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  • From: "Peter Kirk"<peter_kirk AT sil.org>
  • To: <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re[2]: Diachronic Hebrew wayyiqtol (WAW the conjunction)
  • Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 22:17:59 -0500


Don't forget that Ezekiel, Job, Ecclesiastes and many psalms are also
commonly dated to after the fall of the first temple. Ezekiel may of
course be transitional, if written during the exile.

So the answer to Galia's question is that only 14 of these 82
cohortative WAYYIQTOLs in the books commonly dated to the first temple
period. The remaining 68 are found in just a small number of books
generally considered as late. These figures (despite the anomaly of
Chronicles, but we are not allowed to discuss the evidence for the
dating of this book) seem to be good evidence for a diachronic change
in the Hebrew verb system - though of course we come back to the
possible circularity of assuming the datings of the books.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Diachronic Hebrew wayyiqtol (WAW the conjunction)
Author: <furuli AT online.no> at Internet
Date: 28/02/2000 21:08


Dear Galia,

The WAYYIQTOLs with Cohortative ending occurs in the following books (I
list the *possible* occurrences in parantheses, and then the percentage of
the possible occurrences):

Genesis: 2 (42) - 4,7%
Numbers: 1 (3) - 33,3%
Joshua: 1 (14) - 7,1%
Judges: 4 (11) - 36%
Samuel: 6 (25) -24%
Ezekiel: 3 (54) - 5,5%
Psalms: 7 (13) -53,8%
Job: 4 (12) - 33,3%
Eccl: 1 (1) 100%
Daniel: 9 (19) - 47,3%
Ezra: 16 (18) - 88,8%
Neh: 28 (55) - 50,9%


53 (64,6%) of the examples occur in Daniel, Ezra and Nehemja. Because of
the spread of the remaining 29 (35,4%), we cannot conclude that the
phenomenon of WAYYIQTOL plus Cohortative is a late phenomenon. A fact
speaking in the same direction, is that 93 (22%) of the possible ocurrences
consists of the verb )MR- a verb whose WAYYIQTOL only takes Cohortative in
Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemja (17) with the only other example in Judges 6:10.
Another fact speaking against the phenomenon as late, is that although
Chronicles has 7 possibilities, WAYYIQTOL with Cohortative does not occur
there. Neither of the 16 possibilities in the books of Kings take
Cohortative.

<snip>

>Dear Rolf,
>
>How many of those WAYYIQTOLS woth cohortative are from the books attributed
>to the First Temple? This is a crucial detail since one of the arguments
>that the aspect system in the Second Temple had collapsed is that WAYYIQTOL
>may come with cohortative.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Galia

<snip>





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