PBILOLOGY TO THE TRUTH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 207 



To elucidate the matter, take away the i in the middle of 

 ^il*^-p, qcl-ni-thi, as well as the pronoun at the end. We are 



then left with ^p, qdn. Now the d here is movable as the tone 



is shifted. Contrast this with the older type of verb having two 

 consonants and a vowel-sound between ; for example, Dp, qdm, 



"to arise." Whereas n^p, qd-ndh, has qeneh as the sec. per. 



sing. mas. imperative, the same part of qdm has D^p, qHm, in 

 which the original ^, il, of an active is resumed. 



Take yet another type of the older verbal noun, this time one 

 which has retained the i of ai which originally marked the 

 passive, UW, sdm, *' to place." Here we have sim, for the 



same part of the imperative. The sec. per. plur. mas. imper. of 

 qd-ndh does not occur, but would be ^^p, qeml, where the accent 



is at the end. The same part of qdm and sdm are qfi-mv. and 

 si-mu, the accent being retained on the stem syllable. These 

 are just examples. The very same changes present themselves 

 as meet us in the ablauts of Indo-European. The a-sound may 

 take the place of both au and ai — that is to say, may be used 

 for an original active or passive, or, in the later forms of the 

 verb, may disappear, leaving a very short, indistinct vowel- 

 sound. Here again Semitic throws its light upon these 

 changes. 



Did time permit, it would be interesting to trace the historical 

 development of Hebrew. Much material is available for 

 this purpose. Let me point out how a derived meaning may 

 monopohze the original verbal noun, while the original physical 

 meaning passed on with its development to the secondary form 

 of the word. 



Take the verb pi, tin, " to be wise." This was the passive of 



the biliteral verb "to build." The active form was haini. 



A discussion of this verb and some of its derivatives will be 

 found by those interested, in my Research into h^'^n, p. 29 ff. 

 The metaphorical meaning of being " built " in understanding — 

 that is, " to be wise " — here took possession, while the original 

 meaning " to build " passed on with the later form, n2!l, hd-ndh. 



The original passive form of the verbal noun was exactly what 

 we have in Cain. 



Xow we have in these most ancient forms of the verb — 

 biliterals enclosing au or ai — what justifies one in saying, 

 " Hebrew, it is now certain, compared with Arabic, is like an old 

 mediaeval building partly in ruins. Arabic is like the same 



