8. Remember that certain patterns
can create predictable variations.
This slideshow focuses on core
patterns. It does not illustrate every
possible variation.
8
10. The "לPassive Participle
The "לpassive participle
appears over 950 times in the
# ,תַּנ%״but other forms of the "ל
passive are very rare.
10
12. The ms "לpassive participle
looks like the 3ms "לactive
perfect, but with וּas R2’s vowel:
#בָּר
ַ 3ms active perfect
# בָּר
וּ ms passive participle
12
13. The plural and feminine participles
inflect like the "לactive participle,
with predictable vowel changes:
# בָּר
וּ ms participle
וּ ה
ָבּר כ ְ fs participle
ים
ִבּרכ
ְֻ mp participle
בּרכ וֹתְֻ
fp participle 13
14. Note that R2 tends to take a
שׁוּ8קin the singular and a
;בּוּץin the plural, though
this isn’t a firm rule. Either
vowel can be used.
14
15. The "לpassive participle can
serve as a noun. For example,
the כin # תַּנ%״stands for ,כְּת=בִים
“Writings” (i.e., “[things that
have been] written”).
15
16. The "לpassive participle can
also serve as an adjective, as
in ,כָּל–הָאָלָה כְּתוּבָה בַּסֵּפֶר הַזֶּה
“every curse written on this
scroll” (Deut 29:19).
16
17. Rare "לPassive Forms
Alert! Most readers of the #תַּנ%״
need only learn the "לpassive
participle. The "לpassive perfect
and imperfect occur, but they’re
very rare.
17
18. Therefore, you don’t really need
to learn the information the
following pages supply. They’re
given here for those inquiring
minds who want to know more.
18
19. Recognizing "לPassive Perfects
The "לpassive perfect is
characterized by R1 taking a
;בּוּץand R2 gaining a .דָּגֵשׁ
19
20. ֻּ
ל"ח
The suffix ל ה
י ֻ ְד
ָּ R1’s ;בּוּץand
indicates R2’s דָּגֵשׁindicate
a perfect. ָהְתּIל
ֻּ
a "לpassive.
תֶּםJַ לּ ֻי
20
21. In words where R2 rejects
the ,דָּגֵשׁR1’s vowel becomes
a חוֹלֶםinstead of a .;בּוּץ
21
22. The "לpassive perfect and פֻּעַל
perfect look alike. Fortunately,
since both express passive
voice, any confusion between
them rarely affects the sense.
22
23. If you need to precisely identify
a particular verb as a "לpassive
perfect or a פֻּעַלperfect, look it
up in a lexicon.
23
24. Recognizing "לPassive Imperfects
The "לpassive imperfect
is quite rare—fewer than
25 instances in the #.תַּנ%״
24
25. All שִׁיםNָ שׁused in the "ל
passive imperfect exhibit a
“weakness”—such as a נas R1,
וor יas R2 (biconsonantal), or
R2 = R3 (geminate)—and
therefore the patterns vary.
25
26. On the other hand, all but one of
the "לpassive imperfects in the
# תַּנ%״are 3ms or 2ms, which is
convenient for those trying to
learn this conjugation.
26
27. The most consistent feature
of the "לpassive imperfect
is the u-class prefix vowel,
normally a .;בּוּץ
27
28. That u-class vowel is supplied
by the "לpassive conjugation.
All of the other variations are
based on characteristics of
the .שֹׁ8שׁ
28
29. Over half of the "לpassive
imperfects in the # תַּנ%״are
instances of a שֹׁ8שׁthat has
נin R1, or of ( לקחwhich
behaves like a 1- נverb).
29
30. As usual, R1’s ( נor לin )לקחwill
undergo aphaeresis (disappear)
in the prefix pattern, and R2 will
compensate by taking a .דָּגֵשׁ
30
31. The rest of the "לpassive
imperfects are split between
biconsonantal verbs (R2 = וor )י
and geminate verbs (R2 = R3). Of
these, biconsonantal verbs are
more common, by about 2:1.
31
32. Both biconsonantal and geminate
verbs in the "לpassive imperfect
will lose R2 to aphaeresis, and the
prefix’s vowel will be ( שׁוּ8קor,
for some biconsonantal verbs,
.)חִי8ק מָלֵאGeminate verbs also
gain a דָּגֵשׁin R1 if possible.
32
33. י ֻקַּח
1
The u-class
The affixes 1 תַּן
ֻי prefix vowel
indicate an 2 י וּ שַׁת indicates
imperfect.
3 תּ וּ שַּׁד
a "לpassive.
נ
1 R = 2 Biconsonantal 3 Geminate
1
33
34. The "לpassive imperfect and
הָפְעַלimperfect can look alike.
Fortunately, since both express
passive voice, any confusion
between them rarely affects
the sense.
34
35. If you need to precisely identify
a particular verb as either "ל
passive imperfect or הָפְעַל
imperfect, look it up in a lexicon.
35
36. Summary
All forms
ל"ח
ֻּ
3ms perfect have u-class
י קַּח
ֻ 3ms imperfect vowels, but
וּ
# בָּר ms participle in different
places.
36
37. Credits
Dead Sea photo by Wikimedia Commons contributor
Xta11. Used under a CC-SA license.
All other content by Dr. Chris Heard, Associate
Professor of Religion, Pepperdine University.
Released under a CC-BY license.
Grammatical terminology used in this presentation
follows J. Cook and R. Holmstedt, Beginning Biblical
Hebrew (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013).