HEBREW · LESSON 27
הָקְטַל
Hophal — Causative Passive
The seventh and final binyan. The passive of the Hiphil. Where Hiphil says "he caused to kill," Hophal says "he was caused to be killed." The agent disappears; only the consequence remains. The rarest stem in the Hebrew Bible — and with it, the seven-binyan grid is complete.
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Where we are in the system
The Seven Binyanim — A Recap
Over the past six lessons you have met six of the seven Hebrew verbal stems. Each one bends the meaning of the Qal root along one axis — voice, intensity, or causation.
- Qal (Lesson 11): simple active — "he killed."
- Niphal (Lesson 22): simple passive / reflexive — "he was killed."
- Piel (Lesson 23): intensive or factitive active — "he slaughtered" / "he made holy."
- Pual (Lesson 24): the passive of Piel — "he was slaughtered."
- Hithpael (Lesson 25): reflexive of Piel — "he sanctified himself."
- Hiphil (Lesson 26): causative active — "he caused to kill / he executed."
One stem remains. The passive partner of Hiphil: Hophal.
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The core idea
Hophal = Passive of Hiphil
Hophal takes a Hiphil action and flips it from active to passive. The causer disappears; the focus shifts to the one acted upon.
Hiphil: הִקְטִיל
"he caused to kill / he executed." The subject is the one giving the order. Causative active.
Hophal: הָקְטַל
"he was caused to be killed / he was executed." The subject is the one on whom the action lands. Causative passive.
Same root קטל. Same causative idea. Reversed voice. The Hophal is what happens to the victim when the Hiphil names the executioner.
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The diagnostic shape
The Standard Form: הָקְטַל
הָקְטַל
The Hophal perfect 3ms displays two unmistakable diagnostics on the dummy root קטל:
- Prefix ה with qamatz hatuf (הָ — "ho-") attached to the front of the root.
- Patach (ַ — "a") between the second and third root letters.
Read it: ho-QTAL. Two short syllables. The ho- in front and the -al at the back are the fingerprints of Hophal.
Compare: Qal קָטַל qa-TAL ("he killed") · Hiphil הִקְטִיל hiq-TIL ("he caused to kill") · Hophal הָקְטַל ho-QTAL ("he was caused to be killed"). Same three letters; three different vowel patterns; three different voices.
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The signature vowel
ה + Qamatz Hatuf (or Qibbutz)
The single most reliable Hophal cue is the short "o" vowel under the prefix consonant. It appears in two spellings:
הָקְטַל
he + qamatz hatuf (הָ) — the more frequent printed form. The qamatz mark in a closed unstressed syllable sounds like the "o" in "pot."
הֻקְטַל
he + qibbutz (הֻ) — an alternate spelling found in some manuscripts and editions. Some textbooks call this the "Huphal" — but it is the same stem.
Whichever spelling you see, the short "o/u" vowel under the prefix is the Hophal fingerprint. Hiphil takes hireq (hi-); Hophal takes qamatz hatuf or qibbutz (ho-/hu-). Read the vowel.
05 / 22
The full perfect paradigm
Hophal Perfect — קטל
The familiar Qal perfect endings reattach to the Hophal stem. The prefix הָ stays. The stem vowel patach holds in third- and second-person forms; it reduces to shewa before vocalic endings.
הָקְטַל
hoqtal
3ms — he was caused to be killed
הָקְטְלָה
hoqtelah
3fs — she was caused to be killed
הָקְטַלְתָּ
hoqtalta
2ms — you (m) were caused to be killed
הָקְטַלְתְּ
hoqtalt
2fs — you (f) were caused to be killed
הָקְטַלְתִּי
hoqtalti
1cs — I was caused to be killed
הָקְטְלוּ
hoqtelu
3cp — they were caused to be killed
הָקְטַלְנוּ
hoqtalnu
1cp — we were caused to be killed
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The imperfect
Hophal Imperfect — יָקְטַל
In the imperfect, the ה prefix drops out. The preformative letter (י ת א נ) takes the qamatz hatuf. The stem vowel patach stays.
יָקְטַל
yoqtal
3ms — he will be caused to be killed
תָּקְטַל
toqtal
3fs / 2ms — she / you (m) will be caused to be killed
אָקְטַל
oqtal
1cs — I will be caused to be killed
יָקְטְלוּ
yoqtelu
3mp — they will be caused to be killed
נָקְטַל
noqtal
1cp — we will be caused to be killed
Diagnostic: preformative + qamatz hatuf + patach = Hophal imperfect. yo-qtal, not yi-qtol (Qal) or ya-qtil (Hiphil).
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The infinitive
Hophal Infinitive — הָקְטֵל
הָקְטֵל
The Hophal infinitive absolute recovers the prefix ה and adds tsere in the stem instead of patach. The infinitive construct (rare) takes patach: הָקְטַל.
הָקְטֵל
Infinitive absolute — "being caused to be killed" (used for emphasis, often paired with a finite verb).
בְּהָקְטֵל
With prefix בְּ — "when (he was) being caused to be killed." Used in temporal clauses to express background action in the passive voice.
The Hophal infinitive is rare — even by Hophal standards. You will meet it primarily in narrative time-markers (e.g., בְּיוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת "on the day of being born" = "on the birthday").
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The participle
Hophal Participle — מָקְטָל
מָקְטָל
Like every derived-stem participle (except Niphal), the Hophal participle takes a mem prefix. The vowel signature is mem + qamatz hatuf + qamatz in the stem.
מָקְטָל
moqtal
ms — one being caused to be killed
מָקְטָלָה
moqtalah
fs — she who is being caused to be killed
מָקְטָלִים
moqtalim
mp — those being caused to be killed
מָקְטָלוֹת
moqtalot
fp — those (f) being caused to be killed
Compare passive participles: Pual מְקֻטָּל (mem + shewa + qibbutz + dagesh) vs Hophal מָקְטָל (mem + qamatz hatuf + qamatz, no dagesh). Both passive — different signatures.
09 / 22
Frequency
The Rarest Stem — ~400 Occurrences
Across the entire Hebrew Bible — over 23,000 verses — the Hophal appears only about 400 times. That is less than three Hophal forms per OT chapter on average.
- Qal: over 50,000 forms — ~69% of all verbs.
- Hiphil: ~9,000 forms — ~13%.
- Niphal: ~4,000 forms — ~6%.
- Piel: ~6,000 forms — ~9%.
- Pual: ~500 forms.
- Hithpael: ~800 forms.
- Hophal: ~400 forms — by far the least common.
Why so rare? Hebrew narrators usually reach for Niphal (simple passive) when they want to suppress an agent. The Hophal occupies the narrow slot of causative passive — "someone caused this, but I won't name the causer." A real need, but uncommon.
Practical upshot: you will not meet a Hophal on every page. But when you do, recognize it instantly — the meaning of the clause depends on it.
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A short Hophal vocabulary
Common Biblical Hophals
הֻגַּד
huggad
"it was told (to him)" — root נגד. Passive of Hiphil הִגִּיד. A staple of biblical news-reports.
הוּלַד
hulad
"he was born / was begotten" — root ילד. Passive of Hiphil הוֹלִיד.
הוּכָה
hukkah
"he was struck" — root נכה. Passive of Hiphil הִכָּה. Used of military defeats and divine judgment.
הָשְׁלַךְ
hoshlakh
"he was thrown / was cast" — root שלך. Passive of Hiphil הִשְׁלִיךְ. The Jeremiah-in-the-pit verb.
הוּבָא
huva
"he was brought, was led in" — root בוא. Passive of Hiphil הֵבִיא.
הָמְלַךְ
homlakh
"he was made king, was installed" — root מלך. Passive of Hiphil הִמְלִיךְ.
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In the text
Hophal in Narrative — Reported Consequences
The Hophal lives in narrative passages where the writer wants the consequence but not the agent.
"And it was told to David" (1 Sam 19:19 and many places). Hophal with vav-consecutive. The messenger is never named. The writer simply reports that the news reached the king. This formula appears dozens of times across Samuel, Kings, and Esther.
בְּיוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת אֶת־פַּרְעֹה
"On the day Pharaoh was born" (Gen 40:20). Hophal infinitive. Literally "on the day of being-caused-to-be-born of Pharaoh" — the Hebrew idiom for "Pharaoh's birthday." The parents (the active causers) drop out of view; the king becomes the receiver of being born.
12 / 22
The completed system
The Seven Binyanim Grid
With Hophal in place, the system is closed. Seven stems, three pairs and a standalone.
קָטַל
qatal
Qal — simple active. "He killed."
נִקְטַל
niqtal
Niphal — simple passive / reflexive. "He was killed."
קִטֵּל
qittel
Piel — intensive / factitive active. "He slaughtered / made holy."
קֻטַּל
quttal
Pual — intensive passive. "He was slaughtered."
הִתְקַטֵּל
hitqattel
Hithpael — reflexive. "He sanctified himself."
הִקְטִיל
hiqtil
Hiphil — causative active. "He caused to kill."
הָקְטַל
hoqtal
Hophal — causative passive. "He was caused to be killed."
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Pair 1 — simple
Qal / Niphal — Active and Passive
The first axis of the binyan system is the simple active/passive pair. Qal is the base; Niphal is its passive (and sometimes reflexive) counterpart.
Qal: קָטַל
"he killed." Subject acts on object. The bare action.
Niphal: נִקְטַל
"he was killed." Subject receives the action. Audible n- prefix is the signature.
By far the most common stems in the Hebrew Bible. Together they account for roughly 75% of all verb forms. The simple pair is the workhorse of biblical narrative.
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Pair 2 — intensive
Piel / Pual — Active and Passive
The second axis is the intensive (or factitive) pair. Both stems double the middle root letter; the vowels distinguish active from passive.
Piel: קִטֵּל
"he slaughtered / made holy." Intensive or factitive active. Doubled middle letter, hireq + tsere.
Pual: קֻטַּל
"he was slaughtered / made holy." Intensive passive. Doubled middle letter, qibbutz + patach.
The Piel handles a wide range of intensive and factitive senses: action made stronger, repeated, declared, or causing a state. The Pual reports the result of the Piel action in the passive voice.
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Pair 3 — causative
Hiphil / Hophal — Active and Passive
The third axis is the causative pair — the pair you have just completed. Both stems take a prefixed ה in the perfect; the vowels distinguish active from passive.
Hiphil: הִקְטִיל
"he caused to kill / he executed." Causative active. He + hireq, hireq-yod in the stem. hiq-TIL.
Hophal: הָקְטַל
"he was caused to be killed / he was executed." Causative passive. He + qamatz hatuf, patach in the stem. ho-QTAL.
Hiphil is the second-most common stem (~13%); Hophal is the rarest (~0.3%). Same prefix letter, opposite voice, contrasting vowel.
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The standalone
Hithpael — The Reflexive
הִתְקַטֵּל
The Hithpael does not belong to an active/passive pair. It is the reflexive stem — the subject acts on itself, or two parties act on each other.
הִתְקַדֵּשׁ
"he sanctified himself / consecrated himself." The Piel-stem action turned back on the subject.
הִתְהַלֵּךְ
"he walked about / walked with." Iterative or reciprocal reflexive — the verb used of Enoch and Noah "walking with God."
Diagnostic: prefix הִת־ (he + tav). The tav is the reflexive marker — Hithpael is the only stem with it. Note: don't confuse Hithpael's הִת־ with Hiphil's הִ־ + a non-tav consonant.
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The passive triad
Niphal / Pual / Hophal Compared
Three stems express passive ideas. They differ by which active stem they passivize.
נִקְטַל
niqtal
Niphal (passive of Qal) — "he was killed." The simple passive. ~4,000 occurrences.
קֻטַּל
quttal
Pual (passive of Piel) — "he was slaughtered / made holy." Intensive passive. ~500 occurrences.
הָקְטַל
hoqtal
Hophal (passive of Hiphil) — "he was caused to be killed." Causative passive. ~400 occurrences.
All three share a "short u/o-vowel" signature under the prefix or first root letter. The oo-class vowel is the cross-stem mark of passivity in Hebrew. When you hear an "oo" near the front of the verb, suspect passive first.
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⚠ Where students stumble
Common Mistakes
- Confusing Hophal with Hiphil. Both prefixed with ה. Hiphil: hireq (hi-). Hophal: qamatz hatuf (ho-). Read the vowel.
- Reading qamatz hatuf as long "a". הָקְטַל is "hoqtal," not "haqtal." The closed unstressed syllable demands the short "o."
- Missing the Hophal imperfect. יָקְטַל (yoqtal) is Hophal, not Qal. The Qal would be יִקְטֹל (yiqtol).
- Expecting a Hophal for every Hiphil. Many Hiphils have no attested Hophal — Hebrew prefers Niphal or another construction.
- Confusing Hophal participle מָקְטָל with Pual מְקֻטָּל. Pual has dagesh in the middle letter; Hophal does not. Pual: me-qut-TAL. Hophal: mo-QTAL.
- Translating Hophal as Qal. "He was thrown" (Hophal) is not "he threw" (Qal). The Hophal is always passive — the subject is the recipient, never the doer.
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Five days
The Drill Plan
Day 1
Read this lesson. Write the four diagnostic Hophal shapes — perfect הָקְטַל, imperfect יָקְטַל, infinitive הָקְטֵל, participle מָקְטָל — and label each.
Day 2
Drill the Hophal perfect paradigm (slide 6) out loud, naming each person and number. 10 minutes.
Day 3
Memorize the six common Hophals on slide 11. Then add הוּצָא, הֻצַּל.
Day 4
Write the seven-binyan grid from memory: 3ms perfect of קטל in all seven stems, with function labels.
Day 5
Read 2 Samuel 1. Identify every verb's stem (Qal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, Hithpael, Hiphil, Hophal). Mark every passive.
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Recap
What You Now Know
- Hophal = passive of Hiphil: the causative passive. "He was caused to be killed / made to do X."
- Standard form: הָקְטַל (or הֻקְטַל) — prefix ה + qamatz hatuf (or qibbutz) + patach in the stem.
- Diagnostic: short "o/u" vowel under the prefix (he in perfect/infinitive, yod-class in imperfect, mem in participle).
- Four key forms: הָקְטַל (perfect), יָקְטַל (imperfect), הָקְטֵל (infinitive), מָקְטָל (participle).
- Frequency: ~400 OT occurrences — the rarest of the seven binyanim.
- Common Hophals: הֻגַּד (was told), הוּלַד (was born), הוּכָה (was struck), הָשְׁלַךְ (was thrown).
- The seven-binyan grid is complete: Qal · Niphal · Piel · Pual · Hithpael · Hiphil · Hophal. Three pairs and a standalone.
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End of Lesson 27 · End of Unit V
The Seven-Stem System Is Yours
הָקְטַל
The rarest stem. The passive of causation. The verb-form of the reported event — the news that reached the king, the body that was thrown into the pit, the king who was installed, the Servant who was struck by God.
You now hold the complete morphology of the Hebrew verb. Seven binyanim, organized along two axes — voice and intensification/causation. From here on, you read.
Next: Unit VI · Lesson 28 · Hebrew Poetry & Parallelism
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