B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

I posted this in another group, and thought I would also ask here about the rare form of the tiphael. I was Studying in 1 Samuel 15:11. Got to looking at the verb חרה in the clause וַיִּ֙חַר֙ לִשְׁמוּאֵ֔ל = (NASB) "This made Samuel distressed". As I was looking further into the verb חרה, Holladay made reference to a rare form of the verb that I've never heard of: tiphael (variation tifael). Both Holladay and Davidson's Lexicon cross reference Jeremiah 12:5 תְּתַֽחֲרֶ֖ה and Jeremiah 22:15 tiphael participial form מְתַחֲרֶ֣ה as two examples. I read a footnote in W&O, but I wanted to hear opinions or insights here. Thoughts? Explanations of this form?

Mahlon:

I never heard of this form before.

In an unpointed text, context and form fit the Hithpael. It looks like the only reason for this form may be the Masoretic points, and without them, it disappears.

Karl W. Randolph.

The act חרה XARAH is a variant of חרא XARA, of which we have the חראים XARAIYM, 'excrement', of Isaiah 36:12, and the תחרא TAXRA, 'lace', of Ex. 28:32; of אחר AXAR, 'after', and of קרה QARAH, 'happened'. Its fundamental meaning is 'tear apart (as by fire, said also of rage), separated, enmeshed, entangled'.

The תתחרה TETAXAREH of Jer. 12:5 means 'engage, be after, be enmeshed among, be entangled with'. This gave rise to the post biblical תחרות TAXARUT, 'competition, contestation, rivalry, controversy'.

The double ת-ת T-TA are two contracted אתה ATAH, 'you', for the same performer and beneficiary of the act. It appears to me to formally be of the "qal imperfect" form. The tiphel form comes, methinks, from seeing the root as תחר TXR.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

Hello

the תתחרה is seen as one of the rare forms of conjugation which is called the "T form"

each conjugation has this "T form"
but it is rare for Hiphil and for Qal
and very common for Piel (which is the known Hitpael)

some call the תתחרה as form Tiph'el and some see this as Hitaph'el
anyway, this "T form" belongs to the Hiphil conjugation
but it seems that the Hiphil conjugation in this form is its alternative Aph'el
as it was "supposed" to be תתאחרה and the Aleph was not pronounced well and fell which created תתחרה

תתחרה > παρασκεύασις "Preparation" (abstract noun)
מתחרה > παρασκεύασμα "Arrangement" (result of an action, object of action)

Lee Mcgee says

תתחרה > παρασκεύασις "Preparation" (abstract noun)
מתחרה > παρασκεύασμα "Arrangement" (result of an action, object of action)

Are "Preparation" and "Arrangement" new inventions or suggestions? May we see תתחרה and מתחרה with niqud, with point vowels.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

Jeremiah 22:15 - Can thou arrange thy cedars (מתחרה)
Jeremiah 12:5 - How can thou prepare thy horses (תתחרה)

In the Septuagint of 12:5, תתחרה is παρασκευάσῃ, the Dative form of παρασκεύασις and the -σις always transposes to the prefix position
in Hebrew, this true for μα, thus מתחרה is παρασκεύασμα.

παρασκευάσῃ
- that which is prepared, equipage, armament
- among the Jews, the day of Preparation, before the sabbath of the Passover

In the modern language, מתחרה means "compete."

מתחרה as Hitpa'el (mith'are)
Not as the form that this thread is talking about (metah'are)

ducky wrote:מתחרה as Hitpa'el (mith'are)
Not as the form that this thread is talking about (metah'are)

Ah, you're talking about a piel form (מְתַחֲרֶה)? Would that be a quadriliteral root? I guess I should go up and read the thread again!