[a] The same laws which are normally exhibited in stems with strong (unchangeable) consonants, hold good for all other verbs. Deviations from the model of the strong verb are only modifications due to the special character or weakness of certain consonants, viz.:—
(a) When one of the stem-consonants (or radicals) is a guttural. In this case, however, the variations only occur in the vocalization (according to § 22), not in the consonants. The guttural verbs (§ 62–65) are, therefore, only a variety of the strong verb.
[b] (b) When a stem-consonant (radical) disappears by assimilation (§ 19 b–f), or when the stem originally, consisted of only two consonants (verbs פ״ן, ע״ע, and ע״וּ, as נָגַשׁ, קַל, קוּם, §§ 66, 67, 72).
[c] (c) When one of the stem-consonants (radicals) is a weak letter. In this case, through aphaeresis, elision, &c., of the weak consonant, various important deviations from the regular form occur. Cf. § 68 ff. for these verbs, such as יָשַׁב, מָצָא, גָּלָה.
[d] Taking the old paradigm פָּעַל as a model, it is usual, following the example of the Jewish grammarians, to call the first radical of any stem פ, the second ע, and the third ל. Hence the expressions, verb פ״א for a verb whose first radical is א (primae radicalis [sc. literae] א); ע״ו for mediae radicalis ו; ע״ע for a verb whose second radical is repeated to form a third.
I. The Strong Verb.
As the formation of the strong verb is the model also for the weak verb, a statement of the general formative laws should precede the treatment of special cases.
Paradigm B, together with the Table of the personal preformatives and afformatives given in § 40 c, offers a complete survey of the normal forms. A full explanation of them is given in the following sections (§§ 43–55), where each point is elucidated on its first occurrence; thus e.g. the inflexion of the Perfect, the Imperfect and its modifications, will be found under Qal, &c.
A. The Pure Stem, or Qal.
[a] The common form of the 3rd sing. masc. of the Perfect Qal is קָטַל, with ă (Pathaḥ) in the second syllable, especially in transitive verbs (but see § 44 c). There is also a form with ē (Ṣere, originally ĭ), and another with ō (Ḥolem, originally ŭ) in the second syllable, both of which, however, have almost always an intransitive[1] meaning,
- ↑ But cf. such instances as Jer 48. In Arabic also, transitive verbs are found with middle ĭ, corresponding to Hebrew verbs with ē in the second syllable. Hence P. Haupt (Proc. Amer. Or. Soc., 1894, p. ci f.) prefers to distinguish them as verba voluntaria (actions which depend on the will of the subject) and involuntaria (actions or states independent of the will of the subject).
