אָפַק ʼâphaq — to contain, i.e. (reflex.) abstain
Translated in the KJV as force, restrain.
a primitive root; to contain, i.e. (reflex.) abstain.
ʼâphaq in each stem
Hitpa'el
Wayyiqtol 3Imperfect (yiqtol) 2Infinitive construct 1Perfect (qatal) 1
And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›