כָּסַף kâçaph — properly, to become pale, i.e. (by implication) to pine after
Translated in the KJV as desire, be greedy, long, sore.
a primitive root; properly, to become pale, i.e. (by implication) to pine after; also to fear.
kâçaph in each stem
Niph'al
Perfect (qatal) 3Infinitive absolute 1
And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.
Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
Qal (Pa'al)
Imperfect (yiqtol) 2
Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
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 ›