Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Lee R. Martin" <lmartin AT vol.com>]

Dear Peter,
WAY:HIY may often be translated "when ..."  but it does not function to 
provide
background or simultaneous information like x-qatal.
Lee R. Martin

Peter_Kirk AT SIL.ORG wrote:

> Surely the introductory formula corresponding to "And when..." etc is
> WAY:HIY, often with B- or K-. (But then "And when..." in KJV is not
> good English, it is literally translated Hebrew). This is certainly
> common in Genesis and the historical books, and is often followed by a
> wayyiqtol to start the actual story.
>
> I suppose it is characteristic of narratives in any language,
> certainly in biblical Hebrew, to start with some background
> information, e.g. the time ("In the days of King X...") or general
> situation ("There were three brothers..."), and then continue to the
> story themselves. It seems that events which took place before the
> main story starts are typically written in Hebrew with the X + qatal,
> where the qatal may be stative (as 1 Kings 1:1: David was old, or
> David had become old). This is one construction; WAY:HIY is another
> one.
>
> Peter Kirk
>
> ______________________________ Reply Separator 
> _________________________________
> Subject: Introductory Subordination
> Author:  lmartin AT vol.com at internet
> Date:    08/02/1999 09:58
>
> <snip>
>
> A quick search of the KJV shows 892 occurrencesof "And when...";  66 of
> "Now when..."; 25 of "So when..."; and 6 of "Then when...".  BH has no
> such introductory word.  X-qatal fulfills the need.
>
> --
>
> Lee R. Martin
> Pastor, Prospect Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee
> Instructor in Hebrew and Old Testament
> Church of God Theological Seminary
> http://www.earth.vol.com/~lmartin/
>
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--

Lee R. Martin
Pastor, Prospect Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee
Instructor in Hebrew and Old Testament
Church of God Theological Seminary
http://www.earth.vol.com/~lmartin/