Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jonathan Mohler <jonathan.mohler AT gmail.com>]

Not at all what I suggest.  I should have said It's as good a translation as one can get.  English, especially modern English, does not do modal very well.  Supplying "can" to the translation is not word for word, but it tries to capture the modal feel.  "would" find, "should" find, "could" find, none of these works well in English.  So "can" find does the best it can within the limits of English.

Just because it has a SAM+KTOL doesn't mean that it functions like a Present.  Context shows over and over that yiqtols and wayyiqtols (or WYKTL) carry modal aspect (more often than many will allow).  Just letting the BH do its own speaking.

Jonathan E Mohler

Graduate Student

Baptist Bible Theological Seminary

Springfield, MO

On Sep 9, 2013, at 9:35 PM, Isaac Fried wrote:

The first sentence of Prov. 31:10 says: "Virtuous wife who he-find". Rendering it into presupposed pseudo "correct" English undermines the Hebrew. 

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Sep 9, 2013, at 9:29 PM, Jonathan Mohler wrote:

Example: the first yiqtol is modal.  It is properly translated as "can find" not as "finds" or "will find."