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

Note that in most instances, in the following examples, the general context of meaning, together with the preceeding or succeeding PCpretWC[1] (sometimes also SCpast) in the same verse make identification of verb as PCpret_sim  probable.

 

Table C

PCpret_sim  and PCpretWC in the Same Verse Referring to the Past

Chapter/

Verse

PC and SC Verbs Indicating Time Reference

(Reconstructed JEH Style Spelling; */EBHP/+; n.b. EBHP PCpret and PCjus were identical.)

English Translation(s)[2]

Masoretic Text[3]

Nu 23:7

PCpretWC - past וישא -
wayˈyiśśaʾ (:wạyiśˈśaʾPCimp :wạyiśśaʾPCjus)

PCpret_sim - past (ינחני). Identical form in PCjus and PCimp.

Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying: "Balak has brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: 'Come, curse Jacob for me; Come, denounce Israel!'

וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלֹו וַיֹּאמַר מִן־אֲרָם יַנְחֵנִי בָלָק מֶלֶךְ־מֹואָב מֵהַרְרֵי־קֶדֶם לְכָה אָרָה־לִּי יַעֲקֹב וּלְכָה זֹעֲמָה יִשְׂרָאֵל

Dt 32:13

PCpretWC - past

וַיֹּאכַל - wayˈyôkịl (:wạyôˈkịl PCimp:wạˈˈyôkịl PCjus)

וַיֵּנִקֵהוּ - wayyayniːˈqihu(ː) (:wạyayniːˈqihu(ː)  PCimp/PCjus).

"He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he ate the produce of the field;
And He made him suck honey from the rock,
And oil from the flinty rock,

יַרְכִּבֵהוּ עַל־ [בָּמֹותֵי כ] (בָּמֳתֵי ק) אָרֶץ וַיֹּאכַל תְּנוּבֹת שָׂדָי וַיֵּנִקֵהוּ דְבַשׁ מִסֶּלַע וְשֶׁמֶן מֵחַלְמִישׁ צוּר׃

Dt 32:18

Table A, Table D, Table E   

SCpast - past (ילדכ)

PCpret_sim - past  תשי ˈtišy (:tiˈšê PCimp)

PCpretWC  - past ( ותשכח ) - watˈtiškaḥ (:wạtišˈkaḥ PCimp :wạˈtiškaḥ PCjus)

You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.

צוּר יְלָדְךָ [4]תֶּשִׁי וַתִּשְׁכַּח אֵל מְחֹלְלֶךָ

 

 

 


[1] 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

[2] For convenience, I have used NASB or NRSV as the basis of my translation modifying the wording and layout as appropriate.

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

[4] 2ms PCpret_nonWC תֶּ֑שִׁי  i s dialectial variant or archaic form or Aramized form of normal תִּשֶּׁא