Thursday, November 19, 2015

Bit at a Time Bible Hebrew -- the nun that isn't peh nun

Next problem.  Lots of verb forms start with nun.  You’ve seen the peh nun verbs; you’ve also seen that the prefix in future tense, 1st person plural is nun.  Now a new twist.  The qal is the binyan for simple active verbs.  The passive is a separate binyan, called nifal. 
 
If you have a verb starting with nun, and you can’t find it under the letter nun in the dictionary, or any of the others that I already talked about, you might be looking at a nifal.  
 
First clue: all three root letters are there.
 
Second clue:  there’s no vav cholem after the second root letter like a peh nun verb would have. 
 
Present
Singular
Plural
Gender
נִמְשָל
נִמְשָלִים
Masculine
נִמְשֶׁלֶת
נִמְשָלוֹת
Feminine
 
Past
Singular
Plural
Person/gender
נִמְשַלְתִּי
נִמְשַׁלְנוּ
First
נִמְשַלתָּ
נִמְשַׁלְתֶּם
Second/masculine
נִמְשַׁלְתְּ
נִמְשַׁלְתֶּן
Second/feminine
נִמְשַׁל
נִמְשְׁלוּ
Third/masculine
נִמְשְׁלָה
נִמְשְׁלוּ
Third/feminine
 
Future/aorist
Singular
Plural
Person/gender
אֶמָּשֵׁל
נִמָּשֵׁל
First
תִּימָּשֵׁל
תִּימָּשְׁלוּ
Second/masculine
תִּימָּשְׁלִי
תִּימָּשַׁלְנָה
Second/feminine
יִימָּשֵׁל
יִימָּשְלוּ
Third/masculine
תִּימָּשֵל
תִּימָּשַׁלְנָה
Third/feminine
 
 
I don’t know if this verb is ever used in nifal but the meaning would probably be “is controlled.”  That’s how English constructs a passive verb: “is” conjugated plus a past participle. 
 
You won’t find this form, if it exists, in the dictionary under nun, yod, or alef. It will be under mem.
 
We have now transitioned from the triliteral root system to the binyan system.  I’m going to stop here for a review and then some other remarks and then I’ll get into some things so new you might never have heard of them before.
 
© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights  Reserved

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