Stem Palel

Summary

The Palel is a rare stem formation that is similar to the Piel and expresses the same range of meanings.

Article

The Palel stem is a variation of the Piel and has potential to express the same range of verbal action. It is the same stem formation as the Pilel, only with a variant vowel pattern. The Palel stem is formed from the Piel stem by repeating the 3rd radical (with different vowels), thus making a verb that appears to have 4 consonants. It is an extremely rare stem formation in Biblical Hebrew. Many of the occurrences of the Palel stem in the Hebrew Bible are from the root verb שָׁאַן (“to “).

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.

Example: JER 48:11 –– the root is שאן, and the 3rd radical is repeated
שַׁאֲנַ֨ן מֹואָ֜ב מִנְּעוּרָ֗יו
sha’anan mow’av minne’urayw
He-felt-secure Moab from-its-youth.
Moab has felt secure since he was young.
Example: JOB 15:32 –– the root is רען, and the 3rd radical is repeated
וְ֝כִפָּת֗וֹ לֹ֣א רַעֲנָֽנָה
wekhippatho lo ra’ananah
and-his-branch not will-be-green
his branch will not be green