Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jonathan Robie <jonathan AT texcel.no>]

At 12:27 PM 1/7/99 +0200, Rolf Furuli wrote:
>Paul Zellmer wrote:
>>Rolf Furuli wrote:

[SCHNIPPELE!] 

>>> Does biblical Hebrew have tense?, I use "tense" in
>>> its linguistic meaning which I have defined. Past tense is before the
>>> deictic center and future tense is after the deictic center; neither of
>>> them includes the deictic center. This means none the 55 wayyiqtols, 43
>>> qatals, 7 yiqtols and  5 participles which are found in clauses with the
>>> phrase  (AD HAYYOM HAZZE  ("until this day") are *past tense*. This is so
>>> because all include the deictic center (the time of writing).  

[SCHNIPPELE, SCHNIPPELE, SCHNIPPELE...] 

>In the examples below, please tell me where the deictic center is, and
>describe the relationship between it and the event time.
>
>Judg. 10:4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty asses; and they had
>thirty cities, called (YIQTOL) Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the
>land of Gilead.

Rolf, do you consider the English past tense to be a true past tense? In
English, do you think that the phrase "until this day" extends the time of
the verb "called" to include the deictic center (also known as the time of
narration)?

How does the aspect of the Hebrew YIQTOL differ from the English past tense
under influence of the adverbial phrase of time in this example? Actually,
can you just take this question and extend it to each of the following
examples?

>Gen. 32:4 instructing them,  "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says
>your servant Jacob,  'I have sojourned (QATAL) with Laban, and stayed
>(WAYYIQTOL) until now."
> 
>Josh. 13:13 "Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or
>the Ma-acathites; but Geshur and Maacath dwell (WAYYIQTOL) in the midst of
>Israel to this day."
>
>2Kings 17:34 To this day they do (participle) according to the former manner.
 
Thanks!

Jonathan
 
jonathan AT texcel.no
Texcel Research
http://www.texcel.no