Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Dear Trevor:

I wonder how many people in this mailing list are in the same situation as I? 
After I left school, about 35 years ago, all I had was the Tanakh and a 
couple of dictionaries, and no access to scholarly literature. To a large 
extent, that is still my situation, though the internet is starting to change 
things.

Before I saw it in a message on this list, I never heard of a Binyan. How 
does it differ from an inflexion? Now you mention a t-binyan: I thought from 
the context of its use I might understand binyan, but after your response I 
realize I don’t.

The class I attended had said that the verb is the root, a teaching 
strengthened by such as Davidson’s Analytical Lexicon, which listed all its 
entries under verb/roots. Now you say they are different, how and why? What’s 
the difference between a root and a stem?

What is the definitional difference between a Qal and Piel? The Hiphil and 
Hophal are recognizable in that they are causitive, the Hithpael in that it 
is reflexive. But what definitional pattern is there that lets me know when 
to use a Qal and when a Piel? The class I had was vague on this difference, 
and my reading hasn’t strengthened it. If anything, it weakened it. That’s 
why I asked my original question.

Other than the notation system (Qamets, Holem, Shewa, etc.), I don’t claim 
that the Masorites invented anything “out of thin air”. However, they 
invented their notation system to record a tradition as it existed close to a 
millennium after Hebrew ceased to be used in daily life, which leads me to 
question that tradition at times.

Are there online references that I can look up to spare you from having to 
answer these questions?

Thanks for your long answer. I’m sorry I didn’t understand it. The fault lies 
with me.

Karl W. Randolph.
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