Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

In my opinion, as expressed here on several occasions, A word such as ויגש WAYIGA$ 

consists of the amalgamation of the three distinct parts: the act WA-, which I think, is a 

variant of בא BA, 'be, come, happen', the personal pronoun -YI-, which I think is a 

contracted היא 'he', standing for the performer of the, here, act גש -GA$, 'approach'. 

So, WAYIGA$  reads: "and then it came to pass, BA, that he, YHUDAH (in Gn. 44:18), approached ..."

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On May 14, 2013, at 11:17 AM, Jerry Shepherd wrote:

I think that the most likely basic significance of wayyiqtol is that of indicating consecutiveness, succession, or sequencing. This succession can take place in a discourse that relates either past, present, or future events.  But it is narrative, more than any other genre, that makes the most use of the idea of succession, and therefore makes the most use of the wayyiqtol.