Biblical Hebrew Forum

["JAMES CHRISTIAN READ" <JCR128 AT student.anglia.ac.uk>]

Hi,

while it is markedly more popular in poetry I have seen
it in prose also. I can't remember specific quotes off 
the top of my head but I'm sure other list members may 
be able to make some useful contributions.

Secondly, the use of strict 'and' translation is not 
always justifiable. Sometimes context reveals that 
'but' is required as a contrast is clearly being shown 
and sometimes, as may be the case here, 'so' may be the 
order of the day as the context is indicating consequence.

JAMES CHRISTIAN READ <JCR128 AT student.anglia.ac.uk>
wrote:

> Isn't repetition the rule to be expected rather than
> 
> the rare exception to be debated in biblical hebrew?
> 
> James

It is not a rule in literary prose, and Gen. 24:16 is
essentially a prose statement by the biblical
narrator; but phonetic, repetitive, grammatical. and
semantic parallelism does recur (not as a rule) as a
standard literary technique in NW Semitic poetry. You
might find E. J. Revell's paper helpful: "The
Repetition of Introductions to Speech as a Feature of
Biblical Hebrew", VT 47 (1997), pp. 91-110. Repetition
in BH prose or discourse re-states similar ideas often
using the same words. In Gen. 24:16 new information is
introduced with the clause "and she did not know a
man" which helps move the narrative forward.

Tory Thorpe