Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT sil.org]

Dear Rolf,

I feel bad about answering this without reading it all. But you seem 
to have ignored the fact that +EREM and B:+EREM are regularly followed 
by YIQTOL. See GKC 107c, 152r. I guess this is because the idea of 
"before" carries futurity and/or modality. That is to say, the event 
time of the subordinate clause is after the event time of the main 
clause. I have a feeling that in Hebrew the time of a subordinate 
clause is regularly judged in relation to that of the main clause 
rather than directly related to the overall deictic point. Thus in the 
same way QATAL is regularly used in subordinate clauses introduced 
with KIY even where the main clause is future and/or modal. Have I got 
that right? If so, I really think we don't need to go into any of your 
other theories to explain Jer 47:1.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Telic YIQTOLs WITH past meaning
Author:  <furuli AT online.no> at Internet
Date:    30/09/1999 08:20

<snip>

The RSV translates Jer. 47:1 this way, "The word of the LORD that came to 
Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh *smote* 
Gaza. "...

<snip>