Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

I'm always fascinated with your examples, Rolf. Thank you for raising them. 
They provoke good discussion and thought.

I think a major difference between us that I see Yiqtol and Wayyiqtol as 
fundamentally different conjugations. You're approach works on an equation 
between them, but I don't think the grounds you use to argue this are 
adequate. The language is more than the consonants written in antiquity.

I would argue that the Wayyiqtol forces the reader/listener to consider an 
action as though it's happening right in front of them, then and there. 
Hence, I tell my students that it's like looking at the action 'live'. That 
is how Hebrew conceives of Wayyiqtol. However, when we translate into 
English, we generally use a past tense because that's our convention for 
relaying 'information' (for want of a better word) in literary works.

I also take a different approach to the word order issue. When verbs are 
first in a clause, there is a smooth transition between clauses. Initial 
verbs, in other words, create conjunctive clauses. When verbs are not first, 
there is a feel of disjunction, perhaps because of contrast or momentous 
'information'. Perhaps the best indication of this is when a verb is negated: 
Hebrew places the negation before the verb, not after it, and negations are, 
by nature, disjunctive.

There is certainly more to it than what I've just described, but that, I 
believe, is the heart of how Hebrew syntax works.


Regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au