Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar/38. The Verb: General View

by Wilhelm Gesenius

Layout 2

CHAPTER II

THE VERB

§38. General View.

a Verbal stems are either original or derived. They are usually divided into—

(a) Verbal stems proper (primitive verbs), which exhibit the stem without any addition, e.g. מָלַךְ he has reigned.

b (b) Verbal derivatives, i.e. secondary verbal stems, derived from the pure stem (letter a), e.g. קִדַּשׁ to sanctify, הִתְקַדֵּשׁ to sanctify oneself, from קָדַשׁ to be holy. These are usually called conjugations (§ 39).

c (c) Denominatives,^[1] i.e. verbs derived from nouns (like the Latin causari, praedari, and Eng. to skin, to stone), or even from particles (see d, end) either in a primitive or derivative form, e.g. אָהַל, Qal and Piʿēl, to pitch a tent, from אֹ֫הֶל tent; הִשְׁרִישׁ and שֹׁרֵשׁ to take root, and שֵׁרֵשׁ to root out, from שֹׁרֶשׁ root (§ 52 h).

d This does not exclude the possibility that, for nouns, from which denominative verbs are derived, the corresponding (original) verbal stem may still be found either in Hebrew or in the dialects. The meaning, however, is sufficient to show that the denominatives have come from the noun, not from the verbal stem, e.g. לְבֵנָה a brick (verbal stem לבן to be white), denomin. לָבַן to make bricks; דָּג a fish (verbal stem דָּגָה to be prolific), denomin. דּוּג to fish; חָרַף to winter (from חֹ֫רֶף autumn, winter, stem חָרַף to pluck); קוּץ to pass the summer (from קַ֫יִץ summer, stem קִיץ to be hot).

On ‘Semitic verbs derived from particles’ see P. Haupt in the Amer. Journ. of Sem. Lang., xxii (1906), 257 ff.

1. Cf. W. J. Gerber, Die hebr. Verbs denom., insbes. im theol. Sprachgebr. des A.T., Lpz. 1896.