Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Peter,

You are close to the truth, but fumbling with motors and balloons is  
not helpful. There is no such thing as "dynamic" and  
"durative" (unless it is forever) in Hebrew. Language is static not  
dynamic. Time is not a factor in Hebrew. The Hebrew root describes a  
constant material state rather than a process over time. It is a  
picture not a movie. The movies are produced by the imagination. Take  
the verb BARA, 'create', of Genesis 1:1. Was creation instantaneous  
(if there is such a thing), or did it take God some time to apply the  
glue and bang in the nails?

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Mar 28, 2007, at 4:35 PM, Peter Kirk wrote:

> It seems to me that these are properties of the core or prototypical
> concepts expressed by these words, rather than of the words  
> themselves.
> Yes, the prototypical concepts of "run" and "sing" are durative and
> dynamic. But that does not prevent the extension of their meaning to
> cases which are not durative and dynamic. If an electric motor is
> running, it is surely better to consider this as a state rather than
> something dynamic. If I run a computer program which does something  
> very
> simple and quick, this effectively not durative because it is complete
> in as short a time as a prototypical punctual action like popping a
> balloon. So I dispute that in these extended senses of "run" the  
> word is
> necessarily durative and dynamic.
> Peter Kirk
> E-mail:  peter AT qaya.org
> Blog:    http://www.qaya.org/blog/
> Website: http://www.qaya.org/
>
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