Chapter 23

Disjunctive Waw

Hebrew sentences are often composed of numerous clauses connected by a form of the conjunction וְ this conjunction should not be translated as "and" in every occurrence in Hebrew, there are two different types of the conjunction, identified as conjunctive and disjunctive the conjunctive waw is usually prefixed to a verb and links clauses sequentially, temporally, logically, and often consequentially the disjunctive waw is prefixed to a non-verbal form and is non-sequential - that is, it introduces some kind of a break or interruption in the narrative the disjunctive waw may be used in a number of different ways: - parenthetical - circumstantial - contrastive - introductory

Causal Clause

a causal clause indicates what causes another clause to happen causal clauses often begin with כִּי (because, for) or אֲשֶׁר (because, for)

Concessive Clause

a concessive clause states something that might be thought to prevent another clause, but it in fact does not the other clause occurs in spite of the concessive clause concessive clauses are often marked with - גַּם - וְ - כִּי - אִם - גַּם - כִּי - עַל all of which can be translated "although" or "even though" when they are used to mark a concessive clause

Conditional Clauses

a conditional sentence consists of two units: - the first clause states the condition and is called the protasis (the "if-clause") - the second clause states the consequence of the condition and is called the apodosis (the "then-clause") the protasis of a conditional sentence will often begin with אִם (if) in addition to אִם, the protasis may begin with הֵן ,כִּי or אֲשֶׁר followed by a perfect, imperfect, or participle the apodosis will often begin with the conjunction וְ note that in rare circumstances, both the protasis and apodosis may be unmarked though less frequent, there is another type of conditional sentence (clause) that may begin with לוּ (if) or לוּלֵי (if not) - e.g., Num 14:2 and Ps 119:92

Syntax of the Consecutive Perfect

a consecutive perfect verb is normally the first word in its clause

Purpose Clause

a purpose clause indicates the purpose of another clause it states the goal that the subject of another clause hopes to achieve or avoid by means of that other clause purpose clauses often begin with - לְמַעַן (so that) - בַּעֲבוּר (so that) - אֲשֶׁר (so that) - לְבִלְתִּי (so that ... not) - לְמַעַן לֹא (so that not) - פֶּן (lest) purpose clauses can also begin with וְ followed by an imperative, cohortative, or jussive verb

Result Clause

a result clause states something that is true or happens because of another clause result clauses often begin with a waw consecutive verb or with כִּי (so, that)

Advanced Information: Adverbs

an adverb is a word that is used to modify, describe, limit, or qualify a verb, adjective, or another adverb adverbs are generally divided into four categories: - adverbs of time (then, now) - adverbs of place (here, there) - adverbs of degree (very, extremely) - adverbs of manner (swiftly, gently)

Syntax of Imperatives Followed by Consecutive Perfects

an imperative may be followed by a consecutive perfect in this sequence, the perfect verb may carry the full force of the preceding Imperative in its translation in such cases, the perfect verb with saw consecutive and the preceding imperative are related in terms of consecution of action

Syntax of Imperatives Followed by an Imperfect or Cohortative

an imperative may be followed by an imperfect or cohortative, a construction that will create a purpose or result clause in this sequence, the imperfect will be marked with the conjunction וְ (not waw conversive) and may be translated as "so that"

Additional Clause Types

causal clause purpose clause result clause concessive clause

English vs. Hebrew Word Order

in English, normal word order is subject-verb-object in Hebrew, normal word order for a verbal sentence is verb-subject-object it is not uncommon, however, to encounter variations from this pattern, especially in poetic material you can also expect certain particles, prepositional phrases or other sentence components to occur regularly in the midst of the basic verb-subject-object pattern the two main word order are verb-subject-object or subject-verb-object

The Syntax of the Verb

in the syntax of the verbal sentence, the verb is normally at the beginning while the verb usually stands first in a sentence or clause, it may also be preceded by - an adverb of time - an adverbial phrase - the word הִנֵּה (behold) - a temporal modifier (וַיְהִי or וְהָיָה) - an expression that provides circumstantial information - an independent personal pronoun a negated verb will be preceded by a negative particle these are only some of the more common exceptions to verb-first word order

Parenthetical Disjunctive Waw

in this use, the disjunctive clause interrupts the narrative flow in order to provide some explanatory information that is important for understanding the narrative

Circumstantial Disjunctive Waw

in this use, the disjunctive clause introduces or identifies circumstantial information that relates to the main action of the narrative these disjunctive clauses are often helpful for understanding or visualizing the action of the narrative the distinction between the parenthetical and circumstantial uses can be subtle

Contrastive Disjunctive Waw

in this use, the disjunctive waw introduces a contrastive idea and is often translated as "but"

Introductory Disjunctive Waw

in this use, the disjunctive waw may begin a new narrative or introduce a new idea or theme within a narrative

The Syntax of the Subject

perfect, imperfect, and imperative verbs have an implied subject this means that you will not always need an explicit subject to complete a sentence in Hebrew when you do have an explicit subject, however, it will normally follow the verb in the syntax of the verbal sentence, the verb is normally followed immediately by its subject if one is specified the verb may be preceded by its subject

Syntax of Successive Imperatives

several imperative verbs may occur in succession they may or may not be linked with the conjunction וְ in this construction, context will determine whether or not they are related consequentially or sequentially

Syntax of the Consecutive Imperfect

the consecutive imperfect is used in past tense narrative sequences the consecutive imperfect verb is always first in its clause

Syntax of the Imperfect

the imperfect is used to express an incomplete action normally translated by the English future tense the regular imperfect verb does not normally appear as the first word in its clause

Components of Hebrew Language

the study of Hebrew generally falls into three categories: phonology the study of the sounds of the language morphology the study of how words are formed syntax the study of sentence structure and the ordering of words into meaningful semantic units all three are important for a working knowledge of the language, but syntax is often the area of study that produces the most fruit in terms of exegetical insight

Negative Particle before Verb

the verb may be preceded by a negative particle

Modifiers/Grammatical Constructions before Verb

the verb may be preceded by a number of other modifiers or grammatical constructions

Temporal Clause before Verb

the verb may be preceded by a temporal clause beginning with וַיְהִי or וְהָיָה

Adverb before Verb

the verb may be preceded by an adverb

Contextual Details before Verb

the verb may be preceded by an expression that provides context, circumstantial information, or a connection with the preceding clause or verse

Independent Personal Pronoun before Verb

the verb may be preceded by an independent personal pronoun

הִנֵּה before Verb

the verb may be preceded by הִנֵּה (behold)

Syntax of the Volitional Imperfect

the volitional imperfect is used to express some type of command, wish, or desire volitional Imperfects are also called cohortative (first person) and jussive (third person) the volitional imperfect is normally the first word in its clause, though there are exceptions

The Syntax of the Object

there are a number of different types of "objects" in Hebrew the most important are the indirect (dative) and the direct (accusative) objects the indirect object is the person or thing that is indirectly affected by the action of the verb - it is usually marked with either the preposition לְ (to, for) or אֶל־ (to, for) and may either precede or follow the direct object (if any) a direct object (if any) will frequently stand immediately after the verb or its subject - a direct object may precede or follow an indirect object the verb may be preceded by its object

Important Sequences with Volitional Conjugations

there are many important sequences involving the volitional conjugations - imperative - cohortative - jussive

Syntax of the Perfect

when a perfect verb is used to describe a completed action, it is normally not the first word in its clause, though there are exceptions

Advanced Information: Adverbs of Manner

יַחְדֵּו together פִּתְאֹם suddenly

Advanced Information: Adverbs of Degree

מְאֹד very עוֹר again תָּמִיד continually

Advanced Information: Adverbs of Time

עַתָּה now ‪אָז then, at that time ‪טֶ֫רֶם‬ before, not yet - this adverb will also appear with the preposition בְּטֶ֫רֶם) בְּ) with the same meaning it is important to note that certain adverbs of time, such as ‪אָז (then, at that time) and ‪טֶ֫רֶם‬ (before, not yet), may be followed by an imperfect verb that should be translated as a perfect

Advanced Information: Adverbs of Place

פֹּה here הֵ֫נָּה here שָׁם there חוּץ outside - חוּץ = מִחוּץ with the preposition מִן