Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Alviero Niccacci <sbfnet AT netvision.net.il>]

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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