in the Ancient Semitic Languages
By Amikam Gai, Jerusalem
1. The question of the non-active participles arises from the strange
situation that while the active participles patterns in the ancient Semit¬
ic languages are etymologically connected, the patterns of the non-
active participles are etymologically unconnected. The participle pat¬
tern ofthe G (basic) stem is: Arab, and Akk. : qätilun/qätlum, Heb. : qötfl,
and Aram. : qat^; this 'Aramaic' pattern (and all those here later called
'Aramaic') is used in both Biblical Aramaic and Syriac. In addition,
Ge'ez has adjectives that follow the pattem qäl)l which, although they
no longer can be considered participles since they are not regularly and
automatically connected with the verbal conjugation, seem to have been
participles at one time. On the other hand, the non-active participles
(the use ofthe term 'non-active' rather than 'passive' will be discussed
and defended in § 4) have completely different patterns. Arab.: maqtül.
Heb. : q&ivl, Aram.: q'til and Ge'ez: q,>tül, which, for the same reasons
as the active participle, can no longer be considered a participle but
rather a frequent adjectival pattern. Despite the similarity this Ethiopic
pattern shares with the Hebrew qatul, they are not connected etymolog¬
ically, as the 6th order ofthe first consonant in Ge'ez signifies either a
previous w or a previous i, while Hebrew has an a. The equivalent pat¬
tem connected with the 13 stem, qütül, supports the possibility ofthe u.
In the derived stems, the contrast between the active and the non-
active participles is not as sharp as in G stem; however, the similarity
among the pattems of the active participles is more pronounced than
among the non-active ones. In all these ancient Semitic languages, the
active participle (excluding the single participles ofthe passive stems)
is constmcted with a prefixal m, short i (or its Hebrew, Aramaic and
Ge'ez substitute) after the second radical (when the language's phono¬
logical stmcture permits), auxiliary a after the first radical (when the
pattern requires), intermidiary u after the prefixal m in Arabic and
Akkadian, or shwa, intermidiary i (or its substitute) or a substitute
vowel replacing the formant of the causative in Hebrew, Aramaic and
Ge'ez. Most of these differences are also explained by the well-known
internal diachronic processes such as: dropping the short u and i in
Ge'ez; dropping the pre-accented short open vowels in Aramaic and
Hebrew (in Hebrew, only in the second plate before the accent); the
emergence of new intermidiary vowels within clusters of consonants;
and the dropping of a weak consonant leaving its vowel to the preceding
unvowelled consonant (or lengthening its short vowel) in Hebrew, Ara¬
maic and Ge'ez. The only etymological difference is the a of the pre¬
fixed m in Ge'ez rather than in the stems beginning with 'a (e.g. ma-
fakkir).
On the other hand, the patterns of the non-active participies are
rather divergent. The rare instances in Ge'ez of the non-active partici¬
ple-like connected to the derived stems e. g. bürük, ' >st>rküb, 'jstjgübü',
nr)9br)rüq, z,)nh,)lül/',)zn,)h)lül (August Dillmann: Ethiopic Grammar.
2nd. ed. By Carl Bezold, transi. by James A. Crichton. London
1907, § Illb and F. Praetorius: Äthiopische Grammatik. Karlsruhe-
Leipzig 1886. [Porta Linguarum Orientalium. 7.], § 103) lack the ini¬
tial m. Arabic and Aramaic, which both change only the i of the active
participle's second radical into an a (i.e. mu/m'qatti/ttel vs. mu/m'qatt/
ttal) differ from Hebrew which changes the first vowel into u as well (i. e.
m'qattd, maqtil vs. m'quU&l, muqtal respectively).
Before adding the Akkadian non-active participle forms of both G and
the derived stems, one should make two statements, which in addition
provide the clue to the problem; both deal with the synchronic descrip¬
tion of this language. Although these statements are not unknown, they
need to be reiterated as they do not receive sufficient attention, and
even scholars may not be sufficiently familiar with them.
Firstly: The form known as 'stative' (formerly 'permansive'), altough
almost always used as part of the verbal system, is neither a uniquely
verbal form nor even a verbal form at all. True, its most frequent use can
be described only within the framework ofthe tense system; however, it
is in itself a combination of two non-verbal elements : lexical basis and
inflexional suffixes. As a rule, these suffixes join every noun used as a
predicate, but actually they predominantly join the forms connected
with the verb which are then known as 'stative'. (Compare G. Buccel¬
lati : An Interpretation of the Akkadian Stative as a Nominal Sentence. In :
JNES 27 [1968], 1-12) Examples of such suffixes used with adjectives
and substantives are found in Wolfram von Soden: Gmndriß der
akkadischen Grammatik. Roma 1952. [Analecta Orientalia. 33.] (includ¬
ing Ergänzungsheft zum Grundriß der Akkadischen Grammatik. Roma
1969. [Analecta Orientalia. 47.), § 77a and M. B. Rowton: The Use of
the Permansive in Classic Babylonian. In: JNES 21 [1962], 233-303 exs.
201-213, 291-297.)'
Secondly: The basis for the stative acting as part ofthe verbal system,
is the so-called 'verbal adjective' (compare von Soden: Grundriß der
akk. Gramm., § 77 d); this element is the non-active counterpart of the
active participle i. e. the non-active participle. In principle, this point
was made in 1949 by 0. E. Ravn in his article Babylonian Permansive
and Status indeterminatus. In: Ar. Or 17 (1949), p. 303: "There seems to
be in Babylonian, a verbal adjective a participium II with ä-i of less ver¬
bal force, besides participium I with ä-i." Thus a verb has symetry: two
participles which may be used attributively and predicatively and in the
second case, both taking the predicatival set of affixes. Examples of
active participles with 'stative' suffixes are found in Rowton: The Use
of the Permansive . . ., exs. 214-216; the most important are those in
which the participle is from a derived stem and therefore, can under no
circumstances be considered as an unconventional spelling of a non-
active one.
Now, the Akkadian patterns parsum and purrusum, suprusum, Suta-
prusum, naprusum, etc. can be added to the lists ofthe non-active parti¬
ciples. The dissimilarity between these forms and those ofthe other lan¬
guages is obvious.
2. The solution to this problem emerges from the commonly accepted
assumption about the origin of the Western-Semitic perfect, i. e. that
it was developed from the Akkadian stative. That is to say, that the ori¬
ginal use of the non-active participle was changed and 'occupied' by a
different function. Consequently, in these languages the verb was left
with only the active participle. These participles, sharing a common ori¬
gin, have parallel pattems in the different languages. On the other
hand, the non-active participles had to be created anew and in most
cases this form developed separately in each language. Consequently,
the pattems of the non-active participles are not connected etymologi¬
cally.
3. The Aramaic G stem non-active participle (actually participles)
requires separate investigation. The common, 'recognised' non-active
' This article will refrain from citing examples to which reference can easily be made. The last artiele cited contains many classified examples which, in addi¬
tion to the author's aims, can be used for other purposes, and later will be cited frequently.
participle pattern of G stem in Aramaic is q'til, however, a respectable
number of verbal roots producing G stem verbs do not have that form,
while they do produce a fairly similar pattern — qattif: n-g-b "to dry up,
become dry" ; 'S-n "to gain strength, be many, be more" ; d-r-k "to tread upon, tread out"; S-t-q "to keep silence, cease"; z-l-l "to weigh light, to be of little weight or value"; n-$-h "to shine out, be well known"; d-h-n
"to grow fat, be anointed oiled" ; p-g-r "to be furious, rabid, mad (like a
dog)". (Full details and refferences may be found under the proper
entries in R. Payne-Smith: Thesaurus Syriacus. Oxford 1879-91 and C.
Brockelmann: Lexicon Syriacum' . Halle 1923-8.) The words formed
according to this pattern express state, permanent condition, lasting
quality or similar idea; the q'til pattern usually expresses the passive.
Both the forms and uses of these two patterns call to mind the Akkad¬
ian G stem verbal adjective, including its use as stative^ parsum/paris,
which has a similar form and is mainly used precisely for these two func¬
tions (see von Soden: Grundriß der akk. Gramm., § 77,3 and Rowton:
The Use ofthe Permansive . . ., § HI 2 [exs. 217-232] and § V [exs. 366-
400]). These two Aramaic patterns seem to be inherited from a form
identical to the Akkadian verbal adjective, and the transmission appar¬
ently occured in this manner. Due to the loss ofthe final case-ending,
an auxiliary vowel i was introduced between the second and third radi¬
cals (as in the Akkadian 3rd. m. person's stative —^Jam). According to
a general rule governing Aramaic (for this purpose, one has to use the
earliest possible stage of the language, namely Biblical Aramaic, as
evidence) i.e. that "The main word stress falls usually on the last syl¬
lable." (F. Rosenthal: A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic. Wiesbaden
1961. [Porta Linguarum Orientalium. NS 5.], § 26), this vowel became
the accented one and then was also lengthened. Now, according to an¬
other general phonological rule governing Aramaic, under such condi¬
tions, the preceding short unaccented a can no longer be retained. It
may either drop or be protected by doubling the following consonant
(see Rosenthal: BibL Aram. § 23 and H. Bauer-P. Leander: Gram¬
matik des biblisch-Aramäischen. Halle 1927, § 16Ic). In Aramaic both
were realized. Thus one finds G stem verbs forming their non-active par¬
ticiples as q'til while others form it as qattil.
^ Since Syriac is the best documented Aramaic language, it is that language which was mainly examined for the purpose of this article, and the overwhelm¬
ing majority of the examples will be taken from it.
' Despite the point made above, they will continue to be named 'verbal adjec¬
tive' and 'stative' as these are their common terms.
But these two sister patterns have two different meanings and Arama¬
ic uses the pattems differently: the q'til conveys the passive or any
dynamic attribution and hence is usually derived from active verbs (no
examples are needed), while the qattil conveys state or lasting quality
and is therefore mainly derived from verbs expressing state: ^-/-?i"to be
narrowed, grow thin"; k-b-r "to increase, abound"; s-g-' "to increase,
multiply, grow in number"; i-t-r "to be left over, to have over and
above"; s-p-r "to be fair, bright, beautiful"; s-li-n "to grow warm, feel warm" ; r-t-b "to be or become moist" ; b-s-m "to be fragrant, sweet, to please" ; i-q-r "to be heavy, oppressed" ; q-r-b "to come near, draw nigh" ;
r-k-k "to be soft, tender" ; i-q-d "to be burnt up" ; i-t-b "to sit down, sit, be seated"; d-m-k "to sleep".
When the language has two means of expression, both fomis may be
derived from the same root and may be used for expressing two different
meanings mainly following the general opposition between q 'til and qat¬
til (
d-h-l.
'emariu) lalldha mä d'hilin "bädaik. "Say unto God 'How fearful are
thy works'", Ps. LXVI. 3.
häi den 'a{n)t.t('t)a kad dahhila w'rattita. "But the woman fearing and
trembling", Mark V 33
w'hakana d'hil (h)wa hezwa d'müSe 'emar d'ddhhil {')na w'rattit {')na.
"And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I fear and tremble.".
Heb. XIL 21.
h-k-m.
'aikanä tehwe hade d'gabrä läh'kim li. "How shall this be, since I know not a man?" Luke I. 34.
b 'naw(hi) ger d"alma hand hakkimin 'enün men b'naw(hi) d 'nührä b 'Sar-
bathün hädi. "For the children of this world are in their generation wiser
than the children of light.", Luke XVI. 8.
d-n-h.
'a{i)k SemSa d'niha barqi'ä. "Like the sun shining in the sky", Ephraem
(in S. Ephraemi Syri Opera omnia qvae exstant. Ed. P. Benedictus et
St. Evod. Assemanus. Rome 1737-1743, vol. ii, 462c.)
fialma (h)w galia w(')ap dannihä. "The uncovered and lustrous image",
Ephraem: Carmina Nisibena. Ed. Gustavus Bickell. Leipzig 1866,
L. 103-4.
Although this possibility is exploited mainly by non-active verbs, the
more interesting examples are those from active verbs.
n-g-d.
I'man nallep ida'tä walman n'sakkel sem'a I'dahsilin men halba wangi
din men t'daici. "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he
make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and
drawn from the breasts.". Is. XXVIII. 9.
'ap hakkimä wanhiia 'am naggida. "Also a wise and a counsellor and a
prophet with a guide", Ephraem: Opera Omnia. Ed. Benedictus et
Assemanus, vol. iii, 212 a.
The most interesting cases are when the qattil form of the active verb
whether it produces both kinds of non-active participles or the qattil
form alone, governs a complement. The term 'active' (rather than 'tran¬
sitive') is used as the opposite of 'stative', and the verb governs its com¬
plement either directly or by a conditioned preposition:
S-l-t.
d'ted'''ün den d'Sallif (h)ü b're(h) d'{')nasa bar'ä I'meSbaq h'tähe. "But
that you may know that the son of man has power on the earth to for¬
give sins.", Mark II. 10. Also Biblical Aramaic has an example: 'ad di
i'da' di-sallit "läha 'li' h'malkut '"naSa. "Till he knew that the most high
God is the ruler in the kingdom of men", Dan. V. 21.
'-h-d.
m'.^abbah {')nd l'kün den 'ahhai dabkul meddem 'ahhidi(n) {'n)ttün li.
"Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things", I Cor.
XI. 2.
m-r-d.
d'leb''hün 'al t'wata marrir (h)wa. "That their heart was rebelling
against compunction", Ephraem: Opera Omnia. Ed. Benedictus et
Assemanus, vol. i 50e-f.
d-r-k.
'al dukkat(i) 'eqüm kad darrik (')na 'al kipa. "I will stand upon my posi¬
tion, while treading upon a stone.", Hab. II. 1.
That possibility agrees with the Akkadian verbal adjective (actually
used predicatively i.e. as 'stative') which also can govern a direct com¬
plement (see Rowton: The Use of the Permansive . . ., exs. 1-100).
However, the opposition between the two kinds of non-active parti¬
ciples in Aramaic cannot be described as a binary opposition; it requires
the terms of marked vs. unmarked members. The qattil pattern
expresses only state or permanent quality, while q 'til may convey either
this meaning or the passive. Consequently non-active verbs may have
two non-active participles with parallel uses: s-b-' "to be full, satisfied";
m-w-t "to die"; r-k-n "to bend downwards"; h-m-' "to ferment, leaven";
h-m-m "to be or grow hot"; q-d-m "to precede, go before".
Moreover, although a verb may have only one non-active participle
formed in the q 'til pattern, it may convey a state or permanent quality:
p-r-h "to rejoice", pViÄ(d) "glad"; s-n-' "to hate", s'ne, sania "foul, bad";
li-r-g "to rub, polish"; h'rig(ä) "polished, elegant" ; p-r-,f "to separate, set apart, divide, part"; p'ns{ä) "separate, different, diverse"; s-r-d "to remain alone"; s'rid{ä) "a fugitive, survivor, remnant, remainder"; l-z-z
"to be importunate, tiresome, grievous"; l'ziz{a) "importunate, tire¬
some, grievous"; t-l-h "to beat out, hammer"; t'Hh(d) "thin".
4. We have seen that Aramaic has separated the twofold function of
the Akkadian verbal adjective/stative into two distinct forms, but other
languages too do not surrender the possibility of conveying state. True,
they have developed different devices for that purpose (such as purely
nominal patterns), hence the non-active participle is used principally
for rendering the passive, but these participles may still be used for con¬
veying state or lasting quality. Compare (mainly for Hebrew, biblical
and post biblical) J. Blau: Pa'ul be-hora'a 'aqtivit ("Passive participle
with an active meaning"). In: Lesonenu 18 (1952), 67-81 and (for
Ge'ez) Dillmann: Ethiopic Gramm., § 108c ad. fin. That use of this par¬
ticiple, although sometimes minor and morphologically linked to the
main use ofthe form, must not be ignored; it precludes the label 'passi¬
ve' for these participles and demands 'non-active' to include both uses.
Remark:
Apparently one should connect the Aramaic pattem qaftöl, which is
similar in form and close in function, to the qattU. Moreover, one
Hebrew (and Ge'ez as well) and two Arabic patterns, also similar in form
and close in meaning, namely qätil in Hebrew qalil in Ge'ez and qatil
and qatül in Arabic should also be linked to these patterns. The exact
interrelation among all of them should, however, be the task of another
investigation.
zu Koran 4, 46(48)
Von Arne A. Ambros, Wien
Zu den Koranversen, die bislang einer überzeugenden Deutung Trotz
geboten haben, zählen an prominenter Stelle diejenigen, die an den
medinensischen Juden böswillige Verballhornungen (von Schriftsatzun¬
gen) rügen. In den vorliegenden Zeilen soll der Versuch unternommen
werden, eine dieser Passagen neu zu überdenken und eine bisher nicht
beachtete Interpretation anzubieten; und zwar geht es um die in Sure 4,
Vers 46 (48 f.) ausgesprochene Rüge, bestimmte Juden sagten isma'
gayra musma'in (Paret: „Höre, ohne daß (es) zu Gehör gebracht wird
(?)!"), besser und richtiger sollten diese bloß isma' sagen.
Die unseres Wissens einzige bisher vorgeschlagene Deutung dieser
zunächst ganz rätselhaften Stelle stammt von H. Hirschfeld, der
isma' mit dem s'ma' in Deuteronomium 6,4 („Höre, Israel, . . ") identifi¬
ziert; mit isma' als substantivierter Verbalform sei somit hier das s 'm.a'-
Gebet (Dt. 6,4ff.), „das älteste und wichtigste Gebetsstück des
gesammten Ritus", gemeint'. Der Autor führt weiter aus: „Um es unge¬
stört beten zu können, wird nur der erste Satz . . . laut gerufen, das fol¬
gende aber leise gelesen, was vielleicht in den Worten: 'ohne dass
etwas gehört wird' angedeutet zu sein scheint."
Diese Deutung hat H. Speyer weiter ausgebaut. In durchaus ingeniö¬
ser Weise rekonstruiert er eine Auseinandersetzung wie folgt^: „Erin¬
nerte der Prophet des Islam die Juden daran, daß sie täglich [s 'ina' Yis-
rä'el] sprächen (Dt. 6,4f.), das er kurz, wie die Israeliten es heute noch
tun, isma' = [S'ma'] nannte und worin Israel aufgefordert wird, auf Got-
' Hartwig Hirschfeld: Beiträge zur Erklärung des Koran. Leipzig 1886, 64.
Vgl. auch Id., New Researches into the Composition and Exegesis ofthe Qoran. Lon¬
don 1902., (Asiatic Monographs. 8.), 109; dort wird übersetzt: „hear! that which cannot be heard", wozu der Autor anmerkt: „Palmer: 'Do thou listen without hearing' does not render the original accurately."
^ Heinrich Speyer: Die biblischen Erzählungen im Qoran. 1931 (Ndr. Hildes¬
heim 1961), 303. (Dies ist der einzige Verweis zur Stelle bei Rudi Paret: Der
Koran — Kommentar und Konkordanz. Stuttgart ^1977.)
