Stem Hiphil¶
Summary¶
The Hiphil stem generally expresses causative action in active voice, but it can also express other kinds of verbal action depending on the context and the specific verb.
Article¶
The Hiphil form is a verbal stem formation in Biblical Hebrew, usually indicated by a הִ prefix before the 1st radical and a hireq-yod (or sometimes tsere) vowel under the 2nd radical of the verb. (This ה changes in the participle and Imperfect forms.) The Hiphil stem is generally used to express causative action in active voice. In many cases the noun derived from the same root is the object or result of the hiphil verb associated with that root. For example, the Hiphil verb הִמְטִיר means “to cause to rain down”; the noun מָטָר means “rain”.
Note
It is recommended to always check a dictionary or lexicon for the meaning of a specific verb, because this stem may express many different kinds of action in different contexts.
Form¶
Paradigm¶
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | הִקְטִיל | hiqtil | he caused to kill |
| feminine singular third person | הִקְטִילָה | hiqtilah | she caused to kill |
| masculine singular second person | הִקְטַלְתָּ | hiqtalta | you caused to kill |
| feminine singular second person | הִקְטַלְתְּ | hiqtalt | you caused to kill |
| common singular first person | הִקְטַלְתִּי | hiqtalti | I caused to kill |
| common plural third person | הִקְטִילוּ | hiqtilu | they caused to kill |
| masculine plural second person | הִקְטַלְתֶּם | hiqtaltem | you caused to kill |
| feminine plural second person | הִקְטַלְתֶּן | hiqtalten | you caused to kill |
| common plural first person | הִקְטַלְנוּ | hiqtalnu | we caused to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | יַקְטִיל | yaqtil | he will cause to kill |
| feminine singular third person | תַּקְטִיל | taqtil | she will cause to kill |
| masculine singular second person | תַּקְטִיל | taqtil | you will cause to kill |
| feminine singular second person | תַּקְטִילִי | taqtili | you will cause to kill |
| common singular first person | אַקְטִיל | ‘aqtil | I will cause to kill |
| masculine plural third person | יַקְטִילוּ | yaqtilu | they will cause to kill |
| feminine plural third person | תַּקְטֵלְנָה | taqtelenah | they will cause to kill |
| masculine plural second person | תַּקְטִילוּ | taqtilu | you will cause to kill |
| feminine plural second person | תַּקְטֵלְנָה | taqtelenah | you will cause to kill |
| common plural first person | נַקְטִיל | naqtil | we will cause to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וְהִקְטִיל | wehiqtil | (and) he will cause to kill |
| feminine singular third person | וְהִקְטִילָה | wehiqtilah | (and) she will cause to kill |
| masculine singular second person | וְהִקְטַלְתָּ | wehiqtalta | (and) you will cause to kill |
| feminine singular second person | וְהִקְטַלְתְּ | wehiqtalt | (and) you will cause to kill |
| common singular first person | וְהִקְטַלְתִּי | wehiqtalti | (and) I will cause to kill |
| common plural third person | וְהִקְטִילוּ | wehiqtilu | (and) they will cause to kill |
| masculine plural second person | וְהִקְטַלְתֶּם | wehiqtaltem | (and) you will cause to kill |
| feminine plural second person | וְהִקְטַלְתֶּן | wehiqtalten | (and) you will cause to kill |
| common plural first person | וְהִקְטַלְנוּ | wehiqtalnu | (and) we will cause to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיַּקְטֵל | wayyaqtil | (and) he caused to kill |
| feminine singular third person | וַתַּקְטֵל | wattaqtil | (and) she caused to kill |
| masculine singular second person | וַתַּקְטֵל | wattaqtil | (and) you caused to kill |
| feminine singular second person | וַתַּקְטִילִי | wattaqtili | (and) you caused to kill |
| common singular first person | וָאַקְטֵל | wa’aqtil | (and) I caused to kill |
| masculine plural third person | וַיַּקְטִילוּ | wayyaqtilu | (and) they caused to kill |
| feminine plural third person | וַתַּקְטֵלְנָה | wattaqtelenah | (and) they caused to kill |
| masculine plural second person | וַתַּקְטִילוּ | wattaqtilu | (and) you caused to kill |
| feminine plural second person | וַתַּקְטֵלְנָה | wattaqtelenah | (and) you caused to kill |
| common plural first person | וַנַּקְטֵל | wannaqtil | (and) we caused to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive Construct | הַקְטִיל | haqtil | cause to kill |
| Infinitive Absolute | הַקְטֵל | haqtel | cause to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | הַקְטֵל | haqtel | you must cause to kill |
| feminine singular | הַקְטִילִי | haqtili | you must cause to kill |
| masculine plural | הַקְטִילוּ | haqtilu | you must cause to kill |
| feminine plural | הַקְטֵלְנָה | haqtelenah | you must cause to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | יַקְטֵל | yaqtel | may he cause to kill |
| feminine singular third person | תַּקְטֵל | taqtel | may she cause to kill |
| masculine singular second person | תַּקְטֵל | taqtel | may you cause to kill |
| feminine singular second person | תַּקְטִילִי | taqteli | may you cause to kill |
| masculine plural third person | יַקְטִילוּ | yaqtelu | may they cause to kill |
| feminine plural third person | תַּקְטֵלְנָה | taqtelenah | may they cause to kill |
| masculine plural second person | תַּקְטִילוּ | taqtelu | may you cause to kill |
| feminine plural second person | תַּקְטֵלְנָה | taqtelenah | may you cause to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| common singular first person | אַקְטִילָה | ‘aqtilah | let me cause to kill |
| common plural first person | נַקְטִילָה | naqtilah | let us cause to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | מַקְטִיל | maqtil | causing to kill |
| feminine singular | מַקְטֶלֶת | maqteleth | causing to kill |
| masculine plural | מַקְטִילִים | maqtilim | causing to kill |
| feminine plural | מַקְטִילוֹת | maqtiloth | causing to kill |
Function¶
The Hiphil stem can express any of the following kinds of verbal action:
Expresses causative action¶
Causative action means that the subject of the verb is causing the object of the verb either to perform the verbal action (for dynamic verb) or to be in the state described by the verb (for stative verbs). The Hiphil stem usually serves this causative function with dynamic verbs (and sometimes with stative verbs also). A good example is the verb בּוֹא. In the Qal stem, the verb בּוֹא expresses the simple action “to come” or “to go”. But in the Hiphil stem, the verb בּוֹא expresses the causative action “to bring” (meaning, to cause something to come/go). In English, causative action is expressed using the main verb “to cause” paired with the infinitive of the verbal action in view. In Biblical Hebrew, the causative nature of the verbal action is expressed by the Hiphil form of the verb itself with no additional verbal element.
| וַיָּבֵ֨א קַ֜יִן מִפְּרִ֧י הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה מִנְחָ֖ה לַֽיהוָֽה |
| wayyave qayin mipperi ha’adamah minhah layhwah |
| And-he-brought Cain from-fruit-of the-ground offering to-Yahweh |
|
| אֲבָ֕ל אֲדֹנֵ֥ינוּ הַמֶּֽלֶךְ־דָּוִ֖ד הִמְלִ֥יךְ אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹֽה |
| ‘aval ‘adonenu hammelekh-dawid himlikh ‘eth-shelomoh |
| But our-lord the-king_David he-made-king [dir.obj]_Solomon |
| But king David our lord crowned Solomon king |
Expresses various kinds of simple or causative action¶
In Biblical Hebrew, some verbs are found only in the Hiphil stem (and/or its derivative stem formations). In these cases, the Hiphil usually expresses a simple action which is causative by its very nature. A good example is the Hebrew verb סוּת, which occurs only in the Hiphil stem and means “to incite” or “to entice”. A dictionary or lexicon will indicate all the stem formations in which a particular verb is found as well as the appropriate meaning(s).
| כִּ֗י בָּרוּךְ֙ בֶּן־נֵ֣רִיָּ֔ה מַסִּ֥ית אֹתְךָ֖ בָּ֑נוּ |
| ki barukh ben-neriyyah massith ‘othekha banu |
| for Baruch son-of_Neriah is-inciting [dir.obj]-you in-us |
| For Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us |
Some verbs express different meanings in different stem formations. A good example is the verb גָּלָה. In the Qal stem, the verb גָּלָה expresses the simple action “to uncover” or “to reveal”. But in the Hiphil stem, the verb גָּלָה expresses the simple action “to exile”. Again, this will be indicated by a dictionary or lexicon.
| וְהִגְלֵיתִ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵהָ֣לְאָה לְדַמָּ֑שֶׂק |
| wehiglethi ‘ethkhem mehal’ah ledammaseq |
| And-I-will-exile [dir.obj]-you from-beyond to-Damascus |
| Therefore I will exile you beyond Damascus |
Some verbs express the same meaning in multiple stem formations. A good example is the verb יָדַע, which expresses the causative action “to make known” (meaning, to cause to know) in both the Piel stem and the Hiphil stem. This also will be indicated by a dictionary or lexicon.
| הוֹדִ֣יעַ יְ֭הוָה יְשׁוּעָת֑וֹ |
| hodia’ yehwah yeshu’atho |
| He-made-known Yahweh his-salvation |
| Yahweh has made known his salvation |
The Hiphil stem can also be used to express miscellaneous kinds of simple or causative action that might not follow any of the other descriptions listed above. As always, the specific meaning of the verb will be indicated by a dictionary or lexicon.
Hiphil stem expressing idiomatic action:
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Hiphil stem declaring a state rather than expressing an action:
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