This document provides an overview of biblical Hebrew הִפְעִיל verbs. It begins with introductions and definitions, then presents the basic verb patterns of the הִפְעִיל in perfect, imperfect, imperative, infinitive, and participle forms. Key identification features are the prefixed ה and the distinctive i-class vowel in the second root letter. Various forms are demonstrated with the root טלל. The document concludes with credits for images used.

1. Biblical Hebrew
Getting to Know ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Verbs
by Chris Heard

2. Table of Contents
Abbreviations .............................. 3
Getting Ready .............................. 4
Using ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Verbs ..................... 9
The Basic Patterns .................... 14
Recognizing ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Verbs ........ 16
Credits ........................................ 37

3. Abbreviations
1, 2, 3 indicate grammatical person
m, f, c indicate grammatical gender
s, p indicate grammatical number
R1, R2, R3 indicate root letters
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4. Getting Ready
Before we start getting to
know the ‫ ,הִפְעִיל בִּנ*י)ן‬let’s
run a few preflight checks.
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5. Do you remember how a Hebrew
verb changes to form the various
combinations of person, gender,
and number, as well as perfect
and imperfect?
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6. If you answered
“yes,” you’re ready
for the ‫!הִפְעִיל בִּנ*י)ן‬
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7. Remember that certain patterns
can create predictable variations.
This slideshow focuses on core
patterns. It does not illustrate every
possible variation.
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8. Furthermore, this slideshow
is intended to supplement,
not replace, classroom
instruction and practice.
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9. Using ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Verbs
The ‫ הִפְעִיל‬is the second most
frequently used ‫ בִּנ*י)ן‬in the .‫תַּנ0״‬
(after ‫ .)3ל‬The .‫ תַּנ0״‬contains over
9,300 instances of verbs in ‫.הִפְעִיל‬
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10. Verbs in ‫ הִפְעִיל‬are active, and
often transitive (taking direct
objects).
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11. Verbs in ‫ הִפְעִיל‬often describe
some sort of change that the
subject imposes on an object.
Therefore, you may hear the
‫ הִפְעִיל‬described as “causative.”
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12. When the same ‫ שֹׁ5שׁ‬is used in
both ‫ 3ל‬and ‫ ,הִפְעִיל‬the ‫3ל‬
version often means “to do
such-and-such” and the ‫הִפְעִיל‬
version means “to make
[someone] do such-and-such.”
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13. However, this is only a trend,
not a hard-and-fast rule, so
you should learn each verb’s
particular use in the ‫.הִפְעִיל‬
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14. The Basic Patterns
Memorize the following basic
patterns first, and then we’ll
go through the specifics.
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15. .‫הִשְׁלִי‬ He threw (3ms perfect)
.‫י0שְׁלִי‬ He will throw (3ms imperfect)
.ֵ‫הַשְׁל‬ Throw! (ms imperative)
.‫הַשְׁלִי‬ To throw (infinitive)
.‫מַשְׁלִי‬ Throwing (ms participle)
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16. Recognizing ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Verbs
You can tell from the name
“‫ ”הִפְעִיל‬that the most noticeable
sign of this ‫ בִּנ*י)ן‬is a prefixed –‫.ה‬
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17. However, that –‫ ה‬won’t be
visible in the imperfect and
participle forms, so you’ll need
to learn a few other ‫ הִפְעִיל‬traits.
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18. Alert! When a ‫ הִפְעִיל‬verb
has no suffix or a vowel as
a suffix, its R2 will have a
distinctive ‫.חִי5ק מָלֵא‬
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19. However, when a ‫ הִפְעִיל‬verb has
a suffix that starts with a consonant,
R2’s distinctive ‫ חִי5ק מָלֵא‬will
become a different vowel, usually
a ‫ פַּת=ח‬in the perfect and a ‫ צֵ@י‬in
other forms.
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20. Therefore, you mustn’t rely
on R2’s distinctive ‫חִי5ק מָלֵא‬
to identify ‫ הִפְעִיל‬verbs.
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21. Recognizing the ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Perfect
If you see a verb with a
perfect suffix and a –ִ‫ה‬
prefix, it’s probably a
‫ הִפְעִיל‬perfect.
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22. Just make sure the prefix
is really –ִ‫ ה‬and not –B‫ ,הִת‬to
avoid confusing the ‫הִפְעִיל‬
with the ‫פַּעֵל‬B‫.הִת‬
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23. The ‫ הִפְעִיל‬perfect’s prefix
usually appears as –ִ‫ ,ה‬but
can also be –ֵ‫( ה‬if R2 is ‫ )ו‬or
–ֶ‫( ה‬if R2 is ‫.)י‬
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24. ‫ר ב‬Gִ‫ה‬
‫ י‬ ִ
The prefixed ‫ה‬
The suffix ‫הֵשׁ ב‬‫ י‬ ִ with an i-class
indicates
‫הִלְבּ שׁ ה‬
ָ
‫ י‬ ִ vowel indicates
a perfect.
a ‫.הִפְעִיל‬
‫הִשְׁל כ וּ‬
‫ י‬ִ
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25. ְ‫רבְ תּ‬Gִ‫ה‬
ַ
The prefixed ‫ה‬
The suffix ‫הִ שׁ מְתֶּם‬
ַ‫ְכּ‬ with an i-class
indicates
ָ‫הִלְבּשְׁתּ‬
ַ vowel indicates
a perfect.
a ‫.הִפְעִיל‬
‫הִשְׁלַכְתִּי‬
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26. Recognizing the ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Imperfect
If a verb has an imperfect prefix with
an a-class vowel (usually ‫ )פַּת=ח‬and R2
has an i-class vowel (usually ‫חִי5ק מָלֵא‬
or ‫ ,צֵ@י‬depending on the suffix), you
have a ‫ הִפְעִיל‬imperfect.
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27. ‫י ַבְדּ ל‬
‫ י‬ ִ
The affixes ‫ַ י‬
‫ר ב‬G‫תּ‬ ִ The prefix’s ‫פַּת=ח‬
indicate an and R2’s i-vowel
imperfect. ‫ י‬
‫תּפְר חִי‬ ִ ַ indicate a ‫.הִפְעִיל‬
‫י אֲמ נ וּ‬
‫ַ י‬
ִ
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28. Recognizing the ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Imperative
If a verb starts with –ַ‫ ה‬but
otherwise looks like a 2fs, 2mp,
or 2fp ‫ הִפְעִיל‬imperfect, it’s a
‫ הִפְעִיל‬imperative with the
same gender and number.
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29. Almost the same goes for the ms
imperative, but in addition to the –ַ‫ה‬
prefix, the ms imperative has a ‫צֵ@י‬
where the 2ms imperfect has ‫:חִי5ק מָלֵא‬
‫ט ל‬Gַ‫תּ‬
‫ ִי‬ 2ms ‫ הִפְעִיל‬imperfect
‫טל‬Gַ‫ה‬
ֵ ms ‫ הִפְעִיל‬imperative
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30. Alert! The ‫פְעַל‬O‫ נ‬imperative also
starts with a prefixed -ִ‫ ,ה‬but the
forms are otherwise distinctive:
‫הִקטֵל‬
ָּ ms ‫פְעַל‬O‫ נ‬imperative
‫ט ל‬Gִ‫ה‬
‫ ִי‬ 3ms ‫ הִפְעִיל‬perfect
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31. Recognizing the ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Infinitives
The ‫ הִפְעִיל‬infinitive* looks just like the
3ms ‫ הִפְעִיל‬imperfect with a –ַ‫ ה‬instead
of the normal imperfect prefix.
* Or “infinitive construct.”
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32. The ‫ הִפְעִיל‬adverbial infinitive* looks
just like the ms imperative. You’ll
have to use context to tell them apart.
Try imperative first; they’re almost
three times as common in the .‫.תַּנ0״‬
* Or “infinitive absolute.”
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33. Recognizing the ‫ הִפְעִיל‬Participle
The ms ‫ הִפְעִיל‬participle resembles the
3ms ‫ הִפְעִיל‬imperfect, but with a –‫מ‬
instead of the imperfect prefix.
‫ט ל‬Gַ‫ה‬
‫ ִי‬ 3ms imperfect
‫ט ל‬Gַ‫מ‬
‫ ִי‬ ms participle 33

34. The mp and fp participles take
the familiar plural endings ‫ ים‬
ִ–
and ‫. –וֹת‬
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35. The fs participle is a little bit
different from the others. Its R2
has a ‫ סְגוֹל‬instead of ‫,חִי5ק מָלֵא‬
and it takes the suffix ‫. ת‬
ֶ–
‫ט ל‬Gַ‫מ‬
‫ ִי‬ ms participle
‫מַ ת‬
ֶ‫טל‬G
ֶ fs participle
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36. Summary
‫ט ל‬Gִ‫3 ה‬ms perfect
‫ ִי‬
‫ט ל‬G0‫3 י‬ms imperfect
‫ ִי‬ In all of these
‫טל‬Gַ‫ ה‬ms imperative
ֵ forms, look for
‫ט ל‬Gַ‫ ה‬infinitive
‫ ִי‬ the prefix and
‫טל‬Gַ‫ ה‬adv. infinitive
ֵ R2’s i-vowel.
‫ט ל‬Gַ‫ מ‬ms participle
‫ ִי‬ 36

37. Credits
Dead Sea photo by Wikimedia Commons
contributor Xta11. Used under a CC-SA
license.
All other content by Dr. Chris Heard,
Associate Professor of Religion, Pepperdine
University. Released under a CC-BY license.
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