Intermediate Classical Hebrew I: Historical grammar

Substantives: bisyllabic bases, geminated middle radical (Long, Foundations, pp. 33-36—with at least
one major disagreement, i.e. the nomen professionis was plausibly qattāl, not qattal)
The geminated middle radical allows only short vowels in the first syllable and it also precludes
reduction of that vowel, even when the second radical is a gutteral and gemination is not noted in the
Massoretic system, i.e. the first syllable shows either “compensatory lengthening” (e.g., ‫ ← ֵקֵרַח‬/qirriḥ/
‘bald’) or “virtual doubling” (e.g., ‫ֶאָחד‬/⁻‫ ← אַַחד‬/ʾaḥḥad/ ‘one’). Thus the first syllable may only show
such superficial variation, never vowel reduction, while the second syllable, which may have either a
vowel that was historically short or long, shows the expected variations (with at least one major
problem: see qattāl), though, if the vowel was historically long, it never reduces.

qattal
qattil/qittil
qattāl
qattīl
qattūl
quttāl

qattal → qattāl
Examples:
‫‘ ֶאָחד‬one’ na ‫‘ ַאיָּל‬male deer’
cstr. ⁻‫אַַחד‬ ⁻‫‘ אַַחר‬behind’ na
pron. na na na

Plural
m. pl. ab. qattal + ī + ma
(‫)ֲאָחִדים‬ na ‫ַאיִָּלים‬
m. pl. cs. qattal + ay
na ⁻‫אֲַחֵרי‬ na
m. pl. pn. qattal + ay
na ‫אֲַחַרי‬ na

Feminine forms
qattal + at → qattālāh ‫ַאיָָּלה‬ ‫‘ ֶלָהָבה‬flame’ ‫‘ָחָרָבה‬dry ground’
cstr. see below see below na
pron. na na na

1
and
qattal + t → qattélet
Examples
‫( אַַחת‬/ʾaḥḥadt-/ ) see above ‫( ַלֶ֜הֶבת‬absolute!)
‫( ֶאָחת‬pause)
cstr. na ⁻‫ַא ֜יֶֶּלת‬ ⁻‫ַלֶ֜הֶבת‬
pron. na na na

Plural
f. pl. ab. qattal + āt ‫ַאיָּלוֹת‬ ‫ֶלָהבוֹת‬
f. pl. cs. qattal + āt ⁻‫אַיְלוֹת‬ ⁻‫ַלֲהבוֹת‬
f. pl. pn. qattal + āt + ay na

qattil/qittil
The double notation reveals that there is a problem: true qattil forms are extremely rare, whereas there
was clearly a Proto-Hebrew qittil base which, because it is basically stative and because the strong link
with ‘bodily defects’ is not visible in other Semitic languages, has been taken as a secondary form of
qattil.
— The adjective ‫אֵַחר‬/‫‘ אֶַ֜חֶרת‬other’ appears to be from /ʾaḥḥir/ but the plural is ‫( ֲאֵחִרים‬cf. ‫ — ֲאָחִדים‬see
above).
— The nominal form ‘blindness’, corresponding to ‫‘ ִעֵוּר‬blind’, is ‫ַעֶ֜וֶּרת‬.
— This is the productive base of the Piel infinitive construct, e.g., ‫ַגֵּדּל‬.

Examples of qittil will show the semantic specialization on the expression of bodily defects, but there is
one old Semitic substantive that shows this base, /ʾimmir-/ ‘lamb’, attested in BH only as the personal
name ‫ִאֵמּר‬, but attested as a common noun in Ugaritic, Aramaic, and Akkadian.

Examples:
‫‘ ִעֵוּר‬blind’ ‫‘ ִפֵּסַּח‬lame’ ‫‘ ֵחֵרשׁ‬dumb’
cstr. na na na
pron. na na na

Plural
m. pl. ab. qittil + ī + ma
‫ִעְוִרים‬ ‫ִפְּסִחים‬ ‫שׁים‬
ִ ‫ֵחְר‬
m. pl. cs. qittil + ay
na na
m. pl. pn. qittil + ay
na na
Feminine forms
qittil + at → qittᵊlāh
qittil + t → qittélet
Examples: na

Plural
f. pl. ab. qattal + āt
‫ִעְורוֹת‬
f. pl. cs. qattal + āt
na
f. pl. pn. qattal + āt + ay
na

qattāl
This is the base widely attested in the Semitic languages for substantives expressing persons in terms of
a professional, occupational, or habitual activity (nomen professionis). It appears in Hebrew in two
forms: (1) qittōl (with “attenuation” of the first vowel and the expected Canaanite shift of the second)
and (2) qattāl (without the Canaanite shift, and showing shortening of the second vowel in construct, as
in ⁻‫ַדּיַּן‬, but with non-reduction of the second vowel in the plural construct, as in ⁻‫)ַחָטֵּאי‬. Some simply
reconstruct the many nouns of the second type as qattal, but that neither explains why Hebrew would
show a base form different from that of the other Semitic languages, nor why the plural construct shows
retention of the qameṣ. The superficially easiest solution to the problem is that these nouns were
Aramaic loan-words (Proto-Aramaic /ā/ is represented in the Massoretic system by qameṣ), but adopting
that solution requires an explanation for why Hebrew would not have had the expected Canaanite form
of a good number of words expressing societal functions, both urban (e.g., ‫‘ ַדּיָּן‬judge’ of the urban type
as opposed to ‫‘ שׁ ֵֹפט‬judge’ of the clan type) and some that are at least superficially not necessarily urban
(‫‘ ַגָּנּב‬thief’, ‫‘ ַחָטּא‬sinner’, ‫‘ ַעָוּל‬iniquitous person’).

1) qattāl → qittōl
Examples:
‫‘ ִגּבּוֹר‬hero’ ‫שׁכּוֹר‬
ִ ‘drunkard’
cstr. na na
pron. ‫ִגּבּ ָֹרם‬ na

Plural
m. pl. ab. qattāl + ī + ma
‫ִגּבּוִרים‬ ‫שׁכּוִֹרים‬
ִ
m. pl. cs. qattāl + ay
⁻‫ִגּבּוֵֹרי‬ ⁻‫שׁכּוֵרי‬
ִ
m. pl. pn. qattāl + ay
‫ִגּבּוֶֹ֜ריָך‬ na
Feminine forms
qattāl + at → qittōlāh
‫שׁכּוָֹרה‬
ִ
cstr. na
pron. na

Plural: na

2) qattāl → qattāl
Examples:
‫‘ דּיָּן‬judge’ [‫‘ ]ַחָטּא‬sinner’ ‫‘ ָחָרשׁ‬artisan’ [‫‘ ]ַרָקּח‬perfume-maker’
cstr. ⁻‫ַדּיַּן‬ na ⁻‫ָחַרשׁ‬ na
pron. na na na

Plural
m. pl. ab. qattāl + ī + ma
na ‫ַחָטִּאים‬ ‫שׁים‬
ִ ‫ָחָר‬ ‫ַרָקִּחים‬
m. pl. cs. qattāl + ay
na ⁻‫ַחָטֵּאי‬ ⁻‫שׁי‬
ֵ ‫ָחָר‬ na
m. pl. pn. qattāl + ay
na ‫ַחָטֶּ֜איָך‬ na na

Feminine forms
qattāl + at → qattālāh
ṣ
‫ַחָטאָה‬
cstr. na
pron. na

Plural
f. pl. ab. qattāl + āt ‫( ַרָקּחוֹת‬I Sam 8:13, also ‫)ַטָבּחוֹת‬
f. pl. cs. qattāl + āt na
f. pl. pn. qattāl + āt + ay na

qattīl → qattīl
Expresses primarily adjectives, so formally the last of the sequence: qatil, qatīl, qattil, qattīl, of which
qātil might be seen as a member.
Examples:
‫‘ ַאִבּיר‬strong’ ‫‘ אִמּיץ‬mighty’ ‫‘ ַצִדּיק‬right’ ‫‘ ָבִּרַח‬fleeing’
cstr. na ⁻‫ַאִמּיץ‬ na na
pron. na na na na
 Plural
m. pl. ab. qattīl + ī + ma
‫ַאִבּיִרים‬ ‫ַצִדּיִקים‬ ‫ָבִּריִחים‬
m. pl. cs. qattīl + ay
na ⁻
m. pl. pn. qattīl + ay
na

Feminine forms: na

qattūl → qattūl
Like qattīl, attested primarily for adjectives (but see ‫‘ ַעתּוִּדים‬he-goats’) so ends the sequence qatul, qatūl
(no good examples of qattul) and for nouns that may have begun as quasi-passives.

Examples:
‫שׁכּוּל‬
ַ ‘bereft’ ‫‘ ַרחוּם‬kind’ ‫‘ ַעמּוּד‬pillar’
cstr. na na ⁻‫ַעֻמד‬
pron. na na ‫ַעמּוּדוֹ‬

Plural
m. pl. ab. qattūl + ī + ma
na na ‫ַעמּוִּדים‬
m. pl. cs. qattūl + ay
na na ⁻‫ַעמּוֵּדי‬
m. pl. pn. qattūl + ay
‫שֻׁכַּ֜ליְִך‬
ַ na ‫ַעמוָּדיו‬

Feminine forms
qattūl + at → qattūlāh
ṣ
‫‘ ַחבּוָּרה‬wound’
cstr. na
pron. ‫ַחֻבָּרִתי‬

Plural
f. pl. ab. qattāl + āt na ‫‘ ַבֻּטחוֹת‬safety’
f. pl. cs. qattāl + āt ⁻‫ַחֻבּרוֹת‬ na
f. pl. pn. qattāl + āt + ay ‫( ַחבּוּרוָֹתי‬pause) na

quttāl
Bauer & Leander indicate that Hebrew ‫‘ ִרמּוֹן‬pomegranate’ is from this base because the Arabic form. is
rummān-.