One of the most debated issues in biblical Hebrew (henceforth BH) grammar is the representation of tense and aspect in the verbal system, particularly with respect to the main finite verbal forms: qatal, yiqtol, weqatal, and wayyiqtol. 1 The dispute revolves around one fundamental question: do these verbal forms primarily express tense or aspect? 2 The first part of this paper will survey three proposed answers to this question. 3 The second part of this paper will present a case study of the function of weqatal in various passages from the book of Judges (henceforth simply Judges) in order to determine which of the three proposals best accounts for the data. 4 Three Theories of the Hebrew Verbal System Tal Goldfajn 5 argues for a relative tense-based interpretation of the verbal system: “The primary function of the BH verb forms is to establish the specific temporal relations which exist between the sentences in the text, [and] the semantics of the Hebrew tenses depends largely on Daniel Wang - 168561 Tense and Aspect in Biblical Hebrew 1 1 Most scholars restrict the debate to pre-exilic narrative prose (Genesis-Kings), excluding poetic sections. However, there is a growing acknowledgment that “poetry extends and plays on normal linguistic rules and forms” (R. S. Hendel, “Margins of the Hebrew Verbal System,” Zeitschrift für Althebraistik 9 [1996], 153). Regardless, for the purposes of this paper, the focus will be on the verbal system in prose. 2 More specifically, the question is whether tense or aspect (or both) is signaled morphologically in the verbal forms. 3 For the sake of this paper, I have chosen to survey the views of Tal Goldfajn, John Cook, and Randall Buth because they seem to represent three divergent viewpoints that on the whole are representative of other theories of the verbal system. 4 I recognize that there are a couple significant concerns with my methodology. First, it is likely possible to find a couple of examples or counterexamples to each of the theories presented. That seems to be one reason that no one theory has been universally accepted. Another perhaps more cogent criticism comes from John Cook who argues that such a methodology is based too much on the simple intuition of people whose native language is tense-based (and hence is from the beginning skewed toward a tense-based interpretation). He considers statistical studies to be nothing more than a statistical tallying of particular intuitive interpretations of the verb in its various contexts. In response, I would argue that any theory should be able to adequately explain the data available and make sense in language translation. Explanatory power is an acceptable criterion for the legitimacy of a theory, and the case study is an attempt to determine each theory’s explanatory power with respect to the data. 5 Word Order and Time in Biblical Hebrew Narrative, OTM (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998).
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One of the most debated issues in biblical Hebrew (henceforth BH) grammar is the
representation of tense and aspect in the verbal system, particularly with respect to the main
finite verbal forms: qatal, yiqtol, weqatal, and wayyiqtol.1 The dispute revolves around one
fundamental question: do these verbal forms primarily express tense or aspect?2 The first part of
this paper will survey three proposed answers to this question.3 The second part of this paper will
present a case study of the function of weqatal in various passages from the book of Judges
(henceforth simply Judges) in order to determine which of the three proposals best accounts for
the data.4
Three Theories of the Hebrew Verbal System
Tal Goldfajn5 argues for a relative tense-based interpretation of the verbal system: “The
primary function of the BH verb forms is to establish the specific temporal relations which exist
between the sentences in the text, [and] the semantics of the Hebrew tenses depends largely on
Daniel Wang - 168561 Tense and Aspect in Biblical Hebrew
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1 Most scholars restrict the debate to pre-exilic narrative prose (Genesis-Kings), excluding poetic sections. However, there is a growing acknowledgment that “poetry extends and plays on normal linguistic rules and forms” (R. S. Hendel, “Margins of the Hebrew Verbal System,” Zeitschrift für Althebraistik 9 [1996], 153). Regardless, for the purposes of this paper, the focus will be on the verbal system in prose.
2 More specifically, the question is whether tense or aspect (or both) is signaled morphologically in the verbal forms.
3 For the sake of this paper, I have chosen to survey the views of Tal Goldfajn, John Cook, and Randall Buth because they seem to represent three divergent viewpoints that on the whole are representative of other theories of the verbal system.
4 I recognize that there are a couple significant concerns with my methodology. First, it is likely possible to find a couple of examples or counterexamples to each of the theories presented. That seems to be one reason that no one theory has been universally accepted. Another perhaps more cogent criticism comes from John Cook who argues that such a methodology is based too much on the simple intuition of people whose native language is tense-based (and hence is from the beginning skewed toward a tense-based interpretation). He considers statistical studies to be nothing more than a statistical tallying of particular intuitive interpretations of the verb in its various contexts. In response, I would argue that any theory should be able to adequately explain the data available and make sense in language translation. Explanatory power is an acceptable criterion for the legitimacy of a theory, and the case study is an attempt to determine each theory’s explanatory power with respect to the data.
5 Word Order and Time in Biblical Hebrew Narrative, OTM (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998).
the changing context of the discourse in which they happen to occur.”6 The foundation of her
theory is a Reichenbachian understanding of relative time, in which there are three temporal
entities: “the speech time S, a deictic element which designates the moment of speech; the event
time E, the time of the event or the state; and the reference time R, the time that is being talked
about or the temporal standpoint from which the event is considered.”7 Using this notion of
reference time, Goldfajn postulates two temporal setups which govern the usage of verbs, an
overlapping of the initial reference time with an explicit moment of speech Ts (R/Ts), and a
context-specified initial reference time Tn with past time anchor point fixed by context (R<Tn).
Colloquially, these two temporal setups refer to direct speech and past narration, respectively. Of
the two, Goldfajn considers direct speech to be the default setup.
Based on her analysis of various biblical passages, Goldfajn concludes the following
concerning the temporal functions and word order of the various verbal forms:
1. Qatal’s primary function is the non-progression of reference time, including mainly
repetition, simultaneity, and anteriority. In direct speech, qatal locates events as anterior
to the moment of speech Ts and when preceded by ešer, it often locates the event before
the previous reference time, yielding a pluperfect temporal interpretation. In past
narration, sentences with qatal primarily introduce a discontinuity in the narrative, and a
situation is presented as being anterior to the previous event or as alternatively repeating,
elaborating, or expanding on the event just mentioned. Independent qatal sentences
mainly locate singular, unique events before the moment of speech Ts.
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6 Ibid., 105. Goldfajn acknowledges that there is an aspectual component to the verbal system, but she is not very clear or specific as to what this component entails. She includes aspectual interpretations of both stative verbs (imperfective aspect whenever R is relative to S) and wayyiqtol verbs (bounded, telic situations), but she does not attempt to show how aspect relates to her tense-based interpretation of the verbal system.
7 Ibid., 46.
2. Yiqtol is often deictic and indicates future time location. In past narration, yiqtol conveys
the idea of a single, non-sequential event posterior to some other even in the past,
although this usage is infrequent. In direct speech, yiqtol describes a single, non-
continuous event in immediate posterior relation to Ts.
3. Wayyiqtol has an anaphoric function of describing sequential, bounded events in the past
of both direct speech and narration, but it is found primarily in narration. In other words,
wayyiqtol advances the reference time. In direct speech, it must be preceded by a first
sentence with a different verbal form, mainly qatal.
4. Weqatal is used for sequential events in the future of Ts and mostly occurs in direct
speech. Like wayyiqtol, it represents bounded situations following each other in a
progressive sequence, but unlike wayyiqtol, it conveys posteriority in the future of Ts.
It should also be noted that methodologically Goldfajn favors a synchronic reading of the
biblical data, for she believes that while a diachronic, historical approach does have some value
(though it is not clear what value it has for Goldfajn), it cannot “lead us to determine the system
of rules and principles that are at the basis of the BH temporal structure.”8 Since her primary
concern is the temporal function of verbs, she is not concerned with why or how the BH verb
forms came to be.
In contrast to Goldfajn, John Cook9 utilizes a grammaticalization approach and argues for
an aspectual interpretation of the verbal system. In his understanding, grammaticalization
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8 Ibid., 29.
9 J. A. Cook, “The Finite Verbal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Do Express Aspect,” JANES (2006), 21-35; idem, “The Hebrew Verb: A Grammaticalization Approach,” ZAH 14.2 (2001): 117-43; idem, “The Semantics of Verbal Pragmatics: Clarifying the Roles of Wayyiqtol and Weqatal in Biblical Hebrew Prose,” JSS (2004): 247-73.
approach refers to “the application of several key principles of grammaticalization theory 10 about
the nature of language change to resolve the dilemmas confronting a study of the Hebrew verbal
system.”11 Grammaticalization theory is based upon the premise that language has the tendency
to increase grammaticality of items over time, either lexical > grammatical or grammatical >
more grammatical. As a by-product of this process, languages at any given moment are
composed of layers, and older layers coexist and interact with newer layers. Cook believes that
such a grammaticalization approach “has distinct advantages over other approaches in that the
diachronic perspective makes similarities among languages more transparent by allowing us to
compare cross-linguistic data12 from genetically and temporally diverse languages in terms of
these universal paths of development.”13
Because some linguists have argued based on cross-linguistic data that “aspect is a more
basic distinction in the world’s verbal systems, being more frequently expressed by bound verbal
morphology,”14 Cook believes that “a priori, the binary opposition between BH qatal and yiqtol,
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10 Cook, “The Hebrew Verb: A Grammaticalization Approach,” 119 notes that grammaticalization theory has no independent value but it has a “heuristic” value in that it informs typological studies concerning cross-linguistic phenomena and universal tendencies in language change.
11 Ibid.
12 Cook argues that cross-linguistic tendencies are the closest we can come to an objective basis for analyzing ancient verbal systems. It is important to note however that just as there is no consensus about the verbal system in BH, there is also no consensus among language studies outside of the BH corpus. See note 14 below.
13 Cook, “The Hebrew Verb: A Grammaticalization Approach,” 121.
14 Cook, “The Finite Verbal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Do Express Aspect,” 32. See Joan L. Bybee and Östen Dahl, “The Creation of Tense and Aspect Systems in the Languages of the World,” Studies in Language 13 (1989): 51-103. Bybee and Dahl make several arguments that aspect is more basic than tense in the world’s verbal systems and propose a branching model as representative of over half the languages in their data set. The model consists of a primary perfective / imperfective contrast and a secondary tense distinction for the imperfective. In contrast to this view, Jerzy Kurylowicz argues that tense is more basic than aspect in Semitic languages. He argues that languages must distinguish tense before aspect (logically and etymologically) in their verbal systems: “To regard aspect as the fundamental conjugational category of the Semitic verb means overlooking the fact that the relation of the action expressed by the verbal form to the moment of speaking is the natural basis of every verbal system. Hence aspect must be subordinate to the most elementary expression of tense referring to the moment of speaking.” See Jerzy Kurylowicz, Studies in Semitic Grammar and Metrics [Ossolinskich: Zaklad Narodowy, 1972], 70.
which stands at the center of the BH verbal system, is more likely to be an aspectual one than a
tensed one.”15 Aspect is commonly defined as the way of “viewing the internal temporal
constituency of a situation.”16 Although Cook argues that the verbal forms primarily express
aspect, he does not claim that BH is an aspect-only language. He concedes that the verbal forms
have the ability to express time based on the context but contends that the qatal-yiqtol
(perfective-imperfective) aspectual opposition is the core opposition of the verbal system.17 He
breaks down the verbal system in the following way:
1. Qatal in BH falls between the perfect stage and the perfective (simple past) stage. To
quote Cook, “originating in a resultative construction, qatal developed into a perfect,
evidenced in Amarna Canaanite; it has developed into a perfective by the biblical period,
although it retains its older perfect meaning.”18 Although qatal expresses perfective
aspect, prototypically perfective verbs have past time references. This is the reason that
most qatal verbs have a past time reference, to the extent that past temporal reference is a
“secondary feature” of perfective verb forms.19 Perfective aspect always accompanies the
use of qatal, whereas past temporal reference is typical but not exclusive of the form. A
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15 Cook, “The Finite Verbal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Do Express Aspect,” 32.
16 Bernard Comrie, Aspect: An Introduction to the Study of Verbal Aspect and Related Problems (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 7.
17 Cook, “The Hebrew Verb: A Grammaticalization Approach,” 137: “The ancient Hebrew verbal system is aspect-prominent, having a central perfective : imperfective opposition in qatal and yiqtol ... as an aspect-prominent language, the central opposition in Biblical Hebrew is aspectual; however, the system features a variety of verb forms, including tensed, aspectual, and modal forms (e.g., wayyiqtol is past tense, the participle is progressive aspect, and imperative/jussive are modal).”
18 Cook, “The Hebrew Verb: A Grammaticalization Approach,” 129-30.
19 Östen Dahl, Tense and Aspect Systems (Oxford: Blackwell, 1985), 79.
common exception is performative statements with present or future time references
expressed by qatal.20
2. Yiqtol is an imperfective verb, encompassing progressive (both past and present), habitual
and gnomic meanings. The general future meaning of yiqtol is contextually derived.
Verb-Subject ordered qatal and yiqtol (as well as the imperative) are irreal mood.
3. Wayyiqtol is past (narrative) tense. It likely developed from a Canaanite *yaqtul
conjugation and preserves its past tense value. As a past tense verb, wayyiqtol defaults for
perfective aspect in narrative discourse. Wayyiqtol typically signals temporal succession
and foregrounding, although there are numerous exceptions.21
4. Neither the grammaticalization nor the semantics of weqatal is analogous to those of
wayyiqtol. “Although weqatal regularly signals foreground in certain non-narrative
discourses ... the form also regularly operates in background constructions.”22 Weqatal is
the perfective qatal functioning modally.23 “Weqatal has a distinctive, dominant meaning
and discourse function in each of Longacre’s discourse types: in hortatory discourse,
weqatal mainly functions in backgrounded purpose or result clauses; in predictive
discourse it functions primarily in foregrounded temporal apodoses in reference to future
events; in procedural discourse it may appear in the introductory protasis-apodosis
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20 One of Cook’s strongest arguments in favor of an aspect-prominent understanding of the verbal system is the ability of qatal as a perfective verb to have a future meaning, i.e. the so-called “prophetic perfect.” This would be an impossibility or at least a glaring anomaly in a tense-based interpretation of the verbal system.
21 In Cook’s view, there is a only a general discourse correlation between wayyiqtol and temporal succession. Foregrounding, however, is a discourse-pragmatic feature of wayyiqtol. See Cook, “The Semantics of Verbal Pragmatics.”
22 Cook, “The Semantics of Verbal Pragmatics,” 265.
23 Cook, “The Hebrew Verb: A Grammaticalization Approach,” 134: “The common label weqatal refers to qatal’s distinctive shape with the waw conjunction when used modally and indicates that verb-subject word order restriction observed for the deontic modes by Hebraists applies to modal qatal as well.”
construction with a conditional-deontic sense, but then dominates the foregrounded
procedural steps with a simple deontic sense; finally, in instructional discourse, weqatal
has a simple deontic meaning throughout, introduced by a deontic imperative.”24
According to Randall Buth,25 it is a false dichotomy to choose either tense or aspect as
the primary function of the BH verb, for the verb expresses both. He argues that the BH finite
verbs have two basic tense-aspect distinctions, the past and the future. A tense-aspect is a “tense”
that can be used to mark more than just time; it “can sometimes be marking purely tense and
sometimes purely aspect, and often mixtures of the two.”26 The past tense qatal he calls definite-
tense aspect, and the future tense yiqtol he calls indefinite tense-aspect.
The definite tense-aspect is both past and perfective, but the default feature is past.27 In
general, the indefinite tense-aspect is the opposite, future28 and non-perfective.29 “The primary or
default feature is non-past/future and the aspectual feature is frequently masked or neutralized.
However, when the indefinite tense-aspect is used within a past context, the time feature is
neutralized and the non-perfective feature becomes primary.”30
In Buth’s system, both tense-aspects have a complementary sequential tense-aspect: the
past tense-aspect has a complementary sequential past tense-aspect [wayyiqtol], and the future
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24 Cook, “The Semantics of Verbal Pragmatics,” 269.
25 Randall Buth, Living Biblical Hebrew for Everyone (Jerusalem: Biblical Language Center, 2003), 337-60.
26 Ibid., 337.
27 Symbolically, definite tense-aspect = (+past [+perfective]). The square brackets [ ] mark features that are potentially masked or neutralized. A “+” means that the value exists. A “-” means that the opposite value exists.
28 Buth, Living Biblical Hebrew for Everyone, 338: “Originally, the time feature was non-past. However, the participle became the grammatical default form for an actual present tense in Biblical Hebrew, so that the non-past became future in terms of default time value.”
30 Buth, Living Biblical Hebrew for Everyone, 338.
tense-aspect has a complementary sequential future tense [weqatal]. “The main purpose of the
sequential tense system is to provide thematic cohesion to a series of events and to line them up
one after another. This provides a kind of structure and skeleton to a story or description.”31 Even
though the events are presented as a sequence using these sequential tense-aspects, the actual
time reference is not confined to temporally successive events.
Thus, the functions of the verbal forms can be described in the following way:
1. Qatal is the definite tense-aspect, which means that it has the ability to express perfective
aspect, but this ability is sometimes suppressed. In other words, it is the default past tense
and usually concurrently perfective, although it is sometimes aspect-neutral.
2. Yiqtol is the indefinite tense-aspect, which means that it has the ability to express
imperfective aspect, but this ability is sometimes suppressed. In other words, it
sometimes marks future tense (and is aspect-neutral)32 and sometimes aspect (e.g.
contexts dominated by narrative past tense wayyiqtols) and sometimes mood. Yiqtol is
generally aspect-neutral and future outside of past contexts. Unusually, and only in
poetry, yiqtol with or without an initial waw consecutive serves as a narrative past tense
(e.g., in Deut 32:10-18).
3. Wayyiqtol is the past sequential tense-aspect and expresses sequential past events and
sequential past events as main events when preceded by simple past events (qatal) and
imperfective events (yiqtol and weqatal).
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31 Ibid., 351.
32 Buth argues that yiqtol is the default future tense, corresponding to qatal as the default past tense. He makes the argument that yiqtol is the default future tense when he notes which [verb forms] are attested with a word like rjm (“tomorrow”, 52x in the Bible).” As he points out, yiqtol, consecutive weqatal, participles, and imperatives are all attested with this verb, but not qatal. Perfective futures in ancient Hebrew are not expressed by qatal. They are expressed by yiqtol or consecutive weqatal. Therefore, the yiqtol-qatal contrast is not aspectual in nature. See Ibid., 339.
4. Weqatal is the future sequential tense-aspect and expresses sequential future events,
sequential future events as main events, sequential future events with their own
imperfective tense-aspect, and sequential future events with their own future tense-aspect.
Therefore, weqatal may be used in various functions to express (purpose) volitionals, past
habituals, and futures.
The most notable aspect of Buth’s system is its fluidity. Buth acknowledges the
probability that a verb form in Semitic was “aspectual” at some proto-language stage because
aspect is theoretically the first parameter to be morphologized within a language. However, if
that morphology fixes itself at a binary stage — as in the case of BH — then that morphology
will be used for a whole TAM (Tense-Aspect-Mood) system within that language.33 Thus, Buth
does not draw rigid distinctions between tense and aspect and allows for the verbal forms to
express both based on the context.
Case Study: The Use of weqatal in the Book of Judges
The case study will focus on the function of weqatal in the book of Judges, since each of
theories has a substantially unique view of the function of weqatal. We will examine the use of
weqatal in Judges in order to evaluate the explanatory power of each of these theories. It is clear
from a study of the use of weqatal in Judges that it has a wide and varied usage. In its
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33 Buth seems to base his views (or at least find corroboration for his views) on the research of linguist Derek Bickerton, who studied Creole and TAM systems. Bickerton’s research into Creole and TAM revealed that Creoles tend to start to morphogrammatize “perfective,” but if the morpho-structure stops there, the verb system will then use those “aspects” for time as well as mood. The meaning of a system is determined to a large extent by how many pieces the cake is divided, and the cake includes time, aspect, and mood. Buth refers to this understanding as “Bickerton’s cake.” See Derek Bickerton, Roots of Language (Ann Arbor: Karoma Publishers, 1981), 90. In contrast to Cook, Buth favors first a synchronic reading before cross-linguistic analysis because he feels that cross-linguistic tendencies are sometimes proposed by people who ignore “Bickerton’s cake” and attempt to “fit all phenomena into the same conceptual straitjacket.” In Buth’s view, cross-linguistic analysis should occur only after we understand how biblical Hebrew works as a closed system. See Randall Buth, comment on “The Tense-Mood-Aspect System of Ancient Hebrew: A Debate,” Ancient Hebrew Poetry, comment posted February 8, 2008, http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2008/02/the-yiqtolqatal.html.
“I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand.”
In Judg 7.7, the emphasis of the weqatal verb yI;tAtÎn◊w is on the certainty that God will give
the Midianites into Gideon’s hand (cf. 6.16). In the eyes of the speaker, there is no possibility
that what he has spoken will not come to pass; the modal statement functions as a promise to the
hearer. In this case, the weqatal verb is preceded by a modal imperfect, but there does not seem
to be any regular syntax. In other cases, weqatal verbs expressing commissive modality are
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34 An Accordance search revealed 85 occurrences of weqatal (although there do seem to be errors in the Accordance tagging), and I removed all occurrences of hDyDh◊w (2.18, 19; 4.20; 6.3, 7.4, 17; 9.33; 11.31; 12.5; 16.7, 11; 19.30; 21.22) from the analysis, since the verb “to be” is unique in many languages, including BH.
35 Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), “What is Deontic Modality?” Summer Institute of Linguistics, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsDeonticModality.htm.
36 Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), “What is Commissive Modality?” Summer Institute of Linguistics, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsCommissiveModality.htm: “Commissive modality is a deontic modality that connotes the speaker’s expressed commitment, as a promise or threat, to bring about the proposition expressed by the utterance.” The focus of such a statement is on the resolve of the speaker to fulfill what he has spoken.
preceded by a formal imperative and cohortative (1.3), a formal imperative (1.24), another
weqatal verb (4.7; 7.18), a verbless clause (8.7; 20.10), a negated qatal verb (13.3), a formative
imperative and jussive (13.5, 7), and a negated yiqtol (19.12).
I. B. Directive Modality
Directive modality is “a deontic modality that connotes the speaker’s degree of
requirement of conformity to the proposition expressed by an utterance.”37 I have identified four
kinds of directive modality that weqatal expresses in Judges: imperative mood, deliberative
mood, permissive mood, and jussive mood.
I. B. 1. Imperative Mood
(2) Judg 6.14 h‰z ÔKSjOkV;b JKEl “Go in this might of yours
NDy√dIm PA;kIm lEa∂rVcˆy_tRa D;tVoAvwøh◊w
and save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.”
In Judg 6.14, the weqatal verb tVoAvwøh◊w is preceded by a formal imperative JKEl and
receives its imperatival force from this preceding imperative. According to E. J. Revell, this
sequence “typically represents an action to be taken as a consequence of carrying out the initial
command represented by the imperative.”38 In this example, the initial command that God gives
to Gideon is to go in might. As a consequence of going in might, Gideon is thus commanded to
save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. The weqatal verb is used rather than another
imperative in order to connect the actions of going and saving. This sequence of formal
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37 Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), “What is Directive Modality?” Summer Institute of Linguistics, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsDirectiveModality.htm.
38 E. J. Revell, “The System of the Verb in Standard Biblical Prose,” HUCA 60 (1989): 22.
imperative followed by weqatal seems to be the most common way to express imperative
modality through the use of weqatal in Judges (cf. 1.15; 4.6, 6.25; 21.10, 20, 21).
(3) Judg 9.33 ryIoDh_lAo D;tVfAvDp…w MyI;kVvA;t “rise early and raid the city”
In contrast to example (2) above, the weqatal verb tVfAvDp…w receives its imperatival force
not from a preceding formal imperative but from a preceding modal imperfect. The difference
between Judg 9.33 and Judg 6.14 in example (2) is likely that the “continuation of the command
[is] in a less forceful register.”39 In Judg 9.33, Zebul commands Abimelech to rise early and raid
the city of Shechem. In the view of the author, the commands to rise early and raid are not as
closely related as the commands to go and save in Judg 6.14. For another example of a modal
imperfect followed by a weqatal verb expressing imperatival mood, see Judg 6.26.
Two unique verbal sequences (at least in Judges) are a standalone command following a
question in Judg 9.2 and a command following a dependent verbless clause in Judg 9.33.40
I. B. 2. Deliberative Mood
Deliberative mood is “a directive mood which signals the speaker's request for instruction
from the addressee as to whether to do the proposition expressed in the utterance.”41 In simple
nomenclature, it is a question.
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39 Ibid.
40 It is also possible to argue that the weqatal in Judg 9.33 is an example of permissive mood (see below). It is oftentimes difficult to distinguish among imperative, jussive, and permissive moods. The usage is context-conditioned and lines are often blurred.
41 Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), “What is Deliberative Mood?” Summer Institute of Linguistics, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsDeliberativeMood.htm.
“Shall I give up my abundance, by which God and men are honored,
:MyIxEoDh_lAo Ao…wnDl yI;tVkAlDh◊w and go to shake the trees?”
Judg 9.9 is the first in a parallel series of questions (cf. 9.11, 13). The weqatal yI;tVkAlDh◊w
receives its deliberative mood from the preceding yiqtol, which is prefixed with the interrogative
particle. The weqatal is likely used once again to signal some connection between the two
actions. Another example is found in Judg 15.18. In all four occurrences in Judges, the weqatal
verb expressing deliberative mood follows a deliberative imperfect.
I. B. 3. Permissive Mood42
(5) Judg 19.9 ÔKRbDbVl bAfyˆy◊w hOÚp NyIl “Lodge here and let your heart be merry.
MRkV;k√rådVl rDjDm MR;tVmA;kVvIh ◊w
And you may rise early tomorrow for your journey,
ÔKRlDhOaVl D;tVkAlDh ◊w and you may go to your tent.”
As noted above, it is difficult to distinguish contextually what is imperatival and what is
permissive. I have chosen an imperatival interpretation here because the jussive verb KRbDbVl
seems to at least weaken the following commands. They are more expressed desires than
commands. Nevertheless, the weqatal verb has the ability to express each of these modal
gradations.
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42 Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), “What is Permissive Mood?” Summer Institute of Linguistics, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsPermissiveMood.htm: “Permissive mood is a directive mood that signals the speaker’s act of giving permission.”
Like example (5) above, the determination of jussive modality is contextually-based. The
weqatal form gives indication of a modal element, but it is up to the interpreter to decide what
that modal force is. I have chosen jussive mood for this example because of the preceding
cohortative hDb√rVqˆn◊w. …w…nAl◊w is also more likely to be jussive because it is in the first person.
II. Irrealis Modality
Irrealis modality is “a modality that connotes that the proposition with which it is
associated is nonactual or nonfactual”44 and includes both the subjunctive mood as well as
conditional statements.
II. A. Subjunctive Mood
(7) Judg 18.25 …wnD;mIo ÔKVlwøq oAmVvA;t_lAa
“Do not let your voice be heard among us,
vRp‰n yérDm MyIvÎnSa MRkDb …wo◊…gVpˆy_NRÚp lest men of bitter souls encounter you,
ÔKRtyE;b vRpRn◊w ÔKVvVpÅn hD;tVpAsDa ◊w
and lest you gather your soul and the souls of your house.”
Daniel Wang - 168561 Tense and Aspect in Biblical Hebrew
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43 Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), “What is Jussive Mood?” Summer Institute of Linguistics, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsJussiveMood.htm: “Jussive mood is a directive mood that signal’s a speaker’s command, permission, or agreement that the proposition expressed by his or her utterance be brought about ... [it] is typically applicable in the first and third person.”
44 Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), “What is Irrealis Modality?” Summer Institute of Linguistics, http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsIrrealisModality.htm.