BBH Chapter 32 — Pual Strong Verbs (פֻּעַל)

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Basics of Biblical Hebrew, Pratico & Van Pelt, Chapter 32

1. Function

The Pual (פֻּעַל) is the passive of the Piel — the passive intensive stem of Biblical Hebrew.

Key diagnostic: The Pual is identified by two co-occurring markers: (1) Qibbuts (ֻ) under R1 (the first root consonant) and (2) Dagesh Forte in R2 (the second root consonant). Both must be present. The Piel's characteristic Dagesh Forte in R2 is retained in the Pual; the vowel under R1 shifts from i-class (Piel: Hireq/Patach) to u-class (Pual: Qibbuts).

Exception — when R2 = ר: The letter ר rejects Dagesh Forte. When the second root consonant is ר, the missing dagesh triggers compensatory lengthening: the Qibbuts under R1 lengthens to Qamets (ָ). So מְבֹרָךְ ("blessed," Pual Participle of ברך) shows Qamets under מְבֹ rather than the expected Qibbuts.

2. Form — Diagnostic Markers

3. Paradigm Tables

The Pual paradigm follows the strong root קטל model. Since no separate paradigm file has been generated for Ch32 yet, key forms are shown inline below.

Strong root paradigm (model root קטל):

ר-root paradigm (root ברך — R2 = ר, which rejects Dagesh Forte):

Teaching note: The Pual Participle mְקֻטָּל is one of the most important forms to master. Compare: Piel Participle מְקַטֵּל (Patach under R1 + Tsere under R2) versus Pual Participle מְקֻטָּל (Qibbuts under R1 + Dagesh in R2 + Qamets under R2) versus Hophal Participle מוּקְטַל (Shureq after מ). All three begin with מ but the vowel distinction is decisive.

4. Real Forms — כֻּבַּד (כבד) and מְבֹרָךְ (ברך)

Root כבד — "to be honored/made heavy" (Pual of כִּבֵּד "to honor") — strong root, ~10 Pual occurrences

Isa 43:23 note: לֹא כֻבַּדְתַּנִי בְּקָרְבָּנֶיךָ — "You have not honored me with your offerings." The form כֻּבַּדְתַּנִי is a Pual Perfect 2ms with 1cs pronominal suffix. The Qibbuts under כ and Dagesh Forte in בּ are the twin Pual markers on a strong root; the תַּנִי ending = 2ms afformative (תָּ) + 1cs object suffix (נִי).

Root ברך — "to be blessed" (Pual of בֵּרַךְ "to bless") — ר-root: compensatory lengthening; ~100 Pual occurrences

Two Pual Participle forms of ברך: The form with מְ prefix (מְבֹרָךְ) is the full participial form. The form without מְ (בָּרוּךְ) is the same Pual Participle used substantivally or predicatively — it is not a separate form. Both show Qamets under the בּ (compensatory for ר refusing dagesh). The בָּרוּךְ formula ("Blessed is…") in Genesis and Numbers is always Pual Participle.

5. Most Common Pual Lemmas — Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

Frequency note: The Pual occurs approximately 423 times in the OT — comparable to the Hophal (~419). Its distribution in the Torah is concentrated in genealogical formulas (יֻלַּד), blessing formulas (מְבֹרָךְ / בָּרוּךְ), and Tabernacle/legal contexts (נֻתְּנוּ, צֻוָּה). The Piel's high frequency in Torah (~1,800 tokens) means its passive the Pual, while less common, appears in precisely the texts where passive expression of blessing, birth, consecration, and commission is needed.

6. Example Passages

Passive of Intensive (Pual of Intensive Piel)

Participle — Num 22:6
כִּ֣י יָדַ֗עְתִּי אֵ֤ת אֲשֶׁר־תְּבָרֵךְ מְבֹרָ֔ךְ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּאֹ֖ר יוּאָֽר׃
"…for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed."
→ ברך Pual+Participle+ms; מְבֹרָךְ is the Pual Participle of ברך. Because R2 = ר (which cannot take Dagesh Forte), Qibbuts lengthens compensatorily to Holem (מְבֹ) and the Dagesh is absent. The Piel תְּבָרֵךְ ("you bless") immediately precedes the Pual participle ("is blessed") — an active/passive pairing in a single clause.

Participle (substantival) — Num 22:12
לֹ֥א תֵלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּהֶ֑ם לֹ֥א תָאֹ֖ר אֶת־הָעָ֑ם כִּ֥י בָר֖וּךְ הֽוּא׃
"You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
→ ברך Pual+Participle+ms; בָּרוּךְ is the same Pual Participle without the מְ prefix — used predicatively ("they are blessed"). The Qamets under בּ (< expected Qibbuts) is the ר-compensation; no Dagesh in ר. This בָּרוּךְ formula appears dozens of times in Genesis–Numbers as a theological declaration.

Passive of Factitive (Pual of Factitive Piel)

Perfect — Isa 43:23
לֹ֥א כֻבַּ֖דְתָּנִי בְּקָרְבָּנֶ֑יךָ
"You have not honored me with your offerings."
→ כבד Pual+Perfect+2ms+1cs suffix; כֻּבַּדְתַּנִי is the paradigm Pual Perfect on a fully strong root. The Qibbuts under כ (R1) and Dagesh Forte in בּ (R2) are unambiguous Pual markers — nothing compensatory, nothing irregular. The Piel כִּבֵּד means "to honor/make heavy"; the Pual passivizes: "to be honored." The suffix נִי is the 1cs object ("me"), making the full meaning: "you have not made me honored."

Imperfect — Gen 10:1 (יֻלַּד formula)
אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת בְּנֵי נֹחַ שֵׁם חָם וָיָפֶת וַיִּוָּלְדוּ לָהֶם בָּנִים אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל׃
→ The genealogical Pual formula יֻלַּד ("was born/begotten") appears throughout the Table of Nations (Gen 10) and the genealogy of Shem (Gen 11). Root ילד; Piel יִלֵּד means "to give birth to/begot" (factitive — to cause someone to come into existence); Pual יֻלַּד = "was born/was begotten." The Qibbuts under י (R1) and Dagesh Forte in לּ (R2) are the Pual markers.

Passive of Simple Action (Pual of Action-Only Piel)

Perfect — Num 3:9
וְנָתַתָּ֥ה אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֖ם לְאַהֲרֹ֣ן וּלְבָנָ֑יו נְתוּנִ֤ם נְתֻנִים֙ הֵ֔מָּה לוֹ מֵאֵ֖ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
"You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel."
→ נתן Pual+Participle+mp; נְתֻנִים is the Pual Participle masculine plural — "ones given, those who are given." The Qibbuts under נ (R1) and Dagesh Forte in תּ (R2) are the Pual markers in the participle. This verse illustrates the Pual functioning as a passive of the action Piel נִתֵּן ("to give/hand over").

Perfect — Exo 12:16 (צֻוָּה type)
כָּל־מְלָאכָ֥ה לֹֽא־יֵעָשֶׂ֖ה בָהֶ֑ם אַ֚ךְ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵאָכֵ֣ל לְכָל־נֶ֔פֶשׁ הֽוּא־לְבַדּ֖וֹ יֵעָשֶׂ֥ה לָכֶֽם׃
→ Where Pual forms of צוה appear (e.g., כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צֻוָּ֖ה), the form צֻוָּה shows Pual Perfect 3ms: Qibbuts under צ (R1), Dagesh in וּ (R2) — "as was commanded." The Piel צִוָּה ("he commanded") has its passive Pual in legal-narrative contexts where the subject of the command is named without naming the commander.

7. Conjugation Distribution (OT-Wide)

Pual (~423 total tokens)

Teaching note: The Pual Participle (36%) is by far the most common Pual conjugation — this reflects the Pual's heavy use in stative and attributive contexts: מְבֹרָךְ ("blessed"), נְתֻנִים ("given ones"), מְכֻבָּד ("honored"). Unlike the Hophal, whose Imperfect (33%) dominates because of the legal formula יוּמַת, the Pual participle dominates because Hebrew uses passive participles to express lasting states resulting from completed action (Gen 9:26 בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה, Num 22:12 כִּי בָרוּךְ הוּא). The Pual has no Imperative — a passive stem cannot be commanded.

8. Pual vs. Hophal — Distinguishing Two Passive Stems

Both the Pual and Hophal are passive stems. Both can produce Participles beginning with מ and a u-class vowel. The differences are systematic:

Quick test: Look at the Participle prefix:
- מְ + ֻ under R1 + dagesh in R2 → Pual (passive of Piel)
- מוּ or מֻ with no dagesh in R2 → Hophal (passive of Hiphil)

Look at the Perfect:
- No prefix consonant + ֻ under R1 + dagesh in R2 → Pual
- הוּ/הֻ prefix + Patach under R2, no R2 dagesh → Hophal

The Dagesh Forte in R2 is the decisive separator. It persists in the Pual because the Pual inherits it from the Piel; it is absent in the Hophal (which is related to the Hiphil, which has no such dagesh requirement).

9. Summary: Identifying the Pual