Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

1. DAR$-AH is present? E$ET XAIL is the main shabat-night PIUT, sung  
before meal with great gusto, extolling the virtuous and diligent  
deeds of Mrs. Busy-Busy (who is sitting beaming at the table opposite  
her husband, Mr. GEBER-GEBER, with all her children around her K- 
$TIYL-EY ZEIT-IYM) during the previous week (during the week Mr.  
GEBER-GEBER is busy sitting at the town gate with "ZIQN-EI AREC").
2. VA-TA-AS is: (and it came to pass that)-she-do. The past is  
indicated by the attached verb VA.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Feb 2, 2011, at 9:52 AM, fred burlingame wrote:

> lol
>
> i'm happy for the agreement with the mainstream conclusion.
>
> but  .... then we arrive at  .... proverbs 31:13 .....
>
> 1. root + PP indicates present acton, as in "dar-sha?"
>
> 2. VA + PP + root indicates present action, as in "va-ta-as?"
>
> i agree with your paragraph 4, assuming the equivalency of "bet"  
> and "vav" letters.
>
> regards,
>
> fred burlingame
>
> On Wed, Feb 2, 2011 at 12:09 AM, Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu> wrote:
> Appears to me that we are in agreement without the need for  
> "conversion". PP = personal pronoun.
> 1. root+PP indicates past action, as in BA-TA = BA-ATAH.
> 2. PP+root indicates future action as in TA-BO. Also PP+root+PP, as  
> in TA-BO-YI.
> 3. VA+PP+root indicates past action, as in VA-TA-BO. Also VA+PP+root 
> +PP, as in VA-TA-BO-YI.
> 4. It is really late at night, but can we agree that VA means  
> something like 'and it came to pass that'?
> 5. It is not clear to me at the moment what is the role of the L in  
> VA-YI-LAKAX, 'he was taken', as compared with VA-YI-KAX, 'he took'.
>
> Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
> On Feb 1, 2011, at 11:52 PM, fred burlingame wrote:
>
> > that is my understanding .... of the mainstream view ....
> >
> > vav prefixed to a pronomial prefixed verb .... functions as
> >
> > a. conjunction; and
> >
> > b. tense converter.
> >
> > but i am not unmindful of your teaching .... to wit:
> >
> > ו (vav) = ב (bet), whose literal meaning = thicken; and whose  
> > abstract meaning = to come into being; and which latter letter  
> > births in turn the verb בוא (boh or voh).
> >
> > perhaps the solution resides in the eternal perspective, rather  
> > than the space/time perspective of our universe. .... in other  
> > words, the hebrew language sees only the present .... or "avraham  
> > acts again and takes a woman" ....; no past; no future, only  
> > present; and pronomial suffixed verbs = pronomial prefixed  
> > verbs .... much as noun synonyms ... :)
> >
> > regards,
> >
> > fred burlingame
> >
> > On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 10:32 PM, Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu> wrote:
> > 3. So is this a "conjunction" vav (it is actually VA, not a mere  
> > V) or a "conversive" vav, or both?
> >
> > Isaac Fried, Boston University
> >
> > On Feb 1, 2011, at 11:04 PM, fred burlingame wrote:
> >
> > > that is my understanding of the conventional wisdom ... the ebb  
> > > and flow of the tide:
> > >
> > > 1. לקח , la-ka = base form of verb, pronomial suffix form (but  
> > > without pronoun appearing in this instance), and instructing past  
> > > tense;
> > >
> > > 2. יקח , yi-ka = iteration no. 1, pronomial prefix form of  
> > > verb, with pronoun yod appearing and instructing future tense;
> > >
> > > 3. ויקח , va-yi-ka = iteration no. 2, pronomial prefix form of  
> > > verb, with pronoun yod appearing, and conjunction vav also  
> > > prefixed, which converts verb back into past tense.
> > >
> > > regards,
> > >
> > > fred burlingame