Biblical Hebrew Forum

[John Ronning <ronning AT ilink.nis.za>]

Peter Kirk wrote:

> . . .
>
> I have also argued recently on this list that poetry may
> have a different use of verb forms from prose because it represents a
> different stage of development of Hebrew, and no-one has answered my
> argument.

Peter, I'm inclined to think you are correct, and I like the "King James" 
analogy you
used, and I think it stands to reason that poetry (especially songs memorized 
one
generation after another) would be less likely to be subject to language 
"modernizing"
in the process of copying manuscripts from one generation to another.  Yiqtol 
does
appear to be used as a preterite (without way-) in some poetry, and it would 
be a
reasonable supposition that such was also once the practice in prose.  
Perhaps some
"problematic" yiqtols in prose do reflect such an archaic usage.

Yours,

John