“Anteriority and Justification: Pragmatic Functions of the We-x-Qatal Form in Direct Speech in the Book of Genesis

Bibliographic information:

Osborne, William. “”Anteriority and Justification: Pragmatic Functions of the We-x-Qatal Form in Direct Speech in the Book of Genesis.” In Old Testament Essays, 25 no. 2 (2012): 369-82.

Description:

Description:

Recognizing that scholarship has long struggled with the so-called “freeness” of Hebrew word order in direct speech, this study seeks to demonstrate that the primary pragmatic functions of the we-x-qatal form within direct speech in classical biblical Hebrew are anteriority and justification. Examining the issues of word order and the syntactical opposition between the wayyiqtol and we-x-qatal, the work concludes by presenting numerous examples of both functions in Genesis texts. The implications of the study are an improved understanding of clausal relationships within direct speech and improved translations and interpretations of these passages.

Publisher:

Old Testament Essays (website: http://content.ajarchive.org/cdm4/index_10109919.php?CISOROOT=/10109919)

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