how to say “to give something up” in Hebrew
לְהַקְרִיב
The other day, we had the word לְקָרֵב (le-kah-REV), to draw someone/something close. For example, הוּא קֵרֵב הַרְבֶּה אֲנָשִׁים (hoo ke-REV hahr-BEH ah-nah-SHEEM) – He drew many people close. To say, I was drawn close – to be the recipient of the action – you’d use the passive version of the פיעל (pee-EL), the פועל (poo-AHL) form, saying, אֲנִי קוֹרַבְתִּי (ah-NEE koh-RAHV-tee).
The פועל form has what I like to call an “oo-ah” vowel pattern. You can learn how to use the פועל here.
Now, those are the פיעל and פועל usages of the root ק.ר.ב (k.r.b), two of the three intensive forms.
The causatives are another cluster of forms, and I’m about to give you a taste.
לְהַקְרִיב (le-hahk-REEV) is to sacrifice, used in Biblical Hebrew to describe the action of offering up a sacrifice in religious ritual. In Modern Hebrew, we use להקריב to mean giving something up, or as Stephen Covey of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
likes to clarify, giving something up for a greater purpose. You can learn how to use להקריב, as well as other verbs of this הפעיל (heef-EEL) form, here.
likes to clarify, giving something up for a greater purpose. You can learn how to use להקריב, as well as other verbs of this הפעיל (heef-EEL) form, here.But why does להקריב come from the root ק.ר.ב, the root centered around closeness?
להקריב is also used in Biblical Hebrew to mean bringing something close, in a very physical sense. The animal הֻקְרַב (hook-RAHV) – was physically brought close to the altar. The priests הֻקְרְבו (hook-reh-VOO) – they were brought closer to the Temple service from their location outside the Temple.
להקריב is the “active causative,” the הפעיל (heef-EEL) form, while הֻקְרַב is its passive version, the הֻפְעַל (hoof-AHL) form.
