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  • From: "Paul Zellmer" <zellmer AT digitelone.com>
  • To: "b-hebrew, list" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Verbforms in Is 51
  • Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 17:24:57 +0800


Dear Randall,

Your message came into me offlist. I hope you do not take offense if I
put it back onlist. Unless there are musings, basically thinking
out-loud, that is not ready to be published, I would prefer this
discussion be held where all can make input. And I do not see such
musings in your response.

You correctly note that I mis-parsed the weyiqtol after the qatal in the
dependent clause. I am away from the translation office, where I keep
my lexicons, and I forgot that the initial aleph would cause the pathah
to lengthen to a qamets had the form been wayyiqtol, as I initially
stated. And, with those forms being in agreement, I now see the
modality of them and how they fit in the text in general. [Hey, Bryan,
if you're there, this brings up a side question. Would you consider
this passage to be expository? Is the widespread use of modals one of
the indicators for that "genre"?]

I'm not sure I understand, though, Randall, what you think the writer
was trying to do with the yiqtol describing Sarah. I see you
translating it as a modal. Are you seeing this as the writer proposing
that the ones being addressed are either not or no longer true children
of Sarah? Do they need to be "reborn" (not using that term in modern
Christian sense). I also note that you apparently see the root of the
word in verse 2 as the same as the root of the word in verse 9.
Interesting, but I will want to research that in the lexicons when I get
back tomorrow.

Anyway, you definitely helped me, even though I still have the question
about Sarah and the birthing.

Paul

----- Original Message -----
From: yochanan bitan <ButhFam AT compuserve.com>
To: Paul Zellmer <zellmer AT digitelone.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 1999 4:41 PM
Subject: re: Verbforms in Is 51


you asked as real questions,
here are some real aqnswers:

verb forms in isaiah 51.2

teHolelxem
'who would birth you'.
poetic play for 'your mother'.
compare prosaic 51.9, using the 'plain, default' verb form:
meHolelet tanin 'birther of serpent'
qerativ
'i called him'
simple past
vaavarexehu
'and i would bless him'
(implying continuity for listeners)
vearbe
'and i would multiply him'
(implying continuity for listeners)

these last two verbs could be repointed with qamtas and read as simple
pasts, too. however, the complexity of switches like 51.4-5 'my law will
go
forth, ..., my salvation has gone forth, my arms will give justive to
the
nations' show that the complex massoretic reading is acceptable as is.

braxot
randall buth
jerusalem





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