The Hebrew Stems
In Biblical Hebrew grammar, a stem refers to a set of verb forms derived from a common root that express different voices, intensities, or aspects of action. Each stem modifies the basic meaning of the verb root in a distinct way. These modifications are achieved through prefixes, vowel patterns, and the doubling of consonants.
The Hebrew word קָטַל, meaning “he killed,” is a strong verb. The strong root structure of קָטַל means it has no irregularities caused by stems outside of the Qal, such as guttural letters or weak radicals. Each of its root letters (ק, ט, ל) conforms to the standard rules of Hebrew phonology and morphology. This makes it ideal for illustrating general grammatical patterns without the influence of exceptions.
Qal (קַל) – The simple active stem. It expresses the basic action of the root (e.g., קָטַל "he killed").
Niph’al (נִפְעַל) – The simple passive stem. It often has a prefixed נ (nun) (e.g., נִקְטַל "he was killed").
Pi’el (פִּעֵל) – The intensive active stem. It intensifies the root's meaning and doubles the middle radical (e.g., קִטֵּל "he slaughtered/brutally killed").
Pu’al (פֻּעַל) – The intensive passive stem. It intensifies the root’s meaning and doubles the middle radical but uses passive vowel patterns (e.g., קֻטַּל "he was slaughtered").
Hithpa’el (הִתְפַּעֵל) – The intensive reflexive form. It has a prefix הִתְ (e.g., הִתְקַטֵּל "he killed himself").
Hiph’il (הִפְעִיל) – The causative active stem, meaning to cause the action of the root (e.g., הִקְטִיל "he caused to kill").
Hoph’al (הָפְעַל) – The causative passive stem (e.g., הָקְטַל "he was caused to kill").
Each of these stems can be conjugated into perfect, imperfect, imperative, infinitive, and participle forms. The stem shapes the voice and aspect of the verb.
The stems impact aspect because Biblical Hebrew verbs are not time-oriented—it is the type of action that is in focus, and time is derived from context.