Biblical Hebrew Forum

["B. M. Rocine" <brocine AT twcny.rr.com>]

Thank you Peter for adding some helpful details to the discussion.

I can also add that in all the uses of ehyeh in the Scriptures only Exo 
3:14 and Hos 14:6 use the word in the clause-initial position.  Most 
especially, I notice in YHWH's speech, ehyeh (when in an independent 
clause) is usually preceded by pleonastic  'ani or 'anokiy.  I take this 
information as a signal to read Exo 3:14's ehyeh as special, suspecting 
that it is an expression of desire (a cohortative) rather than 
knowledge.  I take ehyeh 'asher ehyeh to mean, "I intend to be what I 
always am."  Of course, "be" and "am" are not entirely equivalent to the 
use of the root hyh in Exo 3:14.

Shalom,
Bryan

Peter Kirk wrote:
> On 05/08/2005 11:12, B. M. Rocine wrote:
>
> > ...
> >
> >
> > I am not sure what you mean by "sequential yiqtols."  In my posts 
> > about Isaiah 52-53 and Psa 107, I tried to maintain a consistent 
> > interpretation of clause-initial yiqtols as volitive.  I think there 
> > were a couple of exceptions.
> >
> >  
> >
> > ...
> >
> > This model has import for the study of syntax and verbal semantics.  
> > An interesting pattern emerges of we study the distribution of clause 
> > types in BH.  Most of the BH genres have a mainline of communication 
> > that utilizes a verb-first clause type.  Historical narrative 
> > discourse uses the wayyiqtol; Predictive narrative uses the weqatal; 
> > Hortatory discourse uses clause-initial forms based on the yiqtol like 
> > the imperative, jussive, and cohortative, to name a few.
> >  
>
> Bryan, are you effectively saying that the volitive clause-initial 
> YIQTOLs you refer to are jussives and cohortatives? In that case, they 
> will typically be based on an apocopated or shortened form of YIQTOL 
> which, at least according to one widespread theory, has a quite 
> different origin form regular YIQTOL. And so that would explain why the 
> same surface form has two different meanings - the forms were originally 
> different but have come together because of phonological change.
>
> In fact the situation is a little more complex for the first EHYEH, if 
> this is in fact to be understood as cohortative, for this is a 
> "lamed-he" verb which has a distinct apocopated form. The cohortative is 
> generally formed from the (rare) 1st person of the jussive with a 
> suffixed he. The 3rd person jussive of HYH is Y:HIY (Genesis 1:3 etc). 
> No cohortative version is attested, but one would expect the consonants 
> )HYH, as in Ehyeh, and probably in fact the same form Ehyeh. So the 
> first Ehyeh could be cohortative, and the sentence could be translated 
> "Let me be what I am", which might well mean something like "Don't try 
> to control me!"

--
B. M. Rocine
Living Word Chruch
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