Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 18/11/2003 04:41, Trevor Peterson wrote:

> ...
>
> Third, few if any Hebrew roots appear in 
> all possible binyanim. A few minutes skimming through a lexicon should confirm 
> this fact.
See YLD, which occurs in all the basic seven binyanim in MT.


> ... The fact that forms are graphically 
> indistinguishable in a writing system that does not show consonantal 
> lengthening or most vowels should not be taken as indicative of whether or not 
> the forms exist. You say yourself that there are some forms where the 
> distinction can be observed, and we also have to ask whether the Masoretes 
> made up the distinction out of thin air. ...
>  
Masoretic distinctions can often be confirmed by looking at LXX and 
other ancient translations which generally agree with the Masoretic 
distinctions. For example, the Piel of YLD is rare in MT (unusually,the 
Pual is much more common than the Piel) and in fact the only 
non-participial use is Exodus 1:16, but LXX MAIOUSQE confirms that the 
LXX translators read the same causative sense as is indicated by the MT 
Piel. This one might be clear from the context, but there are surely 
other similar cases which are not, where it is clear that the same 
binyan distinction is being made in LXX and MT.

> > I also can’t tell any difference in meaning between Qal and Piel.
> >    
>
> Perhaps you're not looking hard enough, if already think that they are 
> nonexistent or meaningless. A lot of work has been done on the force of the 
> Piel, and I won't rehash it all here.
>  
If Karl can't tell the difference between giving birth and acting as a 
midwife, do we need to start with the birds and the bees?

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/