Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jerry Shepherd <jshepherd53 AT gmail.com>]

Hi Nir,

 

I appreciate your perspective on this, but I find it to be too subjective a reading.  The form is a verb; it has a root, a stem, a conjugation, a person, and a number.  Therefore, it is completely parsable (rather than declined).  When a single individual is being addresed, the singular imperative form is used.  When a plurality is addressed, the plural imperative form is used.  This is therefore grammatically parsed.  I really have no idea what you mean when you say "it is not to be declined in any way."  It may be customary, but it is not idiomatic.  Your analogy with cheers doesn't work, because XZQ is a verb, it is an imperative, and it has both singular and plural forms.

 

Blessings,

 

Jerry

Jerry Shepherd

Taylor Seminary

Edmonton, Alberta

jshepherd53 AT gmail.com

 

On Thu, Jun 13, 2013 at 5:03 PM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br> wrote:

hi jerry,

let me explain my remark better. you are abs. correct that XZQ has a plural
imperative form, XZQW, like any other root; but used as an encouragement term,
it is not used in a personalized way, but as an indiom put in quotes: like
"cheers", "jolly", "great", "fantastic" - an impersonal which is not to be
declined in any way.

you say "ceers, john" and you say "cheers, guys". both in the plural. this is
the analogy i see for the case of XZQ. of course, an imprecise analogy,
exactly because this formation does not exist in english.

nir cohen

>>>Hi Nir

Thanks for the perspective, but I'm going to disagree with you on this one.
It is a ms imperative.  Remember that some verbs, especially statives, XZQ
being one of them, have an "a" theme vowel in the imperfect, and this "a"
theme vowel crosses over into the imperative.  And XZQ does have plural
imperatival forms as well.

Blessings,

Jerry


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