1. Hiphil: Meaning and Form

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.