Lesson 25: Hiphil
The hiphil form is sometimes referred to as the causative because it usually expresses the causative action of verbs that appear in the qal. Not all hiphil verbs are causative however. The primary characteristics of the hiphil are a prefixed ה and an infixed י ִ as the vowel between the second and third root letters of the verb. Together, the qal, niphal, piel, and hiphil, make up 97% of all verbs in the Hebrew Bible.
Perfect
| Hiphil | Qal | Person |
| הִקְטִיל | קָטַל | 3ms |
| הִקְטִילָה | קָטְלָה | 3fs |
| הִקְטַלְתָּ | קָטַלְתָּ | 2ms |
| הִקְטַלְתְּ | קָטַלְתְּ | 2fs |
| הִקְטַלְתִּי | קָטַלְתִּי | 1cs |
| הִקְטִילוּ | קָטְלוּ | 3cp |
| הִקְטַלְתֶּם | קְטַלְתֶּם | 2mp |
| הִקְטַלְתֶּן | קְטַלְתֶּן | 2fp |
| הִקְטַלְנוּ | קָטַלְנוּ | 1cp |
Imperfect
The characteristic ה is dropped in the imperfect, as is the ה of the definite article with an inseparable preposition, for example, לַבַּיִת for לְהַבַּיִת.
| Hiphil | Qal | Person |
| יַקְטִיל | יִקְטֹל | 3ms |
| תַּקְטִיל | תִּקְטֹל | 3fs |
| תַּקְטִיל | תִּקְטֹל | 2ms |
| תַּקְטִילִי | תִּקְטְלִי | 2fs |
| אַקְטִיל | אֶקְטֹל | 1cs |
| יַקְטִילוּ | יִקְטְלוּ | 3mp |
| תַּקְטֵלְנָה | תִּקְטֹלְנָה | 3fp |
| תַּקְטִילוּ | תִּקְטְלוּ | 2mp |
| תַּקְטֵלְנָה | תִּקְטֹלְנָה | 2fp |
| נַקְטִיל | נִקְטֹל | 1cp |
Imperative
| Imperative | Imperfect | Person |
| הַקְטֵל | תַּקְטִיל | 2ms |
| הַקְטִילִי | תַּקְטִילִי | 2fs |
| הַקְטִילוּ | תַּקְטִילוּ | 2mp |
| הַקְטֵלְנָה | תַּקְטֵלְנָה | 2fp |
Infinitives
| Infinitive Construct | Imperative |
| הַקְטִיל | הַקְטֵל |
Infinitive Absolute
Participle
The characteristic ה is dropped in the participle.
| Hiphil | Qal | Person |
| מַקְטִיל | קֹטֵל | ms |
| מַקְטֶלֶת | קֹטֶלֶת | fs |
| מַקְטִילִים | קֹטְלִים | mp |
| מַקְטִילוֹת | קֹטְלוֹת | fp |
Cohortative
The characteristic ה is dropped in the cohortative.
| Hiphil | Qal | Person |
| אַקְטִילָה | אֶקְטְלָה | 1cs |
| נַקְטִילָה | נִקְטְלָה | 1cp |
Jussive
The jussive is a short form.
| Jussive | Imperfect | Person |
| יַקְטֵל | יַקְטִיל | 3ms |
Reading
Please read pages 190-193 in Biblical Hebrew Step-by-Step.
Exercises
1. Memorize the Hiphil paradigm.