Questions Raised by van der Merwe’s Study of

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4.1.4 Questions Raised by van der Merwe’s Study of

in 1 Samuel Van der Merwe’s study of in 1 Samuel is the first published analysis of the discourse functions of this “elusive term” in an extended corpus. This study employs the notion of reference time as a parameter for analyzing , similar to Hatav’s The Semantics of Aspect and Modality. Since this is the most extensive, focused analysis of to date, its main conclusions will be reviewed in detail here. Van der Merwe reviews the work of various scholars and concludes that more clearly defined syntactic parameters need to be used in the analysis of . One of the most basic distinctions in his study is between the verbal and the temporal uses of , a distinction also commented on by Richter and others Richter 1980, 206. 1 Based on 1 Samuel, van der Merwe concludes that a signals that the reference time of a state of affairs is that of the current reference time of a preceding temporally anchored event or events, and b allows the updating or specification of the reference time of an event by confirming that the current reference time of the construction with is a preceding temporally anchored event or state of affairs. van der Merwe 1999, 113-14 Van der Merwe explains that “each temporally anchored event provides the current reference time for the subsequent event” van der Merwe 1999, 113-14, but before proceeding, it is important to define what is meant by a “temporally anchored event.” If a narrative begins with a specific temporal reference, this establishes the 1 “Text-deiktische Funktion haben ferner die Wörterverbingdungen = • und • = , wenn sie nicht als Verb fungieren” Richter 1980, 206. 62 “current reference time” of the narrative until it is updated or specified by another temporal reference. Van der Merwe’s claim, then, is that signals and confirms that the reference time of the construction with is the already established reference time. According to this analysis in 1 Samuel, then, does not establish a new reference time. Van der Merwe’s conclusions are then divided into followed by a nominal clause and preceding a temporal clause. He states that introduces a nominal clause …that initiates the setting of a new episode in a narrative. In such cases it normally points to the connection between major units in the Tanach. Hence, it may be regarded as a device for establishing continuity at a macro level; or may also …introduce a nominal clause that concludes a scene or episode. In such cases the fact that a state of affairs is the outcome of preceding events is signaled. To put it differently, anchors a state of affairs to the time- line i.e., story-line of a narrative and establishes a continuity at an intra- scene level between events and the state of affairs of a scene. van der Merwe 1999, 113 In some respects, the claim that both initiates and concludes a scene or episode may seem to be contradictory. What determines whether a particular occurrence of is initiating or concluding a scene or episode? This will be discussed in detail in subsequent sections. 63

4.1.5 Questions Raised by the Claims in the Literature Review