Biblical Hebrew Forum

[dwashbur AT nyx.net]

On 19 Nov 2009 at 2:42, Roe wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> If the answer to my question is too complex for an email response,
> please refer me to helpful literature -- if it's too simple, my
> apologies...
> 
> Within a single waw series of perfect followed by imperfects, is it
> possible (or even frequent) that the imperfect waw relatives shift
> from 
> chronological succession to logical succession (and vice versa)? Or
> must 
> all imperfects in the series be either chronological or logical?

There is no "succession," whether chronological or logical, encoded in the 
so-called "waw 
consecutive."  It's a simple statement, which is why it works well for 
narrative prose.  
Succession is actually encoded in the meanings of the statements being made.  
"He went 
before the king.  He pleaded his case."  There's succession here, but it 
doesn't come from 
the verb forms; it comes from the fact that it's difficult to plead one's 
case with the king if one 
has not come before him first.  Logical succession follows the same pattern: 
it results from 
what is being said/done, not the verb form being used to say it.

Dave Washburn

http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur