An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

i The Niphal normally functions as a counterpart of the Qal rather than of any of the
causation stems, but sometimes it becomes confused with values normally attributed
to the Qal itself or serves as a medio-reflexive counterpart to a causation stem (23.6).
j The Niphal’s functions depend on the verb’s meaning and its context. Hebrew, as we
shall see, groups together the three senses of ‘move’ in the sentences, ‘Ruth moved,’
‘Ruth was moved,’ and ‘Ruth moved herself.’ All of these would be Niphals. Few
English verbs, however, show the syntactic flexibility of ‘move.’ The verb ‘cut,’for
instance, cannot be used intransitively (as in ‘Rush moved’); ‘Ruth cut…’demands an
object, be it reflexive (‘herself’) or not (‘the bread’). The English equivalents of
Hebrew Niphal forms will therefore be diverse. Consider these sentences:
1a.
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1b.
׃ר ָמ ְשׁ נ ִ איבִ ָנ ְבוּ By a prophet it (Israel) was guarded.
ר ַמ ְשׁ נ־אֹ ִ ל א ָשׂ מָ ֲעוַ ברֶ חֶ֫ ַבּ
Hos 12:14
But Amasa did not guard himself against the sword.
2 Sam 20:10
The English diversity is a translational matter and should not be confused with the
Hebrew diversity, the proper subject of our study.
23.2 Basic Species of the Niphal
a The two most common categories of Niphal usage are the middle or quasi-ergative,
and the passive, which developed from the middle. The middle is not necessarily the
most common kind of Niphal; it is rather the most general, affording the common
denominator of meaning, more abstract than the other varieties.
23.2.1 Middle
a The basis of the systemic role of the Niphal stem is its contrast with the Qal. The
elementary Qal : Niphal pair involves, we shall argue, a construction with a Qal
transitive verb governed by an agentive subject and governing an object and a
corresponding Niphal intransitive verb where the Qal object serves as the subject and
the Qal agent is unexpressed. Contrast these two uses of עקבּ ‘to split open, burst.’
1a. םיהלֹ ִ א ֱ עקַ בִ ְ יּוַ שׁתֵּ ְכ ַמּ ה־ת ַ א ֶ
1b. םוֹהתּ ְ תֹנְי ְע ַמ־ל ָכּ וּע ְק בְ ִנ
ה ָבּר ַ
Then God split open (Qal) the hollow.
Judg 15:19
And all the springs of the great abyss burst open
(Niphal).
Gen 7:11
In the first sentence ‘God’ is the “actor” or “agent” and the verb is transitive with
an “object” or “goal” word. In the second sentence, which means approximately ‘God
split open all the springs,’ the construction requires that the water source is the subject
and the verb is an intransitive, expressing no agency. Here is another pair of clauses
with bq˓.