Biblical Hebrew Forum

[David Kummerow <farmerjoeblo AT hotmail.com>]

Gday Bryan,

Yes, I did say that qatals in narration are dominantly used to narrate. 
Here's a few examples pulled from Anstey's dissertation: 1 Sam 4:17 (I 
see we disagree on this verse); Jer 12:1-13; Josh 2:9-12.

He also helpfully tabulates the results of Heller's 2004 work on Gen 37, 
39-47, 2 Sam 9-20; 1 Kgs 1-2, the results of which, for the two verb 
forms referring to past actions, are:

qatal: narrative = 137 times; narration 153 times.
wayyiqtol: narrative = 1,103 times; narration 96 times.

Note that I prefer not to treat weqatal as the same as qatal, even 
though I take it that they are the same verbal forms and not different. 
weqatal is used in cosubordinate clauses to carry the tense, aspect, 
mood, or illocutionary force of the preceding verb. Useful reading on 
this for BH is Winther-Nielsen 1995: 53-62, 270-277; Dallaire 2002; 
Diehl 2004; Baayen 1997; Talstra 1997 and Cristofaro 2003 for the 
typological background.

Baayen, R. Harald. 1997. “The Pragmatics of the ‘Tenses’ in Biblical 
Hebrew.” Studies in Language 21: 245-285.
Cristofaro, Sonia. 2003. Subordination. Oxford Studies in Typology and 
Linguistic Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dallaire, Hélène. 2002. “The Syntax of Volitives in Northwest Semitic 
Prose.” PhD diss., Hebrew Union College.
Diehl, Johannes F. 2004. Die Fortführung des Imperativs im Biblischen 
Hebräisch. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 286. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.
Heller, Roy L. 2004. Narrative Structure and Discourse Constellation: An 
Analysis of Clause Function in Biblical Hebrew Prose. Harvard Semitic 
Studies 55. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
Talstra, Eep. 1997. “Tense, Mood, Aspect and Clause Connections in 
Biblical Hebrew: A Textual Approach.” Journal of Northwest Semitic 
Languages 23/2: 81-103.
Winther-Nielsen, Nicolai. 1995. A Functional Discourse Grammar of 
Joshua: A Computer-Assisted Rhetorical Structure Analysis. Coniectanea 
Biblica Old Testament Series 40. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell.

Regards,
David Kummerow.


> > Shalom David,
> >
> > Thank you very much for your clear and well-documented treatment of 
> > aspect in the recent thread!
> >
> > If I remember correctly, you said somewhere during the long thread 
> > that strings of qatals are sometimes used to narrate a story (forgive 
> > me if I do not quote you).  If I am wrong, and I would be happy to 
> > drop the issue.  Otherwise  I confess that I am not familiar with this 
> > type of string in a narrative.  I do realize that narratives in direct 
> > speech often begin with a qatal, but I am under the impression that 
> > they then continue with wayyiqtol.
> >
> > If I am remembering your statement correctly, can you point out a 
> > couple of these strings in "first Temple" texts?
> > I have found, for example, 1 Sam 4:17 a string of four qatals in 
> > direct speech, but I don't think the speaker is telling a story.  I 
> > think he is describing the state of affairs to Eli.  Describing a 
> > state of affairs is essentially expository rather than narrative.  In 
> > expository discourse I would expect to find noun sentences and X-qatal 
> > sentences (which are a kind of noun sentence, I think).
> >
> > I see that David uses a string of qatals (or weqatals) in 1 Sam 
> > 17:34-36.  Traditionally, the string is considered to be repetitive 
> > action in the past for which weqatal is a conventional choice.  
> > However, In my book, I suggest that David is indeed telling a story 
> > (see _Learning BH_ pp. 345-347).  However, I suggest he is telling a 
> > story in an unconventional way in a very special circumstance.  
> > Essentially, he is telling a story using the conventions of expository 
> > discourse in order to apply for a job.  He is basically giving Saul 
> > his resume.  I am not ashamed for bringing such a literary 
> > consideration into a linguistic discussion.
> >
> > Anyway, can you point out a string or two?  Thanks!
> >
> > Regards,
> > Bryan