Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Dora Smith" <villandra AT austin.rr.com>]

Well, actually I have to admit that this is also what I was always taught,
not in formal advanced studies, but because it is really the only way to
read some passages that make sense.  Then when studying Biblical Hebrew I
learned, no, the sheva vav that begins a sentence is only there to reverse
the verb; whether from completed to happens eternally or from happens
eternally to completed I do not remember.

For instance, in the first chapter of Genesis, what sense does it make to
think that And..   And...  is there just to reverse a verb, particularly if
it reverses the verb from completed action to continuing action?   The
sentences I;ve looked at so far are simple past tense, so anyting that
changed the tense would tell us that God is still creating the earth,
dividing the land from the waters, putting the lights in the sky, and
creating all of the birds and animals.   It is not impossible that the
author meant to convey that God eternally makes sense out of the universe
and not merely at some time in the past, but the story is presented as story
set in the far past as something that occurred one time.

Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, Texas
villandra AT austin.rr.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur AT nyx.net>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Waw Consecutive in Narrative Hebrew Narrative


> On Saturday 17 April 2004 22:14, Alviero Niccacci wrote:
> > Matt wrote:
> > >  The point that one of my teachers made is that since the book of
Joshua
> > >  starts with a waw-consecutive, it is meant to be read as a
continuation
> > > of the Torah.  He made the point that throughout the TaNaK, there
> > >  are numerous
> > >  points where books start with a waw-consecutive and that this is
> > >  a literary
> > >  tool used by the authors to portray them as a linear story, and that
we
> > >  should read them in that light.
> >
> > Dear Matt,
> >
> > this one of your teachers is correct in my view. If you read Italian,
> > you may refer to my paper, "Organizzazione canonica della Bibbia
> > ebraica. Tra sintassi e retorica": Rivista biblica 43 (1995) 9-29.
> > Best wishes,
>
> Is this view based on the verb form or on other factors?
>
> --
> Dave Washburn
> http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
> Learning about Christianity from a non-Christian
> is like getting a kiss over the telephone.
>
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