Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Alviero Niccacci <sbfnet AT netvision.net.il>]

On  01/01/00 (RE: historiography--Language) Niels Peter Lemche wrote:


>         Dear Alviero Niccacci

        < ... >

>         Istn't interesting: no changes of syntax, and what kinds of
> morphology are we talking about. Besides, Alviero, try to answer my more
> recent post about Mesha instead of my first--later refuted mail. Mesha does
> display some linguistiv differences such as the jmn rbn, I referred to, and
> the feminimu -t in the absolute.

Dear Professor Lemche,

Thanks for calling my attention to a more recent post of yours that I 
had overlooked--that of 30/12/99 if I am not mistaken. Let me try to 
comment on your post and try to answer your questions.

Beforehand, I wish to describe the beginning of the inscription. 
After Mesha's selfpresentation, the historical section starts in line 
2 with an x-qatal construction that opens an oral narrative--exactly 
as in BH.  The next sentence is another x-qatal, not wayyiqtol (or 
consecutive imperfect), because the speaker wishes to emphasize the 
personal pronoun that comes before the verb; in the third sentence we 
find a continuation wayyiqtol--everything as in BH: "My father ruled 
(x-qatal) over Moab for thirty years and I, myself, I ruled 
(waw-x-qatal) after my father. I made (wayyiqtol) this high place ..."

On  30/12/99 (Consecutive forms) Niels Peter Lemche wrote:

> Mesha: l. 3, w'´sh ... could be an example as the examples in ll. 7 (v'r'),
> l. 9 (v'bn) and l. 10 (vybn).
> The syntax of ll.4-5-6 is interesting: ´mry . mlk . isr'l . wy´nw . 't.m'b .
> ymn . rbn . ky . y'np . kmsh . b'rtsh . wychlph . bnh . wy'mr . gm .
> h'...Omri (was) king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab for a long time,
> because Kemosh was angry on his land, and his son followed him, and he said:
> also I. The verb i l. 5, wy´nw, is probably a consecutive form following in
> this case a nominal sentence, then the ky-sentence intrudes, and after that
> comes in l. 6 another w-consecutive sentence, but is this a case of the use
> of consequitives in biblical Hebrew because what governs the imperfects
> wychlph and wy'mr?


	(AN) In Mesha line 3 a new unit of the oral narrative begins. 
The wayyiqtol is preceded by a noun phrase that functions as an 
extraposed element (topicalization; in traditional terms, casus 
pendens): "Af for Omri king of Israel, he oppressed (wayyiqtol) 
Moab." The following wayyiqtols in line 6 -- "his son succeded him 
and said..." -- are coordinated to the previous wayyiqtol and carry 
on the narrative mainline.

> < ... >
> Siloam: l. 2 has according to Gibson a consecutive form, but it is all in a
> lacuna and cannot be used. Both Doner and Renger reconstructs the line 2 and
> 3 differently. But the best ever example of a consecutive form that follows
> the rules of biblical Hebrew is l. 4, 'and the waters went' wylkw following
> the perfect hkw at the beginning of the line.
> Lachish, almost nothing was found of interest, except No 4, l. 6/7 where
> there is an example that would fit. l. 9-10 is a dubious case because of the
> lacunas.

	(AN) Yes, in Lachish 4:6 there is a wayyiqtol form WY`lHW 
"and he let him go up." This verbform continues a qatal LQH.H 
"(Shemayahu) took him (i.e. Semakhyahu)"--as is usual in direct 
speech--Lachish 4 is a letter.


> < ... >
> The surprise (to me-and I have to confess and admit my ignorance) is Metsad
> Hashawyahu, where there are three cases of consecutive forms, ll. 4/5 (one)
> and l. 7/8 (two cases).

	(AN) Yes, Metsad Hashavyahu (or Yavneh-yam) is a very 
interesting piece of narrative in direct speech. It contains, first, 
the exposition of a past event, with wayyiqtol that continues 
x-qatal. From the second sentence in line 8 to the end, the 
complaining worker specifies what in his view is a very important 
detail--that Hoshavyahu came AFTER he had already measured his 
harvest and took his cloak. Everything as in BH.

> So where or not I like it, there are cases of consecutive imperfects in Iron
> Age Moabite and Judaean Hebrew, but so far i haven't seen any cases of
> consecutive perfects but would like to know whether any here knows about
> such cases. I haven't had the time to study the Arad texts today.


	(AN) Some examples of "consecutive perfect", or weqatal, are 
as follows: Lachish 4:10 WYD` "he shall know", Arad 2:5-6, 7 WHSBT 
... WNTT "you shall send back ... you shall give"; Arad 3:2-3, 5, 
6-7, 8 WTsWK ... WTsRR[T] ... WLQH.T "he shall order you ... [you] 
shall tie ... you shall take"; Arad 16:4 W$LH.TM "you shall send."

A blessed New Year 2000.
Alviero Niccacci

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