Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Andrew.Wergeland AT mf.no]

Hi Bob,

At 16:59 14.10.02 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Can anyone tell me why there is a nun-soffit
>atttached to the end of ywk:lwn (Gen 43:32) a waw
>consecutive imperative 3rd person masc form of
>ykl--to be able.  It appears here and in Gen 44:1.

I think these two forms are normal (non-consecutive) imperfects.  If they
were consecutives we would expect a waw and (where available) a shortened
form, but as you point out the forms here are rather lengthened.  

I don't think your why-question can be answered definitively.
Jouon-Muraoka (§44e) suggests five causes:  "the antiquity of the text, a
deliberate archaism, Aramaic influence, and metre.  But the usual reason
seems to be preference for a fuller and more emphatic form."

Maybe someone else can say more?


Andrew Wergeland
--
Stud.Theol. Andrew Wergeland
Fakultetslærar (vik.) - Det gamle testamentet (Hebraisk) / 
Faculty Teacher (temp.) - Old Testament (Hebrew)

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