and Its Congeners.

• Author: Garr, W. Randall
• Position: Hebrew verbs

1. INTRODUCTION

   Over six decades ago, E. A. Speiser published a landmark article in this Journal entitled "The Durative Hithpa'el: A ton-Form." (1) It focused on a handful of Hebrew verbs appearing in the hithpael that, for him, do not conform to semantic expectations. He said the stem "hardly" reflects the "reflexive, middle, or reciprocal" voice in these verbs. (2) Further, it "appear[s] to perform the same duty as... the corresponding stems without a t-morpheme." (3) Comparative evidence only compounds the problem: these verbs "show no trace of the original uses of the t-stems" in other Semitic languages. (4) Nonetheless, they share a common semantic trait. "All these atypical Hithpa'els turn out to connote repeated or continuous action." (5) That trait then led Speiser to a morpho-semantic analogue of those durative verbs: the Akkadian infix -tan-. A verb such as [phrase omitted] "walk about" (e.g., Gen. 3:8), he concluded, was originally distinct from the hithpael proper but ultimately assimilated to that stem: *qa-tan-tala > *qatattala > * 'iqtattala > hitqattel. (6)

   This explanation has a number of problems. (7) First, the comparison between the hithpael and Akkadian -tan- is doubtful. The infix -tan- is an innovation attested only in Akkadian. (8) It is also a continuous morpheme that, in Hebrew, would have split into a discontinuous prefix + infix--presumably under the influence of the native Hebrew hithpael (tD). (9) Second, Speiser overlooked the possibility that derivational morphology in general, and the hithpael stem in particular, can be polysemous. In the other derived stems of Hebrew, for instance, the semantic value of a derived stem varies with the argument structure and semantic nature of the base verb or word. The "reflexive, middle, or reciprocal" stem may have other functions. Third, the durative nature of some hithpael verbs may not be a function of the derived stem. Goetze had already voiced a similar doubt about Akkadian ittallak/ittanallak: "It seems ... clear that the continuative force of the form is not motivated by the t infix--this has otherwise an entirely different function." (10) Fourth, Speiser apparently assumed that stem alternation must be contrastive in voice; that, as a derived form, the argument structure of [phrase omitted] must be different from that of [phrase omitted]. The phenomenon of split paradigms counters that assumption. The inflection of the relatively common intransitive verb [phrase omitted] 'approach' makes the point: qal for the imperfect (consecutive), imperative, and infinitive construct ~ niphal for the perfect (consecutive) and participle. (11) For all of these reasons, the "atypical Hithpa'els" studied by Speiser merit reconsideration.

2. DERIVATION

   The hithpael, including its morphologically conditioned variants (e.g., hithpolel), is the only productive t-stem in Biblical Hebrew. (12) Its form is based on the piel, and the majority of hithpaeh is indeed derived from that stem: e.g., [phrase omitted] 'crave, envy' < [phrase omitted] 'desire' (ambitransitive), [phrase omitted] 'bless oneself (e.g., Gen. 12:3) < [phrase omitted] 'bless', [phrase omitted] 'cleanse oneself (Isa. 1:16) < [phrase omitted] 'cleanse', and [phrase omitted] 'purify oneself of sin' (e.g., Num. 8:21) < [phrase omitted] 'cleanse, purify of sin'. Yet it is not uncommon to find hithpael forms derived from other stems, especially the qal: (13) e.g., "Darin 'sell oneself (e.g., Deut. 28:68) < [phrase omitted] 'sell', [phrase omitted] Tie, fall prostrate' (e.g., Deut. 9:18) < [phrase omitted] 'fall', and perhaps [phrase omitted] 'wash oneself (Job 9:30) (14) < [phrase omitted] 'wash' (ambitransitive). Sometimes, however, it is difficult to determine the base stem. For example, a few hithpael verbs may be derived from either the qal or the piel: e.g., [phrase omitted] 'gather (one-self)' (Deut. 33:5) < [phrase omitted] 'gather' (transitive) or [phrase omitted] 'gather up' (transitive), and [phrase omitted] 'divvy up' (Josh. 18:5) < [phrase omitted] 'divide' (transitive) or [phrase omitted] 'divide' (transitive). [phrase omitted] could belong to this ambiguous category as well. (15)

3. TRANSITIVE BASES

   The semantic types of hithpael verbs are largely determined by the lexical meaning of the base from which the hithpael is derived. (16) Therein, transitive bases tend to set the stem's semantic parameters. Like all derived stems, the semantic types of the hithpael are generally predictable. These types are widely known, so only a brief summary is necessary here. (17) The summary is presented in three parts ([section][section]3.1-3) and is followed by a concluding analysis ([section]3.4). (18)

   3.1. Reflexive Voice

   The hithpael expresses both types of conventional reflexivity. The more recognizable is the direct reflexive in which the syntactic structure of the base verb is changed. Here, the agent and patient are coreferential if not identical; the patient is usually unexpressed; and the agent performs a self-directed act that, under normal circumstances, is directed at another entity: (19) e.g., [phrase omitted] 'expose oneself (e.g., Gen. 9:21; see also Prov. 18:2) < [phrase omitted] 'uncover, expose', [phrase omitted] 'exalt oneself (e.g., Num. 16:3) < [phrase omitted] 'exalt' (e.g., 2 Sam. 5:12), and a number of verbs adduced above. The more subtle type of reflexive hithpael does not change the argument structure of the base verb. (20) Rather, it focuses on the situation's effect on the subject as recipient, usually as beneficiary. The indirect reflexive is usually a semantic entailment of the reflexive event portrayed: e.g., [phrase omitted] 'bless oneself'. (21) Only rarely is a nonreflexive event autobenefactive: e.g., [phrase omitted] 'plead' < [phrase omitted] 'favor, oblige'; see also [phrase omitted] 'crave, envy' < [phrase omitted] 'desire'.

   3.2. Middle Voice

   Whereas many of the previous examples show that the hithpael expresses events having relatively distinct participants and/or distinct subevents, not all verbs in this stem share these features. (22) A case such as [phrase omitted] is ambivalent in this respect. When the grammatical subject is human, [phrase omitted] is a transitive verb of grooming: 'take off (apparel)' (Exod. 32:3, 23) < [phrase omitted] 'take off (apparel)' (v. 2). Here, the verb expresses an agentive and self-directed activity. But when the subject is inanimate, the verb reflects a spontaneous event devoid of agency: (23) 'tear, come off' (of branches) (Ezek. 19:12). The former usage is a marked reflexive; (24) the latter is a middle.

   Inasmuch as this essay focuses on [phrase omitted] and kindred verbs, three hithpael verbs deserve mention. They are derived from verbs of caused motion. One is [phrase omitted] (hithpolel). It appears twice. In one context, it means 'attack, roll (over)' (Gen. 43:18); in the other context, it means 'wallow, roll around' (2 Sam. 20:12). Each is an intransitive verb derived from transitive [phrase omitted] 'roll'; see also [phrase omitted] 'surge' (Job 30:14). Another is [phrase omitted]. Derived from [phrase omitted] 'lead' (transitive) (e.g., Ps. 23:2), its hithpael outcome is also intransitive: 'proceed' (Gen. 33:14). The third case is [phrase omitted]. Usually, the verb is reflexive: 'exalt oneself (see above). One time, though, it is likely a verb of motion: 'leap up' (Num. 23:24 [NJPS]), parallel to [phrase omitted] '[a people] will get up, arise', said in a leonine comparison. All these hithpael verbs express the middle voice; each event is unary, and its activity abides within the sphere of the grammatical subject. (25)

   3.3. Passive Voice

   Derived from a corresponding transitive verb, the passive depicts a situation in which the subject is affected by an activity of an external agent (usually implied or entailed). In limited fashion, the hithpael can express the passive: e.g., [phrase omitted] 'be renewed' (Ps. 103:5) < [phrase omitted] 'renew' (e.g., Ps. 104:30), [phrase omitted] 'be forgotten' (Eccl. 8:10; cf. LXX) < [phrase omitted] 'forget', [phrase omitted] 'be poured out' (Job 30:16; Lam. 2:12; see also Lam. 4:1) < [phrase omitted] 'pour' (transitive), and perhaps [phrase omitted] 'be bent' (Eccl. 12:3) < [phrase omitted] 'twist, bend' (e.g., Job 8:3). According to some, the passive is a late, nonproductive function of the hithpael attributable to Aramaic influence. (26)

   Not all examples are late, however. Baden adduces [phrase omitted] 'be absolved' (1 Sam. 3:14). (27) Another may be [phrase omitted] 'be established, founded' (Num. 21:27). (28) Other early examples alternate between passive and reflexive interpretations: e.g., [phrase omitted] 'be covered' (2 Kgs. 19:2 = Isa. 37:2) ~ 'cover oneself (see above), [phrase omitted] 'be observed' (Isa. 30:29) ~ 'sanctify oneself (e.g., 1 Sam. 16:5), and [phrase omitted] 'be kept, observed' (Mic. 6:16 [impersonal]) ~ 'keep, guard oneself (2 Sam. 22:24 = Ps. 18:24). Incidentally, such alternations weaken the notion of Aramaic influence. (29) Further, Aramaic is not the only language that represents the passive voice with reflexive morphology. Various European languages have this construction: e.g., French se voire, s 'ecrire, se dire, and se traduire. The connection between reflexive and passive is semantically based.

   3.4. Analysis

   While these three types of hithpael verbs do not exhaust every semantic possibility, they are sufficient for the present purpose. The core issue is the semantic status of the grammatical subject. It may be directly self-affecting (direct reflexive), indirectly self-affecting (indirect reflexive), naturally self-affecting or -affected (e.g., middle), or merely affected (passive). (30) In each case, the grammatical subject undergoes a change of some kind. (31)

   Like Hebrew derived stems generally, the derivation of a hithpael from a transitive base usually changes argument structure or valency. A transitive base tends to...