Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT sil.org]

I would guess it is not accidental that this clause has a switched 
reference. The oddly singular Israel is the subject of the previous 
clause WAY.IBEN... and of the following clause K"N YIRBEH..., but 
Israel has become the object in the clause quoted. Perhaps the full 
)OTOW pronoun rather than the suffix is needed in such as case of 
switch reference, perhaps to keep the focus on Israel rather than the 
implied subject of Y:(AN.W. . The NIV translation does the equivalent 
in English with a passive verb here (but why didn't the Hebrew use the 
Pual? - perhaps to point to the link with the Piel infinitive of the 
same verb in verse 11). Has any study been done of this sort of 
reference switching in BH?

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
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Subject: BH, object pronouns?
Author:  decaen AT chass.utoronto.ca at internet
Date:    25/05/1999 10:00


a bee in my bonnet:

exodus 1:12, W:KA):A$ER Y:(AN.W. )OTOW

why 'oto? why not ye`annuhu with suffixed object? surely this is not 
free variation? but if not, **what** is the difference? it's not 
syntactic or semantic as such: maybe discourse related? tracking 
participants differently?

what say?
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Dr Vincent DeCaen     <decaen AT chass.utoronto.ca>
c/o Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Ave., 2d floor 
University of Toronto, Toronto ON, CANADA, M5S 1A1

Hebrew Syntax Encoding Initiative, www.chass.utoronto.ca/~decaen/hsei/ 
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Where once the student was taught that the unexamined life was not 
worth living, he is now taught that the profitably lived life is not 
worth examining. --Benjamin Barber

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