As a matter of fact, the WAYYIQTOL did not exist before the Masoretes!
By that I mean that it is impossible to distinguish between WEYIQTOLs
and WAYYIQTOLs in the DSS since many WEYIQTOLs in the MT are apocopated
just as are many WAYYIQTOLs. In the transcriptions of Origen“s Hexapla
the WAYYIQTOLs and WEYIQTOLs are transcribed similarly (no gemination
and the prefix transcribed as OU). The Masoretes obviously distingusihed
between YIQTOLs/WEYIQTOLs on the one hand and WAYYIQTOLs on the other.
But again, was this in their mind a semantic or a pragmatic distinction?
And, if there is no trace of this distinction before them, on which
basis did they make the distinction?
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