Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>]

Dear Dave,

Zech 8:15 (ZMM) is not on my list of QATALs with future reference, 
although I take it in this sense. The reason why I referred to it, 
was that my students discussed it the day I wrote my post, and it 
illustrates a particular practice among Bible translators.

I suppose that you take the QATAL $WB in the adverbial sense "again" 
and the infinitive Y+B as a verbal complement.In that case I do not 
understand how you can use both an English perfect and a future 
("have decided..will do good") as a rendering of the one verb ZMM. 
Could you please tell me why you choose English perfect and future 
rather than a single future for ZMM? Does it rest on a particular 
view of QATAL? Would you translate ZMM with English perfect also if 
there were not restrictions regarding a future use of QATAL?

I will translate 14 and 15 like this: "Just as I had in mind to bring 
disaster upon you, because your forefathers provoked me to anger...so 
I will again have in mind in these days to do good to Jerusalem and 
to the house of Judah"

The reason for this translation is as follows: There is a contrast 
between "these days" (v 10, referring to some time before the 
utterance of the prophet) and "these days" (vv 15,23, referring to a 
time after the utterance). The preposition B before "these days" in v 
15 shows that the action of ZMM and its infinitive complement would 
occur "*in* those days". This period of time would either occur 
before the time of the utterance or from/after the time of the 
utterance. In neither case would an English perfect be appropriate, 
but rather simple past (if "these days" were prior to the utterance), 
or future (if these days were from/after the utterance. The good that 
he has in mind, is described in vv 12 and 13 which is future in 
relation to "now" (v 11) and which is a contrast to v 11 with its 
reference to the "former days".

Five of the QATALs with future reference in Zechariah that I have on 
my list are:

5:3 NQH
8:3 4WB
9:5 BW$
10:3 PQD
13:9 )MR


Regards

Rolf


Rolf Furuli

University of Oslo



> Rolf Furuli wrote:
>
> >  In 8:14,15 we find the QATAL of ZMM two times (though with a strange
> writing), the first with pre-past reference, but what is the time reference
> of the other?
> If we take the view of many grammars that QATALs should not refer to the
> future, we take it as a perfect, but the context suggests future reference.
>
> DKS:  ZMM in 8:15 is not future.  "I have planned (in the past) that I will
> (in the future) do good to Jerusalem ..."  If this is an example of the
> analysis you did to support your theory, I'm afraid it undermines it
> instead.
>
> Dave Stabnow
> Bible Translation Editor
> Broadman & Holman Publishers
> Nashville, Tennessee
> 615-251-5851
> david.stabnow AT lifeway.com
>
>
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