Roots שֹׁרֶשׁ shoresh
The meaning of most Hebrew words is carried by three consonants — the root. Give the root vowels and add letters in front or at the end, and it becomes a verb or a noun. So when you meet a word, first find its three root letters. This page shows how, step by step, with words actually used in Genesis 1–2.
“root” (of a plant)
Colour key blue = added at the front · orange = added at the end · purple = a mark inside (dot · doubled letter · changed vowel) · underline = the word this page is about
1What a root is
In Hebrew the meaning of most words is carried by three consonants. These three letters are the root (Hebrew שֹׁרֶשׁ shoresh). The consonants ז-ר-ע (zayin · resh · ayin), for example, carry the meaning “seed, to sow.”
A root by itself is not a word you can pronounce. It becomes a word when vowels are given to it and letters are added in front or at the end. Verbs, nouns and adjectives all grow from the same root. In one verse, Genesis 1:29, זֹרֵעַ (zorea‘, yielding seed) and זֶרַע (zera‘, seed) stand side by side — both come from the root ז-ר-ע.
So when you meet a Hebrew word, first ask: “What are its three root letters?” The root gives the broad meaning; the letters and vowels outside the root tell you whether it is a verb or a noun, who acts, and which stem it is.
2Where the name comes from — שֹׁרֶשׁ shoresh
שֹׁרֶשׁ (shoresh) is the ordinary Hebrew word for the “root” of a tree or plant. As one root in the ground sends up many stems, branches and leaves, one set of three consonants gives rise to many words.
A root is written in consonants only, with a hyphen between the letters: ז-ר-ע. The hyphens say, “this is not a word to read but a row of root letters.” This site always writes roots this way.
The three letters are called the first, second and third root letters, often written I, II and III in grammars.
3At a glance — telling the root from the rest of a word
- Root = three consonantsThey carry the broad meaning. However long a word is, its root letters are usually three — the root of מְאֹרֹת (Gen 1:14, “lights”) is א-ו-ר.
- Vowels are not the rootChange only the vowels of the same root and you get another word — זֹרֵעַ (zorea‘, yielding seed) · זֶרַע (zera‘, seed), Gen 1:29.
- Letters added in frontThe conjunction וְ · the article הַ · the prepositions בְּ לְ · the imperfect “who” prefixes י ת א נ · the stem marks נ ה ת · the noun-forming מ. Remove them and the root appears.
- Letters added at the endThe perfect “who” endings (תִּי I · וּ they) · plural endings (ִים וֹת) · pronoun suffixes (וֹ his). Remove these too.
- Lexicons are arranged by rootHebrew lexicons list words by root. A verb is entered under its Qal perfect “he” form (זָרַע he sowed).
4Many words from one root — ז-ר-ע in Genesis 1
In Genesis 1 the root ז-ר-ע (seed) appears both as a verb and as a noun. The three letters stay; only the vowels and the added letters change.
| Word | Reading | What it is | Meaning | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֶרַע | zera‘ | noun | seed | Gen 1:11 · 1:29 |
| זַרְעוֹ | zar‘o | noun + ending וֹ (his/its) | its seed | Gen 1:11 |
| זֹרֵעַ | zorea‘ | verb, Qal participle | yielding seed | Gen 1:29 |
| מַזְרִיעַ | mazria‘ | verb, Hiphil participle (מַ in front) | producing seed | Gen 1:11 · 1:12 |
All four words contain ז ר ע in that order. Those three letters are the root; everything else shows “what kind of word, who, and how.”
5One root, verb and noun — real examples from the Bible
Several verses in Genesis 1 pair a verb and a noun from the same root. Look for the three root letters.
zorea‘ — yielding seed
The root ז-ר-ע + the vowels of the Qal participle (“o” ֹ after the first letter, “e” ֵ after the second). The final ַ is a short “a” sounded before the guttural ע. It describes the plants “yielding seed.”
YLVAnd God said, "Behold, I have given to you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.
zera‘ — seed
The same root ז-ר-ע with the noun vowels “e · a.” The letters are identical to the word before it, זֹרֵעַ; only the vowels differ — “yielding seed, seed.” One root gives both verb and noun.
YLVAnd God said, "Behold, I have given to you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.
mazria‘ — producing seed
מַ (added in front) + the root ז-ר-ע + ִי (i) between the second and third letters. The מַ and the ִי mark the Hiphil participle. The מ is not a root letter — take it away and ז-ר-ע is left.
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind, in which is its seed, upon the earth"; and it was so.
tadshe’ — let (the earth) sprout
תַּ (she — the subject “earth” is feminine) + the root ד-שׁ-א (grass, sprout) + vowels. The next word is a noun from the same root, דֶּשֶׁא (deshe’, sprouts) — “let the earth sprout sprouts.”
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind, in which is its seed, upon the earth"; and it was so.
6Nouns with מ in front — the roots א-ו-ר and מ-שׁ-ל
Hebrew often forms nouns by putting מ before a root — “the thing that does it, the place where it is done.” That מ is not a root letter.
’or — light
A noun made directly from the root א-ו-ר (light). The middle ו serves here as a vowel letter for “o.”
YLVAnd God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
me’orot — lights (light-bearers)
מְ (the noun-forming prefix) + the root א-ו-ר (the middle ו is not written; only the vowel “o” ֹ remains) + the ending ֹת (feminine plural “-ot”). Not “light” (אוֹר) but “that which gives light.”
YLVAnd God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens, to divide between the day and between the night; and let them be for signs (ot) and for appointed times (moadim), and for days and years;
leha’ir — to give light
לְ (to) + הָ (the prefix of the Hiphil infinitive) + the root א-ו-ר (the middle becomes ִי). The noun אוֹר (1:3), the noun מְאֹרֹת (1:14), the verb לְהָאִיר (1:15) — three words from one root.
YLVand let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon the earth"; and it was so.
lememshelet — to rule (for the rule of)
לְ (for) + מֶ (the noun-forming prefix) + the root מ-שׁ-ל (rule) + the ending ֶת. Here the first מ is the prefix and the second מ is the first root letter. Verse 1:18 has the verb from the same root, וְלִמְשֹׁל (and to rule).
YLVAnd God made the two great lights — the great light for the rule of the day, and the small light for the rule of the night — and the stars.
7One root, many verb forms — ע-שׂ-ה (make, do)
In Genesis 1–2 the root ע-שׂ-ה appears in many forms. ע and שׂ are always seen; the third letter ה shows in some forms and vanishes in others.
vayya‘as — and he made
וַיַּ (wayyiqtol “and he”) + ע שׂ. The third letter ה has dropped off. Roots ending in ה often shorten like this in the wayyiqtol.
YLVAnd God made the firmament, and divided between the waters which were under the firmament and the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
na‘aseh — let us make
נַ (imperfect “we”) + the root ע-שׂ-ה. Here the third letter ה stays. The נ in front is not a root letter but the “we” prefix.
YLVAnd God said, "Let us make man (adam) in our image, after our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
‘oseh — bearing (fruit)
Qal participle: the root ע-שׂ-ה with participle vowels (“o” after the first letter). Trees “making → bearing” fruit.
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind, in which is its seed, upon the earth"; and it was so.
la‘asot — to make
לַ (to) + ע שׂ + וֹת (the infinitive ending of roots in ה). וֹת stands where the third letter ה was.
YLVAnd God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he shabbatted from all his work which God created to make.
8Finding the root step by step — וַיַּבְדֵּל (Gen 1:4)
- 1. Remove what is added in frontTake off וַ (and). Left: יַּבְדֵּל.
- 2. Remove the “who” prefixיַ is the “he” prefix of the imperfect / wayyiqtol. Take it off. Left: בְדֵּל.
- 3. Check the endThere is no ending or suffix (וּ ִים וֹ …).
- 4. Count the consonants leftב ד ל — three letters. The root is ב-ד-ל (divide, separate).
- 5. Identify the stemThe prefix vowel “a” (יַ) and the “e” (ֵ) before the third letter mark the Hiphil, so: “and he separated.” מַבְדִּיל (separating, 1:6) and לְהַבְדִּיל (to separate, 1:14) are the same root.
9When a root letter hides — weak roots
Among root letters, נ י ו ה א may merge, drop off, or go unwritten in some forms. Such roots are weak roots. Even if only two consonants show, the root has three.
vayyitten — and he set
The root נ-ת-ן (give, set). After וַיִּ (and he) the first letter נ is not seen, and תֵּ has a dot. The first נ merged into the following ת, doubling it; the dot is its trace. The final ן is the third root letter.
YLVAnd God set them in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon the earth,
vayyiven — and he built
The root ב-נ-ה (build). The third letter ה has dropped off, so only ב נ are seen — the same reason as וַיַּעַשׂ (1:7) above.
YLVAnd YHWH God built the rib which he had taken from Adam into a woman (ishah), and brought her to Adam.
vayyasem — and he put
The root שׂ-י-ם (put). The middle letter י is not written. In roots whose middle letter is ו or י, that letter often survives only as a vowel or disappears.
YLVAnd YHWH God planted a garden in Eden, from the east, and there he put Adam whom he had formed.
10One root, different stems — כ-ל-ה (be finished)
A verb root builds kinds of meaning by changing stem (binyan). The root כ-ל-ה occurs in three stems in Genesis; Genesis 2:1 and 2:2 have two of them in neighbouring verses.
| Stem | Word | Reading | Meaning | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qal (basic) | וַיִּכְלוּ | vayyikhlu | and (the water) was used up | Gen 21:15 |
| Piel (make it so) | וַיְכַל | vayekhal | and he finished | Gen 2:2 |
| Pual (passive of Piel) | וַיְכֻלּוּ | vayekhullu | and (they) were finished | Gen 2:1 |
The root letters כ ל (the third, ה, has dropped) are the same in all three. What changes is the vowel of the prefix and the vowel and dot of the middle letter. See “The seven stems” page for an overview.
11Easy to confuse
When a prefix letter and a root letter look the same — נ may be the “we” prefix (נַעֲשֶׂה, 1:26), the Niphal mark, or the first root letter (נָתַתִּי, 1:29, root נ-ת-ן). מ may be a noun prefix (מְאֹרֹת) or a root letter (מ-שׁ-ל). Remove the added letters one by one and check that three remain.
The vowel letters ו and י — some ו and י are written only to show the vowels “o, u, i,” like the ו of אוֹר. Whether one is a root letter is learned by comparing other words of the same root (מְאֹרֹת does not write the ו).
Words with only two consonants — in וַיִּבֶן, וַיָּשֶׂם and וַיַּרְא only two consonants show, yet each root has three. The missing letter is usually נ, י, ו or ה. The word analysis on this site gives the root of every word.