Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Moon-Ryul Jung" <moon AT saint.soongsil.ac.kr>]

Dear Galia, I enjoyed reading your book, The Semantics of 
Aspect and Modality. I tried to apply your theory of the
progressive (qotel) and the perfect (qatal) to Jer 26:4-6.
 
Let me quote the verses (with a free translation):

4 If ye will not hearken unto me, 
to walk in my law, which (a) I have set before you, 
5 to hearken unto the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I (b)***am repeatedly sending unto you***, 
(c) even rising early and sending [them],
(d)** but ye have not hearkened ***, 
6 then will I make this house like Shiloh.

1) The phrase (b) is a translation of participle sholeach. 
(c) is a translation of absolute infinitives. 
I would say that the (a), (b), (c), and (d) have 
the same reference time, the time of speaking. 

I take the participle clause (b) to describe habitual
state that holds at the reference time. 

2) The phrase (d) is a translation of "w+lo+shmaoutem"
(x+gatal). I would take phrase (d) to describe background
situation that holds at the reference time. That is,
the people have not heard the prophets until the reference
time. They are urged to hear the prophets, which they have
not heard so far.  

What do you think of my decisions?

Respectfully,
Moon-Ryul Jung
Assistant Professor
Dept of Computer Science
Soongsil University, Seoul, Korea


Respectfully
Moon-Ryul Jung
Assistant Professor, Dept of Computer Science, Soongsil Univ,
Seoul, Korea