Bible HebrewPual & Hithpael
The Piel made passive, and doing it to oneself: יֻלַּד “he was born”, וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל “and he prayed”.
Pual and Hithpael: “was …ed” and “… oneself”
These last two stems double the middle root letter, like the Piel. Pual is the Piel made passive. Look for u (ֻ) under the first letter: צִוָּה “he commanded” becomes צֻוָּה “he was commanded”. Numbers 36:2 has both: צִוָּה יְהוָה “yəḥawwe commanded”, וַאדֹנִי צֻוָּה בַיהוָה “and my lord was commanded by yəḥawwe”.
| Form | Pual | Where |
|---|---|---|
| past | יֻלַּד he was born | Genesis 4:26 |
| story | וַיְכֻלּוּ and they were finished | וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1) |
| future | יְכֻבָּד he will be honored | Proverbs 13:18; from the Piel כַּבֵּד “Honor!” (Exodus 20:12) |
| participle | מְהֻלָּל praised | גָּדוֹל יְהוָה וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד “Great is yəḥawwe and greatly praised” (Psalm 48:2) |
When the middle letter can't be doubled, the u becomes o: יְהִי שֵׁם יְהוָה מְבֹרָךְ “May the name of yəḥawwe be blessed” (Psalm 113:2).
Hithpael means doing something to oneself, or doing it back and forth, around, or with one another. Look for ת right after the front letter (הִתְ, יִתְ, מִתְ) and a doubled middle letter. To oneself: וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם “and you shall make yourselves holy” (Leviticus 11:44). Back and forth: “walk” becomes “walk about”.
| Form | הלך “walk about” | פלל “pray” |
|---|---|---|
| past | הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי I walked (2 Kings 20:3) | הִתְפַּלַּלְתָּ you prayed (2 Kings 19:20) |
| story | וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ and he walked (Genesis 5:22) | וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל and he prayed (Genesis 20:17) |
| future | אֶתְהַלֵּךְ I will walk (Psalm 116:9) | וְיִתְפַּלֵּל and he will pray (Genesis 20:7) |
| participle | מִתְהַלֵּךְ walking about (Genesis 3:8) | מִתְפַּלֵּל praying (1 Kings 8:28) |
The ת swaps places with a first letter שׁ or ס: וָאֶשְׁתַּמֵּר מֵעֲוֹנִי “and I kept myself from my sin” (Psalm 18:24), from שׁמר “keep”, and אַתָּה אֵל מִסְתַּתֵּר “you are a God who hides himself” (Isaiah 45:15), from סתר “hide”. The common וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ “and he bowed down” (Genesis 24:52) has the same look; grammar books disagree on which stem it belongs to.
Check yourself
What does the Pual do to a Piel verb?
✓ makes it passive: “he commanded” → “he was commanded” · makes it causative · makes it reflexive · puts it in the future
The Pual changes the i under the first letter to u: צִוָּה “he commanded” becomes צֻוָּה “he was commanded” (Numbers 36:2).
What two signs mark a Pual?
✓ u (ֻ) under the first letter, and a doubled middle letter · נִ in front · ת right after the front letter · ִי before the last letter
In יֻלַּד “he was born” (Genesis 4:26), the first letter י has u under it, and the ל is doubled.
Which is a participle, “walking about”?
✓ מִתְהַלֵּךְ · וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ · הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי · הוֹלֵךְ
מ in front marks a participle, and תְ after it with a doubled ל marks the Hithpael: מִתְהַלֵּךְ “walking about”, as in מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן “walking about in the garden” (Genesis 3:8).
Why does וָאֶשְׁתַּמֵּר “and I kept myself” (Psalm 18:24) have ת after the שׁ?
✓ the ת swaps places with a first שׁ · the ת is part of the root · it is a Pual · it marks “she”
The root is שׁמר. In the Hithpael, the ת steps after a first שׁ or ס.
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