Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yitzhak Sapir <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

Uri Hurwitz wrote:
> I think it was Speiser in his Anchor Bible  translation of Genesis who
> intorduced the dependent clause to Gen 1:1, but perhaps he had
> predecessors.
>     On the other  hand, none of the ancient translations or versions used a
> dependent clause to begin this chapter,as far as I know.

Rashi essentially interprets this as a dependent clause in his second comment
on Gen 1:1.

B. M. Rocine wrote:
> B-Haverim,
>
> To lend support to the idea that Gen. 1:1 should be taken as a dependent
> clause, I think it is worth mentioning the syntactical parallel between
> Gen. 1:1-3 and Gen 2:4b-7, <dependent clause-parenthetical-main clause>,
> shown here:

The first problem in your comparison is that the "parentheticals" on Ch. 1
introduce positive statements while the "parentheticals" on Ch. 2 introduce
negations.  So while the comparison might seem ok to say "On <dependent
statement of time>, <parenthetical statement of condition>, and <narration>".
Then in verse 2:6, we have an introduction of a yiqtol/weqatal phrase.  Now, 
it
might be comfortable to compare this phrase -- the first non negative phrase
-- to the participle phrase in verse 1:2c.  However, first, it is
clear from your
comparison that you are comparing grammatical forms in order to support
your point.  So the opposition of participle as opposed to yiqtol/weqatal
evidently must be a point against your comparison.  However, while 1:2 can
read entirely as a "statement of condition", and "rwx )lhym mrxpt" as
something that happens concurrently with "wh)rc hyth", it is hard to read 2:6
as something that happens concurrently with "kl &yx/(&b h&sdh", because
it's semantics imply that there was water for the plant life.  This makes "ky
l) hm+yr" totally redundant and even obtrusive.   This means that the best
way is to read 2:6 as the beginning of the narration and this loses one more
important comparison point -- the grammatical form that begins the narration.
Instead of "wayiqtol" in Ch. 1 we have "yiqtol" in Ch. 2.  So now, we have a
dependent clause in the first verse, then a statement of condition -- a 
totally
positive (what happened) in Ch. 1 and a totally negative (what was not yet
to happen) in Ch. 2, then the beginning of narration in Ch. 1 with "wayiqtol"
and the beginning of narration in Ch. 2 with "yiqtol."  We also have of course
the problem that in Ch. 1 the "statement of condition" begins with a
description of the object of the "dependent clause"  which is hard to
understand since the dependent clause implies we are speaking of a time
when )RC was not yet fully created while the "statement of condition" implies
that )RC is fully created.  The only thing left of the comparison is that a
dependent clause of time can be used to introduce statements of the
condition of the time before beginning the narration.  However, it is also
clear that in Ch. 1, the reading of the dependent-condition form forces us
into an unnatural reading whereby a description of the fully created )RC
occurs as part of the condition of what happened prior to fully creating )RC.
And that in Ch. 2, the wish to find a wayiqtol comparable to Ch. 1's wayiqtol
forces you to read 2:6 as part of the "condition statement" which also raises
semantic problems.  The implications of this -- that Ch. 1 may not have
a parenthetical statement at all, and that Ch. 2's ends earlier -- may suggest
that wayiqtol  cannot follow a parenthetical statement.  Can you show a
place other than Gen 1-2 where a wayiqtol immediately follows a
"parenthetical" statement?  Also, can you show a place where a
construct of a verb such as the hypothesized "br)" in Gen 1:1 is used with
the word ")T" while in the construct phrase (other than Gen 1:1 of course)?

Yitzhak Sapir


>
> *dep clause*
>
> 1:1                2:4b
> bere'shit...       beyom...
>
>
>
> *parenthetical*
>
> 1:2                2:5-6
> X-qatal &          X-yiqtols &
> 3 noun clauses     Weqatal
>
>
>
> *narration "proper" begins*
>
> 1:3                2:7
> vayyo'mer          vayyicer
>
>
>
> --
> B. M. Rocine
> Living Word Church
> 6101 Court St. Rd.
> Syracuse, NY 13026
> (W): 315.437.6744
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