125
6.3.1.2 Nominal Conjoining
One of the most straightforward examples of in its function as nominal conjoiner is the coordinate NP N N which can be either S or O in a biblical Hebrew
sentence. In the following example, the coordinate NP is the Object.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
- ? :
Gen 1:1
In examples like these, the function of is always
CONJUNCTIVE
and, not
ALTERNATIVE
or, or
DISJUNCTIVE
but. In this syntactic pattern, will not mean God created the heavens
OR
the earth. In nominal conjoining, the
ALTERNATIVE
and
DISJUNCTIVE
functions are realized by other syntactic mechanisms. For instance, the
ALTERNATIVE
function is realized by + as in the following example:
a man or a woman
- +
Exod 21:28
There are, of course, variations on this basic pattern and numerous examples of more complex structures. For more detail on the syntax of with nominal items see, for
example, BHRG §31.
6.3.1.3 Verbal Conjoining
When conjoins verbal items V V, it is crucial to take careful note of the verb forms which are “linked” in this way. The conjunctive function of is operative when the
successive verb forms are identical in form—the most typical example of this in narrative are sequences of
WAYYIQTOL
. This is where ’s function of conjoining coordinate syntactic items is fundamental— should not be read as “and” or “then” with every
126
WAYYIQTOL
, but rather should be seen as the syntactic indicator which signals the conjoining of these similar verbal items.
When coordinate verbal items are conjoined by , caution needs to be exercised to avoid superimposing the logico-temporal structure of another language. Consider Exod
4:31:
So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was
concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction,
then they bowed low and worshiped.
F 1
85
Exod 4:31
The four
WAYYIQTOL
s in Exod 4:31 are linked by the . The question to ask is on what basis did the translator’s decide to use “when” in English? The point is not that
every independent clause in Hebrew must be represented by an independent clause in English or any other language. However, since Hebrew does have a means of explicitly
stating when they heard: , there needs to be a principled basis by which these
translation decisions are made. In English, “when they heard … then they bowed low,” implies a particular logical and temporal dependency that is not an inherent part of the
syntactic arrangement of the Hebrew linkage of
WAYYIQTOL
forms. It is appropriate to avoid a mechanical rendering of every with “and,” but it is
important to proceed on the basis of awareness of clause syntax and the function of . A crucial difference in approach can be seen in the following two alternatives. The
translator might say:
127 1 At some abstract, literal level, seems to mean “and,” so the proper gloss for
every occurrence is “and.” The repetition of and, and, and does not sound like good English, so some occurrences of can be translated “then” or “so” and
others can be left out so that the English is not too clumsy. 2 The function of is to conjoin coordinate nominal or verbal items. “And” is
usually the appropriate translation in compound nominal and verbal phrases. Some occurrences of , however, indicate other types of syntactic relationships.
The function of these syntactic relationships needs to be determined so that an appropriate, equivalent relationship can be expressed in the translation of the
Hebrew clause. In the model implemented here, the second approach is preferred, since the
function of linguistic items is fundamental to their proper analysis. A good example showing different uses of is Gen 24:30:
When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sisters wrists, and
when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the
man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the
camels at the spring. Pc-vqw3msXa Pp-vqc Po-Pa-ncms Pc-
Po-Pa-ncmp Pp-ncfdc ncfscX3ms Pc-Pp- vqcX3ms Po-ncmpc np ncfscX3ms Pp-
vqc Pd-vpp3ms PpX1cs Pa-ncms Pc- vqw3msXa Pp-Pa-ncms Pc-Pi vqPms Pp-
Pa-ncmp Pp-Pa-ncfs
; J
; ;
8 , G
Gen 24:30
The second in Gen 24:30 is an example of nominal conjoining, namely the compound direct object of the verb to see. The next joins two infinitive constructs,
conjoining two coordinate verb forms. The first and fourth occurrences of are another
128 case of the conjoining of two coordinate verb forms, i.e., two
WAYYIQTOL
s. The final occurrence is not the standard nominal or verbal conjoining, but is rather an example of
one of the other functions performed by , discussed in the following section.
6.3.1.4 Other Functions of
Kategori