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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] HITPAEL as mutual action

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  • From: Vadim Cherny <him AT vadimcherny.org>
  • To: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • Cc: B-Hebrew Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] HITPAEL as mutual action
  • Date: Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:40:30 +0300

IMO, all instances of hitpael in Hebrew are reflexive: doing something to someone or, more specifically, to cause someone to cause something. That is the only plausible interpretation of the suffix ht = hh, two casuatives (double hiphil, so to say).
That sense of reflective action is obfuscated in translation because equivalent English words lack the sense of reflexion, but I venture that careful examination shows such sense for every hitpael.

Vadim Cherny

Isaac Fried wrote:
In present day Hebrew the BINYAN of HITPAEL is often used for mutual action, for example, HIT-XABQ-U, 'they embraced, XBQ, each other'. Is there an instance of similar usage in the Hebrew bible?

Isaac Fried, Boston University







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