Day 24 of 75 · Perception and response

P-T-Ḥ

ptaḥ: open

פתח

ܦ݁ܬ݂ܰܚ

The feel

Ptaḥ means to open what was shut. In the Gospels it opens a door, eyes, a mouth, a scroll, and a tomb. Often the one who opens is not named, and the opening is received.

The root family

Form	Pattern	Transliteration	Script	Standard	Qala rendering
Verb, perfect / imperative	Peal	ptaḥ	פתח ܦ݁ܬ݂ܰܚ	to open	open (Mt 25:11: "open the door for us!")
Verb, imperfect (1sg)	Peal	ʾeptaḥ	אפתח ܐܶܦ݂ܬ݁ܰܚ	I will open	I will open (Mt 13:35)
Verb, passive imperfect	Ethpeel	wnetptaḥ	ונתפתח ܘܢܶܬ݂ܦ݁ܬ݂ܰܚ	and it shall be opened	and it will be opened (Mt 7:7)
Verb, passive participle	Ethpeel	metptaḥ	מתפתח ܡܶܬ݂ܦ݁ܬ݂ܰܚ	is being opened	it will be opened (Mt 7:8)

In the Gospels the verb appears in the Peal, ptaḥ, to open (Matthew 25:11; 13:35; 5:2), and in its passive, the Ethpeel ʾetptaḥ, to be opened (Matthew 7:7-8; Mark 7:34).

In his voice

Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you.

wnetptaḥ, "and it will be opened." This is the root in the Ethpeel, the passive voice. You do the knocking, and the opening is done for you.

Matthew 25:11

Later the other young women came too. 'Master, master,' they said, 'open the door for us!'

ptaḥ, "open!" The bare Peal imperative, used here as a plea at a door that is already shut.

Mark 7:34

Then he looked up to heaven, groaned, and said to him, "Eppatakh," which means, "Be opened."

Eppatakh, "be opened." An Ethpeel imperative, spoken to a deaf man. Mark's Greek keeps the Aramaic word (ephphatha) and translates it, and the Peshitta writes the same root as etpatakh.

Practice

Name one conversation or next step that seems shut to you. Ask for it once, without forcing it, then say ptaḥ slowly, breathing out on the final aḥ.

Connections

B-ʿ-Y: seek Sh-ʾ-L: ask N-Q-Sh: knock ptaḥ: to open

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