The verb in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
JPA has the Aramaic stems and conjugations (The verb in Biblical Aramaic), with western forms:
- the 3 m. pl. perfect in ־ון (-ūn in Stevenson 1924; the Guggenheimer edition points ־וֹן): אַזְלוֹן "they went", אֲתוֹן "they came", הָתִיבוֹן "they objected";
- the imperfect with יְ־ (and נְ־ for "we"): יֵיזִיל "he will go", נִימַר "let us say" — never the JBA ל־;
- the 1 sg. perfect in ־ִית: חֲמִית "I saw", שְׁמָעִית "I heard", סְלִיקִית "I went up";
- the participle with a separate pronoun (אַתְּ מַיִית), not fused as in JBA;
- a frequent ethical dative (ל־ + a pronoun of the subject): נָחַת לֵיהּ "he went down (for himself)", נִיזוּל וְנִיחוּת לִי "let me go and go down".
References: Dalman 1905 (verb §§ 55–75); Fassberg 1991; Golomb 1985; Sokoloff 2002b. Counts: unpointed tokens in the Guggenheimer Yerushalmi (CC BY), 2026-10-17. Vowels follow the Guggenheimer vocalisation and the grammars, as reconstructions.
Checked 2026-10-18 against the Galilean column of Dalman's comparative tables (Dalman 1905, Anhang VI, pp. 402–406; unpointed, so consonants only) and the PTM column of Stevenson 1924 (§§ 16–21, pp. 44–57), both read from the page images.
1. Stems
| stem | perfect 3ms | participle | infinitive | example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| peal | קְטַל | קָטֵל | מִקְטַל | אֲזַל "he went"; אֲתָא "he came" (אתא 509) |
| pael | קַטֵּל | מְקַטֵּל | מְקַטָּלָה | מְזַכֵּי "acquitting" (y. Berakhot 2:8) |
| aphel | אַקְטֵל | מַקְטֵל | מַקְטָלָה | אַרְפֵּי "let go!" (imp., y. Bava Metzia 2:5); מַיְיתֵי "brings" (y. Maaser Sheni 4:6) |
| ithpeel | אִתְקְטֵל | מִתְקְטֵל | מִתְקְטָלָה | מִיחְתָּם "is sealed" (y. Berakhot 2:8); מִתְרוֹמְמָא "being exalted" (y. Maaser Sheni 4:6) |
| ithpaal | אִתְקַטַּל | מִתְקַטַּל | מִתְקַטָּלָה | מִתְפְּגַע "being met" (y. Berakhot 2:8) |
| ittaphal | אִתַּקְטַל |
Checked 2026-10-18: Dalman 1905, Anhang VI.1, pp. 402–403 (Galilean כתב, איתכתיב, כתיב, איתכתב, אכתיב, with infinitives מכתוב / מכתב, מתכתבה, מכתבה; the ithpeel and ithpaal infinitives were added from there). Galilean writes the e-vowel of pael, aphel and ithpeel with yod (כתיב, אכתיב), as Stevenson 1924 §16, p. 46, also notes for PTM. Dalman gives no Galilean ittaphal.
As in the targums and JBA, the causative is aphel, and the passives are t-stems.
2. Perfect
| person | form | Yerushalmi example | count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 m. sg. | קְטַל | אֲזַל, אֲתָא, אֲמַר | אתא 509 |
| 3 f. sg. | קִטְלַת | הֲוָות "it was" (y. Berakhot 2:8: וְכֵן הֲוָות לֵיהּ "and so it happened to him") | הוות 85 |
| 2 m. sg. | קְטַלְתְּ; also ־תָּה (Dalman כתבתה) | ||
| 1 sg. | קְטָלִית | חֲמִית "I saw" (y. Maaser Sheni 4:6); שְׁמָעִית; סְלִיקִית "I went up" (y. Berakhot 2:8); אֲמָרִית | 64; 37; 3; 24 |
| 3 m. pl. | קְטַלוּן (Stevenson); ־וֹן in Guggenheimer's pointing | אַזְלוֹן "they went"; זְבַנּוֹן "they bought"; אֲתוֹן "they came" (y. Bava Metzia 2:5); הָתִיבוֹן "they objected"; שְׁאָלוֹן "they asked"; אָמְרוֹן "they said" (examples as pointed in the Guggenheimer edition) | 28; 3; 171 (homograph); 94; 49; 81 |
| 3 f. pl. | קְטַלָן | ||
| 2 m. pl. | קְטַלְתּוֹן | ||
| 1 pl. | קְטַלְנַן, ־ִינַן | זְבָנִינַן "we bought" (y. Bava Metzia 2:5) |
Checked 2026-10-18: Dalman 1905, Anhang VI.1, p. 402 (Galilean כתב, כתבת, כתבתה / כתבת, כתבית, כתבון, כתבן, כתבתון, כתבנן) and Stevenson 1924 §17, pp. 46–47 (PTM כְּתַבוּן, כְּתַבָן, כְּתַבְנַן; the endings ־וּן, ־ָן are taken over from the imperfect, and ־ִינַן for ־נַן occurs especially in aphels). Disagreement: the 3 m. pl. is -ūn in Stevenson's vocalisation, -ōn in Guggenheimer's. Second pass 2026-10-18: Dalman 1905 §60.1, p. 254, also reads the Galilean ending as ūn, taken over from the imperfect (§15.3dε, p. 102: Galilean prefers final ן); so both grammars stand against Guggenheimer's ־וֹן. Dalman adds that the 1 sg. ־ית, read -īt in the supralinear tradition, was probably -ēt in Galilean (as in Biblical Aramaic); the table keeps ־ִית. Corrected: the 3 f. pl. is ־ָן (Dalman כתבן, Stevenson כְּתַבָן), not ־ָה. The 1 pl. has pataḥ in Stevenson (־נַן).
The 3 m. pl. ־ון is the western form of the perfect (shared with Samaritan and Christian Palestinian Aramaic). It does not occur in Onkelos or Biblical Aramaic (־וּ) and is not the JBA form; in the Bavli אזלון has 0 occurrences against 28 in the Yerushalmi.
3. Imperfect
| person | form | Yerushalmi example | count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 m. sg. | יִקְטוֹל | יֵיזִיל "(where) should he go" (y. Berakhot 2:8); יֵיתֵי "he will come"; יְהֵא "let it be"; יֵימַר "he will say" | 12; 15; 458; 8 |
| 2 m. sg. | תִּקְטוֹל | תֵּימַר "you say" — in אִין תֵּימַר "if you say" | 481 |
| 1 sg. | אֶקְטוֹל | ||
| 3 m. pl. | יִקְטְלוּן | יֵיתוּן "they will come"; יְהָבוּן | |
| 1 pl. | נִקְטוֹל | נִימַר "let us say" (55); נִיזוּל וְנִיחוּת "let us go and go down" (y. Berakhot 2:8); נַעֲבֵיד "shall we do" (y. Sanhedrin 11:5: הֵיךְ נַעֲבֵיד) | 55; 1; 12 |
Checked 2026-10-18: Dalman 1905, Anhang VI.1, p. 402 (Galilean יכתוב, תכתוב, אכתוב, יכתבון, נכתוב; also 2 f. sg. תכתבין, 3 f. pl. יכתבן).
No ל־ prefix. The JBA forms are virtually absent from the Yerushalmi: לֵימָא 3 (against 903 in the Bavli), לֵיזִיל 0. A text with לֵימָא, לִיתְנֵי, לֶיהֱוֵי is Babylonian, or "Babylonianised" by a copyist (Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (jpa) §1).
אִין תֵּימַר "if you say", the Yerushalmi's way to introduce a hypothesis to be tested (JBA וְכִי תֵּימָא), is one of its most frequent phrases (481× תימר).
4. Imperative, infinitive, participle
| form | example | meaning | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| imperative | אֵיזַל חֲזַר | go, return (it)! | y. Bava Metzia 2:5 |
| imperative | אַרְפֵּי מִינָּךְ | leave it (lit. let go from you)! | y. Bava Metzia 2:5 |
| imperative | אֵיזַל וְאַיְיתֵי לִי | go and bring me! | y. Sanhedrin 11:5 |
| infinitive | לְמִיקְטְלָה | to kill | y. Berakhot 2:8 |
| infinitive | לְמִיחְמֵי | to see | y. Kilayim 9:3 (למיחמי) |
| infinitive | מֵיזַל, מֵיסַב | going, taking | y. Berakhot 2:8 (מַה הֲוָה מֵיזַל לֵיהּ דְּלָא מֵיסַב רְשׁוּתָא "why did he go without taking permission") |
| participle | אָמְרִין | they say | (1 055) |
| participle | לָעֵי, צְרִיךְ | toiling, needing | y. Bava Metzia 2:5 |
| participle | מַיִית | dying | y. Maaser Sheni 4:6 |
| passive participle | עֲסִיק | occupied | y. Bava Metzia 2:5 |
| passive participle | תְּלִי | hung | y. Bava Metzia 2:5 |
5. Participle as present; הֲוָה + participle
The participle with a separate pronoun is the present and the near future:
Aramaic: בַּאֲדָר אַתְּ מַיִית וְנִיסָן לֵית אַתְּ חָמֵי
Translit.: ba-ʾăḏār ʾat mayyīṯ wə-nīsān lēṯ ʾat ḥāmē
Gloss: in-Adar you die.PEAL.PTCP.ACT.MS and-Nisan NEG.EXIST you see.PEAL.PTCP.ACT.MS
English: In Adar you will die, and Nisan you will not see
Source: y. Maaser Sheni 4:6 (Guggenheimer edition, Sefaria, CC BY)
Note לֵית + pronoun + participle as the negated present ("you are not seeing" = "you will not see"), the western counterpart of JBA לָא + participle.
הֲוָה + participle is the past progressive or habitual: הֲוָה עֲסִיק "he was occupied" (y. Bava Metzia 2:5); הֲוָה יְתִיב "he was sitting" (y. Maaser Sheni 4:6); and participle + הֲוָה: בְּעֵי הֲוָה "he wanted" (y. Bava Metzia 2:5).
6. The ethical dative
A ל־ + pronoun referring to the subject itself, after verbs of motion and state, is very common in JPA narrative (Dalman 1905; Sokoloff 2002b s.v. ל־):
| example | literal | meaning | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| נִיזוּל וְנִיחוּת לִי | let me go and go down for me | I shall go back down | y. Berakhot 2:8 |
| נָחַת לֵיהּ כַּהֲנָא | Kahana went down for himself | Kahana went (back) down | y. Berakhot 2:8 |
| לְהֵן יֵיזִיל לֵיהּ | where shall he go for himself | where should he go? | y. Berakhot 2:8 |
| מַה הֲוָה מֵיזַל לֵיהּ | why was he going for himself | why did he leave? | y. Berakhot 2:8 |
For a parser this ל־ + pronoun is not an argument: UD would make it obl with a subtype or expl; the choice must be consistent (Jewish Palestinian Aramaic in Mova: what it would need §4).
7. Weak and frequent verbs
| root | meaning | perfect 3ms | 3mpl | participle | imperfect | infinitive | imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| אמר | say | אֲמַר | אָמְרוֹן | אָמַר, pl. אָמְרִין | יֵימַר; 2ms תֵּימַר; 1pl נִימַר | מֵימַר | אֱמוֹר, also אֵימָא |
| אזל | go | אֲזַל | אַזְלוֹן | אָזֵל | יֵיזִיל; 1pl נִיזוּל (Dalman ניזיל) | מֵיזַל | אֵיזִיל, זִיל |
| אתי | come | אֲתָא | אֲתוֹן | אָתֵי | יֵיתֵי | מֵיתֵי | אִיתָא (Gen 4:8 Palestinian targums: אִיתָא וְנִפּוּק "come, let us go out") |
| חמי | see | חֲמָא; 3fs חמת / חמית | חֲמוֹן, חמיון | חָמֵי | יֶחְמֵי | מֶיחְמֵי, מיחמא | חֲמֵי |
| הוי | be | הֲוָה; 3fs הֲוָות | הֲווֹן (224) | הָוֵי | יְהֵא, יְהֵוֵי | מֶהֱוֵי | הֲוֵי |
| ידע | know | יְדַע | יָדַע | 2ms תֵּדַע; 1pl נֵדַע | מֵידַע | ||
| יהב | give | יְהַב | יְהָבוֹן | יָהֵב | יִתֵּן | מִתַּן | הַב |
| עבד | do | עֲבַד | עֲבָדוֹן | עָבֵד | יַעֲבֵיד; 1pl נַעֲבֵיד | מֶיעְבַּד | עֲבֵיד |
| סלק | go up | סְלֵק | סָלֵק | יִסּוֹק | מִיסַּק, מִיסּוּק | סְלֵיק | |
| נחת | go down | נְחַת | נָחֵית | יִיחוּת | מֵיחוֹת | חוּת | |
| נפק | go out | נְפַק | נְפָקוֹן | נָפֵק | יִפּוֹק; 1pl נִפּוֹק | מִיפַּק, מִיפּוֹק | פּוּק |
| זבן | buy | זְבַן | זְבַנּוֹן | זָבֵן | |||
| קום | rise | קָם | קָמוֹן | קָאֵים, קַיֵּים | יְקוּם | מֵיקוּם, מֵיקַם | קוּם |
| תוב | return; object | תָּב; aphel אָתִיב "objected" | הָתִיבוֹן |
Checked 2026-10-18: Dalman 1905, Anhang VI.2–4, pp. 404–406, for קום (Galilean קם, קמון, יקום, מיקום / מיקם, קאים / קיים, impv. קום), the geminate עלל (perfect עאל, impf. ייעול, inf. מיעול / מיעל) and חמי (חמא, חמת / חמית, חמון / חמיון, יחמי, מיחמי / מיחמא, חמי): the table agrees with these after the corrections marked. Dalman's tables do not cover the I-ʾ, I-y and I-n verbs in Galilean form. The 3 m. pl. column keeps Guggenheimer's ־וֹן; Stevenson 1924 §17 reads -ūn (see §2).
Second pass 2026-10-18: the weak-first-root rows against Dalman 1905 §66 (I-n, pp. 291–295), §67 (I-ʾ, pp. 298–301), §69 (I-y/w, pp. 307–311), §73 (הוה, pp. 352–355) and §74 (אתא, pp. 355–357), Galilean examples only (unpointed; consonants compared), read from the page images.
- אמר (§67.4, pp. 299–301): אמר, pl. אמרון, impf. יימר, תימר, נימר (the forms without ר, יימא, תימא, are Babylonian influence, §67.1, p. 298), inf. מימר, ptc. אמר, pl. אמרין: agree. Corrected: the imperative is אמור (Pes. 32a), with אימא beside it (EchR I 2); אֵימַר is not among Dalman's Galilean imperatives. The Yerushalmi has אֱמוֹר 64 times in Guggenheimer's pointing (counted 2026-10-18).
- אזל (same pages): אזל, 3 m. pl. אזלון, impf. ייזיל, inf. מיזל, ptc. אזיל: agree. Corrected: the imperative is איזיל or short זיל (Sanh. 29a; Bab. k. 5b); Dalman notes that Galilean writes it with i (§67.1, p. 298). The Yerushalmi has איזיל 29, איזל 2 (counted 2026-10-18); the two cited examples in §4 keep the spelling of their text. Disagreement: Dalman's Galilean 1 pl. imperfect is ניזיל (EstR II 1; Ber. 5c), the table's נִיזוּל is the single Yerushalmi form (y. Berakhot 2:8).
- אתי (§74.3, pp. 356–357): אתא, 3 m. pl. אתון, impf. ייתי, inf. מיתי, ptc. אתי, impv. איתא ("so meist"; also תא): agree.
- הוי (§73.3, pp. 353–355): הוה, 3 f. sg. הוות / הות, 3 m. pl. הוון, impf. יהוי / יהא, inf. מהוי, ptc. הוי, impv. הוי: agree.
- ידע (§69.4, pp. 309–311): perfect ידע, ptc. ידע: agree. Corrected: Galilean has no n in this verb: impf. 2 m. sg. תדע (Sot. 22a), 1 pl. נדע (Pesikt. 70a), inf. מידע (Mo. k. 82d); יִנְדַּע, מִנְדַּע are the forms of the Jerusalem targums and of Onkelos (תנדע, מנדע). Guggenheimer points תֵּדַע and מֵידַע; ינדע and מינדע do not occur in the Yerushalmi (counted 2026-10-18).
- יהב (§69.4, pp. 309–311, and §66.4, pp. 293–294 for the forms from נתן): 3 m. pl. יהבון (Gitt. 47b), ptc. יהיב (Sabb. 10a; with yod), impv. הב (Jeb. 15a), impf. יתן (Kidd. 63d) and inf. מיתן (Gitt. 47a) from נתן: agree.
- עבד (§61.11, p. 269): impf. יעביד (Dem. 24d): agrees. The other עבד forms were not compared.
- נפק, נחת, סלק (§66.4, pp. 292–294): נפק, 3 m. pl. נפקון, impf. יפוק, 1 pl. ניפוק, impv. פוק, ptc. נפיק; נחת, impf. ייחות, impv. חות, ptc. נחית: agree. Corrected: the infinitive of נחת is מיחות (Ber. 6c), not מִיחַת; Dalman's Galilean peal infinitives of the u-imperfect class keep u (מיחות, מיסוק Taan. 69c). Added: impf. יסוק "goes up" (Sanh. 18b) and the imperative סליק (Pesikt. 72b). For the infinitives of נפק and סלק the Yerushalmi has both spellings (מיפק 2, מיפוק 3; מיסק 2, מיסוק 2; counted 2026-10-18), so both are given.
- זבן, תוב and the pael/aphel forms of the table were not compared (unchecked: §70 on hollow aphels not read).
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