Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter_Kirk AT SIL.ORG]

I think this is another instance similar to Numbers 2 and 3, which I 
asked about on this list not so long ago. See the thread "Discourse in 
Numbers" started by me 5th December 1998, if it's in the archives. I 
haven't looked at this Joshua example in detail, but if the parallel 
holds, it supports my preference that Numbers 3:21ff is essentially 
desriptive ("this is what they did") rather than jussive ("this is 
what they should do") in meaning. But then perhaps the Joshua passage 
is jussive ("the boundaries are to be such-and-such") - is that 
possible?
    
Peter Kirk


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Subject: Re: Different verb forms - same meaning?
Author:  zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph at internet
Date:    30/01/1999 08:52

<snip>

What we have in these descriptions of the borders of the tribal inheritances 
is 
imbedding of a genre rarely found in the Tanakh, a purely descriptive text 
that 
is
non-sequential, non-agent oriented, and non-future (in fact, non-time 
oriented).
It
is imbedded in a historical narrative, which has almost the exact opposite 
characteristics (sequential, agent oriented, and, while non-future, 
definitely 
time
oriented).

<snip>