Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

boqer tov, Haver,

I'll pose a situation, too.  I am a student reading Gen 32:27 lo'
'a$alexaka ki 'im berak:tani.  i know that the early lessons you describe
below are defensible as appropriately "reductionist" at the early stages of
a student's development in BH, but now i have a bad taste in my mouth.  why
isn't berak:tani a prefixed form?  the text is telling me the suffix form
means something other than past.   how do you sweeten the case?  

shalom,
Bryan

----------
From: yochanan bitan <ButhFam AT compuserve.com>
To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: how does it taste?
Date: Tuesday, December 22, 1998 4:28 AM

<noted, liberal snip>
A. If they say,
     ani baniti bayit biyrushalayim       "I  [. . .]  a house in
Jerusalem"
The suffix tense refers to something in the past, that has already
happened. [It does not refer to an "aspect" or "mood" in the future.] In
English the person might have said "I built a house in Jerusalem." Or, "I
have built a house in Jerusalem." The suffix tense defines the time
reference here. (Cf. 1 Kings 8.13, 2 Chr. 6.2)

B.  If they say, 
     ani bone bayit biyrushalayim.   
The participle refers to something on-going in the present or something
about to happen. In English the person would have said, "I am building a
house in Jerusalem" or perhaps "I am about to build a house in Jerusalem."
The participle defines the time reference here. (Cf. 1 Kings 6.11, 10-14.)

C. If they say,
     ani evne bayit biyrushalayim   
The prefix tense refers to the future, to something that has not yet
happened. In English the person could have used the future "I will build a
house in Jerusalem". The prefix tense defines the futurity. (Cf. 2 Sam
7.27.) 
     Also, in more colloquial English, personalized accounts tend to use
the "near future": 
"I am going to build...". Such a specific construction did not exist in
Hebrew, though if someone wanted to make a point of it then they would use
the participle in "B" above. 

<another snip>


B. M. Rocine
Associate Pastor
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
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