Edition 1.

20 September 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Observations on Tenses in Archaizing Poetry

by David Steinberg

David.Steinberg@houseofdavid.ca

Home page http://www.houseofdavid.ca/

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See Tenses or Aspects in Biblical Hebrew

To print use PDF file here

 

Table B

Present Tense Indicated by the use of the SC of a Stative or Quasi-stative Verb and the PCimp of an Action Verb in the Same Verse

(Confirmed by context)

Chapter & Verse of Hebrew Text

NRSV

Unless Otherwise Noted

Masoretic Text[1]

Dt 32:22

Table A , Table E   

Either -

1) SCpast - past (קדחה)

PCpretWC - past

ותיקד - watˈtîqad (:watîˈqad PCimp :wạˈtîqad PCjus)

ותאכל watˈtôkịl (:wạtôˈkịl PCimp :wạˈtôkịl PCjus)

ותלהט wattạˈlahhiṭ
(:watạlahˈhiṭ PCimp :wạtạˈlahhiṭ PCjus)

OR,

2) SCstate- present (קדחה)

PCpretWC - present mirroring the meaning of the accompanying SCstate

(ותיקד ותאכל ותלהט)

כִּי־אֵשׁ֙ קָדְחָ֣ה בְאַפִּ֔י

וַתִּיקַ֖ד עַד־שְׁא֣וֹל תַּחְתִּ֑ית

וַתֹּ֤אכַל אֶ֙רֶץ֙ וִֽיבֻלָ֔הּ

וַתְּלַהֵ֖ט מוֹסְדֵ֥י הָרִֽים

Dt 32:40

PCimp_prfut[2] - present/future אשא ʾiśˈśaʾ (:ˈʾiśśaʾ PCjus/PCpret)

SCpast - past (ואמרתי)

כִּי־אֶשָּׂא אֶל־שָׁמַיִם יָדִי וְאָמַרְתִּי חַי אָנֹכִי לְעֹלָם

Dt 32:41

Table A  

SCstate- present (שנתי)

PCimp_prfut - present/future - ותאחז - wạtôˈḫiz (:wạˈtôḫiz PCjus/PCpret_sim)

אשב - ʾaˈšiːb (:ˈʾašib PCjus/PCpret_sim)

אשלמ - ʾạšalˈlim (:ʾạˈšallim PCjus/PCpret_sim)

אִם־שַׁנּוֹתִי֙ בְּרַ֣ק חַרְבִּ֔י

וְתֹאחֵ֥ז בְּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט יָדִ֑י

אָשִׁ֤יב נָקָם֙ לְצָרָ֔י

וְלִמְשַׂנְאַ֖י אֲשַׁלֵּֽם

 

 


[1] From The Westminster Leningrad Codex - http://www.tanach.us/.

[2] IN EBHP and LBHP THE JUSSIVE (PCjus), COHORTATIVE (PCcoh), IMPERFECT (PCimp) AND PRETERITE (PCpret_sim/PCpretWC) are, in some forms, distinguished by the placement of syllabic stress when not carrying object suffixes. See -
-  http://www.adath-shalom.ca/history_of_hebrew3a.htm#indic_jus AND
-  http://www.adath-shalom.ca/history_of_hebrew3a.htm#Prefix_Conjugation