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  • From: "Bryan Rocine" <brocine AT earthlink.net>
  • To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Gen 26:13
  • Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 22:14:11 -0400


Dear Dave, You wrote:
>
> In Gen 26:13 we seem to have a rogue weqatal, W:GFD"L.
The
> two preceding clauses are both wayyiqtol, the following
one
> (subordinated with a preposition) is qatal. I can't see
any reason
> why a weqatal would be between these. BHS suggests
repointing
> to W:GFDOL to make conjunction + adjective, but I'm not so
sure.
> It looks to me like this may be an example of qatal with
the simple
> conjunction rather than a weqatal, but I'm wondering what
others
> think. How does your approach to the verb system treat
this word?
>

It seems to be the week for Longacre! I mentioned him in my
discourse analysis of a chapter of Isaiah this week, and
Randall Buth mentioned him on the functions of pronominal
constructions. I'll mention him again on your question. He
has come up with a discourse function for a isolated weqatal
that interupts a wayyiqtol string. He says it marks a
pivitol/climactic event. See "Weqatal Forms in BH Prose: A
Discourse-modular Approach" in _BH and Discourse
Linguistics_ ed. Bergen.

I can also offer another exlanation for your particular
question. vegadel is not a weqatal at all; it is a m.s.
adjective. It is used as a substantive in conjunction with
halok so that we might "translate" vayelek halok vegadel `ad
ki gadal me'od very literally: "And he went a going and a
great(ness) until that he was very great." In standard
English I might say "He continued to increase until he was
very great."

Shalom,
Bryan



B. M. Rocine
Associate Pastor
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13206

(office) 315.437.6744
(home) 315.479.8267





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