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  • From: Alviero Niccacci <sbfnet AT netvision.net.il>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Esther 2:14
  • Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1904 12:04:55 +0300


At 6:17 AM -0500 11/9/00, Bryan Rocine wrote:
B-Haverim,

Reading, enjoying Esther...

Esther 2:14 ba`ereb hi' ba'ah ubaBBoqer hi' shabah...lo'
tabo' 'el hammelek... "in the evening she would be an
enterer and in the morning she would be a returner...she
would not come to the king..." Here we see the qatal used
in what I call procedural discourse (how-it-was-done
discourse). It's set in the past and describes habitual or
repetitive action. Usually we see the "tag team" of weqatal
and yiqtol in such a context. Here we see qatal and yiqtol.
So much for vav-conversive! Qatal without the vav can refer
to the habitual or repetitive in the history texts as well
as the poetic. Any comments?


Hi Bryan!

In Esther 2:14, the verbforms *ba'áh* and *shabáh* are vocalized as participles rather than as qatal forms because the stress falls on the last syllable. I think this Masoretic vocalization is correct. I would sugest the following translation (RSV, with modifications):

«In the evening (the maiden) WAS COMING (*ba'áh*), and in the morning she WAS GOING BACK (*shabáh*) to the second harem in custody of Sha-ashgaz the king's eunuch who WAS IN CHARGE OF [*shomer*, ALSO A PARTICIPLE] the concubines; she WOULD NOT GO [lo'-tabo', negated yiqtol] in to the king again, unless the king delighted [*xapec*, A STATIVE QATAL] in her and SHE WOULD BE SUMMONED [weniqre'ah, A WEQATAL] by name».

The participle alternates with (indicative, non volitive) yiqtol and weqatal as expected. I a past narrative, they express continuity and customariness, respectively.
Frankly, I would not say that *Qatal without vav can refer to the habitual or repeetitive in the history texts as well as the poetic*. I do not know any such examples, do you?

Alviero Niccacci


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