Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryan Rocine" <brocine AT earthlink.net>]

Shalom, Randall, you wrote:
<snip>

> 2. some (not all by any means) of alleged 'indo-eurpean' syntax is the
> fault of people who don't know BH well enough.
> e.g. (used on list before) the participle.
> in BH the default way of referring to the present is the participle.
> (questions are more politely put in the prefix.)
> yes, the participle is more than a present tense. amen.
> but it is also the present tense for normal conversation. this is contrary
> to colloquial arabic (which i also speak fluently). but it is normal BH.
> so a living BH course will have many participles in conversational drills,
> and this is because it is BH, not arabic, nor artificial "BH by
> indo-european grammarians". just plain vanilla BH.

Not to side-step the issue of dialect here, but this is actually the concern
I was voicing about practicing most in the natural approach what is less
frequent in the Tanakh.  I also found that "conversational BH" in the
classroom was heavy in participles referring to the "real present."  Fine, I
guess, inasmuch as BH uses the participle in this way, but there are other
uses of the participle as you say.  But more importantly, the students are
anxious to get into real text and I am anxious to get them there.  Let's
teach and practice the wayyiqtol first, since it is the most common form,
ala Kittel, Hoffer, and Wright.  We can read a lot more Tanakh once we have
learned the wayyiqtol as compared to the participle in direct speech
referring to the real present.

In addition, there is a difference between these two understandings of the
BH participle:  *action in the real present defaults for participle* and
*the participle is the present tense*.  I am afraid that in a natural
approach classroom, the students reherse their way to the latter
understanding which is false rather than the former.  I know, I know, the
text will correct them.  But why would I teach them something only to
correct them later?

Blessings,
Bryan


B. M. Rocine
Associate Pastor
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13206

(office) 315.437.6744
(home) 315.479.8267