An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

22.7 Qal Impersonal Constructions
a The vast majority of Hebrew verbs have personal subjects; they may be definite, as
usual, or indefinite, as with the pseudo-passive use of the third-person masculine
plural or, less often, singular (4.4.2). A small group of verbs is used impersonally, that
is, with no topic in view other than the condition or action expressed by the predicate;
nearly all are found in the Qal. 40 Such constructions are familiar from English
environmental verbs, for example, ‘It’s raining,’ ‘It’s hot out.’ One category of
Hebrew impersonal constructions is the environmentals (## 1–2). 41
1. ׃וּכלֵ ֫ ו ָ ם ֶכל ָ רוֹאו ְ When it is light (enough) for you (to go), go.
2.
׃ןוֹמלְ ַצ ְבּ ג ֵל ְשׁ ַ
1 Sam 29:10
תּ It snows on (Mount) Zalmon.
Ps 68:15
b A larger category of impersonals involves a range of emotions and experiences; in
these constructions the undergoer of the emotion or experience is specified by a
following prepositional phrase in l. 42 The emotionals represent the emotion as coming
to the undergoer from outside (## 3–4), but this point should not be exaggerated. The
experientials describe a circumstance (## 5–6) or fate (# 7). The verb ṭwb can be used
as either an[Page 377] emotional or experiential, a fact that suggests that there is little
difference between the groups. 43
3.
׃וֹל רחַ ִיּ֫ וַ And he was mad (lit., it was kindled to him).
Jonah 4:1
38
The root ˒kl is excluded. There are disputed cases; Williams, for example, omits ḥpš
and ktt and includes forms of hgw, hgy, hry, yqš, yšb, nṭš, ˓mm, qbr, qrṣ, r˒y, and r˓˓ ‘to
break’ for a total of fifty-two roots; see “Passive Qal,” 46–47. Some of these show
only Qal passive infinitives, a problematic form altogether; see BL §38r’ / p. 288.
39
Cf. Williams, “Passive Qal,” 50
40
Cf. GKC § 144b-g / pp. 459–60. Ruth Berman distiguishes seven classes of
impersonal constructions in Modern Hebrew, all but the last two of them with close
biblical analogs: (a) exsistential and possesive yēš and ˒ên, (b) what we have called
the pseudo-passive (only the masculine plural is used in modern Hebrew), (c)
experientals, (d) enviornmentals, (e) various passive usages, (f) various modal
predicates, and (g) true subjectless clauses (no agent, no auction). See “The Case of
an (S)VO Language: Subjectless Constructions in Modern Hebrew,” Language 56
(1980) 759–76
41
The impersonal use of š˓r ‘to storm” is Niphal, the Qal in Ps 58:10 being difficult.
Although it rains more than it snows in the Levant, mṭr has no Qal, but only Niphal
(‘to be rained on’) and Hiphil (‘to send rain’).
42
In Esth 8:5 ˓al may be used in a phrase preceding ṭôb, but that form may be an
adjective rather than a verb.
43
It could be argued that the same is true of ṣrr. Other verbs used in these
constructions include r˓˓ ‘to be evil,’ mrr ‘to be bitter,’ ḥmm ‘to be hot.’