Dear David,BTW, do you means 17:20?
You have not really answered my basic question, "How do we distinguish between past reference and past tense?" Your comments show that your approach is completely theory-dependent. You start with several linguistic theories, the prototype theory, the theory of grammaticalisation etc., and explain the Hebrew text in light of these. It seems to me that this is a "pick and choose" game; the theory assumes this and that and therefore we understand a particular text in a particular way, and there are no controls. My point is: WAYYIQTOLs, WEYIQTOLs, YIQTOLs, QATALs, WEQATALs, participles, and infinitives do have past reference. I am perfectly aware that participles and infinitives and finite forms with and without prefixed WAY(Y)- AND WE- tend to have different syntactic functions, some are senetence initial and others are not, and some are often used together with particular words. Just to describe syntax and function of the examples begs my question. So again, by which criteria can you point to a WAYYIQTOL with past reference and say that it is preterit and to a YIQTOL with past reference and say it is not a preterit.
A few more examples:
1a) and they returned (WAYYIQTOL) to Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 17:10
1b) and the people returned (YIQTOL) after him. 2 Samuel 23:10The narrator is in the middle of a story that continues in vv. 11 and following. At the point of the story when the narrator uses yiqtol, the people had not returned. He is only saying they *would* return at the end of the narrative when *three* "mighties" (see 1 Chronicles 11:10-14), not only one man joined to defend a field against all odds.
2a) and he made (YIQTOL) a house for the daughter of Pharaoh. 1 Kings 7:8Solomon was in the middle of a long building project. At reference time, Solomon's own house was completed (see 7:1), but he had not yet built the house for Pharaoh's daughter, which he was planning.
2a) and he built (WAYYIQTOL) a house on the high places. 1 Kings 12:31
3a) and Jehudi read it (WAYYIQTOL) to the king.. Jeremiah 36:21
3b) with his mouth he read (WAYYIQTOL) all these words to me. Jeremiah 36:18
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