Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bill Ross" <wross AT farmerstel.com>]

<John>
>>The non-consecutive vav is on a perfect verbal form.<

<Randall>
...ON 'he', it would appear to be the Lord, not Avram.

<Bill>
Not everyone agrees with your take. I'm trying to see if there are
grammatical reasons to prefer one reading over the other, apart from the way
it was read by Rabbi Saul.

It seems to me that the subject ought not be construed as changing without a
new subject being introduced. Consider:

"Joe visited Bob and gave him five dollars."

Who gave whom five dollars? Joe gave Bob.

How about this one:

"Joe visited Bob and gave he him five dollars."

Who gave whom five dollars? It is somewhat ambigious, but I think it leans
toward Joe gave Bob since a new subject has not been introduced.

"Joe visited Bob and Bob gave he him five dollars."

Now ambiguity is gone because a new subject is *explicitly introduced.*

Is this not a normal pattern in Hebrew? Is something present to override or
reinforce this reading?

Many thanks,

Bill Ross