[b-hebrew] "Shaf`el" in Hebrew?

Yitzhak Sapir yitzhaksapir at gmail.com
Mon Jan 31 18:13:58 EST 2005


In Semitic Languages: An Introduction (Hebrew), by Chaim Rabin, 1991, 
Biblical Encyclopedia Library, Chaim Rabin makes the following statement (p. 
55): "[In the period of the First Temple,] the `Shafel` causative binyan 
disappears (although there is enough evidence to show it existed) and the 
`Haf`el` that became `Hiph`il` becomes the only causative binyan."  This is all 
very nice, but it seems to me that two points may be made:

1) Canaanite tongues already had Haphel turn to Hiphil previously, based on 
Amarna.  (From Encyclopedia Judaica I found in "Hebrew Language",
16:1566): "The Hebrew causative prefix ha- appears in Amarna as
h_i- (attenuation).  The example is from EA 256:7, h_i-ih_-bi-e; it is
clearly a
hebrew form which is impossible in Akkadian.  The scribe used the Hebrew 
hh.by) ("hekhbi" - hid) for the common Akkadian verb of the same meaning, 
puzzuru."  

2) I am not sure that any other Semitic language has both Haphel and Hiphil.
Rather, it seems to me that Haphel and Hiphil have an H where the Semitic
language has a H for the third person pronouns and an $ where the language
has an $ for the third person pronouns.

So why is he saying that there is enough evidence to show it existed? Have I 
missed something?

Thanks :)
Yitzhak Sapir



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