Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Studium Biblicum Franciscanum <sbfnet AT netvision.net.il>]

Title: Re: Negative Wayyiqtol

On  02/22/99 (Negative Wayyiqtol) you wrote:


> Dear Prof. Niccacci,
> You have said that "welo' + qatal" is a negative wayyiqtol, while
> x-qatal is lo' + verb.  Two questions:
> 1- Is this idea found in your in your _Syntax_? I have looked, but
> cannot find it there.
> 2- Do other scholars agree? Lambdin, for example makes no distinction
> (§132), nor does Joüon (§160).
> 3- Do you suggest similar differences when lo' appears with the yiqtol?
>
> It seems to me that these are important questions, given the fact that
> lo' occurs over 2700 times in the Hebrew Bible.
> --
>
> 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/
>

Dear Lee,

I am not surprised that grammarians do not mention that fact because they usually do not care much about worder order, or do not valuate it sufficiently. But it is a fact--look at the texts. *Lo'* is not separated from the verbform.
Therefore, *lo' + qatal* is the negative counterpart of qatal, *welo' + qatal* of wayyiqtol, and *x-lo' + qatal* of x-qatal.
Similarly for yiqtol and weqatal--*lo' + yiqtol* is the negative counterpart of weqatal, *x-lo' + yiqtol* of x-yiqtol.
Sentence-initial yiqtol is volitive and is negated with *'al + yiqtol*.
Volitive x-yiqtol is negated with *x-'al + yiqtol*.

Alviero Niccacci

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