Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Cees van Veelen" <ceesv AT veelen.hobby.nl>]

On Mon, 31 Jan 2000 22:10:20 +0100, Rolf Furuli wrote:

When small children tell a story they use one way to describe the
events that took place:
'And then daddy came home, and then we went in the car, and then we
came to a toy shop ...' and so on. From a narrative point of view quite
boring. The story needs some pepper.
>
>(4) Gen. 2:5 when no plant of the field was (YIQTOL) yet in the earth and
>no herb of the field had yet sprung up (YIQTOL) - for the LORD God had not
>caused it to rain (QATAL) upon the earth, and there was (NOMINAL) no man to
>till the ground;
>Gen. 2:6 but a mist went up (YIQTOL) from the earth and watered the whole
>face of the ground -

Ok, lets try to tell this story again. (I am not really translating):
'On the day God made earth and heaven - oh boy, imagine this: There is
no plant on the face of the earth, not even a bit of grass because
there had never been any rain at all, no man to till the ground, there
is just this grey mist that makes everting wet - on that day God formed
man ... ' etc.
Then the story is fun to listen to, and as you see: to change to
present tense helps to make it vivid. 

>
>(6) Deut. 32:10  "He found him (YIQTOL) in a desert land, and in the
>howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him (YIQTOL), he cared for
>him (YIQTOL), he kept him (YIQTOL) as the apple of his eye. (Ps 116:3)

or like this (again I start a few verses back):

'On the day The Most High gave the nations their inheritance ... He
finds him in a desert land! (like: What can you inherit there but sand
and rocks) He encircles him, cares for him, keeps hem as the apple of
his eye!'


>(7) Judg. 5:26 She put (YIQTOL) her hand to the tent peg and her right hand
>to the workmen's mallet; she struck (WEQATAL) Sisera a blow, she crushed
>(QATAL) his head, she shattered (WEQATAL) and pierced (WEQATAL) his temple.

Suppose the verbs were al WAYYIQTOL's: 'Then she put her hand to a tent
pin ... and then she struck Sisera a blow, and then she crushed his
head and then she shattered and pierced his temple' ... the listeners
fall asleep! 

So you go like this: 
'Blessed is Jael... water did he ask, milk did she give (what a perfect
hostess - she knows how to treat a guest)'. Then you lower your voice
and whisper: 'she takes a pin in her left hand and a hammer in her
right...' Then a lot louder: 'She strikes Sisera a blow, crushes his
head...' Finally quite loud (it is a relief for Israel, the listener,
that Sisera is hit): 'Yea, she shattered and pierced his temple!'

Of course this is a naive and unscientific approach to the text, and I
would not publish a translation like this, but I would like to
emphasize: These are stories to be told, to be attractive to listen to,
so you shift perspective: Telling about the past as if it is happening
as you speak. You and your listeners become part of the story.

I think the shifting from WAYYIQTOL to YIQTOL and QATAL can be a part
of this process.


Vriendelijke groeten,

Cees van Veelen, Amsterdam