Bible HebrewParticiples
“Sitting”, “one who keeps”: verbs that act like adjectives.
Participles: “…ing” and “one who …”
A participle is a verb that behaves like an adjective. It shows action that is going on, and it changes for gender and number, not for person.
| Qal participle of ישׁב “sit, dwell” | In English |
|---|---|
| יֹשֵׁב | sitting, one who sits (masculine, one) |
| יֹשֶׁבֶת | sitting, one who sits (feminine, one) |
| יֹשְׁבִים | sitting, those who sit (masculine, many: men, or men and women) |
| יֹשְׁבוֹת | sitting, those who sit (feminine, many) |
Look for ō after the first root letter: יֹשֵׁב “sitting” is a participle, יָשַׁב “he sat” is a perfect.
The time comes from the story: וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח־הָאֹהֶל “and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent” (Genesis 18:1).
A participle often works as a noun, “one who …”: הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). With הַ it means “the one who …”: הַיֹּשֵׁב עַל־כִּסְאוֹ “who sits on his throne” (Exodus 11:5).
| Kind | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Qal passive (ū before the last letter) | בָּרוּךְ | blessed |
| Qal passive | כָּתוּב | written |
| Piel (starts with מְ) | מְדַבֵּר | speaking |
| Hiphil (starts with מ) | מוֹצִיא | bringing out |
Most stems other than Qal start their participles with מ. Niphal is the exception: it keeps its נ, as in נִרְאֶה “appearing, seen”.
Check yourself
What does a participle NOT show?
✓ the person (I, you, he …) · gender · number · the action
Participles change like adjectives, for masculine or feminine and for one or many, but they have no ending for I, you or he.
In וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח־הָאֹהֶל (Genesis 18:1), what does יֹשֵׁב mean?
✓ was sitting · sat down once · will sit · sit!
יֹשֵׁב has ō after the first letter: a participle, “sitting”, an action going on. The story is in the past, so “he was sitting”.
Which is a Qal active participle?
✓ שֹׁמֵר · שָׁמַר · שְׁמֹר · שָׁמוֹר
שֹׁמֵר has ō after the first letter and ē after the second: that is the Qal participle, “keeping”. שָׁמַר is “he kept”, שְׁמֹר is “keep!”, and שָׁמוֹר is the infinitive absolute.
What does הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי ask (Genesis 4:9)?
✓ Am I my brother’s keeper? · Did I keep my brother? · Will I keep my brother? · Keep my brother!
שֹׁמֵר works as a noun here: “one who keeps”. הֲ at the front makes it a question.
← InfinitivesWho, Which, That →
Bible Hebrew teaches this with practice questions and reviews that come back right before you forget. The alphabet, the lessons, the vocabulary and the guided readings are recorded in the biblical pronunciation. Free, no ads, and it works offline.
Practice this lesson free