Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Ruth:

On Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 4:13 PM, Ruth Mathys <ruth_mathys AT sil.org> wrote:

I'm rather enjoying being regarded as a guru!  Stop before it goes to my
head.  Anyone can throw big words around and sound impressive.

Enjoy it. In relatively few postings, you’ve had quite an affect on this list. 

>

'Imperative' is the label given to the verb form but there is a wide range
of meanings that could be 'actioned' by that form (and this differs from
language to language, of course).  In BH it's fine to ask God to do
something by using an imperative, isn't it?  I think the English imperative
is a very strong form -- I use it on my children but not my husband!  In my
English at least, it's really important for politeness to ask indirectly
("When you have a moment, would you be able to...?)  But that's not true of
every language or culture.  I remember being quite taken aback at first in
a cross-cultural situation when my peers used unvarnished imperatives on me
all the time.  But it's just how you do it in that language.

(Even in English, not every imperative form is a true command.  Think of
expressions like "Get a life!" or "Hold me back!")

But those are also idiomatic phrases, and while the imperative form is used, is the impact softened by the use in the idiom?

Ruth Mathys

Karl W. Randolph.