>Ken correctly observes that there is no distinction between WATYYIQTOL and WEYIQTOL in the DSS. The same is true in the Greek >transcriptions of the Hebrew text in Origen's Hexapla. Thus, the WAYYIQTOL form was not known before the middle of the first millennium >CE., when the Masoretes pointed the Hebrew text.
This is such a huge leap in logic I don't know where to begin. It's clear that by the time of the DSS the Wayyiqtol had fallen out of use. The progression into tense-based Mishnaic Hebrew makes that clear. But to jump from that to the idea that "the WAYYIQTOL form was *not known* before the middle of the first millennium CE" simply doesn't follow. We don't have any commentaries or grammars of Hebrew from that time or before, that's all. The DSS people were more focused on theology and praxis than on linguistics, so they didn't say anything about the structure of their language. But in the case of the Hebrew Bible, we have plenty of contextual and formal hints in the text that the form the Masoretes punctuated as wayyiqtol was, in fact, different in some way from the simple weyiqtol, so trying to claim it was "not known" is a gross misstatement. What he means is, we didn't have a visual (written) representation of the form before that. But the truth is, even that is not accurate, because the whole theory about long vs. short forms grew out of observation of the way some irregular verbs behave in the different stems. To John: Rolf has presented his novel idea here before, and I think it's safe to say it hasn't caught on. He denies that the wayyiqtol is a distinct form and then proceeds accordingly. But even without the Masoretic points, I think it's safe to say that the wayyiqtol is one of the most solidly established verb forms in the HB, which renders the theory moot. George, I'd like to hear more about your idea, either on or off list (on would be better so everybody can benefit, but I'll take whatever I can get!). On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 10:52 PM, Rolf <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Jerry, > > I would like to add one point regarding the origin of WAYYIQTOL to the > post I sent yesterday. > > Ken correctly observes that there is no distinction between WATYYIQTOL and > WEYIQTOL in the DSS. The same is true in the Greek transcriptions of the > Hebrew text in Origen's Hexapla. Thus, the WAYYIQTOL form was not known > before the middle of the first millennium CE., when the Masoretes pointed > the Hebrew text. > > (Please note that the Palestinian pointings of WEYIQTOLs versus > WAYYIQTOLs are not always the same as in the MT. For example, in the > Palestinian manuscript J in Paul Kahle, "Masoreten des Westens Texte und > Untersuchungen zur Vormasoretischen Grammatik des Hebräischen," 1930, the > six WEYIQTOLs in Daniel 11:5 (1), 15(2), 16(2), 17(1) are pointed as > WAYYIQTOLs. > > So, what was the origin of the WAYYIQTOL form? The Masoretes pointed their > text on the basis of the recitation of the texts in the synagoges—on the > basis of accentuation (stress) and tone. The difference between WEYIQTOL > and WAYYIQTOL is basically one of accentuation. It is natural to put the > stress differently in narrative texts compared with poetry and prophetic > texts. Very little Hebrew grammar was known in the days of the Masoretes—it > seems that they did not even know the three-radical nature of Hebrew words. > So, the pointing of the Masoretes was based on pragmatics—the recitation in > the synagogues and not om semantics—a grammatical distinction between > different forms. But in the Middle Ages, the pragmatic pointing of the > Masoretes were given a semantic interpretation (cf. Kimhi), and the view of > the WAYYIQTOL as an independent grammatical form was born. > > When semantic meaning and conversational pragmatic implicature are not > distinguished, the result is confusion. Does anyone know of a single > grammatical study in any of the ancient Semitic languages, except my > dissertation, where this distinction is systematically made? > > > > Best regards, > > > Rolf Furuli > Stavern > Norway > > _______________________________________________ > b-hebrew mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew > -- Dave Washburn Check out my Internet show: http://www.irvingszoo.com Now available: a novel about King Josiah!
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