Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT sil.org]

Dear Rolf,

You are doing just what you were so rightly complaining about others 
doing: adjusting the text (an imperative!) to fit your own 
understanding of Hebrew grammar.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Re: JER 27:18
Author:  <furuli AT online.no> at Internet
Date:    22/09/1999 16:21


<snip>

I agree that the Masoretic pointing suggests that B)W is a plural 
imperative, but because this is excluded by the context, we have to accept
that the form is a variant to BF)W (perhaps as an analogy with      BW$W); we 
find such variants with several verbs, so I see no real problem with such a 
suggestion. That the form is a QATAL is admitted by several commentators, 
from B. Davidson in the last century to the Gramcord text at present. In MT 
there are 155 examples of  L:BIL:TIY with a following infinitive construct, 
including 20 in the book of Jeremiah, 1 example with a following participle 
(Jer 17:23), 2 with a following YIQTOL (Ex 20:20; 2 Sam 14:14), and 3 
examples (in addition to our example) with following QATALs (Is 44:10; Jer 
23:14; Ezek 13:3). There are no examples of a following imperative. Some 
QATALs with future meaning nearby are JER 20:11 (BW$); 22:23 (XNN) 25:14, 
((BD) 31 (NTN).

So the problem remains: We have to account for a QATAL with future/modal 
meaning.




Regards
Rolf


Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo