The verbal noun of the qal stem in Rabbinic Hebrew traditions and alternations

The verbal noun 'burning' in Rabbinic Hebrew stands in contrast to its biblical counterpart 'fire' both in form and in function. This contrast is not, as has been suggested, a simple alternation between nominal patterns or between vowels, but rather part of a wide morphological change in Rabbinic Hebrew: The transition of the verbal nouns into a grammatical category, which can be seen in other forms and other nominal patterns as well. The inherited biblical forms that, like did not fit the new alignment and were not considered appropriate verbal nouns any more, were kept in use and maintained their potential lexical status, but for expressing the verbal noun they were often replaced by other patterns.