Lesson10: Weak Verbs I: First-nlrn.First-'a/erft. First-yodft
Therearethreebasicvarietiesof weakverbs,thosehavinga weakfirst, second,or
wctwandyodh.When
third consonant.Therearemainlytwo weakconsonants,
'olephappea$at thebeginningor endof a root it is considered
weakandcan
forms.Only whennun appears
at thebeginningof a root canit
createunpredictable
formsof the verbs.
be considered
weak,especiallyin the conjugated
Part1.
First-nunverbs
Thesimplestof theseweakverbsis the last,first-nunverbs.In fact,not all firstnun verbsbehavestrangelyat all, somehavepatternsidenticalto the strongverbs.
Theseincludeverbslike pT! H: "to injure",]n: G : "to give".
Thosethatdo show"weak"characteristics
include:nnl G: "to descend".
)l: C
: "to fall", P!: G : "to comeforth", )S: H : "to rescue",NU: G : "to carq/".
We havealreadylearnedsomeof thesein an earlier lesson,but becausewe only
learnedthem in their participial forms, they did not exhibit their "weak"
In fact, the weak characteristicsare not evenapparentin the perfect
characteristics.
of any stem.But, in the G- and H-imperfectthe weak frst-nun verbsbehave
somewhatunpredictably(but are normal in the D-imperfect).In essence,whenever
a prefix is appliedto the root and this resultsin nun as the final consonantof a
syllable,the nun blendsin with the following consonant;it assimilates.Thus, in the
perfect,without a prefix, we have )!!, the expectedform, analogousto the form
of verbswith strongroots. But in the imperfect,with the addition of the prefixyithe nun becomesa syllable-finalconsonant*yin-pel, and it subsequentlyblendsor
with the followingpeh, resultinginyippel. (Noticethat the theme
assimilates
vowel of this root, as indicatedearlier,is lel [ ] The themevowels of first-nttn
verbsdiffer.)
Assimilation is a commonlinguistic phenomenon.What is describedhereis
similar to the kind of assimilationthat hastakenplacein Latin in the very word
assimilate,from ad + similis --- assimildre: "to assimilate".
Introductory Lessonsin Arqmaic by Eric D. Reymond
74
pro$am,the dot thatshould
Q.{otethatdueto difficultieswith my word-processing
in the sadehin the follow
fi
ng tbrms doesnot
H-Perfect H-Imperfect H-Imperative
G.
G.
Imperfect Imperative
3ms )2' yippet
3fs )ln
2ms
2fs
)En
rrtan
)s
')6
L..- ,
,
/5r | fiASS€l
L.r-.
n?sil
bgi:r-r
ri)xi:
'n)!il
l-a t--,
l':
lcs
I
rr l-c t-F
|
./5r ll'l
n)s;T
,
n la.
rrlil
n)!n
rrLrr-r
l't /5t I
r l.r r-,.
I ./5t I
r)s
r.. n l..t rl'll'l ,/5r I
il)5
r-l.rr|I i"' :l ",-/ 5 r I
r r' t l . r r - - t
l ,/5t ['l
t l.tr--'
I ./5t ll'l
*: )tn
)sn:
lr:
2mp ir )lt1
2fp r \an
| /-a
IT:
)r:
I
t
,zSi li'l
)lN
3mp
3fp t ta.
lcp
,
.rj5r_l. yan0sSel
)sil
'xil
TgnN
lt:-:
tr:-:
r )!l
n)S;'r
Notethatthe imperatives
alsoattestunexpected
forms,basedon the factthatthey
areinfluencedby the form of the imperfect.
TheH-stemparticipleandG- andH-steminfinitivesarequitepredictable,
given
thepatternabove.
H-participte:
)ts[b or )SE , n?S[F ot nf$E, etc.
)Fn
G-Infinitirr.,
H-Infinitive:
i'T?+A
rntroductoryLessonsin Arqmqic by Eric D. Reymond
75
into the
As observedabove,in eachof theseformsthenunhasassimilated
*yinpel
--+yippel.
Thus,
resultingin a doubledconsonant.
followingconsonant,
andderivingtheroot from theseformsis
Thisis a relativelysimpletransformation,
problematic
whenone
ldentifuingtheseformsbecomes
relativelystraightforward.
considers
theotherweakverbsthathaveformssimilarto these.
Par|2.
First-'alephverbs.
haveverbalformsthatareonly slightly
Rootswith an N astheirfirst consonant
distinctfrom thoseof the stronsverb.
As with ftst-nun roots,the differences
appearprimarilywhenprefixesareaddedto
theroot.FortheG-stem,theresultis thattheregularshortlil of theprefix
transformsinto lel ( ).
-lDNl.
-lbN
in theperfectis lB$, but in the imperfectit is
Sothe 3msform of
The2mpform in theperfectis'ilfl"lBN, but in theimperfectit is llfDNi:l.
Noticethatthe 'alephin theprefixedformsdoesnot havea shewaor anyvowel
it.
beneath
Exercise10a.
Basedon the two examplesabove,you shouldbe ableto predict the following
-lDlt
for the G-Imperfectand'fDN):
forms.Fill in the blanksof the chart(
3ms
3fs
G-Imoerfect
G-Imperative
ln$'
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
2ms
rEs
2fs
'_'lEts
lcs
-rE$
XXXXXXXX
3mp
XXXXXXXX
3fp
XXXXXXXX
2mp
11EX
zfp
;''T'rn$
lco
XX)O(XXXX
Introductory Lessonsin Aramaic by Eric D. Reymond
16
Noticethatthe lcs form wouldhavebeen*-lFN$ , but because
of theredundancy
'alephs"
of two
this shortens
to theform lFN
TheD-stemshowsno majorinsonsistencies
with the basicparadigm(e.g.,*-lp|!l
*d *j'--lDltFl --- thelal themevowelis dueto the influenceof the resh),but the
H-stemdoesshowsignificantdeviationfrom thebasicparadigm.Theformsof
first-'alephrootsin theH-stemmustbe learnedindividuallyfor eachroot.
Part3.
First-yodhverbs.
Rootswith a' asthe first root-consonant
arelike the otherverbalpatternsstudied
in thislesson,in thatpeculiarities
in theirformsemergeonlywith theapplication
of prefixesto theirroot.TheG- andD-stemperfectto theseverbsare,therefore,
analogous
to strongverbs.
For the G-imperfect,
therearetwo basicpatterns,depending
on the specific
verb/root;for the H-imperfect,thereis a singlepattern.Theseareillustratedin the
chartbelow.(D-stemimperfects
aretoo rareto warrantdiscussion.)
G-Impf lJ-lr
G-Impf. !l'l!
f t : ? :r
-tEti
3ms
3fs
2ms
2fs
?r f'r=il':1
lcs
tJ:T:N
3mp
3fp
2mp
2fp
'll t'tt'r
lcp
tt?t I
G-Imvs.
l)'l)l'l
)J
'l
rl'l
-it'|l'I
j
- J r . r r .l
ll-?' t
u
i -rF
I Jt'l
'lji /':l''i
u
ll)J
lrlr
rj-l'1;''Tn
IJ-]"t;'tF]
i't)/
| li i
Ir-1't;'t
i:'i
t|t
'nljl'];'l
? r J: l - r - inl i l . l
I
.l
tt)J t;tt
9'1''ri"itt
i'tjl'1.
r iJ-li;''l
?t ft-t-r
i'- ,'"
i''uj-j'1;1
l)/
?-t|:1r
1'lv'l!i'l
j'iJi'ri'r
rri / 1:r.l
lJr'D'r
i'lgi / n:rr
lr
H-lmpef.
tF[{
I !'t?. r
'rrr'l
H-Perf.
t i F
lt-t-
I'li'lY I lrI
tEttait
li'l! I lrI
rlt I
"
t I tt-rt-
I'l)/ | lr li'l
I ttairF
l!
I lr ll'l
N)lJ-]'1;'1
TheG-stemimperfectof IJ'l' mimicsthepatternof a rootwhosefirst root
consonant
is a nun, onethatdoesnot assimilate.
TheG-stemimperfectof ll'i'
mimicsthepatternof a rootwhosefirst root consonant
is anun thatdoes
assimilate.
TheH-stemof lln showsanlal vowelwherewe expectlel (. ); thisis dueto the
influenceof the guttural'ayin.Thuswe havel']'f if insteadof l'lii'l. Oneroot
Introductory Lessonsin Aramaic by Eric D. Reymond
77
deviatesfrom this andmakesthe H-stemwith a prefixed-'iJ, theroot )l', which
in the H-3msperfectur h';'1.
appears
Oneof the sideeffectsof thesesimilaritiesbetweenrootsis thatit is sometimes
difficult,whenreadingBiblical Aramaic,to recognizetheroot frornwhicha given
verbform derives.This,in turn,makesit difficult to look up the meaningof the
verb.
Exercise10b.
List the possibleroots I?omwhich theseverbal forms might derive and look up the
correctroot in the AnswersAppendix.
1 t{tD
L.-ll
J. 'lt)=
4.v1
5.'Tlii']r'i
Exercise 10c.
Translate
thisslightlysimplifiedversionof Daniel7:11-14
11.
t?)nn flrp ':TNll:rt NlIn)i?-inl]inr n''tiT
irTr.l
N!]'n n?'bP.'J"t! n''liT;rTI
'lllil'l
irryNnli?') nl';r'"! ;'TFUI
l2
il'lltr)VJ )- -lJJ;l
',-i- Nn''l'n
r{rrrrL.ri
rr-rr-
I= t.'a"ra'r--7j.
ly
l'l)Jl
lfJl
lT
:
l-:
-
-lNlL'l
i I-:.-.'
lJlrl,/ilJ
:
-
tl
:
rr: -r= ---rir
tt\l
I'llJttJ
|
-;
T
;-;
13.
Nl)') .'1inin''lit;TTF
;lliTiln$ ulN-11!N'.DID'l!-tr!l-r$l
-;rrt-rj?i_l'i:TrnlP'l
irpn NiF]' p'F!-'t!l
.rrirrr
rrirtr
14.
-'lil'l '?rr7ilJ
ttrtl']
t|
| tu
/t/
\,/
l';'l' ;'.'T7']
):r
irn)rin: illirylolntN'.nnp
Introductory Lessonsin Aramaic by Eric D. Reymond
'78
-=
! '
' )flr
t
'-!-r?
tf
r\ /
'' a r t
' Ft
/)J
|
ttlL..i
tL) )W
r.ql...i
I't)L) /V
ii:r::n''
?lEnnN?-'-T
Considerthe following:
'T!R :
G-stem"to perish", in the HIn the third line of verse 11, note the forms of
'l:lil)
stem"to destroy",in the Hp-stem"to be destroyed"(Hp-perf.
In the first line of verse12,the verb l':TJJi'lis an H-3mp perfectof i'l-lJJ:"to take
away."The lelvowel under the heh (insteadof an lal vowel) is the result of the
following gutturalconsonant.Insteadof translating,"the rest of the beaststook
awaytheir dominion,"it is likely that this verb is intendedto havean impersonal
subject,and shouldthereforebe translatedinto the Englishpassive.The first noun
phraseis marking the topic of the sentence,besttranslated"As for the rest of the
beasts,their dominionwas takenaway."
In the secondline of verse12,notethe curiousphrasesto mark time at the end.
In the secondline of verse13, note the phrase"like a son of man," meaninglike a
humanbeing.We might expecta'T to precedethis phrase,to make"one like a
humanbeing".
In tlre third line of verse13,notethe objectsuffix (3ms)on the H-3mp perfectof
f-lP The addition of the suffix resultsin the reductionof the short lilbeneaththe
resh inthe regularform of the H-3mp perfect:ll-lPil Notice that herethereis no
clear subject,and so one must assumean impersonalsubject,and translatewith an
Englishpassive:"He was broughtnear"(insteadof "they broughthirn near").
In the third line of verse 14, the verb |'T:TJJ'is a G-3ms imperfectof il'lJ) "to pass
away." Comparethe H-stem of this verb, as it appearsin verse 12.
Introductory Lessortsin Aramaic by Eric D. Reymond
79