Bible HebrewSeven Binyanim
Overview of all 7 verb stems.
Seven stems: one root, different meanings
Hebrew builds verbs from a root in patterns called stems (binyanim). Each stem changes the meaning in a typical way:
| Stem | Usually means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Qal | the basic meaning | כָּתַב he wrote |
| Niphal | passive or reflexive, like “was kept” | נִשְׁמַר he was kept |
| Piel | active, often a stronger or different meaning | דִּבֶּר he spoke |
| Pual | the passive of Piel | יֻלַּד he was born |
| Hiphil | causing, like “bring out” | הוֹצִיא he brought out |
| Hophal | the passive of Hiphil, like “was made king” | הָמְלַךְ he was made king |
| Hithpael | reflexive, done to oneself | הִתְהַלֵּךְ walk about! |
Clues to spot them: Niphal has נִ in front; Piel and Pual double the middle letter, and Pual has u (ֻ) under the first letter (יֻלַּד) where Piel has i or e (דִּבֶּר); Hiphil has הִ in front and often ִי inside; Hophal has הָ, הֻ or הוּ; Hithpael has הִתְ.
Check yourself
Which stem is usually causative (“cause to …”)?
✓ Hiphil · Niphal · Hithpael · Qal
The Hiphil means “cause to”. יָצָא “he went out” becomes הוֹצִיא “he brought out”: he caused someone to go out.
Which stem is usually reflexive (“… oneself”)?
✓ Hithpael · Hiphil · Piel · Qal
The Hithpael, with הִתְ in front, often means doing something to yourself: הִתְקַדֵּשׁ “he made himself holy”.
Which stem doubles the middle root letter and is active?
✓ Piel · Niphal · Hophal · Qal
Piel doubles the middle root letter: in דִּבֶּר “he spoke”, the dot in בּ doubles it. Piel is active: he does the speaking. Pual doubles it too, but it means “was done”.
מָצָא means “he found”. In Genesis 44:16 Judah speaks of the man in whose hand the cup נִמְצָא. What does נִמְצָא mean?
✓ was found · found again · made someone find · found himself
נִ in front marks the Niphal, usually passive: מָצָא “he found”, נִמְצָא “it was found”.
← Prepositions with EndingsNiphal & Piel →
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