Hiphil: Meaning and Form

Hiphil Meaning

CausativeThe Hiphil expresses causative action in which the subject causes the action to occur. Consider the differences between the Qal and Hiphil in the following examples:

Active (Qal) Causative (Hiphil)he heard he caused to hear (or) he announced (or) he proclaimedhe brought the book he caused the book to be broughtthe man killed the goat the man caused the goat to be killedshe broke the jar she caused the jar to break

The literal translation of the Hiphil may require adjustment to create idiomatic English phrases. Consider the following examples of literal Hiphil translations, along with possible idiomatic adjustments.

Hiphil Literal Translation Hiphil Idiomatic Translation

he caused the people to see he showed the people

he caused his heart to be hardened he hardened his heart

he caused them to come out he brought them out

Hiphil Meaning

PermissiveThe permissive meaning is similar to the causative but takes on the added meaning of giving permission. Context is the best way to determine whether to use the causative or permissive meaning.

Active (Qal) Permissive (Hiphil)she saw him she allowed him to seehe brought the book he allowed the book to be broughtthe man killed the goat the man allowed the goat to be killed

StativeVerbs that are stative in Qal will also be stative in Hiphil. Stative verbs in Hiphil are infrequent.

Stative (Qal) Stative (Hiphil)he is ashamed he will make ashamedhe will be dry he will dry upthe man is great the man will make great (or exalt)

DenominativeThe Hiphil can be used to create verbs from noun roots.

Noun Denominative (Hiphil)ear give ear; listenfat to grow fatrain to cause to rain

Hiphil Perfect

The diagnostic features of the Hiphil perfect are:

• He prefix.

• Hireq frequently beneath the he prefix.

• Hireq-yod vowel frequently beneath the second root consonant in the third person.

• Patakh vowel frequently beneath the second root consonant in the first and second person.

PNG Qal Hiphil3ms ��ת�ב כ he wrote �יב ה�כת� he caused to write

3fs ��תב�ה כshe wrote

�יב� ה�כת�ה

she caused to write

2ms � ��ת�בת� כyou wrote

�ב ה�כת�� ת�

you caused to write

2fs ��ת�בת� כyou wrote

�ב ה�כת� ת�

you caused to write

1cs �י ��ת�בת� כI wrote

�ב ה�כת��י ת�

I caused to write

3cp � ��תבו כthey wrote

�יב ה�כת�� ו

they caused to write

2mp � �ת�בת� כם

you wrote�ב ה�כת�ת��ם

you caused to write

2fp �ן �ת�בת� כyou wrote

�ב ה�כת��ן ת�

you caused to write

1cp � ��ת�בנו כwe wrote

�ב ה�כת�� נו

we caused to write

The Niphal infinitive construct (ה�ק��ט�ל) and imperative forms also have a he prefix. The vowel pattern is the best way to distinguish between the Hiphil perfect and the similar Niphal forms.

Hiphil Imperfect

The diagnostic features of the Hiphil imperfect are:

• Patakh vowel usually beneath the prefix.

• Hireq-yod vowel usually beneath the second root consonant, except in the 2fs and 3fs, which usually have a tsere. 

The Hiphil imperfect might be confused with the I-guttural Qal. In the I-guttural Qal, the prefix vowel lengthens to a patakh. To distinguish between the two forms, consider the vowel of the second root consonant. In the Qal the vowel is a holem, while in the Hiphil the vowel is a tsere-yod or patakh.

PNG Qal Hiphil

3ms יכת��ב he will write �יב �כת� י he will cause to write

3fs�כת��ב ת�

she will write�י �כת� ת�

בshe will cause to write

2ms�כת��ב ת�

you will write�י �כת� ת�

בyou will cause to write

2fsב� �כת� ת�

יyou will write

�י �כת� ת�ב�י

you will cause to write

1csא�כת��ב

I will write�י א�כת�

בI will cause to write

3mp � בו יכת� they will write � �יבו �כת� י they will cause to write

3fp�כת��ב ת�

�ה נthey will write

�ב �כת� ת��ה נ

they will cause to write

2mp�כת�ב ת�

� וyou will write

�י �כת� ת�� בו

you will cause to write

2fp�כת��ב ת�

�ה נyou will write

�ב �כת� ת��ה נ

you will cause to write

1cp �כת��ב נ we will write �יב �כת� נ we will cause to write

Hiphil Imperative, Infinitive Construct and Infinitive Absolute

The diagnostic features of the Hiphil imperative are:

• He prefix.• Patakh generally beneath the he prefix.• Hireq-yod vowel generally beneath the second root consonant in the 2fs and 2mp.• Patakh vowel generally beneath the second root consonant in the 2ms and 2fp.

PNG Qal HiphilImper.

2ms �ת�ב כ (you) write! ה�כת��ב (you) cause to write!

2fs ��תב�י כ (you) write! �יב�י ה�כת� (you) cause to write!

2mp � ��תבו כ (you) write! � �יבו ה�כת� (you) cause to write!

2fp� �ת�בנ כ

ה(you) write!

� �בנ ה�כת�ה

(you) cause to write!

Inf. Construct �ת�ב כ writing �יב ה�כת� causing to write

Inf. Absolute ��תו�ב כ to write ה�כת��ב to cause to write

The diagnostic features of the Hiphil infinitive construct are:

• He prefix.• Patakh vowel generally beneath the he prefix.• Hireq-yod vowel generally beneath the second root consonant.

The diagnostic features of the Hiphil infinitive absolute are:

• He prefix.• Patakh vowel generally beneath the he prefix.• Tsere vowel generally beneath the second root consonant.

Hiphil Participle

To summarize, the diagnostic features of the Hiphil participle are:

• Mem prefix.• Patakh vowel usually beneath the mem prefix.• Hireq-yod vowel usually beneath the second root consonant, except in the feminine singular, which usually has a tsere.

PNG Qal HiphilActive Participle

ms ��ת�ב כ writing �יב כת� מ� causing to write

fs��ת�ב� כת

writing�ב�ת כת� מ�

causing to write

mp��תב�י כ

םwriting

�יב�י כת� מ�ם

causing to write

fp��תבו� כ

תwriting

�יבו� כת� מ�ת

causing to write

Hiphil I-Nun and I-Guttural

In the I-nun, all of the strong Hiphil diagnostic features are preserved in each conjugation.

In the I-nun, the first root consonant nun assimilates into the second root consonant and manifests itself as a dagesh.

In the I-guttural, all of the strong Hiphil diagnostic features are preserved, except in the perfect.In the I-guttural perfect, the vowel beneath the he prefix is a segol.

Because the first root consonant is a guttural, it takes a partial shewa instead of a full shewa in all conjugations. In the perfect, the partial shewa is a khatef-segol, and in the other conjugations the partial shewa is a khatef-patakh.

I-Nun

I-Guttural

Hiphil III-Guttural & III-Aleph

Generally, all of the diagnostic characteristics for the Hiphil remain in III-guttural and III-aleph.

The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a patakh in the III-guttural 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-guttural 2ms and 2fp imperative.

The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a tsere in the III-aleph first and second person perfect conjugations.

The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a segol in the III-aleph 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-aleph 2fp imperative.

III-Guttural

III-Aleph

Hiphil Verbs: I-Yod and I-Yod with III-Guttural or III-Aleph

The first root consonant yod is replaced with a vav-holem in all conjugations.

The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a tsere in the III-aleph first and second person perfect conjugations.

The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a segol in the III-aleph 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-aleph 2fp imperative.

I-Yod

III-Aleph (as shown in the previous slide)

III-Guttural (as shown in the previous slide)

The vowel of the second root consonant changes to a patakh in the III-guttural 2fp and 3fp imperfect conjugations. The same change occurs in the III-guttural 2ms and 2fp imperative.

Hiphil Verbs: III-He

In the Hiphil form, the same changes occur in the III-he that occurs in the other verb forms such as Qal and Niphal.

III-He

The III-ה drops off completely in all forms with a suffix.

The infinitive construct form of III-ה verbs ends in ות. Do not confuse this with feminine

plural nouns, participles, and adjectives that also end in ות.

For the III-he with I-yod, the first root consonant yod is replaced with a vav-holem in all conjugations.For the III-he with I-guttural in the perfect, the prefix vowel is a segol instead of a hireq.

For the III-he with I-guttural, the first root consonant guttural refuses to take a shewa and

instead takes a reduced form of the prefix vowel. For example, the 3ms perfect ה ש( ע+ ה-has a segol prefix vowel and a khatef segol first root consonant vowel.

For the III-he with I-nun, the first root consonant nun assimilates into the second root consonant, manifesting itself as a dagesh in all conjugations.

Hiphil Verbs: III-He

In the Hiphil form, the same changes occur in the III-he that occurs in the other verb forms such as Qal and Niphal.

III-He

The III-ה drops off completely in all forms with a suffix.

The infinitive construct form of III-ה verbs ends in ות. Do not confuse this with feminine

plural nouns, participles, and adjectives that also end in ות.

For the III-he with I-yod, the first root consonant yod is replaced with a vav-holem in all conjugations.For the III-he with I-guttural in the perfect, the prefix vowel is a segol instead of a hireq.

For the III-he with I-guttural, the first root consonant guttural refuses to take a shewa and

instead takes a reduced form of the prefix vowel. For example, the 3ms perfect ה ש( ע+ ה-has a segol prefix vowel and a khatef segol first root consonant vowel.

For the III-he with I-nun, the first root consonant nun assimilates into the second root consonant, manifesting itself as a dagesh in all conjugations.

Hiphil Verbs: Hollow, Hollow with III-Guttural, and Hollow with III-Aleph

Regardless of whether their second root consonant is yod or vav, Hiphil hollow verbs have a hireq-yod vowel pattern.

Hollow

The prefix vowel in the imperfect, imperative, and infinitive forms is a qamets instead of a patakh.

The prefix vowel for the participle conjugations varies between a shewa and a tsere instead of the standard Hiphil patakh.

Hiphil Verbs: Geminates

A dagesh appears in the second root consonant of all forms with a suffix. The dagesh represents the missing third root consonant of the geminate verb.

Geminates

Suffixes that begin with a consonant are preceded by a vav-holem. This is a distinct trait of geminate verbs that will help with identification.

Often a patakh replaces a tsere or a tsere will replace a hireq beneath the first root consonant of a geminate with II and III gutturals.