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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Plural -WN ending

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  • From: George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew list <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Plural -WN ending
  • Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 07:38:03 +0000

A few possible suggestions:

(1) It actually adds a subjunctive element to the verb. However, I'm not convinced by this, because it seems limited to otherwise vocalic subject suffixes on prefix conjugations.

(2) It's just a throwback to an older form.

I believe this second option is the more likely. It does appear rather randomly, seemingly a lot like the optional nu Greek. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. It could be, at least occasionally, a deliberate archaism to give speech a bit of an 'olden day' feel — somewhat akin to me using some ye olde style forms that perchance getteth mine message across. However, I'm not sure if that adequately explains all the occurrences. A random archaic leftover seems more plausible methinks.


GEORGE ATHAS
Dean of Research,
Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)
Sydney, Australia





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