Stem Polpal

Summary

The Polpal is a rare stem formation that is similar to the Pual. It expresses the passive voice of the Pilpel stem.

Article

The Polpal stem is a variation of the Pual and expresses the passive voice of the verbal action of the Pilpel stem. The Polpal stem is formed from the Pual by dropping the 2nd radical and repeating the 1st and 3rd radicals (with a vowel change), thus making a verb that appears to have 4 consonants. It is an extremely rare stem formation in Biblical Hebrew.

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

From the root כּוּל, meaning “to sustain” in the Pilpel stem

Polpal Paradigm
Conjugation Parsing Hebrew Transliteration Gloss
Perfect masculine singular third person כָּלְכַּל kalkal he is sustained
Imperfect masculine singular third person יְכָלְכַּל yekholkal he will be sustained
Participle masculine singular absolute מְכָלְכַּל mekholkal being sustained / he who is being sustained

Example

Example: 1KI 20:27
וּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל הָתְפָּקְדוּ֙ וְכָלְכְּל֔וּ
uvene yisra’el hothpoqdu wekholkelu
and-sons-of Israel they-were-mustered and-they-were-provisioned
The people of Israel were mustered and supplied