Hebrew · Lesson 27

Hophal — Causative Passiveהָקְטַל — "he was caused to be killed"

The Hophal is the seventh and final binyan: the passive of the Hiphil. Where the Hiphil says "he caused to kill," the Hophal says "he was caused to be killed" — or, more naturally in English, "he was executed." Where the Hiphil הִשְׁלִיךְ says "he threw," the Hophal הָשְׁלַךְ says "he was thrown." The Hophal is by far the least common of the seven binyanim — fewer than 400 occurrences in the entire Old Testament — but its diagnostic shape is unmistakable, and learning it closes the binyan system. With this lesson the seven-stem grid is complete.

Self-check before reading on

Suppose הִשְׁלִיךְ (Hiphil) means "he threw / cast." A narrator describes a body being hurled into a pit and writes הָשְׁלַךְ. What has changed about the verb, and what is the narrator emphasizing? (Hint: prefix he + qamatz hatuf instead of he + hireq.)

Reveal answer

The shift from הִ (hireq, Hiphil) to הָ (qamatz hatuf, Hophal) flips the voice from active to passive. הִשְׁלִיךְ ("he threw") becomes הָשְׁלַךְ ("he was thrown"). The narrator removes the human agent and lets the action stand on its own — the body simply was thrown. This is the Hophal in narrative: a passive consequence reported without an agent.

הָ

Watch · 22-Slide Overview

The Hophal — The Visual Tour

Why the passive of "he caused to kill" is "he was made to kill" or "he was caused to be killed"; the standard form הָקְטַל; the diagnostic he + qamatz hatuf (or, in some spellings, qibbutz); the perfect paradigm; the imperfect (yoqtal); the infinitive; the mem-prefixed participle (mashqal / moqtal); the rarity of the stem (~400 OT occurrences); the common biblical Hophals; the completed seven-binyan grid; the symmetry of the system (Niphal/Pual/Hophal as a passive triad; Piel/Hithpael/Hiphil as the intensification-and-causation axis); and the bridge to Unit VI reading.

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LESSON 27 · Unit V — The Derived Stems (Binyanim) · ~50 minutes + drilling

By the End of This Lesson

State the function of the Hophal: causative passive — the passive of the Hiphil
Recognize the standard Hophal perfect form הָקְטַל (he + qamatz hatuf) and its alternate spelling הֻקְטַל (he + qibbutz)
Recognize the diagnostic: prefix ה + qamatz hatuf (or qibbutz) in the perfect; prefix מ + qibbutz in the participle
Parse the Hophal perfect paradigm of קטל: הָקְטַל, הָקְטְלָה, הָקְטַלְתָּ, etc.
Identify the Hophal imperfect יָקְטַל, the infinitive הָקְטֵל, and the participle מָקְטָל
Read common biblical Hophals: הֻגַּד "it was told," הוּלַד "he was born," הוּכָה "he was struck," הָשְׁלַךְ "he was thrown"
State that the Hophal is the least common of the seven binyanim (~400 OT occurrences)
Hold the full seven-binyan grid in mind — Qal · Niphal · Piel · Pual · Hithpael · Hiphil · Hophal — and explain how the derived stems relate to Qal along two axes (voice and intensification/causation)

The Hophal in the Binyan System

You have now met six of the seven Hebrew binyanim. The Hophal is the seventh — and it is the passive partner of the Hiphil you learned last lesson. Where the Hiphil says "X caused Y to verb," the Hophal says "Y was caused to verb" (or "Y was made to verb"). The agent — the causer — disappears from view, and the focus shifts to the one acted upon.

The pattern is the same as the other two passive pairs in the system. Just as Niphal is the passive of Qal, and Pual is the passive of Piel, so Hophal is the passive of Hiphil. Each derived passive (Niphal, Pual, Hophal) sits beside its active counterpart and reports the same action from the opposite voice.

The Hophal is, however, by far the least common of the seven stems. Where the Qal accounts for some 69% of OT verb forms and the Hiphil for ~13%, the Hophal contributes only around 400 occurrences in the entire Hebrew Bible — roughly 0.3% of verb forms. You will not meet the Hophal often. But when you do, you must recognize it, because the meaning of the clause depends on it: "he installed the king" (Hiphil) and "he was installed as king" (Hophal) describe very different events.

Hiphil vs Hophal — The Active/Passive Shift

The simplest way to feel the Hophal is to put the Hiphil and Hophal forms of the same root side-by-side.

Root	Hiphil (causative active)	Hophal (causative passive)	Shift
קטל	הִקְטִיל hiqtil "he caused to kill"	הָקְטַל hoqtal "he was caused to be killed / he was executed"	agent acts → agent removed
שׁלך	הִשְׁלִיךְ hishlikh "he threw, cast"	הָשְׁלַךְ hoshlakh "he was thrown, was cast"	someone throws → he was thrown
נגד	הִגִּיד higgid "he told"	הֻגַּד huggad "it was told (to him)"	narrator tells → it was told
ילד	הוֹלִיד holid "he begat, fathered"	הוּלַד hulad "he was born"	begetting → being born
נכה	הִכָּה hikkah "he struck"	הוּכָה hukkah "he was struck"	strike → be struck

💡 Tip — the agent disappears The Hophal often appears in narrative when the writer wants to report a consequence without naming the agent. "It was told to David" (הֻגַּד לְדָוִד) leaves the messenger anonymous; "the city was given over" leaves the conqueror unnamed. This impersonal, agentless passive is one of the Hophal's main jobs.

The Standard Form — הָקְטַל

The Hophal perfect 3ms takes a prefixed הָ (he + qamatz hatuf, the short "o" sound) and a patach between the second and third root letters. Using the dummy root קטל:

Element	Mark	Sound	Notes
Prefix consonant	ה	h-	same prefix letter as Hiphil and Niphal imperative
Prefix vowel	ָ	qamatz hatuf — short "o"	in a closed unstressed syllable; sometimes spelled ֻ (qibbutz)
1st root letter + shewa	קְ	silent shewa closes the syllable	no vowel of its own
2nd root letter	ט	middle root letter	no doubling (unlike Pual)
Stem vowel	ַ	patach — short "a"	between the 2nd and 3rd root letters
3rd root letter	ל	closes the second syllable	—

Memory hook

"ho-QTAL." Two short syllables. The first is ho- (the prefix הָ with qamatz hatuf, sounded like the "o" in "pot"). The second is -QTAL (silent shewa, then the cluster qt-al). Hold the Hiphil melody hiq-TIL against the Hophal melody ho-QTAL: same prefix letter, opposite voice, contrasting vowel.

💡 Tip — the two spellings The Hophal prefix vowel appears in two forms in printed Bibles: הָ (he + qamatz hatuf — the more frequent spelling) and הֻ (he + qibbutz). Both represent the same short "o/u" sound and the same grammatical form. Some textbooks call the qibbutz-spelling form "Huphal" to distinguish them, but they are simply orthographic variants of the same stem. You will see both.

The Diagnostic — ה + Qamatz Hatuf

Three visual cues let you identify a Hophal at a glance.

Form	Prefix	Stem vowel	Example
Perfect	הָ / הֻ (he + qamatz hatuf or qibbutz)	patach	הָקְטַל / הֻקְטַל
Imperfect	י/ת/א/נ + qamatz hatuf	patach	יָקְטַל
Infinitive absolute	הָ (he + qamatz hatuf)	tsere	הָקְטֵל
Participle	מָ / מֻ (mem + qamatz hatuf or qibbutz)	qamatz	מָקְטָל / מֻקְטָל

Memory hook

"Look for the short 'o' under the prefix." Every Hophal form begins with a prefix consonant carrying a short "o" — either qamatz hatuf (ָ) or qibbutz (ֻ). The prefix letter shifts (he in perfect/infinitive, yod-class in imperfect, mem in participle), but the short "o" underneath is constant. That short "o" beneath the prefix is the Hophal fingerprint.

💡 Tip — distinguishing Hophal from Hiphil Both Hiphil and Hophal start with prefixed letters. The difference is the vowel: Hiphil takes hireq (hi-) in the perfect and the hireq-yod in the stem; Hophal takes qamatz hatuf (ho-) in the perfect and patach in the stem. Hiphil melody: hiq-TIL. Hophal melody: ho-QTAL. Read the vowel, not the consonant.

The Hophal Perfect Paradigm

The Qal perfect endings reattach to the Hophal stem. The prefix הָ stays. The stem vowel patach holds in the 3ms but reduces to shewa in some forms before vocalic endings.

Person	Form	Transliteration	Translation
3ms	הָקְטַל	hoqtal	he was caused to be killed
3fs	הָקְטְלָה	hoqtelah	she was caused to be killed
2ms	הָקְטַלְתָּ	hoqtalta	you (m) were caused to be killed
2fs	הָקְטַלְתְּ	hoqtalt	you (f) were caused to be killed
1cs	הָקְטַלְתִּי	hoqtalti	I was caused to be killed
3cp	הָקְטְלוּ	hoqtelu	they were caused to be killed
2mp	הָקְטַלְתֶּם	hoqtaltem	you (mp) were caused to be killed
1cp	הָקְטַלְנוּ	hoqtalnu	we were caused to be killed

💡 Tip — the parallel to Pual Notice the structural similarity to the Pual perfect of Lesson 24 (קֻטַּל "he was killed"). Both passives — Pual and Hophal — use a short u/o vowel under the first letter and a patach after the second. The difference: Pual doubles the middle root letter (intensive passive); Hophal adds a prefixed he (causative passive). Three short syllables in either case — the passive feel is acoustically similar.

The Hophal Imperfect — יָקְטַל

In the imperfect, the prefixed ה of the perfect disappears, replaced by the regular imperfect preformative letter (י ת א נ). The qamatz hatuf moves under the preformative.

Person	Form	Transliteration	Translation
3ms	יָקְטַל	yoqtal	he will be caused to be killed
3fs	תָּקְטַל	toqtal	she will be caused to be killed
2ms	תָּקְטַל	toqtal	you (m) will be caused to be killed
1cs	אָקְטַל	oqtal	I will be caused to be killed
3mp	יָקְטְלוּ	yoqtelu	they will be caused to be killed
1cp	נָקְטַל	noqtal	we will be caused to be killed

Common error — confusing yoqtal with Qal

"יָקְטַל must be Qal — it has the regular yod prefix."

"יָקְטַל is Hophal — the prefix vowel is qamatz hatuf ('o'), not hireq ('i')."

The Qal imperfect 3ms of קטל is יִקְטֹל yiqtol (hireq under the yod, holem under the middle root). The Hophal imperfect 3ms is יָקְטַל yoqtal (qamatz hatuf under the yod, patach under the middle root). The vowel under the preformative — hireq vs qamatz hatuf — is everything.

Infinitive and Participle

The remaining principal parts complete the Hophal paradigm.

Form	Hebrew	Transliteration	Meaning
Infinitive absolute	הָקְטֵל	hoqtel	"being caused to be killed" (emphasis)
Infinitive construct	הָקְטַל	hoqtal	"to be caused to be killed" (rare)
Participle ms	מָקְטָל	moqtal	"(one who is) being caused to be killed"
Participle fs	מָקְטָלָה	moqtalah	"(she who is) being caused to be killed"
Participle mp	מָקְטָלִים	moqtalim	"(those) being caused to be killed"

💡 Tip — the participle takes mem Like every derived stem participle except Niphal, the Hophal participle takes a prefixed mem. Its diagnostic shape is mem + qamatz hatuf (or qibbutz) + qamatz in the stem: מָקְטָל moqtal or מֻקְטָל muqtal. Compare to Pual מְקֻטָּל mequttal (mem + shewa + qibbutz + dagesh) — both passive participles, distinct vowel signatures.

A Rare Stem — Only ~400 OT Occurrences

The Hophal is by a wide margin the least frequent of the seven binyanim. Across the entire Hebrew Bible, only about 400 Hophal forms appear — fewer than three occurrences per OT chapter on average. By contrast, the Qal alone accounts for over 50,000 forms, and even the Hiphil — the most common derived stem after Niphal and Piel — produces over 9,000 forms.

Why so rare? Hebrew narrators usually preferred either the active Hiphil (with the agent named) or the more common passives — Niphal for simple passive ideas, Pual for the passive of Piel — when they wanted to suppress the agent. The Hophal is reserved for the relatively narrow situation where the writer wants the causative sense (someone caused this) but the passive voice (without naming the causer). This is a real but uncommon need.

Practically, this means: the Hophal will not appear on every page. But when it does appear, it is almost always in a narrative context where the writer is reporting a consequence — "the city was given over," "he was thrown into the pit," "it was told to the king" — and recognizing the Hophal is essential for understanding what happened to whom.

Common Biblical Hophals

A handful of Hophal forms appear with enough frequency that you will recognize them on sight.

Hophal	Trans.	Meaning	Root / Note
הֻגַּד	huggad	"it was told (to him)"	root נגד; passive of הִגִּיד
הוּלַד	hulad	"he was born / was begotten"	root ילד; passive of הוֹלִיד
הוּכָה	hukkah	"he was struck"	root נכה; passive of הִכָּה
הָשְׁלַךְ	hoshlakh	"he was thrown, was cast"	root שלך; passive of הִשְׁלִיךְ
הוּבָא	huva	"he was brought, was led in"	root בוא; passive of הֵבִיא
הוּצָא	hutsa	"he was brought out, was led out"	root יצא; passive of הוֹצִיא
הָמְלַךְ	homlakh	"he was made king, was installed"	root מלך; passive of הִמְלִיךְ
הֻצַּל	hutstsal	"he was rescued, was delivered"	root נצל; passive of הִצִּיל

Note — narrative tone Several of these forms carry a distinctive narrative tone: הֻגַּד לְדָוִד ("it was told to David") is a stock formula introducing news brought to the king without naming the messenger; הָשְׁלַךְ appears in scenes of execution or disposal (Jeremiah thrown into the pit; idols cast aside); הוּלַד reports a birth with the focus on the child rather than the parents. The Hophal is the verb-form of the reported event.

Hophal in Narrative — Passive Consequences

A handful of Hophals in their natural biblical settings.

וַיֻּגַּד לַמֶּלֶךְ

— vayyuggad la-melech —

"And it was told to the king." The classic narrative formula. The vav-consecutive turns the Hophal perfect into a past narrative verb. The messenger is not named; the writer simply reports that the news reached the king. The construction appears dozens of times across Samuel, Kings, and Esther.

הָשְׁלַךְ אֶל־הַבּוֹר

— hoshlakh el ha-bor —

"He was thrown into the pit." Hophal of שלך. Used of Jeremiah (Jer 38:6) and Joseph (Gen 37:24, conceptually — though Genesis uses a different stem). The Hophal removes the agents — the brothers, the officials — and leaves only the bare passive consequence: the victim ended up in the pit.

בְּיוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת אֶת־פַּרְעֹה

— be-yom huledet et Par'oh —

"On the day Pharaoh was born." Genesis 40:20. Hophal infinitive construct of ילד. Literally, "on the day of being-caused-to-be-born of Pharaoh" — a Hebrew idiom for "Pharaoh's birthday." The Hophal makes the king the recipient of the action of being born; the parents (the active causers) are unmentioned.

הוּכָה לְפָנַי

— hukkah le-fanai —

"He was struck before me." Hophal of נכה. A common usage in poetic and prophetic contexts: a victim falls under judgment, and the writer reports the blow without specifying the attacker. The form מֻכֶּה (Hophal participle) means "struck one" — used famously of the Servant in Isaiah 53:4: מֻכֵּה אֱלֹהִים "one struck by God."

The Seven Binyanim — The Full Grid

With the Hophal in place, you now hold the complete system. Seven stems, two axes, predictable relationships to Qal.

Stem	3ms Perfect	Function	Relation to Qal
Qal	קָטַל	simple active	the base
Niphal	נִקְטַל	simple passive / reflexive	passive of Qal
Piel	קִטֵּל	intensive / factitive active	intensification of Qal
Pual	קֻטַּל	intensive passive	passive of Piel
Hithpael	הִתְקַטֵּל	reflexive / reciprocal	reflexive of Piel
Hiphil	הִקְטִיל	causative active	causative of Qal
Hophal	הָקְטַל	causative passive	passive of Hiphil

Memory hook

Three pairs and a standalone. The system organizes itself into three active-passive pairs — Qal/Niphal (simple), Piel/Pual (intensive), Hiphil/Hophal (causative) — plus the reflexive Hithpael standing apart. Memorize the seven 3ms perfect forms of קטל as a recitation: qatal · niqtal · qittel · quttal · hitqattel · hiqtil · hoqtal. The melody alone will fix the system in memory.

The Three Passive Stems Compared

Niphal, Pual, and Hophal are the three passive stems. They share a passive function but differ in their relationship to the active stem they passivize.

Stem	3ms	Active partner	Sense
Niphal	נִקְטַל	Qal (קָטַל)	simple passive — "he was killed"
Pual	קֻטַּל	Piel (קִטֵּל)	intensive passive — "he was slaughtered"
Hophal	הָקְטַל	Hiphil (הִקְטִיל)	causative passive — "he was caused to be killed / was executed"

💡 Tip — the passive triad All three passive stems use a short u/o vowel as their signature: Niphal ni- (hireq, but with the audible nun); Pual qu- (qibbutz under the first root letter); Hophal ho-/hu- (qamatz hatuf or qibbutz under the prefix). The "oo-class" vowel is the cross-stem mark of passivity in Hebrew. Once you internalize this, the passives feel like a family.

Common Mistakes

Error 1 — confusing Hophal with Hiphil

הָקְטַל mistaken for Hiphil "he caused to kill"

הָקְטַל is Hophal "he was caused to be killed"

Both stems use the prefixed ה. The difference is the vowel: Hiphil hireq (הִ, "hi-") in the perfect; Hophal qamatz hatuf (הָ, "ho-") in the perfect. Read the vowel, not the consonant.

Error 2 — reading qamatz hatuf as long "a"

הָקְטַל read as "haqtal" (long a)

הָקְטַל read as "hoqtal" (short o)

The same mark (ָ) represents two different vowels — long "a" (qamatz) and short "o" (qamatz hatuf) — depending on the syllable. In the Hophal prefix, the syllable is closed and unstressed, so the mark is qamatz hatuf and sounds like "o." Reverting to "a" turns the form into nonsense.

Error 3 — missing the Hophal in the imperfect

יָקְטַל mistaken for a Qal imperfect

יָקְטַל is Hophal "he will be caused to be killed" (Qal would be יִקְטֹל yiqtol)

The Qal imperfect 3ms takes hireq under the preformative yod and holem in the stem: יִקְטֹל. The Hophal imperfect 3ms takes qamatz hatuf under the yod and patach in the stem: יָקְטַל. The vowels are the parsing.

Error 4 — expecting the Hophal everywhere

"Every passive of a Hiphil must be Hophal."

"Hebrew often uses Niphal for the passive idea even where a Hophal would be possible."

The Hophal is rare (~400 occurrences). For many roots, no Hophal is attested at all — the language simply uses Niphal or another construction. Do not expect a Hophal to exist for every Hiphil; check the lexicon.

Daily Drill Plan

Day	Focus	Goal
1	Memorize the Hophal perfect paradigm of הָקְטַל — all 9 forms	Paradigm fluency
2	Drill the imperfect יָקְטַל and the participle מָקְטָל — recite five times	Diagnostic recognition
3	Memorize the eight common biblical Hophals (הֻגַּד, הוּלַד, הוּכָה, הָשְׁלַךְ, הוּבָא, הוּצָא, הָמְלַךְ, הֻצַּל)	Lexical entries
4	Write the full seven-binyan grid from memory: 3ms perfect of קטל in all seven stems with labels	System mastery
5	Read 2 Samuel 1 — identify each verb's stem (Qal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, Hithpael, Hiphil, Hophal). Mark every passive.	Binyanim in narrative

Theological Note · The Stricken One

מֻכֵּה אֱלֹהִים וּמְעֻנֶּה

mukkeh Elohim u-me'unneh — "stricken by God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4)

The Servant Song of Isaiah 53 contains some of the Old Testament's most haunting passive participles. מֻכֵּה is a Hophal participle of נכה — "(one) struck, smitten." The agent named in the construct chain — Elohim, God himself — makes the line read: "struck by God." The Suffering Servant does not merely suffer at the hands of men; he is the recipient of a divine action. The Hophal is the verb of the cross. מֻכֵּה אֱלֹהִים — struck by God — is grammatically the same shape as Pharaoh's birthday or David's news report, but theologically it carries the weight of substitutionary atonement. The grammar bears the gospel.

Next up Unit V is complete. Lesson 28 opens Unit VI — Reading the Hebrew Bible, beginning with the most distinctive feature of biblical Hebrew literature: parallelism in Hebrew poetry. Half the Old Testament is poetry — the Psalms, the Prophets, the Wisdom books — and parallelism is the engine that drives it.