Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Dave,

You write,

>When is a command not a command? In Num 34:2 God instructs Moses to
>"command" the Israelites, "This is the land, according to its borders ..."
>In what way is that a command? Perhaps the content of the list that follows
>is a command: "Make your border go from point A to point B." (This would
>explain the use of imperfects and "converted" perfects.)

Yes.


>Num 34:13 is similar. Moses "commands" Israel, "This is the land which you
>will apportion." Again the sentence is indicative. Perhaps there is a
>skewing of surface structure and deep structure here: the indicative main
>clause "this is the land" is followed by a relative clause which contains
>the command, "which you must apportion."

I think that the idea remains imperatival. God is giving instructions,
directions, which the Israelites are to carry out.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard