Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Yitzhak:

Thanks for your response. Gives something to think about.

On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 12:57 AM, Yitzhak Sapir<yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 5:21 AM, K Randolph wrote:
>> Some of the phrases are just wrong, for
>> example, XPC as a verb takes a B- prefix on its object noun or pronoun
>> in Biblical Hebrew,
>
> This regards the example on p. 20, numbered 2.22:
>
> 2.22 ky any xpc ksp
> Compare Hosea 6:6: ky xsd xpcty
> or Ps 40:7: zbx wmnxh l) xpct
>
Is this a situation where objects take a B- prefix, while actions do
not? XSD, D(T are both actions, not objects. And the other “nouns” may
not be nouns in our standard, western way of thinking, rather
references to actions?

> >or if the object is a verb, the verb is an infinitive.
>
> I guess this regards the line on p. 17, numbered 2.17, but I don't
> understand the criticism.  2.17 has an infinitive.
>
> 2.17 )ny xpc llkt )l tr$y$
> Compare 1 Ki 9:1 )$r xpc l(&wt
> Or Ps 40:9 l(&wt rcwnk )lhy xpcty
>
You misunderstood: I gave a general rule, not a criticism of this
particular example. At least not this aspect of this particular
example.

>> And is there any example in Tanakh where (L means “must”?
>> I can’t think of any.
>
> This also regards 2.22, where the second line reads:
> 2.22 (lyk ltt ly ksp
> Compare 2 Sam 18:11 (ly ltt lk (&rh ksp
>
The context does not indicate that (L means “must” for in the context
of the story, Joab was not required to do anything to the messenger
had he killed Absalom. Rather this was something he would have done on
his own initiative. I take this verse as an argument against the use
of (L to mean “must”.

> Yitzhak Sapir

While I know very little about modern Israeli, I was introduced to its
use of a tense based verbal system, which I do not find in Biblical
Hebrew. The training materials that I have seen use the modern Israeli
tense based system, rather than the Biblical Hebrew system.

Karl W. Randolph.