Lesson 8 | Infinitives
[2] Infinitive-Absolutes
A second type of infinitive in Hebrew is called the infinitive-absolute.
infinitive-construct & infinitive-absolute
| qal |
לִשְׁפֹּט |
שָׁפוֹט |
to judge / judge |
| piel |
לְדַבֵּר |
דַבֵּר |
to speak / speak |
| hiphil |
לְהַבְדִּיל |
הַבְדֵּל |
to distinguish / distinguish |
| niphal |
לְהִמָּלֵט |
הִמָּלֵט |
to flee / flee |
| hithpael |
לְהִתְפַּלֵּל |
|
to pray |
As you can see above, its form is very similar to that of the infinitive-construct, and at times identical to it. It is most easily distinguished from the infinitive-construct by the fact it is never connected to a preposition or suffix. On the other hand, the infinitive-construct is almost always connected to something.
Intensification
The meaning of the infinitive-absolute is a bit harder to understand given that it can do several different things and we do not have an equivalent in English. The most common function of the infinitive-absolute is to intensify a verb. You know that it is doing this when it appears together with a finite verb of the same root and stem. In such a case, you can translate it as “surely” or “certainly.”
For example, let’s look at the two infinitive-absolutes in Genesis 2:16-17. Consider how they yield the ESV’s translation. (Also, can you spot the additional qal infinitive-construct in verse 16 that we left un-highlighted?)
Other Functions
When an infinitive-absolute does not appear with a finite verb of the same root and stem, it can have a variety of grammatical functions. It could be functioning as a finite verb, complementing another verb, expressing progression, or acting as a verbal noun. Let’s look at an example.
Even though infinitives don’t have person or number, you can tell that the infinitive-absolutes in verse 9 are something that “y’all” are doing because of the second-person sequential-perfect verb that begins verse 10. These are functioning as finite verbs.