Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk"<peter_kirk AT sil.org>]

I agree that this example is one of many difficult to interpret on a 
strictly sequential view of WAYYIQTOL, and so I no longer hold to that 
view. My point here was that it is simply wrong to think of each 
WAYYIQTOL as in some way a new beginning. Your suggested translation, 
while not wrong in point of fact, is at the level of a 3-year-old's 
picture book. No, Hebrew used other devices, not the ubiquitous (in 
narrative) WAYYIQTOL, to start new stories or new sections of stories, 
or to pick up after digressions.

Of course I don't claim that this verse exhausts the possibilities for 
WAYYIQTOL. But can you show me cases where WAYYIQTOL alone signifies a 
major break? I doubt it, because it can and very often does (as here) 
signify no break at all, and so there would be no way to distinguish a 
major break from no break at all.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Re: More ?'s about verbs
Author:  <dwashbur AT nyx.net> at Internet
Date:    15/01/2000 18:21


Peter,
> I wonder if the conjunction functions like the English phrase ?now
> then.?  It seems to me that in English people use ?now then? to start a 
> new story, to pick up after some digression in a story, and even to list 
> a series of events.
>
> PK: Not really. Could you translate 1 Kings 2:40: 
>
> "Now then Shimei arose (WAYYIQTOL). Now then he saddled (WAYYIQTOL) a 
> donkey. Now then he went (WAYYIQTOL) to Achish in Gath, to
search (INF
> CONSTR) for his slaves. Now then Shimei went (WAYYIQTOL). Now then he
 brought (WAYYIQTOL) his slaves from Gath."
>
> No, this verse is not five new stories but an extract from one story, 
> with no digressions.

Agreed.  But does this story provide a full acount of usage of the 
wayyiqtol?  Hardly.  However, if we translate it

"Shimei arose (WAYYIQTOL). He saddled (WAYYIQTOL) a
donkey. He went (WAYYIQTOL) to Achish in Gath, to search (INF 
CONSTR) for his slaves. Shimei went (WAYYIQTOL). He
brought (WAYYIQTOL) his slaves from Gath."

With this translation we have a good example of the essential force
of the wayyiqtol, one that generalizes easily and effectively to all its 
various appearances.  I also wonder what you do with the fact that
it says Shimei went twice.  It appears to me that the story tells us 
(a) where he went and (b) what he did once he got there: he went
to Gath, he went and brought his slaves back.  The two "went"s 
hardly can be sequential in that case, unless you have an alternate 
translation in mind.


Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; 
give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.
                                   Psalm 86:11

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