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b-hebrew - Re[5]: Tidbits from Ruth (Alviero)

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  • From: peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG
  • To: sbfnet AT netvision.net.il
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re[5]: Tidbits from Ruth (Alviero)
  • Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 17:28:54 -0400


Dear Prof. Niccacci,

Many thanks for your help and for clarifying the issues here. I think
the main clarification was that it is apparently only INITIAL x-yiqtol
in direct speech becomes wayyiqtol in historical narrative. The word
"initial" had somewhere dropped out of the discussion.

However, as far as I can see the parallel at Exodus 26:1 w-X-yiqtol ||
36:8 wayyiqtol is unique within these instructions (at least I have
checked all the paragraph initial possibilities) and may be affected
by the change of subject and the dislocation of the order of the
parallels. It could easily be that 36:8 was originally initial and
w-X-qatal and was changed into wayyiqtol when it was put into the
context of 36:7 and so became non-initial. It would be interesting to
see other examples of this parallelism which could not have been
affected in this way.

I suppose the problem is that the only truly initial historical
narrative is almost by definition Genesis 1:1. There at least we
probably have X-qatal. We might then end up with a simple table
something like:

Historical narrative Instruction

Initial X-qatal (Gen 1:1 only) X-yiqtol

Continuation wayyiqtol weqatal

Offline X-qatal X-yiqtol

Habitual X-yiqtol X-yiqtol

How does this agree with your thinking? This is still material which
we are considering "non-volitive" although I am not sure how well
that fits into the idea of instruction. Presumably none of the
X-yiqtols above will be apocopated e.g. we find non-apocopated
T.A(:A&EH in 26:1 (initial) and 26:4 (offline), in contrast with the
wayyiqtols, as always apocopated e.g. WAY.A(A& in 36:11. Can volitive
material i.e. imperatives, jussives and apocopated weyiqtol be fitted
into such a scheme?

Peter Kirk





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