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  • From: Alviero Niccacci <sbfnet AT netvision.net.il>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Cc: Niels Peter Lemche <npl AT teol.ku.dk>
  • Subject: RE: historiography--Language / consecutive forms
  • Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 18:00:45 +0200


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

Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Tel. +972 - 2 - 6282 936
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  • RE: historiography--Language / consecutive forms, Alviero Niccacci, 01/02/2000

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