Hebrew verbal forms, בניינים
Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 6:05 pm
As this topic was debated here recently, I thought I will summarize it as I see it.
בניין קל
is so called as it is devoid of any attached personal pronouns PP, which are added separately in a sentence, say
יצחק אכל בננה "Isaac ate a banana."
Here יצחק is the performer (the actor) of the act אכל, while the בננה is the beneficiary of this act.
in the sentence
יצחק קפא "Isaac froze", יצחק is the beneficiary of the natural act קפא. (Seems to me that קפא, 'freeze', is a variant of קבע, 'fix'.)
The qal form appears also in an agglomerated form such as
ויברא = בא-היא-ברא
in which three words fused together in fluent speech.
בניין פִּעֵל
Has at least one internal PP היא for the performer of the act. Because of the xiriq under the first radical, the second radical is with a dagesh in it. This dagesh is a historical vestige, and has, in my opinion, no structural function in the verbal form.
I suspect that the tsere under the second radical is a hint for a lost second xiriq, or a פִּעִל form with two internal PP היא, a first for the actor, and a second for the beneficiary of the act. For instance,
גִּדֵּל = ג-היא-ד-היא-ל, 'cultivated'
as in
יצחק גִּדֵּל מלפפונים "Isaac cultivated cucumbers".
Some claim to see in the פִּעִל form reference to a "stronger" or "theatrical" or "repeated" kind of action. I don't recognize this extra meaning embedded in this form. I see no difference in meaning between the שָׁבַר of Isaiah 14:5
שָׁבַר יהוה מַטֵּה רְשָׁעִים שֵׁבֶט מֹשְׁלִים
KJV: "The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers"
and the שִׁבֵּר of Ex 9:25
וְאֵת כָּל עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה הִכָּה הַבָּרָד וְאֶת כָּל עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה שִׁבֵּר
KJV: "and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field"
The different verbal forms are possibly due to some parallel development, in different places and at different times, of the Hebrew language.
Some verbs are prefered in the פִּעִל instead of the qal form, such as דִּבֵּר, 'spoke'. Also, Hebrew, in constant quest for new words, changes the בניין to slightly shift the meaning, for example, קָשַר, 'tied', but קִשֵּר, 'connected', שָמַר, 'guarded', but שִמֵּר, 'preserved', חָשַב, 'thought', but חִשֵּב, 'calculated' .
More to come.
Isaac Fried, Boston University
בניין קל
is so called as it is devoid of any attached personal pronouns PP, which are added separately in a sentence, say
יצחק אכל בננה "Isaac ate a banana."
Here יצחק is the performer (the actor) of the act אכל, while the בננה is the beneficiary of this act.
in the sentence
יצחק קפא "Isaac froze", יצחק is the beneficiary of the natural act קפא. (Seems to me that קפא, 'freeze', is a variant of קבע, 'fix'.)
The qal form appears also in an agglomerated form such as
ויברא = בא-היא-ברא
in which three words fused together in fluent speech.
בניין פִּעֵל
Has at least one internal PP היא for the performer of the act. Because of the xiriq under the first radical, the second radical is with a dagesh in it. This dagesh is a historical vestige, and has, in my opinion, no structural function in the verbal form.
I suspect that the tsere under the second radical is a hint for a lost second xiriq, or a פִּעִל form with two internal PP היא, a first for the actor, and a second for the beneficiary of the act. For instance,
גִּדֵּל = ג-היא-ד-היא-ל, 'cultivated'
as in
יצחק גִּדֵּל מלפפונים "Isaac cultivated cucumbers".
Some claim to see in the פִּעִל form reference to a "stronger" or "theatrical" or "repeated" kind of action. I don't recognize this extra meaning embedded in this form. I see no difference in meaning between the שָׁבַר of Isaiah 14:5
שָׁבַר יהוה מַטֵּה רְשָׁעִים שֵׁבֶט מֹשְׁלִים
KJV: "The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers"
and the שִׁבֵּר of Ex 9:25
וְאֵת כָּל עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה הִכָּה הַבָּרָד וְאֶת כָּל עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה שִׁבֵּר
KJV: "and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field"
The different verbal forms are possibly due to some parallel development, in different places and at different times, of the Hebrew language.
Some verbs are prefered in the פִּעִל instead of the qal form, such as דִּבֵּר, 'spoke'. Also, Hebrew, in constant quest for new words, changes the בניין to slightly shift the meaning, for example, קָשַר, 'tied', but קִשֵּר, 'connected', שָמַר, 'guarded', but שִמֵּר, 'preserved', חָשַב, 'thought', but חִשֵּב, 'calculated' .
More to come.
Isaac Fried, Boston University