Rolf asked:
> How will you explain the past reference of all the YIQTOLs and WAYYIQTOLs
> in Psalm 18? How can you uphold your model with so many "exceptions" to
> it? (There are scores upon scores of similar "exceptions")
First, I don't see wayyiqtol as indicating past tense at all. It is actually a
'live action' verb. However, the past tense of yiqtol is merely a product of
thinking in terms of European languages. The yiqtol itself indicates indefinite
action, whether past, present, or future. Tense is in no way encoded within the
verb. Iterative actions in the past (eg. 'he used to kill') or actions that
have not been actualised (eg. 'he will kill' or 'he might kill') or actions
that are generally true at all time ('gnomic', eg. 'he kills—it's just what he
does') are all within the indefinite nature of the yiqtol. Sometimes this is
referred to as modus irrealis, but a more palatable term is, I think,
indefinite.
So the 'past tense' of yiqtol is perfectly within the scope of the verb, though
the particular term 'past tense' is somewhat foreign to the Biblical Hebrew
verb. However, since the job of translation is going from the logic of one
language into the logic of another, we can talk about those instances where the
yiqtol translates into English as a past tense.
GEORGE ATHAS
Dean of Research,
Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)
Sydney, Australia
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