Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Kirk Lowery <klowery AT grovescenter.org>]

On 8/3/09 10:01 AM, "Phil Sumpter" <philsumpter AT hotmail.com> wrote:

> Kirk,
> 
> I'm still not sure why the existence of a relative clause in v. 4 means that
> v. 5 does not start a new sentence. Why can't we have two sentences: the
> first consists of a noun phrase followed by two relative clauses, the second
> is a new sentence with clause initial yissa', either as an indicative or a
> jussive?

Why can't we have a noun phrase follow by two relative clauses? Well, the
'asher functions as a type of "dummy" adjective; that is, it gathers the
following two clauses into one "whole" and says "these two clauses *modify*
the characteristics of the noun phrase." That noun phrase is "the clean of
hands and pure of heart". So the whole verse might be very, very literally
translated:

v4
The clean of hands and the pure of heart
  who
     he does not lift to false(ness?) his soul
     and
     he does not swear to deceit
v5
[He] will receive...

So verse 4 does not have a main clause. The verse is just one (complex) noun
phrase. The clean of hands etc. .... *what*? And since ‏יִשָּׂ֣א YISSF) is
3ms, what noun phrase is the subject? The first likely candidate is the noun
phrase of v4. So the clean of hands etc. will receive...

So the summary answer to your question is: because then the noun phrase of
v4 is just floating out there without belonging to any clause at all. We
ignore the sof pasuq and connect that noun phrase to the verb in v5 and we
have a normal Hebrew verbal clause.

In non-poetic text, the massoretes usually marked a verse's end at a clause
boundary. In poetry, the verse boundary is usually placed for metric
reasons, just like we do today for poetic lines, and often cuts across
syntax groupings. Just look at a sonnet by Shakespeare to see what I mean.

Blessings,

Kirk
-- 
Kirk E. Lowery, PhD, President
The J. Alan Groves Center for Advanced Biblical Research
--
"While religion prescribes brotherly love in the relations among
the individuals and groups, the actual spectacle more resembles
a battlefield than an orchestra."
                                         -- Albert Einstein