Hiphil: Meaning and Form

Hiphil Meaning Causative The Hiphil expresses causative action in which the subject causes the action to occur. Consider the differences between the Qal and Hiphil in the following examples: Active (Qal) Causative (Hiphil) he heard he caused to hear (or) he announced (or) he proclaimed he brought the book he caused the book to be brought the man killed the goat the man caused the goat to be killed she broke the jar she caused the jar to break The literal translation of the Hiphil may require adjustment to create idiomatic English phrases. Consider the following examples of literal Hiphil translations, along with possible idiomatic adjustments. Hiphil Literal Translation Hiphil Idiomatic Translation he caused the people to see he showed the people he caused his heart to be hardened he hardened his heart he caused them to come out he brought them out

Hiphil Meaning Permissive The permissive meaning is similar to the causative but takes on the added meaning of giving permission. Context is the best way to determine whether to use the causative or permissive meaning. Active (Qal) Permissive (Hiphil) she saw him she allowed him to see he brought the book he allowed the book to be brought the man killed the goat the man allowed the goat to be killed Stative Verbs that are stative in Qal will also be stative in Hiphil. Stative verbs in Hiphil are infrequent. Stative (Qal) Stative (Hiphil) he is ashamed he will make ashamed he will be dry he will dry up the man is great the man will make great (or exalt) Denominative The Hiphil can be used to create verbs from noun roots. Noun Denominative (Hiphil) ear give ear; listen fat to grow fat rain to cause to rain

Hiphil Perfect כָּתַב הִכְתִּיב כָּתְבָה הִכְתִּיבָה כָּתַבְתָּ PNG Qal Hiphil 3ms כָּתַב he wrote הִכְתִּיב he caused to write 3fs כָּתְבָה she wrote הִכְתִּיבָה she caused to write 2ms כָּתַבְתָּ you wrote הִכְתַּבְתָּ you caused to write 2fs כָּתַבְתְּ הִכְתַּבְתְּ 1cs כָּתַבְתִּי I wrote הִכְתַּבְתִּי I caused to write 3cp כָּתְבוּ they wrote הִכְתִּיבוּ they caused to write 2mp כְּתַבְתֶּם הִכְתַּבְתֶּם 2fp כְּתַבְתֶּן הִכְתַּבְתֶּן 1cp כָּתַבְנוּ we wrote הִכְתַּבְנוּ we caused to write The diagnostic features of the Hiphil perfect are: He prefix. Hireq frequently beneath the he prefix. Hireq-yod vowel frequently beneath the second root consonant in the third person. Patakh vowel frequently beneath the second root consonant in the first and second person. The Niphal infinitive construct (הִקָּטֵל) and imperative forms also have a he prefix. The vowel pattern is the best way to distinguish between the Hiphil perfect and the similar Niphal forms.

Hiphil Imperfect יִכְתּׁב יַכְתִּיב תִּכְתּׁב תַּכְתִּיב תִּכְתְּבִי PNG Qal Hiphil 3ms יִכְתּׁב he will write יַכְתִּיב he will cause to write 3fs תִּכְתּׁב she will write תַּכְתִּיב she will cause to write 2ms you will write you will cause to write 2fs תִּכְתְּבִי תַּכְתִּיבִי 1cs אֶכְתּׁב I will write אַכְתִּיב I will cause to write 3mp יִכְתְּבוּ they will write יַכְתִּיבוּ they will cause to write 3fp תִּכְתּׁבְנָה תַּכְתֵּבְנָה 2mp תִּכְתְּבוּ תַּכְתִּיבוּ 2fp 1cp נִכְתּׁב we will write נַכְתִּיב we will cause to write The diagnostic features of the Hiphil imperfect are: Patakh vowel usually beneath the prefix. Hireq-yod vowel usually beneath the second root consonant, except in the 2fs and 3fs, which usually have a tsere.   The Hiphil imperfect might be confused with the I-guttural Qal. In the I-guttural Qal, the prefix vowel lengthens to a patakh. To distinguish between the two forms, consider the vowel of the second root consonant. In the Qal the vowel is a holem, while in the Hiphil the vowel is a tsere-yod or patakh.

Hiphil Imperative, Infinitive Construct and Infinitive Absolute PNG Qal Hiphil Imper. 2ms כְּתׁב (you) write! הַכְתֵּב (you) cause to write! 2fs כִּתְבִי הַכְתִּיבִי 2mp כִּתְבוּ הַכְתִּיבוּ 2fp כְּתׁבְנָה הַכְתֵּבְנָה Inf. Construct writing הַכְתִּיב causing to write Inf. Absolute כָּתוֹב to write to cause to write The diagnostic features of the Hiphil infinitive absolute are: He prefix. Patakh vowel generally beneath the he prefix. Tsere vowel generally beneath the second root consonant. The diagnostic features of the Hiphil imperative are: He prefix. Patakh generally beneath the he prefix. Hireq-yod vowel generally beneath the second root consonant in the 2fs and 2mp. Patakh vowel generally beneath the second root consonant in the 2ms and 2fp. The diagnostic features of the Hiphil infinitive construct are: He prefix. Patakh vowel generally beneath the he prefix. Hireq-yod vowel generally beneath the second root consonant.

Hiphil Participle כֹּתֵב מַכְתִּיב כֹּתֶבֶת מַכְתֶּבֶת כֹּתְבִים PNG Qal Hiphil Active Participle ms כֹּתֵב writing מַכְתִּיב causing to write fs כֹּתֶבֶת מַכְתֶּבֶת mp כֹּתְבִים מַכְתִּיבִים fp כֹּתְבוֹת מַכְתִּיבוֹת To summarize, the diagnostic features of the Hiphil participle are: Mem prefix. Patakh vowel usually beneath the mem prefix. Hireq-yod vowel usually beneath the second root consonant, except in the feminine singular, which usually has a tsere.

Hiphil I-Nun and I-Guttural In the I-nun, all of the strong Hiphil diagnostic features are preserved in each conjugation. In the I-nun, the first root consonant nun assimilates into the second root consonant and manifests itself as a dagesh. I-Guttural In the I-guttural, all of the strong Hiphil diagnostic features are preserved, except in the perfect. In the I-guttural perfect, the vowel beneath the he prefix is a segol. Because the first root consonant is a guttural, it takes a partial shewa instead of a full shewa in all conjugations. In the perfect, the partial shewa is a khatef-segol, and in the other conjugations the partial shewa is a khatef-patakh.

Hiphil III-Guttural & III-Aleph Generally, all of the diagnostic characteristics for the Hiphil remain in III-guttural and III-aleph. III-Guttural The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a patakh in the III-guttural 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-guttural 2ms and 2fp imperative. III-Aleph The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a tsere in the III-aleph first and second person perfect conjugations. The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a segol in the III-aleph 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-aleph 2fp imperative.

Hiphil Verbs: I-Yod and I-Yod with III-Guttural or III-Aleph The first root consonant yod is replaced with a vav-holem in all conjugations. III-Aleph (as shown in the previous slide) The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a tsere in the III-aleph first and second person perfect conjugations. The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a segol in the III-aleph 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-aleph 2fp imperative. III-Guttural (as shown in the previous slide) The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a patakh in the III-guttural 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-guttural 2ms and 2fp imperative.

Hiphil Verbs: III-He III-He In the Hiphil form, the same changes occur in the III-he that occurs in the other verb forms such as Qal and Niphal. The III-ה drops off completely in all forms with a suffix. The infinitive construct form of III-ה verbs ends in וֹת. Do not confuse this with feminine plural nouns, participles, and adjectives that also end in וֹת. For the III-he with I-yod, the first root consonant yod is replaced with a vav-holem in all conjugations. For the III-he with I-guttural in the perfect, the prefix vowel is a segol instead of a hireq. For the III-he with I-guttural, the first root consonant guttural refuses to take a shewa and instead takes a reduced form of the prefix vowel. For example, the 3ms perfect הֶעֱשָׂה has a segol prefix vowel and a khatef segol first root consonant vowel. For the III-he with I-nun, the first root consonant nun assimilates into the second root consonant, manifesting itself as a dagesh in all conjugations.

Hiphil Verbs: III-He III-He In the Hiphil form, the same changes occur in the III-he that occurs in the other verb forms such as Qal and Niphal. The III-ה drops off completely in all forms with a suffix. The infinitive construct form of III-ה verbs ends in וֹת. Do not confuse this with feminine plural nouns, participles, and adjectives that also end in וֹת. For the III-he with I-yod, the first root consonant yod is replaced with a vav-holem in all conjugations. For the III-he with I-guttural in the perfect, the prefix vowel is a segol instead of a hireq. For the III-he with I-guttural, the first root consonant guttural refuses to take a shewa and instead takes a reduced form of the prefix vowel. For example, the 3ms perfect הֶעֱשָׂה has a segol prefix vowel and a khatef segol first root consonant vowel. For the III-he with I-nun, the first root consonant nun assimilates into the second root consonant, manifesting itself as a dagesh in all conjugations.

Hiphil Verbs: Hollow, Hollow with III-Guttural, and Hollow with III-Aleph Regardless of whether their second root consonant is yod or vav, Hiphil hollow verbs have a hireq-yod vowel pattern. The prefix vowel in the imperfect, imperative, and infinitive forms is a qamets instead of a patakh. The prefix vowel for the participle conjugations varies between a shewa and a tsere instead of the standard Hiphil patakh.

Hiphil Verbs: Geminates A dagesh appears in the second root consonant of all forms with a suffix. The dagesh represents the missing third root consonant of the geminate verb. Suffixes that begin with a consonant are preceded by a vav-holem. This is a distinct trait of geminate verbs that will help with identification. Often a patakh replaces a tsere or a tsere will replace a hireq beneath the first root consonant of a geminate with II and III gutturals.