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  • From: yochanan bitan <ButhFam AT compuserve.com>
  • To: "Lee R. Martin" <lmartin AT vol.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: re: Verbless Clauses
  • Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 13:37:47 -0400


>What do you make of the differing word order of Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10?
>1:7 The fear of YHWH is beginning of knowledge
>9:10 Beginning of wisdom is the fear of YHWH

nice question/observation.

The above english clauses, in my opinion, correctly identify the subject
and predicate of their respective clauses. Default order is
subject--predicate, and such would be the preferred reading of the above
verses.

of course, 9.10 continues ... veda`at qedoshim binah
where the parallelistic poetry suggests that da`at qedoshim should be read
by a good reader with "predicate" or "focal" intonation and that bina is
the subject: "... and understanding is to know 'they-he who are-is'
holy."
(see is 5.7 for a famous example of parallelistic reversal of order [a.k.a.
chiasmus].)

for more, i would refer you to an article of mine in the new verbless
clause volume from eisenbraun's (ed. C. Miller)

braxot
randall buth



  • Verbless Clauses, Lee R. Martin, 09/02/1999
    • <Possible follow-up(s)>
    • re: Verbless Clauses, yochanan bitan, 09/02/1999

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