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  • From: peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re[2]: The conjunction "and" and sequence.
  • Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 01:16:36 -0500


Yes, to your second question: in prose at least, the contexts of
yiqtol are overwhelmingly non-past or frequentative and imperfective,
and the contexts of wayyiqtol are overwhelmingly past, sequential and
perfective. I accept that context does not imply function as the
context may be pragmatic implicature, but it would be very odd (from a
statistical point of view at least) if 97% of wayyiqtols happen to be
in perfective contexts and 90%+ of yiqtols happen to be in
imperfective contexts if in fact the forms do not function to indicate
perfectivity or imperfectivity. (I continue to define perfectivity in
the generally accepted way.) Thus I would suggest a parse of wayyiqtol
something like conjunction + perfective marker + yiqtol. The
perfective marker may even be the definite article, as suggested by
Galia.

As for your list of weyiqtols with past meaning, I can find only one
which is neither late nor in poetry, and that one, 1 Kings 13:33, can
easily be interpreted as volitive "and would consecrate them in order
to become a priests of high places". (I can't find a weqatal in 2
Samuel 1:10). Obviously the Masoretes were able to correctly point the
sequential perfective forms as wayyiqtol.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: The conjunction "and" and sequence.
Author: furuli AT online.no at internet
Date: 12/03/1999 09:28

<snip>

Dear Peter.

The Hebrew style is terse, no question about that. Even though Aramaic is a
different language, it illustrates how a simple conjunction can move the
story forward. Drop the provosio and tell me: Would the simple Hebrew
conjunction w be able to move the story forward if it was attached to
yiqtols just as do wayyiqtols. To state it differently: Is there any
function of the wayyiqtol which is not compatible with the view that the
construction simply is w+yiqtol?

Regards
Rolf


Rolf Furuli
Lecturer in Semitic languages
University of Oslo



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