Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yitzhak Sapir <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

z2010/2/8 Randall Buth wrote:

> thank you for these examples and quote. I have one of
> Ben-amotz's dictionaries around here somewhere.
> They do illustrate some nice neologisms and slang,
> though I think that you would agree that hitpu``al has not become a
> general binyan like the nitpa``el of mishnaic Hebrew.

Morphological changes normally take centuries.  The Mishnaic
Hebrew was spoken a long long time before it was written down.
Also, Nitpael served as a variant for Hitpael, and not as an
independent binyan, like Hitquttal.  Perhaps in Mishnaic Hebrew
terms, the other binyanim listed by Schwarzwald such as Nufal
or Hittafel are more appropriate comparisons.  Modern Hebrew
Hitquttal may only be in its initial stages.  As it is now, it is
productive, so that someone can say hitnuddav and I know what
it means even if I never heard the word before.

As for Nitpael, I'm wondering also if some of the passive
hitpaels, such as Qoh 8:10, are actually Nitpaels in Biblical Hebrew
dress.  (See also here, Waltke/O'Connor, 26.1.3, 26.3:
http://books.google.com/books?id=jZlwYGilLW0C&pg=PA429&dq=Distribution
http://books.google.com/books?id=jZlwYGilLW0C&pg=PA431&dq=Passive+Use
But the examples given are problematic.  Prov 31 is spelled
incorrectly and 2 Chr is a duplicate of one in 2 Kings 9:15, and
also here, E. A. Knauf, "Israelite Impact on Judaean Langauge
and Literature", Judah and Judaeans in the Persian Period, p.314 n 125
http://books.google.com/books?id=1zi2i_C1aNkC&pg=PA314&dq=125
Again, I think Qoh 8:10 is the best example).

And regarding Hotpael, the example above in W&O, p. 431 hukkabbes
suggests to me it is perhaps *Honpa``el, with both -u- and -n- marking the
passive.  In any case, the vocalization does not allow reading it as either
Niphal or Pual.

Yitzhak Sapir