כרסם, psalm 80:14.
I thought Hebrew words all had a 3 consonant root, but this has 4! Can anyone explain? Can anyone tell me how I could do a search for this in Logos resources??
I thought Hebrew words all had a 3 consonant root, but this has 4! Can anyone explain?
Where have you learned this? Most Hebrew words have a 3 consonant root, but not all at all! E.g. one of the most common Hebrew words with a 2 consonant root: "בן" ("son").
Thanks for quick reply. I thought 3 consonant root did apply to verbs though. I haven't noticed a 4 consonant verb root before.
§ 60. Quadriliteral verbs
Quadriliteral verbs are very few in number. One finds, on the analogy of the Piel: the type תִּרְגֵּם* to translate, יְתַרְגֵּם*, passive מְתַרְגֵּם. E.g. יְכַרְסְמֶ֫נָּה it devours it Ps 80.14; מְכֻרְבָּל clothed 1Ch 15.27;—on the analogy of the Hifil: הִשְׂמְאִיל* to go left, יַשְׂמְאִיל and (with the syncope of א) inf. הַשְׂמִאל*, הַשְׂמִיל; מַשְׂמִאל (cf. § 54 d).
(Joüon-Muraoka, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (Rome 2003) § 60)
You're welcome, Nicky! 3 consonant roots are the standard for Hebrew verbs, but there are exceptions, as always. It is possible that verbs with a 4 consonant root are a relatively late occurrence in the history of the Hebrew language, maybe tracing back to e.g. a participle of a 3 consonant root that became independent after a while.
For other possible explanations for Hebrew verbs with four radicals, look e.g. here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_root
Thank you both very much. Amazing what you can learn after decades of reading the language!
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