Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Awohili AT aol.com]

In a message dated 06/29/2006 7:48:06 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
peter AT qaya.org writes:

> In the  book, _201 Hebrew Verbs_ Abraham S. Halkin lists ehyeh as the 
future   
> aspect of the kal of HYH. ...

Is this a book of MODERN Hebrew?  Of course in modern Hebrew the 
"imperfect" or YIQTOL form is a future  tense, and so the meaning is 
uncontestably "I will be". But in biblical  Hebrew, at least as 
understood by most scholars, this verb form indicates  not so much a 
tense as the imperfective or continuous aspect, meaning in  the context 
something like "I was and I am and I always will be", or, in  simpler 
English, "I am".




*********************
 
Halkin doesn't specify, and you are correct about the aspectual  
characteristic of YIQTOL.  However, rendering ehyeh as "future" is not  
limited to Modern 
Hebrew.
 
In attempting to bring the Greek of Exodus 3:14 closer in meaning to the  
Hebrew text, the 1st (or 2nd) century translators Theodotion and Aquila  gave 
us 
ESOMAI (hOS) ESOMAI, "I will be who I will be."
 
Solomon Landers