Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryan Rocine" <596547 AT ican.net>]

Dear Lee, Peter, and others:

Aha..trying to pull a fast one, eh!?  ;-)

Your surface structures are conveniently similar.  But are the underlying
notions?  Try a test.  Put the word "with" in your evenly numbered
sentences and your translation of 1 Ki 1:40.  Are the results English?

He was singing with a great song.  Hmm...
...was graphing with a great graph.  Nope.  
...was painting with a great painting.  Good way to wreck a great painting
...was carving with a great carving.  Another silly picture.
They were rejoicing with a great rejoicing.  Ahh...perfect sense.

Why?  Because even in your Eng translation, "rejoicing" is intransitive.  A
preposition, something like "with" has elided from the surface structure
"...rejoicing a great rejoicing."  It's in the notional structure.  Even in
English, "great rejoicing" is adverbal rather than accusative.

btw,  no matter how we parse it, s:mexiym g:dolah in 1 Ki 1:40 has the
notional structure, "the rejoicing was great."

Shalom,
Bryan

----------
> From: Lee R. Martin <lmartin AT vol.com>
> To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> Subject: Re: 1 Kgs 1:40
> Date: Monday, November 23, 1998 11:48 AM
> 
> In support of Peter Kirk, I would like to add a few English examples to
his discussion
> of transitive verbs.  Note the following.
> 1. He was singing.
> 2. He was singing a great song.
> 3. She is graphing.
> 4. She is graphing a great graph.
> 5. They are painting.
> 6. They are painting a great painting.
> 7. He was carving.
> 8. He was carving a great carving.
> 
> Are 2,4, 6, and 8 transitive?
> What is different about 1Ki. 1:40?  "They were rejoicing a great
rejoicing."
> I don't see any difference between this Hebrew sentence and the ones in
English
> above.  In both cases, the verbs may be either transitive or
intransitive.
> Lee Martin


B. M. Rocine
Associate Pastor
Living Word Church
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