Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Randall:

Even after rereading this message, I still have questions.

On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 10:14 AM, Randall Buth <randallbuth AT gmail.com>wrote:

> Karl
> > I have never heard of the term T-A-M before, so can you explain it?
> . . .
>
> Actually, it is a generic term that avoids complications
>

?? It looks as if it adds its own complications.


> except that in these latter cases the word 'tense' does not
> necessarily refer to time


?? Both in common definition and in the specialized SIL definition, I
understand “tense” to refer to time. So where does this timeless “tense”
come from?


> but to generically to a verb category that
> marks some kind of tense-and/or-aspect-and/or-mood.
> If one likes abstract notation one could talk about qatal "TAM-1" and
> yiqtol "TAM-2" as the basic Hebrew verb system, with an additional
> sequential vayyiqtol "seqTAM-1" and sequential ve-qatal "seqTAM-2".
> These four nodes or categories and used in Hebrew to refer to the
> whole referential world, not necessarily unambiguously.
>

I’m sorry, but I’m completely lost here.

>
> …
>
> > In trying to understand your response, I found the following site:
> >
> > http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/contents.htm
> >
> > Tense—I think we agree that Biblical Hebrew verbal morphology does not
> > convey tense. At least that’s how I also understand the research
> mentioned
> > that led to Dr. Furuli’s dissertation.
>
> Here is why we need neutral terminology.


I agree with you here. But when Hebrew seems to have none of the categories
covered by T-A-M, is not adding this to the discussion adding ambiguity?


>
> > As I understand the original question, it was on how to explain the
> > waw-conversive. My response was that there is enough disagreement among
> > scholars and among members of this group that the only thing to say for
> > certain is that the waw indicates a continuation.
>
> As I pointed out, this statement was ambiguous


I’ll have to concede that point, as others clearly have misunderstood it. I
hope further explanation in other messages cleared it up.

>
> braxot
> --
> Randall Buth, PhD
> www.biblicalulpan.org
> randallbuth AT gmail.com
> Biblical Language Center
> Learn Easily - Progress Further - Remember for Life
>

Karl W. Randolph.