התעלם

Hebrew

Root
ע־ל־ם (ʿ-l-m)

Verb

הִתְעַלֵּם • (hiṯʿallēm, hit'além) third-singular masculine past (hitpa'el construction)

1. (Biblical Hebrew, Mishnaic Hebrew, Medieval Hebrew) to hide oneself
   • 7th–5th C. BCE,
     Tanach, Deuteronomy 22:4, with translation of the King James Version:

     לֹא־תִרְאֶה אֶת־חֲמוֹר אָחִיךָ אוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ נֹפְלִים בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ מֵהֶם הָקֵם תָּקִים עִמּוֹ׃

     lōʾ-ṯirʾê ʾeṯ-ḥămôr ʾāḥî́ḵā ʾô šôrô nōp̄əlîm baddéreḵ wəhiṯʿallámtā mēhem hāqēm tāqîm ʿimmô

     Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

   • 7th–4th C. BCE,
     Tanach, Job 6:16, with translation of the King James Version:

     הַקֹּדְרִים מִנִּי־קָרַח עָלֵימוֹ יִתְעַלֶּם־שָׁלֶג׃

     haqqōḏərîm minnî-qāraḥ ʿālêmô yiṯʿallem-šā́leḡ

     Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid.

   • 1601, Elazar ben Moshe Azikri, Yedid Nefesh, lines 17–18:

     אָנָּא אֵלִי, מַחְמַד לִבִּי,‏
     חוּשָׁה נָא וְאַל תִּתְעַלֵּם.‏

     ʾānnāʾ ʾēlî, maḥmaḏ libbî,
     ḥû́šâ nāʾ wəʾal tiṯʿallēm.

     Please, God of mine, love of my heart,
     Hurry, please, nor hide yourself.

   • c. 1740, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Da'at Tevunoth, section 130:

     […] שהוא מתעלם ומסתתר ואינו מגלה הדר כבודו, ומדת הארת הפנים׃

     […] shehú mit'além umistatér ve'einó megalé hadár kvodó, umidát he'arát hapaním.

     […] that He, hidden and occult, does not reveal the splendour of His glory and the measure of the illumination of His countenance.

2. to ignore: to act as if something were not the case [+ מִ־ (object)]
   • 2020 August 9, בן כספית [Ben Caspit], Maariv Online‎^[1]:

     הביביסטים קוראים לשמאל "אלים", אבל מתעלמים מההיסטוריה

     habibístim kor'ím lasmól “alím”, avál mit'almím mehahistórya

     Bibists call the Left ‘violent’, but they are ignoring history

Usage notes

The modern sense is specialised from the usage exemplified by Deuteronomy 22:4.

Conjugation

Conjugation of הִתְעַלֵּם (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs) 

non-finite forms		to-infinitive: לְהִתְעַלֵּם action noun: הִתְעַלְּמוּת
finite forms		singular		plural
		m.	f.	m.	f.
past	first	הִתְעַלַּמְתִּי		הִתְעַלַּמְנוּ
	second	הִתְעַלַּמְתָּ	הִתְעַלַּמְתְּ	הִתְעַלַּמְתֶּם	הִתְעַלַּמְתֶּן
	third	הִתְעַלֵּם	הִתְעַלְּמָה	הִתְעַלְּמוּ
present		מִתְעַלֵּם	מִתְעַלֶּמֶת	מִתְעַלְּמִים	מִתְעַלְּמוֹת
future	first	אֶתְעַלֵּם		נִתְעַלֵּם
	second	תִּתְעַלֵּם	תִּתְעַלְּמִי	תִּתְעַלְּמוּ	תִּתְעַלֵּמְנָה1
	third	יִתְעַלֵּם	תִּתְעַלֵּם	יִתְעַלְּמוּ	תִּתְעַלֵּמְנָה1
imperative		הִתְעַלֵּם	הִתְעַלְּמִי	הִתְעַלְּמוּ	הִתְעַלֵּמְנָה1
notes		Rare in Modern Hebrew.

References

• H5956 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) “עלמ ^I”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[2], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 473