On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:27:35 +0100 "Read, James C"
<K0434995 AT kingston.ac.uk> writes:
>
> The particle 'wa' has the basic meaning of 'and' and when affixed to
> wayyiqtols has the effect of
> indicating a sequence. But to say that 'wa' always means 'and' and a
> 'wayyiqtol' always indicates
> sequence is contrary both to the data and to mylinguistic instincts.
> The data and my instincts
> show that 'wa' is often better translated as 'but/when/while'
> depending on the context. In the
> same way that data also shows that wayyiqtols do not always indicate
> sequence.
> Was sequence normal in spoken hebrew with wayyiqtols? We don't know!
> But we can say with certainty
> that the corpus of the hebrew bible shows that this is the major
> usage. But what it is imperative
> to understand from an 'instictually linguistic' point of view is
> that it is the *context* and not
> the form which dictates this.
_______________
The waw is not "affixed to wayyiqtols." It is a prefix.