12.6 Verb Nomenclature

As a convention, many Hebrew grammars label the three root letters \(R_1\), \(R_2\), and \(R_3\)95

  • For the verb מָלַכְתִּי (I was king):
    • The root is מלך (no vowels)
      • \(R_1\) = מ
      • \(R_2\) = ל
      • \(R_3\) = ך / כ
  • For our paradigm verb, קָטַל
    • The root is קטל (no vowels)
      • \(R_1\) = ק
      • \(R_2\) = ט
      • \(R_3\) = ל

  1. Older Hebrew grammars, including “Essentials of Biblical Hebrew” may refer to these as “Pe”, “Ayin” and “Lamed” positions, from the verb פעל. ↩︎