Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Trevor Peterson <06PETERSON AT cua.edu>]

>===== Original Message From "Charles David Isbell" <cisbell AT cox.net> =====
>Hi Trevor.
>Hava is from the root Y-H-B, and it is quite biblical, serving as almost a
>synonym of
>N-T-N, with meaning ranging from "to give," all the way to "grant" [give
>permission]." (So if I want to be allowed to speak I will say "Ten li
>ledabber.")

Right. Yes, I knew yahav was in BH, but I couldn't remember seeing it used in 
this way.

>You are correct that it is an emphatic imperative. Its imperative form
>follows other initial YOD verbs, like Y-Sh-B, in dropping its initial letter
>before forming the imperatives. Hava often is merely an exclamation, "Come!
>Give!" But followed by an imperfect form, it is often translated "Let us
>.." So to say with gusto, "Let's sing," use "hava nashir." Biblically, look
>at Gen 11.3, for example: Hava nivneh = "Come let us build."

I probably should have caught that when I read it last week. I guess that's 
the problem when you know a story almost by heart :-)

Thanks,
Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics