# Ch12 Verb Overview Exercise

BBH Chapter 12 — Introduction to Hebrew Verbs · 20 items

Part A: For each Hebrew verb form and its gloss, identify (1) the stem, (2) whether it expresses Active, Passive, or Reflexive meaning, and (3) the three-letter root.

Part B: For each English description of an action, identify which Hebrew stem would be used and explain briefly why.

Note: Conjugation and PGN parsing are not required here — those begin in Ch13. Focus on stems and roots.

## Part A — Stem Identification (12 items)

# | Verb | Gloss | Stem | Active / Passive / Reflexive | Root |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | שָׁמַר | "he guarded" |  |  |  |
✓ | שָׁמַר | "he guarded" | Qal | Active | שמר |
2 | כָּתַב | "he wrote" |  |  |  |
✓ | כָּתַב | "he wrote" | Qal | Active | כתב |
3 | נָתַן | "he gave" |  |  |  |
✓ | נָתַן | "he gave" | Qal | Active | נתן | Weak: I-נ and III-נ, but Qal 3ms looks like a strong root here
4 | הָלַךְ | "he walked" |  |  |  |
✓ | הָלַךְ | "he walked" | Qal | Active | הלך | III-guttural (ך), but Qal 3ms is straightforward
5 | נִשְׁמַר | "he was guarded / he kept himself" |  |  |  |
✓ | נִשְׁמַר | "he was guarded / he kept himself" | Niphal | Passive or Reflexive | שמר | Niphal marker: נִ prefix before R1
6 | נִכְתַּב | "it was written" |  |  |  |
✓ | נִכְתַּב | "it was written" | Niphal | Passive | כתב | Niphal marker: נִ prefix
7 | הִשְׁמִיר | "he caused to guard" |  |  |  |
✓ | הִשְׁמִיר | "he caused to guard" | Hiphil | Active (causative) | שמר | Hiphil marker: הִ prefix + tsere/hireq under R2
8 | הוֹלִיךְ | "he caused to walk / he led" |  |  |  |
✓ | הוֹלִיךְ | "he caused to walk / he led" | Hiphil | Active (causative) | הלך | Hiphil of הלך; holem waw in prefix reflects I-ה weak pattern
9 | כִּתֵּב | "he wrote intensively / repeatedly" |  |  |  |
✓ | כִּתֵּב | "he wrote intensively / repeatedly" | Piel | Active (intensive) | כתב | Piel marker: daghesh forte in R2 (ת) + hireq under R1 + tsere under R2
10 | שִׁמֵּר | "he kept carefully / he tended" |  |  |  |
✓ | שִׁמֵּר | "he kept carefully / he tended" | Piel | Active (intensive) | שמר | Piel marker: daghesh forte in R2 (מ) + hireq under R1
11 | כֻּתַּב | "it was written (intensive passive)" |  |  |  |
✓ | כֻּתַּב | "it was written (intensive passive)" | Pual | Passive | כתב | Pual marker: daghesh forte in R2 + qibbuts (u-vowel) under R1
12 | הִתְהַלֵּךְ | "he walked about / to and fro" |  |  |  |
✓ | הִתְהַלֵּךְ | "he walked about / to and fro" | Hithpael | Reflexive | הלך | Hithpael marker: הִתְ prefix; הִתְהַלֵּךְ occurs frequently in Genesis (e.g., Gen 5:24)

## Part B — Meaning to Stem (8 items)

# | Description | Stem | Explanation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | "God caused Abraham to go out from Ur" |  |  |
✓ | "God caused Abraham to go out from Ur" | Hiphil | The Hiphil is the causative active stem — a subject causes someone else to perform the action (here, God causes Abraham to go out). |
2 | "The letter was written by the scribe" (simple passive) |  |  |
✓ | "The letter was written by the scribe" (simple passive) | Niphal | The Niphal is the simple passive (and reflexive) stem — the passive counterpart to the Qal. |
3 | "David walked around in his palace repeatedly" |  |  |
✓ | "David walked around in his palace repeatedly" | Hithpael | The Hithpael of הלך (הִתְהַלֵּךְ) means "to walk about / to move to and fro" — reflexive and intensive action. |
4 | "The king was caused to reign (someone put him on the throne)" |  |  |
✓ | "The king was caused to reign (someone put him on the throne)" | Hophal | The Hophal is the causative passive — the passive counterpart of the Hiphil. Someone caused the king to reign; the king received the causation. |
5 | "She kept/guarded herself" (simple reflexive) |  |  |
✓ | "She kept/guarded herself" (simple reflexive) | Niphal | The Niphal also serves as the simple reflexive when the subject acts on itself without intensive or thoroughgoing connotation. |
6 | "He inscribed over and over" (intensive passive of writing) |  |  |
✓ | "He inscribed over and over" (intensive passive of writing) | Pual | The Pual is the passive counterpart of the Piel. If Piel = intensive active writing, then Pual = intensive passive writing. |
7 | "He killed himself thoroughly / destroyed himself" (reflexive intensive) |  |  |
✓ | "He killed himself thoroughly / destroyed himself" (reflexive intensive) | Hithpael | The Hithpael combines reflexive force with the intensive/thorough quality of the Piel root. It is the reflexive intensive stem. |
8 | "Moses guarded (simple active, base meaning)" |  |  |
✓ | "Moses guarded (simple active, base meaning)" | Qal | The Qal is the base, simple active stem — the unmodified root meaning with no intensification, causation, or reflexivity. |

Reflection Questions

1. The Niphal can be either passive or reflexive. What contextual clues help you decide which meaning is intended? Think of an example from Genesis.
2. Why do you think the Qal is the most frequent stem in the OT (roughly half of all verb tokens), while the Pual and Hophal are comparatively rare?
3. Consider the root הלך ("walk/go"). You see it in the Qal (הָלַךְ), Hiphil (הוֹלִיךְ), and Hithpael (הִתְהַלֵּךְ). How does the stem change the meaning of the same root? What does this tell you about how Hebrew builds meaning systematically?