Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Paul Zellmer <zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph>]

As we looked at the logic in these verses, I am tempted to do
something that I have never yet been tempted to do in translating
the tanakh--splitting a verse and tying the first part to the
preceding verse.  While I would have little hesitation doing this
in the GNT, how justified would I be in "ignoring" a sof passuq?

My thoughts center around two features of verse 29: the KiY at
the start and the weyiqtol in the middle.  Normally, I would see
the KiY as either making the entire verse a logical cause for the
conclusions previously stated (in this case, those in verse 28),
or it would be giving the logical cause for a conclusion stated
in the second half of the verse in which it is found.  Yet it
seems to make more logical sense here for *only the first half*
of the verse to be a cause for the events in verse 28, and the
second half to be the start of describing a new "cause."  This,
in turn, would result in the KiY at the start of verse 30 being
the cause of the second half of verse 29.  (I hope this is clear
to you.  I never did enjoy technical writing classes!)

There is one possible advantage to dividing the passage this
way.  It could give an explanation for that pesky weyiqtol!  If
the waw is in this case indicating logical shift of focus, from a
thought of the end of the enemies of YHWH to the thought of their
embarassment, it may be the reason why the normally expected
weqatal is not found here.  The writer wanted to make a bigger
break than would be indicated by the normal form.  Of course,
this is still only stated as an idea.  I couldn't even formalize
it to be treated as a hypothesis yet.  However, it was the
surprising occurrence of a weyiqtol in the *middle* of this verse
with a dependent clause forming the first half of the verse that
forced me to rethink the logic of the passage.

So I'm ready.  Send the potshots!

Paul

--
Paul and Dee Zellmer, Jimmy Guingab, Geoffrey Beltran
Ibanag Translation Project
Cabagan, Philippines

zellmer AT faith.edu.ph