Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>]

On 25/11/2005 01:05, Dave Washburn wrote:

> ...
>
> I'm one of them.  I find it amusing that anyone uses a statistical argument 
> for a base order of VSO, because the statistics are heavily skewed by the 
> frequency of the wayyiqtol, which just about everyone agrees is a converted 
> (i.e. secondary, not basal) form. ...

I'm not one of them. And I would have thought "just about everyone" is 
an exaggeration. An alternative view which I thought was quite widely 
accepted is that WAYYIQTOL is in fact a more original and ancient form, 
an old proto-Semitic verb form, to which is attached the vav marking the 
clause boundary. Because this form adheres to the original VSO word 
order and is not used in secondary constructions in which the verb has 
moved, the vav has become inseparable. - or perhaps jussives are 
WAYYIQTOLs without their vav. I don't claim that this is necessarily 
true, but I have seen no clear evidence that WAYYIQTOL is secondary, 
rather than primary and reflecting the original dominant Hebrew word order.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/