Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

It appears to me so too, that HITPAEL is reserved for an act done by  
an actor upon himself, but then there is the example of TIT-RA)-U of  
Genesis 42:1, brought by Jason, and also WA-YI-TRA)-U PANIM, 'faced  
each other, looked one another in the face', of 2 Kings 14:11. Is, in  
light of this supposed nature of HITPAEL, the literal translation of  
WA-YI-TRA)-U, 'each showed his own face (to the other)'? Is there a  
case in the Hebrew bible where HITPAEL, in the singular, can be  
construed as a mutual (HADADI) action? Is HIT-XATEN such an example?
As I said, spoken Hebrew has HIT-XABEK, 'he was engaged in hugging  
someone who hugged him back',  which is by now fully entrenched and  
even condoned.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Mar 31, 2009, at 7:40 PM, Vadim Cherny wrote:

> 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