Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Maurice A. O'Sullivan" <mauros AT iol.ie>]

At 20:26 11/09/2004, wattswestmaas wrote:

> but for example we have genesis21:32 a niphal
> third plural VERB and prov 2:22 identical except for the sere underneath the
> resh but nevertheless identical.

No, they are not identical.
You  have overlooked the very feature which denotes a niphal imperfect form 
-- the doubling of the first root consonant.
This, as Lambdin points out ( s. 141 ) " is the most striking 
characteristic of the type in general ". Or as the Biblical Hebrew 
Reference grammar plainly puts it: >> The doubling occurs as a result of 
the assimilation of the nun of the Niphal with the first stem consonant <<

As has already been pointed out to you, there are no niphal verbs in Gn. 
21:32 -- all three are Qual imperfects.



Maurice A. O'Sullivan
mauros AT iol.ie

"When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know 
a thing, to allow that you do not know it: This is knowledge."
Confucius