Biblical Hebrew Forum

[yochanan bitan <ButhFam AT compuserve.com>]

1Sam 1.12
vehaya ki hirbeta lehitpalel ...

vehaya
is the open-ended whatcamacallit, (like yiqtol)(linguists may use TAM for
whatchamacallit, aspect seems to miscommunicate)
it describes something that was on-going while eli was observing.
it is backgrounded, not on line, for those using such categories.
did the author really intend such a form/category? notice participles and
yishamea` in the following descriptive verse. i suspect the main problem is
the 'beingness' of the verb that makes definitions reformattable.
[incidently, israeli commentators in hebrew usually take this as a simple
ve + haya, which is normal mishnaic hebrew. and then ignore it. bar-efrat
gives it special significance.however, i think that we can read the text as
it stands as normal hebrew narrative, and the long description does draw
attention.]
(the 'length' of it [hirbeta] had started as is no different that naomi's
'having returned' to betleHem before she returned rut 1.6-7.)
eli's conclusion vayyaHsheveha ...  is the on-line event.

braxot
randall buth