Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

It appears to me that hif'il is a verbal form composed of a root and two identity markers, or personal pronouns, one for the actor and one for the beneficiary of the act. Thus, השכיב HI-$K-I-B consists of $KB plus an initial היא HIY, 'he', and an internal היא HIY, 'he', contracted to a mere -I-, so as not to add a distracting consonant. 

I know nothing of Swahili, but I think that the "suffix" -sha or -za, is, or used to be, an independent and meaningful word added to enhance the context of the combination.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Jul 10, 2013, at 3:06 PM, Jonathan Mohler wrote:

what is important is the resulting semantic value of the verb not the fact that a hiphil was used to arrive at the meaning.