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b-hebrew - [b-hebrew] There is Qal Passive stem!!!

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  • From: "George Athas" <gathas AT hotkey.net.au>
  • To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] There is Qal Passive stem!!!
  • Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 10:22:24 +1000

> The qal passive idea is simply obfuscation. The only qal passives in the
> Hebrew Bible are participles like BARUK.

Not quite true. There does appear to have been a Qal Passive at a very early
stage of Hebrew. The vestiges of it are seen mostly in the Qal Passive
participle. However, there are a handful of Qal Passive Perfects and
Imperfects,
which are usually mistaken for Pual or Hophal forms. There is a short
discussion
of these in Seow's grammar (2nd Ed), pp.323-24. I'm sure there must be a more
detailed discussion elsewhere, too.

The Niphal is strictly speaking not the passive of the Qal; it has just
assumed
that role in the demise of the Qal Passive. Niphal is passive in sense, but
also
middle/reflexive; it goes beyond a mere passive to the Qal. The true Qal
Passive
would employ O-class vowels, just like the passive stems of Piel (Pual) and
Hiphil (Hophal); the use of O-class vowels is a characteristic of passive
stems,
and the Niphal doesn't follow this rule.

So, to sum up, yes there is a Qal passive stem, but in the biblical forms of
Hebrew it is quite rare.


Best regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
Lecturer of Biblical Languages
Southern Cross College
Sydney, Australia






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