Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Matthew Anstey" <manstey AT portal.ca>]

Gday,

In searching for answers for my own question, I have found a very good
example of interrupted wayyiqtols (with no verbs of motion). 2 Sam 11.17
has:

        wayyillachamu           'et-yo'ab       wayyapol        min-ha`am ...
        and they battled        Joab            and they fell   some of the 
people
        wayamot         gam     'uriyyah.
        and he died     also    Uriah.

It is quite impossible that there was a battle THEN some of the army died
THEN Uriah died! Do you think these wayyiqtols are "functionally"
imperfective? If not, what are they aspectually? and If so, how would the
reader know not to link these sequentially, or to see them as perfective.
Why isn't the Hebrew, wayhi behillachem wayyapol ...?

With regards,
Matthew Anstey


>Genesis 37.28 vayya`avru ... vayyimshxu
>and they passed by...and they pulled up (before 'passing by' was complete!)
>ruth 1.6 vattashov no`omi
>and Naomi returned (but she didn't really return until verse 19)
>
>these are fairly unambgious and helpful examples for the relative nature of
>hebrew aspect as long as one first admits that vayyiqtol is perfective.
>
>braxot
>randall buth
>