Lesson 4 | Participles
[1] Function
A participle is something between a verb, an adjective, and a noun. At its base, it is a verb. In its forms, it is an adjective. And it often functions substantivally as a noun.¹ That all sounds pretty complicated, but is easy to learn for English speakers since we use participles all the time, and they work in more-or-less the same way.
Take, for example, the word “eating.” This, along with most -ing words in English, is a participle. Note that this participle comes from the verb “to eat.” It can be used in several different ways. It can be used together with “is” to express continuous action, like in the sentence, “He is eating the sandwich.” But it also can function like a normal adjective, as in, “Want to join our eating contest?” Finally, this participle can also act like a noun—“I love eating!” Hebrew uses participles in much the same way. And like nouns and adjectives, participles have both a construct and an absolute state.
Let’s look at an example of each function of the participle.
A Verb
In Genesis 9:12, the participle from the verb נָתַן functions as a verb:
נֹתֵ֗ן is a masculine singular participle, functioning in place of a verb. Normally you’ll translate participles as the form of the verb plus “–ing” at the end, but if a participle is functioning as a verb, you’ll often translate it as a simple present tense.
Participles are a non-finite form of verb: they are not limited to a certain person, like first, second, or third (“I,” “you,” or “he,” for example). So we only know that God is performing the action of the participle because אֲנִ֣י precedes it.
An Adjective
In 1 Kings 3:9, the participle from the verb שָׁמַע functions as an attributive adjective:
שֹׁמֵ֨עַ֙ is modifying לֵ֤ב. We might over-literally translate this, “a hearing heart/mind.”
A Noun
In Psalm 9:11, two participles from the verbs יָדַע and דָּרַשׁ function as nouns:
יוֹדְעֵ֣י is a masculine plural participle, and is in the construct state: notice the tsira yod at the end. Also notice the beauty of the participle used as a noun: it has a verbal idea, but it also functions as a noun and is the subject of the verb וְיִבְטְח֣וּ. We could translate it, “the ones who know (i.e. knowing) your name.”
דֹרְשֶׁ֣יךָ is another masculine plural participle, with a 2ms suffix attached: “the ones who seek (i.e. seeking) you.” This participle is the direct object of the verb עָזַ֖בְתָּ.