# BBH Chapter 22 — Qal Participle (Active and Passive)

## Files

### Reference Files

File | Description
--- | ---
participle-paradigms.md | Full paradigm tables: Strong A/B, III-ה, Biconsonantal, I-י, I-נ, I-aleph active; passive participle (qatûl) full inflection; active vs. passive summary

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch22-parsing-drill/ | 32-item drill: Part A (strong active ptc., all inflections), Part B (weak root active ptc.), Part C (passive ptc.), Part D (discrimination vs. Perfect, Imperfect, IC, IA)
exercises/ch22-passage-exercise/ | 15-item passage exercise: Gen 3/4/14/18/37, Exo 3/6, Lev 2/25, Num 14/27, Deu 9 — all four participle functions across Torah
exercises/ch22-qal-participle-paradigm-drill/ | Paradigm drill — write all 8 Qal Participle forms of שמר (active and passive) from memory

### Flashcards

File | Format | Description
--- | --- | ---
ch22-morphology-deck.md | Markdown | 32-card morphology deck — Qal Participle (Active and Passive) with root class groupings
ch22-morphology-deck.txt | Anki import | Morphology deck — tab-separated, ready for Anki File → Import (32 cards)
ch22-morphology-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe | Morphology deck — tab-separated, ready for Flashcards Deluxe import (32 cards)
ch22-vocab-deck.md | Markdown | Vocabulary deck — 13 words (9 verbs, 4 nouns) with POS tags and frequency
ch22-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Anki File → Import (13 cards)
ch22-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe | Vocabulary deck — tab-separated, ready for Flashcards Deluxe import (13 cards)

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
Qal Stem | Qal stem: active and passive participle distribution; dominant participial roots
Syntactic Roles OT | Syntactic roles: participles as subjects and predicates in OT prose

Basics of Biblical Hebrew, Pratico & Van Pelt
Data: MACULA Hebrew WLC (~5,992 Qal Participle tokens OT-wide)

## 1. Function (BBH §22.2)

The Participle is a verbal adjective — it has the properties of both a verb (it can take objects and express ongoing action) and an adjective (it agrees with a noun in gender and number, can appear in construct, and can function as a substantive). Unlike finite verbs, the participle does not express tense by itself; temporal meaning comes from context.

### Active Participle

Function | Description | Example
--- | --- | ---
Attributive adjective | Modifies a noun; agrees in gender, number, state | הָאִ֥ישׁ הַשֹּׁמֵ֖ר — "the man who is keeping / the keeping man"
Predicate adjective | Stands in a verbless clause | הָאִ֥ישׁ שֹׁמֵ֖ר — "the man is keeping"
Substantive (noun) | Functions as a noun itself | הַשֹּׁמֵ֖ר — "the guardian / the one who keeps"
Progressive present | Expresses ongoing action in narrative | הִנֵּ֥ה אָנֹכִ֖י שֹׁלֵ֣חַ — "Behold, I am sending"
Imminent future | After הִנֵּה or other markers, signals impending action | —
Occupational / habitual | Describes someone by what they regularly do | רֹעֶ֛ה צֹאן — "shepherd" (one who herds sheep)

### Passive Participle

Function | Description | Example
--- | --- | ---
Attributive adjective | Modifies a noun; describes the result of an action | אֶ֖רֶץ בְּרוּכָ֥ה — "a blessed land"
Predicate adjective | Verbless clause: describes a state | בָּר֥וּךְ אַבְרָ֖ם — "Abram is blessed"
Substantive | Functions as a noun | הָאָר֥וּר — "the cursed one"
Resultant state | Describes the state left by a completed action | כָּת֥וּב בַּתּוֹרָ֖ה — "written in the Torah"

> Key diagnostic: Active participle → holem-waw + tsere (strong A: שֹׁמֵר). Passive participle → shureq + holem (שָׁמ֥וּר). The vowel pattern is the primary identifier. Participles inflect for gender and number like adjectives.

## 2. Form — Diagnostic Markers (BBH §22.3–22.5)

### Active Participle

- Strong root (A-class): שֹׁמֵר (ms) — holem-waw on R1 + tsere on R2
- Strong root (B-class / gutt. R3): שֹׁמֵ֣עַ — holem-waw + tsere + patach before guttural
- Feminine singular: שֹׁמֶ֫רֶת or שֹׁמְרָה — ת suffix (segholate-like) or ָה suffix
- Masculine plural: שֹׁמְרִים — holem-waw + shewa + R3 + ִים
- Feminine plural: שֹׁמְרוֹת — וֹת suffix
- III-ה roots: עֹשֶׂה (ms) — holem-waw + seghol + ה (retained)
- Biconsonantal roots: בָּא (ms) / קָם (ms) — qamets + final consonant; long vowel preserved
- I-י roots: יוֹשֵׁב (ms) — yod + holem-waw + tsere; yod visible (contrast IC)
- Hollow/Biconsonantal: מֵת (ms, מות) — tsere + taw
- I-aleph (אמר): אֹמֵ֣ר — holem-waw on aleph + tsere

### Passive Participle

- Strong root (A-class): שָׁמ֥וּר (ms) — qamets + shureq; qatûl pattern
- Feminine singular: שְׁמוּרָ֥ה — shewa + shureq + ָה
- Masculine plural: שְׁמוּרִ֥ים — shewa + shureq + ִים
- III-ה roots: בָּר֥וּךְ (בּרך, Piel ptc passive) / נָת֥וּן — III-ה: וּ + ן ending
- Common lexicalized forms: בָּר֥וּךְ ("blessed"), אָר֥וּר ("cursed"), כָּת֥וּב ("written"), נָת֥וּן ("given")

## 3. Paradigm

Full paradigm tables are in the paradigm reference file.

Form | BBH § | Notes
--- | --- | ---
Active Ptc. — Strong roots | §22.3 | Holem-waw + tsere pattern
Active Ptc. — Weak roots | §22.4 | III-ה, Biconsonantal, I-י
Passive Ptc. — All roots | §22.5 | Qatûl pattern (qamets + shureq)
Full inflection table | §22.3 | ms / fs / mp / fp with construct forms

## 4. Real Forms — שָׁמַר

### Active Participle

Form | Hebrew | Gloss | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
ms absolute | שֹׁמֵ֖ר | "keeping / one who keeps" | Holem-waw + tsere; most common form
ms construct | שֹׁמֵ֖ר | "keeper of…" | Same as absolute in strong roots
fs absolute | שֹׁמֶ֫רֶת | "keeping (fs) / female keeper" | ת suffix with seghol-seghol
mp absolute | שֹׁמְרִ֖ים | "keeping (pl.) / keepers" | Holem-waw + shewa + ִים
fp absolute | שֹׁמְרוֹת | "keeping (fp)" | וֹת suffix
mp construct | שֹׁמְרֵ֖י | "keepers of…" | Tsere-yod in construct
+ definite article | הַשֹּׁמֵ֖ר | "the one who keeps / the guardian" | Dagesh in שׁ after ה

### Passive Participle

Form | Hebrew | Gloss | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
ms absolute | שָׁמ֥וּר | "kept / guarded" | Qamets + shureq (qatûl)
fs absolute | שְׁמוּרָ֥ה | "kept (fs)" | Shewa + shureq + ָה
mp absolute | שְׁמוּרִ֥ים | "kept (mp)" | Shewa + shureq + ִים
fp absolute | שְׁמוּרוֹת | "kept (fp)" | Shewa + shureq + וֹת

## 5. Most Common Lemmas — Qal Active Participle in the Torah

Corpus: Genesis–Deuteronomy · 930 Qal active participle tokens

Root | ms Form | Torah (×) | Meaning | Common Use
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
נתן | נֹתֵ֥ן | 53 | give | "the one giving / who gives"; often with אֲשֶׁר clause
ישב | יוֹשֵׁ֖ב | 40 | sit, dwell | "the one dwelling in…"; occupational/locative
יצא | יֹצֵ֥א | 34 | go out | "the one going out"; progressive and substantive
עשה | עֹשֶֽׂה | 30 | do, make | "the one doing / maker of"; III-ה form
בוא | בָ֖א | 28 | come, enter | "the one coming / incoming"; biconsonantal
עבר | עֹבֵ֖ר | 21 | pass, cross | "the one passing by"
זוב | זָבַ֥ת | 19 | flow | "flowing with" (land flowing with milk and honey)
הלך | הוֹלֵ֣ךְ | 17 | go, walk | "the one going"; progressive; I-י form with holem-waw
רעה | רֹעֶ֛ה | 17 | shepherd, graze | "shepherd / one who herds"; III-ה form
עמד | עֹמֵ֖ד | 14 | stand | "the one standing"
מות | מֵ֖ת | 13 | die | "the dying one / dead person"
עלה | עֹלֶ֥ה | 10 | go up | "the one going up"; III-ה
גאל | גֹּאֵ֣ל | 10 | redeem | "redeemer / kinsman-redeemer" (Lev, Num)
נשא | נֹשֵׂ֥א | 9 | lift, carry | "bearer / one who carries"
ראה | רֹאֶ֖ה | 9 | see | "seer / the one seeing"

## 6. Most Common Lemmas — Qal Passive Participle in the Torah

Corpus: Genesis–Deuteronomy · 259 Qal passive participle tokens

Root | ms Form | Torah (×) | Meaning | Common Use
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
בלל | בְּלוּלָ֥ה | 38 | mix | "mixed with oil" (Leviticus/Numbers grain offerings)
ארר | אָר֕וּר | 23 | curse | "cursed"; predicate passive ptc. (Gen 3, 4)
ברך | בָּר֥וּךְ | 17 | bless | "blessed"; predicate passive ptc. (Gen 12, 14, 24)
פקד | פְּקוּדֵ֥י | 13 | number, appoint | "the ones numbered" (Num — census lists)
נתן | נְתֻנִ֨ים | 8 | give | "the given ones" (Levites given to Aaron)
חלץ | חֲל֥וּץ | 8 | arm, equip | "armed / equipped" (Num military context)
רבע | רָב֤וּעַ | 6 | square | "square" (altar dimensions in Exo)
כתב | כְּתֻבִ֖ים | 5 | write | "written"
נטה | נְטוּיָ֔ה | 4 | stretch out | "outstretched" (outstretched arm formula)
משח | מְשֻׁחִ֣ים | 4 | anoint | "anointed"

## 7. Example Passages

### Active Participle — Attributive

Attributive — Gen 37:2 — וְה֗וּא נַ֛עַר אֶת-בְּנֵ֥י בִלְהָ֖ה וְאֶת-בְּנֵ֣י זִלְפָּ֑ה נְשֵׁ֣י אָבִ֔יו וַיָּבֵ֥א יוֹסֵ֛ף אֶת-דִּבָּתָ֥ם רָעָ֖ה אֶל-אֲבִיהֶֽם׃
"…he was a youth, and he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives."

Attributive — Exo 3:2 — וְהִנֵּ֤ה הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְהַסְּנֶ֖ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ אֻכָּֽל׃
"…behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed."
→ בֹּעֵ֣ר = Qal active ptc. ms of בער ("burn"); attributive; describes the state of the bush.

### Active Participle — Predicate / Verbless Clause

Predicate — Gen 18:1 — וְהוּא יֹשֵׁ֤ב פֶּֽתַח-הָאֹ֙הֶל֙
"…while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent."
→ יֹשֵׁ֤ב = Qal active ptc. ms of ישב; predicate use in a circumstantial clause; describes Abraham's ongoing posture.

Predicate — Gen 16:8 — מִזֶּ֣ה בָ֔את וְאָ֖נָה תֵּלֵ֑כִי
"Where have you come from and where are you going?"

### Active Participle — Substantive (Noun)

Substantive — Gen 4:9 — הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר אָחִ֖י אָנֹֽכִי
"Am I my brother's keeper?"
→ שֹׁמֵ֥ר = Qal active ptc. ms of שמר used as a noun ("keeper"); direct question in a verbless clause.

Substantive — Lev 25:25 — וּבָ֤א גֹאֲל֔וֹ הַקָּרֹ֥ב אֵלָ֖יו
"…then his redeemer, the one who is near to him, shall come."
→ גֹּאֵ֣ל = Qal active ptc. ms of גאל as a substantive; "kinsman-redeemer"; one of the most theologically significant participle-nouns in the OT.

### Active Participle — Progressive Present (after הִנֵּה)

Progressive — Gen 15:3 — הִנֵּ֛ה לִ֥י לֹ֖א נָתַ֣תָּה זָ֑רַע
"Behold, you have given me no offspring…"

Progressive — Exo 3:13 — הִנֵּ֥ה אָנֹכִ֛י שֹׁלֵ֥חַ מַלְאָ֖ךְ לְפָנֶ֑יךָ
"Behold, I am sending an angel before you."
→ שֹׁלֵ֥חַ = Qal active ptc. ms of שלח; after הִנֵּה = imminent/progressive; God's announcement of the present-tense action.

### Active Participle — Occupational/Title

Title — Gen 4:20 — הָיָ֥ה אֲבִ֛י יֹשֵׁ֥ב אֹ֖הֶל וּמִקְנֶֽה
"He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock."
→ יֹשֵׁ֥ב = Qal active ptc. ms of ישב as a title/occupational noun; "tent-dwellers."

### Passive Participle — Predicate ("Blessed" / "Cursed" Formulas)

Passive predicate — Gen 3:14 — אָר֤וּר אַתָּה֙ מִכָּל-הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה
"Cursed are you more than all livestock."
→ אָר֤וּר = Qal passive ptc. ms of ארר; predicate: "you are cursed"; a fixed liturgical formula throughout Genesis.

Passive predicate — Gen 14:19 — בָּר֤וּךְ אַבְרָם֙ לְאֵ֣ל עֶלְי֔וֹן
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High."
→ בָּר֤וּךְ = Qal passive ptc. ms of ברך; blessing formula; one of 17 Torah occurrences.

### Passive Participle — Attributive

Attributive — Deu 9:10 — וַיִּתֵּ֨ן יְהוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י אֶת-שְׁנֵ֛י לוּחֹ֥ת הָאֲבָנִ֖ים כְּתֻבִ֣ים בְּאֶצְבַּ֣ע אֱלֹהִ֑ים
"And the LORD gave me the two stone tablets written with the finger of God."
→ כְּתֻבִ֣ים = Qal passive ptc. mp of כתב; attributive; agrees with לוּחֹ֥ת (mp).

Attributive — Exo 6:6 — בִּזְר֥וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֖ה
"…with an outstretched arm."
→ נְטוּיָ֖ה = Qal passive ptc. fs of נטה; attributive; modifies זְרוֹעַ (arm, fs); the "outstretched arm" formula appears 15+ times in the Torah.

## 8. Conjugation Distribution — Qal (OT-wide)

Conjugation | Count | % of Qal
--- | --- | ---
Consecutive Perfect (Weqatal) | 10,979 | 23.7%
Perfect (Qatal) | 9,245 | 19.9%
Imperfect (Yiqtol) | 7,914 | 17.0%
Active Participle | 5,078 | 10.9%
Infinitive Construct | 4,029 | 8.7%
Consecutive Imperfect (Wayyiqtol) | 3,987 | 8.6%
Imperative | 2,531 | 5.5%
Passive Participle | 914 | 2.0%
Jussive | 740 | 1.6%
Infinitive Absolute | 489 | 1.1%

> Teaching note: The Qal active participle (5,078 tokens, 10.9%) is the fourth most common Qal conjugation — more frequent than the Infinitive Construct. The passive participle (914 tokens, 2.0%) is rarer but highly concentrated: the three most common forms (בְּלוּלָ֥ה, אָר֕וּר, בָּר֥וּךְ) account for nearly a third of all Torah passive participle tokens, appearing in the grain offering formulas and the blessing/curse liturgies.

## 9. Parsing Quick Reference

Form | Root | Pattern | Gloss | Notes
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
שֹׁמֵ֖ר | שמר | Strong A · Act. Ptc. ms | "one who keeps" | Holem-waw + tsere
שֹׁמֶ֫רֶת | שמר | Strong A · Act. Ptc. fs | "one who keeps (fs)" | ת + seghol
שֹׁמְרִ֖ים | שמר | Strong A · Act. Ptc. mp | "keepers" | + ִים; shewa R2
שֹׁמְרוֹת | שמר | Strong A · Act. Ptc. fp | "keepers (fp)" | + וֹת
שָׁמ֥וּר | שמר | Strong A · Pass. Ptc. ms | "kept" | Qamets + shureq (qatûl)
שְׁמוּרִ֥ים | שמר | Strong A · Pass. Ptc. mp | "kept (mp)" | Shewa + shureq + ִים
עֹשֶֽׂה | עשה | III-ה · Act. Ptc. ms | "one who does" | Holem-waw + seghol + ה
יוֹשֵׁ֖ב | ישב | I-י · Act. Ptc. ms | "one who dwells" | Yod + holem-waw + tsere
הוֹלֵ֣ךְ | הלך | I-י · Act. Ptc. ms | "the one going" | Holem-waw on ה; yod-form
בָ֖א | בוא | Biconsonantal · Act. Ptc. ms | "one who comes" | Qamets + aleph quiesces
מֵ֖ת | מות | Biconsonantal · Act. Ptc. ms | "dying / dead" | Tsere + taw
נֹתֵ֥ן | נתן | I-נ · Act. Ptc. ms | "giver / one who gives" | Holem-waw + tsere; nun retained
גֹּאֵ֣ל | גאל | Strong A · Act. Ptc. ms | "redeemer" | Holem-waw + tsere; substantive
רֹעֶ֛ה | רעה | III-ה · Act. Ptc. ms | "shepherd" | Holem-waw + seghol + ה
אָר֕וּר | ארר | Geminate · Pass. Ptc. ms | "cursed" | Qamets + shureq; lexicalized
בָּר֥וּךְ | ברך | Strong A · Pass. Ptc. ms | "blessed" | Qamets + shureq
כָּת֥וּב | כתב | Strong A · Pass. Ptc. ms | "written" | Qamets + shureq
בְּלוּלָ֥ה | בלל | Geminate · Pass. Ptc. fs | "mixed" | Shewa + shureq + ָה; grain offerings
נְטוּיָ֖ה | נטה | III-ה · Pass. Ptc. fs | "outstretched" | Shewa + shureq + יָה