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  • From: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] questions, reliable evidence, 'stand' and 'said'
  • Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:13:41 +0200

Dear Bryant,


As I already have said several times, in most instances where a verb occurs we cannot see the relationship between event time and reference time. Therefore, we cannot pinpoint the aspect on the basis of the context, and we have to interpret the text in the light of the use of similar forms in other texts. In stative situations it is even more difficult to see the force of the verb than in fientive ones, because any part of a state is similar to any other part, or to the state as a whole. Therefore, it is little to make visible. When QATALs are used with past reference for states, the entrance into the state is often the focus.

My interpretation and translation of the verses are:

2 Chronicles 20:20:

"and when they set out (INFIN CON.) Jehoshaphat took (his) stand (QATAL) /=entered the state of standing/ and began to speak (WAYYIQTOL)."


The interpretation is based on the infinitive, which indicates that what follows occurred in the short time when the people were about to leave their camp.
Because I connect aspect with the verb form, I say that the QATAL form is always perfective, and the WAYYIQTOL is always imperfective.

2 Samuel 20:1, 12,

(11) "and one of Joab's young men stood (QATAL1) over him and kept saying (WAYYIQTOL): "Whoever favors (QATAL2) Joab, and whoever belongs to David, let him follow Joab!"
(12) Amasa lay wallowing (PARTICIPLE) in his blood in the middle of the road. When the man saw (WAYYIQTOL) that all the people stood still (QATAL2), he moved (WAYYIQTOL) Amasa from the road to the field. And he cast (WAYYIQTOL) a garment over him, when he saw (QATAL3) that everyone coming (PARTICIPLE) up to him stood still (QATAL4).
(13) After Amasa had been removed (QATAL5), each man passed by (QATAL6) following Joab...

In these verses the QATAL is used in different ways. I take 1, 3, 4, and 6 in the normal perfective sense - a view as if from some distance with no details made visible; 2 has present reference, and 5 has pre-past reference.

2 Kings 2:7

"And there were fifty men of the sons of the prophets that went (QATAL) and kept standing (WAYYIQTOL) at a distance. And both of them /Elijah and Elisha/ had stood (QATAL) by the Jordan."

I take the first QATAL in the normal sense described above, and the second as having pre-past reference. I take the WAYYIQTOL as making visible a part of the state of standing before the end was reached.

These interpretations are based on the relationship of each verb to its context and in light of the definition of each verb form. But in none of the cases does the context explicitly make the relationship between event time and reference time visible.

When discussing perfective and imperfective verbs, there is one factor that is extremely important to keep in mind: When we look at a verb clause, and the context explicitly shows that the action was finished at reference time, the end of the action (that it is completed) need not be caused by the verb form, but it can be caused by the context! For example, we have the Hithpolel participle translated by "lay wallowing". There is no doubt that this action was completed when the report was made, but this is something that we construe from the context and not from the verb form.
And similarly with the participle "coming (up)". The action signalled by this participle had to be completed in order for the people to stand still. But this is not shown by the participle but by the context. On this basis we can say that the argument "WAYYIQTOL portrays past completed events, and therefore it must be perfective (or must have past tense)" is fallacious, because we cannot at the outset know whether it is the context or the verb form that signals "past/completed".

Best regards,

Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo







Dear Rolf,

You did not answer the following question about which is perfective and which is
imperfective in the following texts:

2Chr 20:20 uve-tset-am `amad Yhoshafat vayyomer . . .
and while they were going out (to the wilderness) Yoshafat
took a stand and said . . .
2 Samuel 20:11 and 12 is a similar use of `amad, and Rolf will
be happy that these are a 'suffix-TAM' verb.
2 Ki 2:7 fifty prophets halxu vayya`amdu went and stood from
afar and the two of them `amdu stood/stopped at the Jordan.

How is "amad used as perfective and/or imperfective in the above texts in
context?

Rev. Bryant J. Williams III

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rolf Furuli" <furuli AT online.no>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2009 1:04 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] questions, reliable evidence, 'stand' and 'said'


Dear Randall,


For the record: I would like to emphasize that it is not my
responsibility that this thread has stopped but yours. Participants
in a discussion can define basic concepts differently, but a basic
requirement for a meaningful discussion is that all parts give their
definitions. You have not wanted to give your definition of the
imperfective aspect and you have not wanted to answer my questions
regarding your definition of the perfective aspect that I found to be
unclear. Last year we had a similar situation on b-greek, when you
also did not want to give your definition and the thread stopped. I
do not understand your reasons, but it is of course your right to
keep your definitions for yourself. If you change your mind, the
thread can continue.


Best regards,

Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo






>Thank you for your response, and there are many interesting
>texts worthy of discussion, and even some questionable
>English translations, but it doesn't not deal with
> >the original question and spins away.
>
>>>So, both in
>both the state expressed by the participle and by
>the WAYYIQTOL R intersects E after the beginning
>and before the end. So how can this WAYYIQTOL be
>perfective?>>
>
>You, not me, claimed that this Gen 41 cannot be
>perfective. So you need to explain how it is different from
>perfective `amad examples that look similar.
>See the original post in this thread.
>
>How can, e.g., 2Chr 20:20, 2 Samuel 20:11, and 12,
>2 Ki 2:7 be perfective, but Gen 41 cannot be perfective?
>
>Then we can deal with vayyomer.
>
>braxot
Randall
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