עָפַר ʻâphar — meaning either to be gray or perhaps rather to pulverize
Translated in the KJV as cast.
; a primitive root; meaning either to be gray or perhaps rather to pulverize; used only as denominative from H6083,; to be dust.
ʻâphar in each stem
Pi'el
Intensive · active — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it
Sequential perfect (weqatal) 1
וְעִפַּ֖ר 2Sam 16:13 Sequential perfect (weqatal), 3rd person masculine singular
And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.
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 ›