Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Title: Re: DA of Poetry

At 2:07 PM -0600 12/19/00, David Stabnow wrote:

> Topic: Discourse Analysis, at its current
> state of development, seems to
> falter when applied to poetry.
>
> I have been encouraged by Longacre (*Joseph*) and Dawson
> (*Text-Linguistics
> and BH*) who proposed "clines" that explain how various
> syntactical
> structures are used in various genres of BH literature. It was helpful
> to
> see things laid out in a manner that could be grasped. I
> understand,
> however, that such charts are too simplistic to encompass a
> language.
>
> This inadequacy has become quite evident when approaching some poetry.
> Must
> the findings of DA for prose be thrown out? What can be salvaged? How
> must
> it evolve? Would Niccacci and Talstra argue that their systems
> handle
> poetry?
>
> As a test case, let's try to make sense of the use of verb tense
> and
> clause-initial syntax in the first 7 verses of Ps 77. I have wrestled
> with
> verses 2 (English v. 1) and 7 (English 6) a little.
>
> In v. 2, perhaps the first verb is habitual yiqtol ("I cry out; I
> am crying
> out; I have been crying out"), and the second is weqatal
> indicating
> intended result ("in order that He will hear me"). The
> verbless clauses may
> imply a habitual yiqtol verb ("I *raise* my voice").
>
> In v. 7 I wonder if the two yiqtols are again past habitual: "I
> used to
> remember my song in the night; I used to meditate with my heart."
> The
> wayyiqtol, then, is the next event (temporally or logically
> consequent) in
> the past: "Then my spirit inquired:"
>
> Would anybody else like to weigh in on DA in BH poetry? Is anybody
> doing
> serious work in this area?

Dear David Stabnow,

As far as I understand, discourse analysis is usefull for literary analysis of texts rather than for syntax of the verb forms as such. I adopted a different linguistic approach for the analysis of the BH verb system--that of Harald Weinrich, called text-linguistics. You can see differences with R.E. Longacre's approach in _Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics_ edited by Robert D. Bergen (1994). My detailed book review of D.A. Dawson's _Text-Linguistics and BH_ is found in _Liber Annuus_ 45 (1995) 543-580. Following Wolfgang Schneider, E. Talstra also adopted a text-linguistic model. You can see an exposition of his position and of mine in Schneider's Festschrift, _Narrative and Comment_ edited by Talstra himself (1995) and in _The Verbless Clause in Biblical Hebrew_ edited by Cynthia L. Miller (1999). -- I already have presented my view on BH poetry sometime earlier in this forum.

When I wrote the final chapter of my _Syntax of the Verb in CLassical Hebrew Prose_ on the use of tense in poetry (1990), and also when I published my paper *Analysing Biblical Hebrew Poetry* in JSOT 74 (1997), I still thought that verb forms in BH poetry did not have precise functions and could practically be taken to mean everything the interpreter thought to be appropriate--as seems to be common opinion--although not openly declared--among scholars until today.

Since some years I changed my mind. I think now, first, that different verb forms need to have different functions in BH poetry as is the case in prose and, second, that the functions of the verb forms in poetry are the same as in prose--at least as a working hypothesis. With this approach, the analysis of poetry becomes more difficult but, as I think, more respectful of the text and more fruitful. A first attempt of mine in this direction was the short study  on the poetic section in the Book of Jonah (2:3-10) published in _Liber Annuus_ 46 (1996) 26-31. Another one is on Psalms 9-10 (in Italian), published in F. Vattioni's memorial volume, _Biblica et semitica_ edited by Luigi Cagni (1999). Also see my analysis of Proverbs 23:12-25 and 23:26-24:22 (in Italian) published in _Liber Annuus_ 47 (1997) and 48 (1998), respectively.

Coming to Ps 77, we should note, first, that in prose first-place-in-the-sentence yiqtol is jussive, or volitive, as is its continuation form weyiqtol. These two verb forms contrast indicative, non-volitive first-place-in-the-sentence yiqtol and its continuation form weqatal, respectively. According to this data, I suggest the following analysis:

> Ps 77:2 *With my voice to the Lord,
> I WANT TO CRY [volitive weyiqtol], / with my voice to the Lord, AND [I
> hope] HE WILL LISTEN [non-volitive weqatal] to me.
>
> Ps 77:4 *I WANT TO REMEMBER
> [volitive first-place-in-the-sentence yiqtol] God AND I WANT TO MOAN
> (or, EVEN UNTIL MOANING) [volitive weyiqtol], / I WANT TO MEDITATE
> [volitive yiqtol] AND MY SOUL WANTS TO FAIL (or, EVEN UNTIL MY SOUL
> FAINTS) [volitive weyiqtol]. -- See Ps 55:18 for a similar
> phrase.
>
> Ps 77:12 *I WANT TO LET (people)
> REMEMBER (ketiv; or, I WANT TO REMEMBER, qere) [voltive yiqtol] the
> deeds of the Lord, / yea, I WANT TO REMEMBER [volitive yitol =
> cohortative] from old your wonders.
> Ps 77:13 *Thus I WILL REFLECT
> [non-volitive yiqtol] on all your work, / and on your deeds WILL I 
> MEDITATE [non volitive x-yiqtol, despite the cohortative
> form].
>

Poetry actually employs the verb forms of direct speech (as opposed to historical narrative). As such, and even more easily than prose, poetry is able to switch from one temporal axis to the other, i.e., poetry abruptly shifts from verb forms of the present to the those of the past and/or to those of the future, and other ways around. If we wish to take the verb forms seriously, we should not translate DIFFERENT verb forms with the SAME tenses of the target language-- in order not to level down the dynamics of the text. Here, e.g.,

>
> Ps 77: 6 *I RECOUNTED [qatal = past]
> the days of old, / the years long past.
> Ps 77: 7 *I WANT TO REMEMBER
> [volitive yiqtol = future] my song in the night, / with my heart WANT
> I TO MEDITATE [x-yiqtol = future] AND my soul SEARCHED [wayyiqtol =
> past]:
> Ps 77:8 *WILL the Lord REJECT
> [x-yiqtol = future] forever / AND WILL HE NEVER AGAIN [lo' + yiqtol =
> future] be favorable?
> Ps 77:9 *HAS his steadfast love
> CEASED [interrogative qatal = past] for ever, / HAS (His) promise
> ENDED [qatal = past] for all time?*
>

Past verb forms continue in Ps 77:10-11. Present constructions, i.e. non-verbal sentences, are found in verse 14. The participle in verse 15a *`o&eh* has a past reference because it is connected  with past verb forms qatal in verses 15b and 16a.

These qatal forms introduce a celebration of a past liberation in verses 17-21--the crossing of the sea from the servitude in Egypt to freedom. The past is expressed with qatal forms, in one case with continuation wayyiqtol (verse 19b). Three yiqtol forms are found in this connection, i.e., with past reference--two in verse 17, one in verse 18b. In a past context yiqtol (actually x-yiqtol, i.e.  second-place-in-the-sentence, non-volitive yiqtol) indicates repetition, custom, description. In languages that make a clear difference between simple past (i.e., the narrative, mainline verb form) and imperfect (i.e., the narrative, offline verb form) such as the Neo-Latin languages, these qatal forms are correctly translated with the simple past and the x-yiqtol forms with the imperfect. -- As has been pointed out, among the first scholars, by U. Cassuto, M. Held and S. Gevirtz, the parallel pair qatal // yiqtol is characteristic of early Canaanite style. See, e.g., Ps 77:17, where we also find an instance of repetitive style, a further characteristic of early Canaanite poetry:

>
> Ps 77:17 *The waters saw [qatal]
> you, o God, / the waters saw [qatal] you--(while they) were convulsed
> [yiqtol], / even the deep was trembling,* etc.
>

Finally the non-verbal sentences in verses 19 and 20 in a past context also are correctly translated in the imperfect.

Best wishes for the coming festivities. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Alviero Niccacci

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