Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

The first three of the four examples of HINNE QATAL which you give are 
in a relatively common formula following a verb of perception, and the 
QATAL verb refers to something which had already happened, the result 
of which someone has just seen. So, as so often with X QATAL, the most 
literal English translation is past perfect e.g. Genesis 6:12 "God saw 
that the earth had become corrupt". 38:29 is different, and can well 
be described as "narrative surprise", but I note that the preceding 
construction is WAYHIY KE-, suggesting two simultaneous events, so 
that the X QATAL is not a new event on the time line. Compare Galia's 
suggestion (see her posting of 20 January) that WAYYIQTOL indicates a 
new R-time but X QATAL does not.

As for your HINNE X QATAL, I notice that NRSV has translated them with 
present perfect, which does not suggest that they were the next events 
in a narrative.

I would be interested in any cases of HINNE QATAL following a regular 
narrative WAYYIQTOL in which the event of the QATAL is clearly 
intended to be sequential with that of the WAYYIQTOL. I would suspect 
that HINNE QATAL's, like other X QATAL's, are in general simultaneous 
rather than sequential.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Ariyel's Flower
Author:  <brocine AT earthlink.net> at Internet
Date:    26/01/2000 16:59

<snip>

>
> Also, is the use in 4 of HINNE with QATAL correct, for the 
next event
> in a narrative? This is certainly not a common usage of 
HINNE.
>
> Peter Kirk
>
>

hineh qatal is not rare.  In narrator's text you'll see one 
in Gen 6: 12, 8:13, 19:28, 38:29, etc. I am guessing about 
30-40 examples.  It's even more common in character's text 
(direct speech), probably a hundred examples.  The string 
<hineh + X + qatal> is quite a bit less common, maybe 30 or 
40 altogether.  See Num 22:5, 22:32, Deu 22:17, 1 Ki 1:18, 1 
Ki 1:51, Isa 62:11, *all in character's text*.  Do you think 
the construction reflects "narrative surprise" in my 
student's narrative?

Shalom,
Bryan



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