:23; Judges 13:8; 18:29; 2 Samuel 3:5; 21:20, 22; Jeremiah 20:14, 15; 22:26; Ezekiel 16:4, 5; Psalms 87:4, 5, 6; 90:2; Job 5:7; Ruth 4:17; 1 Chronicles 1:19

Feel free to look them up or plug them into the Bible Gateway using the Leningrad Codex (here are the verses with אָכַל and here and here are the verses with יָלַד). I didn't feel like copying them all over. It's a lot of references.

[Glenn Dean]

Thank-you so much Jason for the great info!! I had never heard of the stem "QalPassive" until today!

Is this the "right" way to think of it - you see a word like לֻקָּח or אֻכָּל, and eventhough it looks Pual, but one "knows" both of those roots does NOT have a Pual stem. And furthermore, translating as a "Pual perfect" just doesn't fit the context. So then you "realize" it is stem "QalPassive" (and is a participle).

Glenn

[Jason Hare]

If you checked chapter 21 of Kutz and Josberger, they give you some clues for its recognition.

In the biblical text qal passives now appear as pual or hophal verbs, but there are ways you can recognize them.

1. The pual or hophal form is not syntactically appropriate.
2. The pual or hophal has no comparable piel-hithpael or hiphil.
3. The simple passive meaning is the best fit in context.

In most cases a combination of these signs alerts you to the presence of a qal passive. For example, Exod 3:2b states that Moses looked "and behold, the bush was burning (בֹּעֵר) with fire, but the bush was not being consumed (אֵינֶ֫נּוּ אֻכַּל)."

They go and give more information on these signs. Notice that in Exodus 3:2, the form is necessarily a participle, since pual perfects would be negated with לֹא rather than אֵין.

[Glenn Dean]

thanxs for that reference page in Kutz & Josberger!

Glenn

[Isaac Fried]

Glenn writes

I had a question on 2 Kings 2:10 and the parsing for the word לֻקָּח.

The word לֻקָּח is of the root לקח, 'take away', and of the form l-U-kax, in which the inner vowel U indicates the beneficiary of the act לקח, here the prophet.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
www.hebrewetymology.com

[Jason Hare]

Glenn writes

I had a question on 2 Kings 2:10 and the parsing for the word לֻקָּח.

The word לֻקָּח is of the root לקח, 'take away', and of the form l-U-kax, in which the inner vowel U indicates the beneficiary of the act לקח, here the prophet.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
www.hebrewetymology.com

What is the "form" of l-U-kax? What is a "form"?

In לֻקַּ֫חְתָּ, does the internal U vowel represent the beneficiary אַתָּה, while the internal U in לֻקְּחָה represents the beneficiary הִיא?