The participle in biblical Ghabaray (Hebrew) is a noun, but it shares characteristics with verbs. As a noun, the participle has gender, number, definiteness, and case. Like verbs, the participle can take an object, has voice (active or passive), and has aspect. Unlike verbs, the participle does not have tense, but tense can be inferred by the context. Thus, it must always be kept in mind that the participle in biblical Ghabaray (and in other Semitic languages, like Arabic), is not a verb, and is not part of the verbal system. It is a noun where the subject is either doing (active) or receiving (passive) an action. Because there are no present tense verbs in biblical Ghabaray, the noun-participle can function as if it is a present tense verb. See example below.
*tyrb[*rbdm*yna
Transliteration: anay madabar Ghabarayth
anay = 1st person common pronoun “I”.
madabar = masculine active participle, “the-one-speaking,” from the verbal root P166dabar, “to speak”.
Ghabarayth = feminine noun, “the language of Ghabar”.
Literally, “I the-one-speaking Ghabarayth,” or in smoother English translation, “I speak Ghabaray”.
Sources: 1. Gesenius-Kautzsch, §116. 2. Ewald, A Grammar of the Hebrew Language of the Old Testament, translated by John Nicholson, §16a. 3. S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, §135. 4. W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, 2:194-95.