Transcript The Piel Verb - byuhebrew.com

THE PIEL VERB
The Piel
A Piel has four primary meanings: factive, intensive, denominative, and iterative.
Additionally, some Piel verbs are uncategorized.
Factive
When a verb that normally is stative or intransitive becomes transitive, meaning it can
take a direct object, it is considered factive. Consider the following examples.
Stative (Qal)
to be great
to be clean
to learn
Factive (Piel)
to make great
to cleanse
to teach
Intensive
The Piel form can intensify the action of an active Qal. It is important to remember
that intensive meaning is just one of the possible Piel meanings. Not all Piel verbs
should be translated with as intensified action. Consider the following examples.
Active (Qal)
he broke
she killed
Intensive (Piel)
he shattered
she slaughtered
The Piel
Denominative
A verb with a meaning similar to or derived from a noun or adjective usually appears
in the Piel form. In this case, the action of the verb is not intensified. Usually a verbal
root with similar meaning does not exist but must be derived from the noun or adjective.
Consider the following examples.
Noun or Adjective
word
blessing
song
Denominative (Piel)
to speak
to bless
to sing
Iterative
Some Piel verbs express repeating action, mostly in verbs expressing movement or
effort. Consider the following examples.
Active (Qal)
he walks
she looked
Iterative (Piel)
he paces
she stared
Unclassified
Some Piel verbs cannot be classified since we do not fully understand their origins.
Always consider the verb’s context within a sentence when making your choice.
The Piel Perfect
The diagnostic features of the Piel perfect are:
PNG
3ms
1. Hireq beneath the first root consonant.
2. Dagesh in the second root consonant.
3fs
2ms
2fs
3. Tsere (3ms only) or patakh beneath the
second root consonant, except when vowel
reduction takes place (3fs, 3cp).
1cs
3cp
2mp
2fp
1cp
Qal
Piel
‫קָ ַטל‬
‫קָ טְ לָה‬
ָָּ ‫קָ ַטל‬
‫ְת‬
ְָּ ‫קָ ַטל‬
‫ְת‬
‫ְתי‬
ִָּ ‫קָ ַטל‬
‫קָ טְ לּו‬
‫קְ ַטלְתָּם‬
‫קְ ַטלְתָּן‬
‫קָ ַטלְנּו‬
‫ִק ֵּטל‬
‫ִקטְ לָה‬
ָָּ ‫ִק ַטל‬
‫ְת‬
ְָּ ‫ִק ַטל‬
‫ְת‬
‫ְתי‬
ִָּ ‫ִק ַטל‬
‫ִקטְ לּו‬
‫ִק ַטלְתָּם‬
‫ִק ַטלְתָּן‬
‫ִק ַטלְנּו‬
The Piel Imperfect
PNG
The diagnostic features of the Piel imperfect are:
3ms
1. Shewa beneath the imperfect prefix.
2. Patakh beneath the first root consonant.
3fs
2ms
2fs
3. Dagesh in the second root consonant.
1cs
3mp
3fp
2mp
2fp
1cp
Qal
Piel
‫יִקְ טׁל‬
‫י ְַק ֵּטל‬
‫ִתקְ טָּׁל‬
‫טל‬
ֵָּּ ‫תְ ַק‬
‫ִתקְ טָּׁל‬
‫טל‬
ֵָּּ ‫תְ ַק‬
‫ט ִלי‬
ְָּ ְ‫ִתק‬
‫ט ִלי‬
ְָּ ‫תְ ַק‬
‫אקְ טׁל‬
‫אֲ ַק ֵּטל‬
‫יִקְ טְ לּו‬
‫י ְַקטְ לּו‬
ֵָּּ ‫תְ ַק‬
ָ‫ט ְלנָה ִתקְ טׁ ְל ָּנ‬
‫ה‬
‫טלּו‬
ְָּ ְ‫ִתק‬
‫טלּו‬
ֵָּּ ‫תְ ַק‬
ָ‫תְ ַק ֵּטָּ ְלנָה ִתקְ טׁ ְל ָּנ‬
‫ה‬
‫נִקְ טׁל‬
‫נ ְַק ֵּטל‬
The Piel Imperative, etc.
The diagnostic features of the Piel imperative, infinitive construct, and infinitive
absolute are:
1. Patakh beneath the first root consonant.
2. Dagesh in the second root consonant.
PNG
Imperative
2ms
2fs
2mp
2fp
Qal
‫ּקטׁל‬
‫ִּקטְ ִָּלי‬
‫ִּקטְ לּו‬
ָ‫ּקְ טׁ ְָּל ָּנ‬
‫ה‬
‫ּקְ טׁל‬
Piel
(you) kill!
(you) kill!
(you) kill!
(you) kill!
‫ַק ֵּטל‬
‫ַקטְ ִָּלי‬
‫ַקטְ לּו‬
‫ַק ֵּט ְָּלנָה‬
(you) slaughter!
(you) slaughter!
(you) slaughter!
(you) slaughter!
‫ ַק ֵּטל‬slaughtering
Infinitive Absolute
‫ ַק ֵּטל‬to kill
to
kill
‫קָ טֹול‬
‫ ַקטֹול‬absolute are identical.
The Piel infinitive construct and one form of the Piel infinitive
Infinitive Construct
killing
Additionally, they both match the form of the 2ms imperative. Context!
The Piel Participle
The diagnostic features of the Piel participle are:
1. Mem prefix.
2. Shewa vowel beneath the mem prefix.
3. Patakh beneath the first root consonant.
4. Dagesh in the second root consonant.
PNG
Active Participle
ms
fs
mp
fp
Qal
‫ק ֵֹּטל‬
‫ק ֹטלת‬
‫ק ֹטְ ִלי‬
‫ם‬
‫ק ֹטְ לֹו‬
‫ת‬
Piel
killing
killing
killing
killing
‫מְ ַק ֵּטל‬
‫מְ ַקטלָּת‬
‫מְ ַקטְ ִָּלים‬
‫מְ ַקטְ לֹות‬
slaughtering
slaughtering
slaughtering
slaughtering
The Piel II and III Guttural
Compare the II-guttural with virtual doubling (‫)בער‬, II-guttural with compensatory lengthening
(‫)מאן‬, and III-guttural (‫ )ׁשלח‬Piel verb paradigms with the standard Piel paradigm. (handout)
II-guttural Piel verbs do not have a dagesh in the second root consonant since guttural
consonants do not take a dagesh.
The first II-guttural example (‫ )בער‬has an ayin as the second root consonant, causing
virtual doubling; that is, the ayin refuses the dagesh but the previous consonant’s vowel
does not lengthen.
The second II-guttural example (‫ )מאן‬has an aleph as the second root consonant, causing
compensatory lengthening; that is, the aleph refuses the dagesh, causing the vowel of the
first root consonant to lengthen to a tsere in the perfect and to a qamets in the other
conjugations.
The III-guttural example (‫ )ׁשלח‬displays all of the Piel strong diagnostic features. In this
case, the vowel of the second root consonant is a patakh, not a tsere, except when
reduced to a shewa consistent with the principles of vowel reduction.
The Piel Geminate
In the geminate perfect, the dagesh is missing from the second root consonant of the
3fs and 3cp. For example: (3fs perfect) ‫הִ לְ לָה‬
In the geminate imperfect, the dagesh is missing from the second root consonant of the
2fs, 3mp and 2mp. For example: (2fs imperfect) ‫תְ הַ לְ לִ י‬
In the geminate imperative, the dagesh is missing from the second root consonant of
the 2fs and 2mp. For example: (2fs imperative) ‫הַ לְ לִ י‬
The Piel III-Aleph
Notice that the III-aleph does not take a shewa when the third root consonant normally
reduces to a shewa before a suffix. This difference does not affect the diagnostic
characteristics of the Piel.
For example: (1cs perfect) ‫ ִמלֵּאתִ י‬instead of (1cs perfect Qal) ‫ִקטַ לְ תִ י‬
In the III-aleph perfect, the vowel of the second root consonant is a tsere instead of a
patakh.
For example: (2fp perfect) ‫ ִמלֵּאתֶ ן‬instead of (2fp perfect Qal) ‫ִקטַ לְ תֶ ן‬
Otherwise, all diagnostic characteristics of the standard Piel are exhibited in the IIIaleph Piel.
The Piel III-He
In the III-he perfect, the second root consonant vowel is a qamets or hireq yod.
For example: (2ms perfect)
ָָּ ‫עִ נ‬
‫ִית‬
or (3ms perfect)
‫עִ נָה‬
It is important to recognize the loss of the III-he in those conjugations with a suffix.
Recall lessons 12, 31, and 38 of the Lambdin textbook, where we studied Qal III-he
verbs and learned the effects of a suffix on the III-he.
Otherwise, all diagnostic characteristics of the standard Piel are exhibited in the III-he
Piel.