Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Dave Washburn <dwashbur AT nyx.net>]

I would think the answer would be obvious: it's only complicated to us, it 
wasn't to them because they were native speakers.

On Wednesday 26 May 2004 07:54, UUC wrote:
> I always wondered, If the grammar is so complicated, how did the ancients
> spoke these languages, anyway? Surely it looked to them simpler than that.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Vadim Cherny
>
> > Serves to prove the view that the waw consecutive verbs are not
> > imperfects
>
> at all, but preterites (past tense) with a non-converse waw. The jussive is
> formed off the preterite, hence both forms are shorter than the imperfect.
>
> > Best regards,
> >
> > GEORGE ATHAS
> > Lecturer in Biblical Languages
> > Southern Cross College
> > Sydney, Australia
> >
> >
> >   ----- Original Message -----
> >   From: Harold R. Holmyard III
> >   To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> >   Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 6:22 AM
> >   Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Vav consecutive Gen 1:3
> >
> >
> >   Dear Chris,
> >
> >   >I really mean it, I don't go looking for trouble but:
> >   >
> >   >Genesis 1:2  --  Let there be light and there was light.
> >   >
> >   >My grammar book states ( about the perfect + imperfect sequence): 
> >   > "The
>
> vav
>
> >   >consecutive is used nowhere else in the whole hebrew verb system
> >   > except here".  I.E. Vav with patach.
> >   >
> >   >So? YHi (yod heh yod) being a jussive is followed by exactly the same
>
> except
>
> >   >with Vav consecutive, and as I understand it one cannot point the vav
>
> in
>
> >   >this manner EXCEPT on a vav consecutive. Yet this second verb is also
> >   >imperfect.
> >   >
> >   >Now you can all obliterate my reasoning because as is usual I have to
>
> be
>
> >   >missing something obvious.
> >
> >   HH: I changed the header since the verse you cite is Gen 1:3. You may
> >   be overlooking something. The preceding verb of importance may be
> >   "and he said," because "Let there be light" is an object clause for
> >   the verb of saying. So "and he said" is the main clause. The thought
> >   progression may be: "And he said something, and there was light." So
> >   the waw consecutive on "and there was" may follow a similar waw
> >   consecutive on "and he said," which may go back to the QATAL verb
> >   "was" in Gen 1:2: "darkness was."
> >
> >   Yours,
> >   Harold Holmyard
> >
> >   _______________________________________________
> >   b-hebrew mailing list
> >   b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> >   http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
> > _______________________________________________
> > b-hebrew mailing list
> > b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
>
> _______________________________________________
> b-hebrew mailing list
> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew

-- 
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
Learning about Christianity from a non-Christian
is like getting a kiss over the telephone.