An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

24.4 Denominative
a Since the Piel is the stem most commonly used to form denominatives in Hebrew, it
is appropriate that we consider that class more broadly than we did in connection with
denominative Qals (22.5) and Niphals (23.5). By “denominative” we mean those
verbs which do not belong to an original verbal root, be it transitive or intransitive,
but to another part of speech, especially a substantive, adjective, or numeral; in living
languages, this relationship is recognized by the speakers of a language. From this
definition it is apparent that one ascertains whether or not a verb is denominative on
descriptive,semantic, and historical linguistic grounds: the nominal form is primary
and the verbal secondarily derived from it. In practice this decision is not so easily
made. In a living language verbs are constantly being developed from nouns (cf.
English ‘He wolfed down his food’) and vice versa (cf. English ‘The players went on
strike’), so that the lexicographer and grammarian are sometimes uncertain whether
the nominal or verbal form is primary. 40 Then too, they are uncertain which is primary
because denominatives assume all kinds of meanings; for example, denominatives of
the English noun boot’ include the notions found in ‘The prejudices of parents usually
take root in their children,’ ‘We were rooted to the spot by surprise,’ ‘Good manners
were rooted in him like second nature,’ and ‘The new district attorney rooted out the
city’s criminal element.’ This kind of polysemy in Hebrew sometimes makes it
difficult to distinguish denominatives from primary verbs. For our purposes we must
be satisfied to explain and illustrate the denominative use of the Piel stem with those
verbs that are regarded as such by the recent scholarly consensus. Jenni argues that
the historical issue is not crucial from a[Page 411] descriptive point of view because
the Piel exhibits the same essential function with denominative verbs as it does with
other roots. Ryder, in contrast, believes that the Piel’s transformative force is missing
with nominal roots. 41
b Although the Piel stem expresses the essential notion of bringing about the
adjectivally declared state corresponding to the base root, the denominative meaning
can be shaped in many ways, depending on the root in question. For example, ןהֹכּ ֵ
‘priest’ becomes ןהכּ Piel ‘to serve as priest’ (intransitive) but םבָ ָ י ‘levirate brother’
becomes םבי ‘ Piel ‘to perform for someone the duty of the levirate brother’
(transitive). Jenni argues against overemphasizing this diversity: “The varying types
39 Jenni argues, too, for a definite resultative, his chief example being dbr (Qal 41
times, Piel 1,081 times); the Qal, he alleges, means ‘to speak (in general)’ and the
Piel ‘to say (something in particular).’ Since dbr Qal is confined to the participle (39
times) and the infinitive (2 times), other factors seem to be involved. Other definite
resultative verbs are those of hoping (see 24.5). See Jenni, Pi˓el, 164–73.
40 English has tremendous flexibility in this respect, and this fact, combined with its
simple morphology, makes comparison with Hebrew potentially misleading,
especially in relation to the issue of productivity.
41 Jenni, Pi˓el, 264–67; Ryder, D-Stem, 128–30.