An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

7b.
לא֑ ֵ רָ ְשִי־ל ָכּ יני ֵ ֵע ְבּ
יתּ֑ ִ א ִ הוהי ַל וּלדְּ ַ
Josh 3:7
גּ Make YHWH great (or, Declare that YHWH is great)
(Piel) along with me.
Ps 34:4
The first example is a “real” factitive because Israel is to experience physically
YHWH’s making Joshua great; in the second case the action is a declaration,
specifically pronounced and based on a prior subjective judgment. Judgments about
the status of a “psychological/linguistic” factitive are difficult, unless the speech act is
clearly documented, as in the priestly laws.
8. וֹתֹא רהַ טִ ו ְ He will pronounce him (ritually) clean.
acts. 25
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9a.
Lev 13:34
In some cases the verb refers primarily to the estimation reflected in the speech
וֹשׁפְ ַנ וֹקדְּ ַצ־ל ַע
׃םיהלֹ ִ אֱ ֵמ
9b. ה ָב ֻשׁ מ ְ הּ ָשׁ פְ ַנ הקָ דְּ ִצ
׃הדוּהְי ָ הדָ גֹבּ ֵ ִמ לא֑ ֵ רָ ְשִׂי
9c. ךְִיתוֹח ַ֫
א־ת ֲ א ֶ י ִק דְּ ַצתְּ וַ
ר ֶשׁ א ֲ ךְִיתַ ֫ וֹב ֲעוֹתּ־ל ָכבּ ְ
׃תי ִשׂ ָע
on account of his holding himself as being more
righteous (Piel) than God
Job 32:2
Turncoat Israel has esteemed herself more righteous
(Piel) than Treacherous Judah. 26
Jer 3:1–1
You have made your sister appear (or, have declared)
more righteous (Piel) through all the abominations
which you have committed.
Ezek 16:51 Qere
25
Here are some further examples of Piel verbs which are est(imative), deloc(utive),
and fact(itive), drawn from Jenni’s lists: gdl mostly fact. ‘to make greet,’ rarefy deloc.
‘to praise’ and est. ‘to esteem (as) great’; dmy deloc.-est. ‘to liken, compare,’ est. ‘to
hold as suitable, devise, imagine’; dšn deloc.-est. ‘to consider (an offering) fat
(enough, i.e., acceptable),’also fact. ‘to make fat, anoint’ and privative (see 24.4f) ‘to
clear of fat drippings’: ṭhr deloc. ‘to declare purely,’ rarely fact.; ṭm˒ deloc. ‘to declare
impure’ (Lev 13:3–59, 20:25), otherwise fact.; kbd est. ‘to honor (i.e., regard as
heavy),’ rarefy fact.; nbl only est. ‘to regard as contemptible’; nqy deloc.-est. ‘to
declare/regard as guiltless’; qdš deloc. ‘to declare holy,’ est. ‘to hold as holy,’ fact. ‘to
consecrate’; ṣdq usually deloc. ‘to hold as right(eous)’; qll only deloc. ‘to revile as
trifling.’ It is in connection with delocutive and estimative uses that the proposals of
E. Rubinstein go astray; see “Adjectival Verbs in Biblical Hebrew,” Israel Oriental
Studies 9 (1979) 55–76.
26
On the epithets of Judah and Israel, see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1986), 1. 59, 116.