Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Pere Porta <pporta7 AT gmail.com>]

 Why Niph'al Infinitives construct have dagesh in the first root consonant?

We have, for some examples,

HiGaMeL, be weaned (Gn 21:8)
(l)HiNaCel, (to) be delivered (Hb 2:9)
(b)HiNaGeF, (in) to be smitten (1K 8:33)

Look also at (k)HiMeS, (as) to melt (Ps 68:3)

As we often saw, usually the dagesh shows the doubling of a consonant, so
that we could say that dagesh = c + c -------- (c = consonant).

But in the Niph'al Infinitives (*)... which is the function of this dagesh?
What does this dagesh mean here?
Is this dagesh put here to distinguish this pattern from other similar
patterns?

Remark: The hiriq of prefix Hi- is rendered by a yud in the unvowelized
script.

(*) And also in the Niph'al Infinitive absolute (look at Ex 22:3 or at Jr
25:29) and in the Niph'al Imperative (look at Gn 19:17; Is 7:4...)

Regards from

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