Nouvelle perspective sur le système verbal de l'hébreu ancien : les formes *qatala, *yaqtul et *yaqtulu
(2006)
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- Authors
- Supervisors
- Haelewyck, Jean-Claude
- Abstract
- This thesis examines the verbal system used in ancient Hebrew. It tries to determine the logic behind the use of, as well as the sense of, suffixed and prefixed verbal forms attested in the Hebrew Bible. Virtually all the other approaches proposed to resolve what is generally referred to as the enigma of the Hebrew verbal system, fail to satisfactorily resolve this enigma. There are three reasons for this failure. Firstly, these approches start from the qatal, yiqtol, weqataltí and wayyiqtol verbal forms which are considered to be the correct suffixed and prefixed verbal forms of ancient Hebrew. Secondly, they consider the massoretic vocalisation and accents to be of equal value to the consonantal text. In other words, they consider that these late massoretic additions accurately reflect ancient Hebrew. Thirdly, they treat ancient Hebrew as uniform, without taking into account different evolutive stages of the Hebrew language, as reflected in the biblical texts. Since these three a priori have never really been called into question, research to date has been stuck following the direction given by the first jewish grammarians in the Middle Ages, who are those principally responsable for the enigma of the Hebrew verbal system. In an attempt to resolve this enigma, this present study proposes a new approach. The starting assumption is that the verbal system of ancient Hebrew could not have been an enigma to ancient Hebrew-speakers. So, strictly speaking, the enigma cannot be in the verbal system itself, but must reside in our representation of that system. Therefore this thesis limits itself to the characteristics of ancient Hebrew, as originally written. As a result, the massoretic vocalisation and accents are rejected as inadequate indicators of the functionning of the verbal system, particularly with respect to the wayyiqtol and weqatalti forms. Similarly, the consonantal text is considered to be what it really is, namely a form of shorthand rather than a text following a precise spelling scheme. Hence the presence or absence of a mater lectionis isn't taken as an absolute criteria in the analysis of a prefixed verbal form. In following this methodology, the data provided by historical and comparative grammatical approaches have been used to help resolve the enigma. Their freedom (in principle) from the aforementioned a priori has made them particularly useful guides in the exploration of the verbal system of ancient Hebrew based uniquely on real linguistic features. This study concludes that the tradition fourfold verbal system (qatal, yiqtol, weqataltí and wayyiqtol) needs to be abandoned, in particular the weqataltí and wayyiqtol as consecutive forms as well as the distinction between a simple waw and a consecutive waw. This thesis proposes an alternative threefold system consisting of qatal (or *qatala), long yiqtol (or *yaqtulu) and short yiqtol (or *yaqtul) forms, which, together with the participle, infinitive and imperative, comprise the true verbal system of ancient Hebrew and which find corresponding forms in the morphology, syntax and semantics of other semitic languages. Finally, taking into account the different evolutive stages of the Hebrew language found in the Hebrew Bible avoids classifying as abnormal various verbal and syntaxical forms which are actually correct, but belong to a different stage of the language. It also allows proper appreciation of the evolution of the Hebrew language from an aspectual verbal system towards a temporal verbal system. The linguistic description offered by this thesis of the suffixed and prefixed verbal forms attested in the Hebrew Bible provides a coherent system of general rules which are both simple and natural.
- Affiliations
Citations
Van de Sande, A. (2006). Nouvelle perspective sur le système verbal de l’hébreu ancien : les formes *qatala, *yaqtul et *yaqtulu. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/66064