A short account of the Hebrew tenses

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THE CAMPBELL COLLECTION

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CAMPBELL
COLLECTION

A SHORT ACCOUNT

OF THE

HEBEEW TENSES

3Lontion: C. J. CLAY and SONS,

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,

AVE MARIA LANE.

©Insgofaj: 50, WELLINGTON STREET.

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-V.

ILeipUfl: F. A. BROCKHAUS.

ip.ebj lorfe: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

Bamfaag: E. SEYMOUR HALE.

A SHORT ACCOUNT

OF THE

HEBEEW TENSES

BY

The Rev. R. H. KENNETT, MA.

FELLOW AND LECTURER OF QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY LECTURER IN ARAMAIC

CAMBRIDGE :

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

1901

[All Rifiht^ nwrvi'd]

Cambvitjgr :

PRINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRKS8.

TO MY PUPILS

DHD nnr n^nnai ^nnna 'ni^h nnin nnnn

Digitized, by the Internet Archive

in 2011 with funding from

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PREFACE.

rilHE present volume is an attempt to give an account
-^ of the nature and use of the Tenses in Hebrew in a
form suitable for those who have but recently begun the
study of the language, and who have not attained to such
proficiency as will enable them to use with advantage
Professor Driver's indispensable book. I have commonly
found in teaching, that a student's chief difficulty in the
Hebrew verbs is to grasp the meaning which they con-
veyed to the minds of the Hebrews themselves ; that is to
say, there is a tendency to assign as equivalents to each
of the Hebrew Tenses a certain number of Latin or
English forms by which that particular Tense may
commonly be translated. The result is a failure to
perceive many of those fine shades of meaning, which
give such life and vigour to the language of the Old
Testament.

The difficulty in the use of the Hebrew verbs lies
solely in the point of view, so absolutely different from
our own, from which the Hebrews regarded an action ;
the timey which with us is the first consideration, as the
very word ^ tense ' shews, being to them a matter of

Vm IMIKFACE.

secondary importance. It is, therefore, essential that a
student should clearly grasp, not so much the Latin or
English torn IS which may be used in translating each of*
the Hebrew Tenses, but rather the aspect of each action,
as it presented itself to a Hebrew's mind.

To deal adequately, however, with such a subject is
beyond the limits of a grammar intended for the use of
students, and yet no real progress can be made in Hebrew
until it is mastered.

In treating of a subject so wide, in which the natural
divisions are few, and often slightly marked, it is not easy
to make a selection, and one is sorely tempted to multiply
examples at the expense of brevity. I trust that the
illustrations which are printed under the several headings
will be sufficient for learners, but, lest I may be thought
too dogmatic in my statements or in my omissions, I have
dealt with some of the vexed questions in additional
notes.

My heartiest thanks are due to my friend Mr F. C.
Burkitt for kindly reading through the greater part of my
notes in manuscript, and for many valuable suggestions.
It is, however, only fair to him to say that he is in no
wise responsible for any of the opinions here set forth.

ROBERT H. KENNETT.

Queens' College,

Jaiivxiry 16, 1901.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE
HEBREW TENSES.

The name 'tenses' as applied to Hebrew verbs is
misleading. The so-called Hebrew 'tenses' do not
express the time but merely the state of an action.
Indeed w^ere it not for the confusion that would arise
through the application of the term * state ' to both
nouns and verbs, ' states ' would be a far better designa-
tion than ' tenses.' It must always be borne in mind that
it is impossible to translate a Hebrew verb into English
without employing a limitation (viz. of time) which is
entirely absent in the Hebrew. The ancient Hebrews
never thought of an action as past, present, or future,
but simply as perfect^ i.e. complete, or imperfect, i.e. as
in course of development. When we say that a certain
Hebrew tense corresponds to a Perfect, Pluperfect, or
Future in English, we do not mean that the Hebrews
thought of it as Perfect, Pluperfect, or Future, but merely
that it must be so translated in English. The time of an
action the Hebrews did not attempt to express by any
verbal form.

K. 1

THE HKl'.KKW TKXSES.

THE PERFECT.

The fundamental idea denoted by the Perfect is that
of a completed act ; and this idea underlies all its various
uses. Thus the Perfect is used to describe the following
classes of actions :

I. Actions completed at a definite moment in the
past : e.g.

I V T T •• : • - T - • V; XT

God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. i. 1)

njn: nSn Snet d^»

TAT T T T - T

Water he asked, milk she gave (Judges v. 25)

II. Actions completed in the past of which the effect
remains : e.g.

i^'np yhn ij^o^ 't> ny^^in

:)t - : • : t

His 7'ight hand and His holy arm have gained Him
the victory (Ps. xcviii. 1 )

ixp 'b 'ip nan

Shaddai has brought sore trouble upon me (Ruth i. 20)

III. Actions completed in the immediate past, in
which case the Perfect passes over into the meaning of
the Present : e.g.

~ T

Thus saith Jehovah (passim)

THE PERFECT. 3

/ lift up my hand to Jehovah God most high (Gen. xiv. 22)
and similarly,

•^piyT^ I know, ^mjT I remember,

N.B. The Perfect of so-called 'stative' verbs is
naturally used to express a state complete in the present :
e.g.

"^pi^W ^ ^^^ ^^«^^» ''n^nK ^ love, ^nxj^y / ^^^e.

• : It • : ~ t • "t

: • : T T : |T : - • !•• - ^ .- /,t

JehovaKs hand is not too short to save, nor His ear

too didl to hear (Isaiah lix. 1)

IV. Actions completed in the future, which in Latin
would be expressed by the Future Perfect or Subjunctive
Perfect: e.g.

I-.,- . . ).. ., ., ^ - . .

But if I say thus to the youth , yo, for Jehovah will

have sent thee away (1 Sam. xx. 22)

It •:~t • • ;• • T-;)-

/ will not have thee stop driving unless I tell thee (shall
have told thee) (2 Kings iv. 24)

T : ' V I V -: V I : - :

Let them seek thy master, lest the ivi7id of Jehovah may
have taken him up (2 Kings ii. 16)

1—2

4 THK HKliKKW TENSES.

V. Actions completed before some definite point of
time in the past, which in Latin would be expressed by
the Pluperfect : e.g.

TT •••-; ;~: ■»■• ••;" ■ i*~

A'lid He desisted on the seventh day from all His work
which He had done (Gen. ii. 2)

D^sinn-nN nnpS Snm

• T : - T I : |T •• T :

Now Rachel had taken the teraphim (Gen. xxxi. 34)

By the 7)iere hearing of the ear had I heard of Thee, hut
now my own eye has seen Thee (Job xlii. 5)

N.B. It must not however be forgotten that, although
the Perfect may frequently be translated by our Pluperfect,
yet the Pluperfect idea is foreign to Hebrew thought. A
Hebrew merely stated the comjjletion of an action, and
left the time of its completion to be inferred from the
context. Thus in the first of the three examples given
above the verb nb^J? merely states the completion of the

T T

act of doing. It is obvious from the context that this act
of doing was completed before God desisted from the work
of creation. So likewise in the second illustration it is
merely stated that Rachel took the teraphim, the context
making it sufficiently clear that she took them before her
father began to look for them.

VI. Actions of which the time is quite indefinite, the
completion of the single act alone being regarded^: e.g.

1 This is the so-called Perfect of Experience : it scarcely occurs in
ordinary prose.

THE PERFECT. 5

T ; jT - • I • *• T ■ X •• T

Grass vntltei^s, flower fades, when JehovaKs wind has blown
upon it (Isaiah xl. 7)

He breaks into houses in the dark (Job xxiv. 16)

VII. Actions the sphere of which belongs to the
future, the certainty with which they are regarded
being thus expressed^: e.g.

^ayi Tr\:^i2 iyiwr\ npSn

•t:|t t : |t V t - )-;•.•

Naomi is selling (has determined to sell) the

plot of land (Ruth iv. 3)

It • - t V t -

The whole field I give thee (Gen. xxiii. 11)

^ This Perfect of Certainty is frequent in the writings of the Prophets,
and is therefore sometimes called the Prophetic Perfect. Examples of

its use are : np31 '•nn?!^ W2}Vu7 For your sake icill I send to Babylon

(Isaiah xliii. 14) ; nVp./ AI^lI Vt^ He loill annihilate death for ever
(Isaiah xxv. 8).

In an interrogative sentence the Perfect of Certainty acquires a
meaning resembling that of the Deliberative Subjunctive in Greek: e.g.
''JtJ^'^TlX '^n/Tnn Am I to leave my fatness? (Judges ix. 9) ; and, some-
what similarly, t^?^^ '^D^'^V How louy refusest thou ? (Ex. x. 3). This
latter use of the Perfect, however, is rare, and some of the instances
which may be assigned to it are capable of a different explanation : thus
in the quotation from Exodus x. 3 the Perfect n^NO may be explained

on the analogy of ' stative ' verbs (see above, § III, note) or even as a
Future Perfect.

6 THE IIKl'.IIKW TEXSES.

N.B. It must be remembered that, as there is no
tiine in the Hebrew tenses, the Perfect may refer to the
future equally well as to tite jxist. It is incon^ect to say
that the Hebrew said ' I have done ' when he meant ' I
will do': in reality he merely described the completion of
the act of doing without specif yincj the time. But as there
is no more emphatic way of predicting an event still
future than by describing its result (see, for example,
Isaiah xiii., where the certainty of the fall of Babylon is
brought out by the description of its future desolation),
so an event which is obviously future, when described as
completed, is impressed upon the hearer s mind as certain.

VIII. Hypothetical actions, completed

(a) at or before some definite time in the past: e.g.

If ye had saved them alive, I tvould not have slain you
(I would not slay youy (Judges viii. 19)

• T -:|- V : - T - • : AT : - : •

If we had not delayed, we might hy this time have
returned twice over^ (Gen. xliii. 10)

^ The use of the Perfect "'H^'ilv' ^^ ^^"^^ apodo>iis to express an action
still future may be explained on the analogy of the Perfect of Certainty.

- The use of the Perfect in the apodosis of this sentence does not
materially differ from its use in the j^^'otasis. Thus the Perfect )^2^*
expresses the hypothetical completion of the act of return at some
moment in the past in consequence of a previous hypothetical action.

To this heading may be assigned such a sentence as Genesis xxi. 7

niir D''i2 nO'^yri nn'M^h b^O ""O who would have said to AbraJiam

TT -T ly... tt:-; •••

(sc. if he had known the circumstances), Sarah is to suckle children?

THE PERFECT. 7

(6) in the past, but with effect continuing into the
present : e.g.

^EJ^'s^ nnx ^t]^^^ nxT ^nwDN

If I have done this (the guilt of which still continues)

then let an enemy 'persecute my soul (Ps. vii. 4, 6)

T : • -T • I : I- v;

i/ i^ he Jehovah that has stirred thee up against me,
let him sm^ell an offering (1 Sam. xxvi. 19)

(c) in the future : e.g.

• T T T V V - T :|T

If the sun shall have risen upon him, there shall be
hloodguiltiness for him (Ex. xxii. 2)

If {when) the Lord shall have tvashed away the filth of
the daughters of Sion (Isaiah iv. 4)

{d) at some indefinite time or times, i.e. when the
verb in the apodosis expresses what is habitual : e.g.

.. - . . ^ . . -y . .

And if he come (whenever he may have come) to see, he
speaks {is wont to speak) that which is vain

(Ps. xli. 7)

• : AT : • : : -t • :

And whenever I think (sc. of the injustice in the world),
/ am panic-stricken (Job xxi. 6)

1 Point thus.

8 THE IIKIJRKW TENSES.

IX. Actions the completion of wliich is desired',
(a) in the past : e.g.

Would that we had died in the land of Egypt I (i.e. If we
had died in the land of Egypt, it had been well with us)

(Numbers xiv. 2)
{h) in the present : e.g.

• ; -T I •• •

0 that I knew! (i.e. Who Avill give — O that one would
give — the state described by the word '^riy*]^)

(Job xxiii. 3)
(c) in the future : e.g.

• - T T : -|t
0 that tlum worddest rend the heavens! (Isaiah Ixiii. 19)

X. The Perfect is also frequently used in sentences
which western idiom puts into a hypothetical form, but
which, technically, are scarcely hypothetical in Hebrew.
In such sentences the division into protasis and apodosis
is misleading : they are in reality coordinate clauses, and
the graphic Hebrew idiom with its absolute method of
expression, that disdains saving clauses and particles,

1 This must not be understood as implying a belief in the so-called
* Precative ' Perfect, the existence of which in Hebrew is extremely
doubtful. The Perfect, though it may express confident expectation,
does not of itself express a wish. The illustrations given above under
(a) and {c) are in reality merely the protases of hypothetical sentences
of which the apodoses are suppressed.

THE PERFECT. 9

introduces what is in reality only hypothetical or possible
as though it were fact or certainty \ Illustrations are

nito ii)if2 nm n^^

XT T • T T

If one has found a wife, one has found a good thing

(Prov. xviii. 22)

[In this sentence the two clauses are coordinate. The
Hebrew, so to speak, paints a picture of the finding of a
wife as an accomplished fact, and likewise the finding of
a good thing as parallel to it, the time being (juite in-
definite.]

..... I V •• T T T • -;

If one were to aitemjjt to speak to thee, wouldest thou he
wearied? (Anglice woidd it he too much for thee?)

(Job iv. 2)

T T^T-:/ t:* -• -;

When their cord (? tent-peg) is 'plucked up in them,
do they not die? (Job iv. 21)

^ Similar sentences, viz. hypothetical in English but not in Hebrew,
are found even where there is no verb in the first clause : e.g.
mV ^^2vh Nrjn^ iS\ Then if not (i.e. assuming that the refusal to
accept a present is unalterable), let there he given to thy servant a load^ etc.
(2 Kings V. 17), cf. 2 Kings x. 15 ; and similarly with the Participle : e.g.

mn nn'^n n'^n^'n U'm':i n'mx nb'y nirr' nun supposimi that Jehovah

be even now makimj windoios in the heavens, can such a thing come to pass]
(2 Kings vii. 2).

2 In this instance the interrogative particle, although placed at the
head of the sentence, really belongs to the second verb, or perhaps it
would be more true to say that the interrogative particle belongs to the
whole sense conveyed by the two closely coordinated chxuses.

10 THE HKliHKW TENSES.

THE LM PERFECT.

The Imperfect in its furidamental meaning denotes
actions as incomplete, i.e. as in process of development.
It does not express the mere continuance of an action,
which would be expressed by the Participle, but the
develojyment of it from its beginning towards its completion.
Whereas the Perfect, so to speak, paints a single picture
of an action as completed, the Imperfect paints a series

of pictures. Thus in the words 7^2 H /Si we have a

V T T : IT

picture of the fall of Babylon as an accomplished fact,
without any specification of the time ; in ^313 /bPi^ on
the other hand, we have, as it were, a cinematographic
representation of the fall of Babylon, stopping short
however of the complete end. In the Imperfect, as in
the Perfect, there is no definition of time : the time of
an action denoted by it can only be inferred from the
context.

I. The Imperfect is accordingly used to denote actions
regarded as in process of development,
(a) in the past : e.g.

And the house began to Jill (and kept filling) with smoke

(Isaiah vi. 4)

rnxn nnErn cnxD px-S^nJ)

A7id in all the land of Egypt the land began to he destroyed
(implying that the destruction went on from one stage
to another) (Exodus viii. 20)'

1 Similarly the Imperfect is commonly used after T5< ' then ' and
DID 'not yet,' since both words call attention to the origin and

THE IMPERFECT. 11

(b) in the present : e.g.

The evening shadows are beginning to lengthen

(Jerem. vi. 4)

m'^' D^oy ^ya^'

The peoples have heard^ they begin to tremble (Exodus xv. 14)'

(c) in the future : e.g.

Jehovah will enter into judgment (Isaiah iii. 14)

... .... ^ . I _ ^ . ^

Then shall the eyes of the blind be oiw.ned (Isaiah xxxv. 5)

N.B. Since in the case of actions still future their
development rather than their completion is usually
contemplated, the Imperfect is naturally used to denote
such actions ; but if the completion of a future act is
contemplated, the Perfect is used. It must be clearly
understood that the Imperfect conveys no idea of time,

development of the action following : e.g. T]^*12 Ti^'^ TX TJieji Moses
began to sing (Exodus xv. 1) ; H^?'' ^nn DIO? Before she travailed (she
had not yet begun to travail) she brought fortli (Isaiah Ixvi. 7).

1 Here belongs such an expression as nny NTJI -I^NIN / sec him but
not noiv (Num. xxiv. 17). In this case -IDi^nN is not a simple Present,
ivhich is never expressed by the Imperfect but by the Participle. The
Imperfect here conveys the idea, in a graphic manner, of the vision
flashing upon the seer and becoming more and more vivid. This expla-
nation seems preferable to that which would make -I^NIN a simple
Future.

12 THK TIEliRKW TKXSKS.

and is used in expressing future acti(jiis only because such
actions for the most part present themselves to our minds
as in process of development rather than as complete.
That this is the case is clear from the fact that, when
it is necessary to emphasize the completion of a future
action, the Perfect is used.

II. Since there is no idea of time in the Hebrew
tenses, which have regard merely to the state of an action,
whether from a past, present, or future standpoint, the
Imperfect, which, as we have seen, is used to denote
actions still future from some standpoint in the present,
is naturally used to denote those actions also which may
be regarded as future from some standpoint in the past.
Accordingly the Future Participle of the Latin with the
past tense of the verb ' to be ' is expressed in Hebrew by
the Imperfect : e.g.

T V -; ; T V XT T • v; |v

Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof
he was to die (2 Kings xiii. 14)

Aiid he took his eldest son tvho teas to reign (Anglice
would have reigned) after lihn (2 Kings iii. 27)

Were we to know that lie vjould say, etc. ? (Gen. xliii. 7)

... - ^ T- X ; -

Was Abner to die (i.e. Who would have said that Ahner
u:ould die) like a knave? (2 Sam. iii. 33)

THE IMPERFECT. 13

T V •• T T

Why could I not have died (more literally 'Why was I
not in the condition of being about to die ') from the
womb 1 (Job iii. 11)

N.B. In the above examples, although English idiom
requires a variety of renderings, the fundamental meaning
of the Imperfect is never set aside. Thus, to refer again
to our previous illustration of its meaning in connexion
with the first of the four passages quoted above, T^ly is,

T

so to speak, a cinematographic representation of Elisha's
death, stopping short however of the complete end. Since
the narrator has made it clear that at the time of his
writing Elisha is dead, and he yet represents the act of
dying as in process of development rather than as complete,
his readers at once understand that the standpoint from
which this representation begins is some point of time
before Elisha's death.

III. The fundamental meaning of the Imperfect being
development, by a slight extension of its original scope
it is used to denote actions which progress from stage to
stage, but do not once for all attain to completion, hence
repeated or customary acts, whether

(a) in the past : e.g.
And a iriist used to go uj) from the earth (Gen. ii. 6)

T V |- •

Now Moses used to take the tent (Ex. xxxiii. 7)

14 'J'HK ni:iii:i:\v tknsks.

(b) oi' ill the pr('S(!iil: e.g.

In </7'(tssf/ pastures lie jiKikes me lie (Ps. xxiii. 2)

im^^p' Say ^ynn ns' ^:^h^

Those who plough unprofitableness and sow trouble reap it
(i.e. what they have sown) (Job iv. 8)

(c) or in the future : e.g.

-. J- • . . ^ ^ ^ ^ . T -

Sabbath by sabbath shall all flesh come to worshijy

(Isaiah Ixvi. 23)

The work of their hands my chosen ones shall (liabitually)
enjoy to the full (Isaiah Ixv. 22)

IV. Closely connected with those uses of the Imperfect
given under the preceding sections is the potential or
p)ermissive sense which it appears sometimes to convey.
It would, perhaps, be incorrect to say that the Imperfect
in itself possesses a potential or permissive sense ; the fact
rather is that certain actions which we in English distinctly
state to be practicable or permissible, and the reverse,
the Hebrew represents merely as likely to take place or
customary, and the reverse. Thus in a sentence referring
to past time we read,

: nhto lis^ kSi nsD^-xS ^:^^^* npni

\

THE IMPERFECT. 15

And King Solomon and all the congregafAon of Israel were

sacrificing sheep and oxen which could not he counted nor
numbered for multitude (1 Kings viii. 5)

[In this instance, whereas the English idiom states
the impossibility of counting the sacrifices, the Hebrew
merely affirms that such a counting was not to take place.]

Similarly we find,

I .. • • - . . - ^ - ... . _ ^ _

The heavens^ yea the heavens of heavens, cannot contain TJtee

(1 Kings viii. 27)

[In this sentence the words "TTT^S /^^ N/ do not state
the impossibility of the heavens containing God (which
would be expressed by 73/^/ T?^ N /), but merely the
fact that they do not habitually, and there is no likeli-
hood that they will, contain Him.]

So likewise

I .. ... T|"

It ought not so to be done (Gen. xxix. 26)

[In this sentence the Hebrew merely states that a
certain thing is contrary to custom, and therefore, since
among the Hebrews law and custom are almost identical,
contrary to law or right.]

V. The Imperfect, since it expresses what is custom-
ary, may be used to express some attribute or customary
action qualifying

16

TJIE IIEJJIIKW TKXSES.

(d) .'I noun : clt.

ir/io art thoa that fhoit sJtoiddest have hfieit afraid of a
mortal man tJiat dies, or of a human heiiuj that is made
(likp.) f/rass ? (Tsaiah li. 12)

n'h'D myn nS>22

T V •• •■ : ~ T - -

As a bride tvho adorns herself with her {bridal) attire

(Isaiali Ixi. 10)
{h) a verb, whether it be

(a) a Perfect : e.g.

pi^xnx E^^nnx D^iyo ^n^^'nn

/ have loiKj been silent, holding my peace, refraining
myself (Isaiah xlii. 14)

':hr\ -m^ 'm psj'dj j^n

"A" *■ T • : : - T : -

Tliou hast forsaken me ^joing backward (Jerem. xv. 6)

(y8) an Imperfect with Waw consecutive : e.g.

h'^^' S^Ntr ^^rht' ntrx Sba nn Nv-n

And David went forth whithersoei^er Saul used to send
him, doing iwiidently (1 Sam. xviii. 5)

t3'^Nn r\^'^'^ D^ntrSs njnsD n^nc'sn N:f»i

AT T : • : • : ••": i~ • • : - - • •■-

V ; • T V T

And the raiders went out from the camj) of the Philistines
in three companies, the one company turning, etc.

(1 Sam. xiii. 17)^

^ In the last two illustrations it is possible that in each case the
pointing should be ^^V1 ; but this would not affect the explanation of
the Imperfect, which in any case merely qualifies and describes the
action of the main verb.

THE IMPERFECT. 17

(7) an Imperfect referring to future time : e.g.

'ibiyr) ^tosETb^ ^^^ ^jsS ^rr^n-DN

■ . - ^ . . I- ., - T : I • ..

I/' thou wilt walk before me keeping my statutes

and m,y oi^dinances (1 Kings ix. 4)

nb^TK xi^-i nynx nn^srx

/ will again shepherd thy flock, keeping guard

(Gen. XXX. 31)

[In this sentence *lb2J^X is used to qualify the previous

nyiK : n^^EJ^X and nyiN, beino^ in close connexion, are
construed davvhero^^.^^

(8) or a Participle : e.g.

A : • T •• Iv - .. . . -
Ho I you who are early in the morning^ following ^
after strong drink (Isaiah v. 11)

• : V -T : ~ I" T T T i- I- ••

Z^e raises up from the ground the poor, lifting up the

needy from the ash heap (1 Sam. ii. 8)

VI. Since the action contemplated as future fre-
quently depends upon the will of the speaker, the
Imperfect is naturally often used in commands : e.g.

r\'m'\ nbsrn ^'r\W kxid

I'hat tvhich thy lips utter thou shalt keep and do

(Deut. xxiii. 24)

1 The third person is constantly used in Hebrew as in Syriac to
qualify a noun in the vocative.

K. 2

18 THE HEBREW TENSES.

nbnn i6

Thou shah not covet (Ex. xx. 17)

V ; • It- -

It shall he iteitJier mine nor thine (1 Kings iii. 26)

VII. The Imperfect is used to express actions which
in Latin would be expressed by the Subjunctive mood\
when the idea is the development of the action, both
(a) in the future : e.g.

Sing many songs that thou may est he rememhered

(Isaiah xxiii. 16)

1 In such sentences as "TQ^ ''? ''?i^^ ^^ ^^^ho am /, that I should go ?
(Ex. iii. 11), -lapTn '»3 k^^'lDtjt HD What is mail that thou art mindful of
him .2 (Ps. viii. 5) the Imperfect does not, strictly speaking, correspond to
a Subjunctive for ''3 is not a final particle. The exact structure of the
sentence is easily seen, if for the interrogative pronoun a definite
predicate be substituted; thus, I am honoured, for I shall go; Man is
great, for thou art mindful of him. That this is the true explanation is
shewn by such sentences as 1 Kings xviii. 9, 2 Kings v. 7, where ^3 is
followed by a Participle, and 2 Sam. vii. 18, where it is followed by a
Perfect. Similarly in the sentence l-^t^) bi^ i^*^5< N? God is not a man
that He should lie (Num. xxiii. 19), the Imperfect does not represent a
Subjunctive. The exact meaning of the sentence is, It is uot the case
that God is a man and so ivont to lie. A similar use of the Imperfect,
but without the conjunction, occurs in "IDHN N*? '•^"1 Hin'' Jehovah is my
shepherdy therefore shall I lack nothing (Ps. xxiii. 1). So also ''Nyj^p N7
iriDJj^'l ^'''n?n v?^ (Ps. Iv. 13) means It is not the case that my enemy has
done great things against me and I shall therefore hide myself from him.
This construction however is rare, and in the last example the sense
would be expressed in prose by HFir '^2 followed by the Perfect; cf.
1 Sam. xiii. 13. The chief objection to the explanation here given is
that it involves a simple Imperfect with weak Waw. But this construc-
tion though not common certainly occurs in the Hebrew Bible; see
below, Exceptions to the rule of Waw Consecutive.

THE IMPERFECT. 19

T - : • I V T - :
And now lest he put forth his hand, etc, (Gen. iii. 22)

and

(b) in the past : e.g.

)ihv D^J3 pn« nn ii^T. }ypS

In order that a later generation^ children (yet) to
he horn, might know (Ps Ixxviii. 6)

Lest thou shouldest say^ Behold I knew them

(Isaiah xlviii. 7)

[In this latter case (6) the Infinitive is more usual.]

N.B. The Imperfect in the sense of a Subjunctive
sometimes follows another tense, whether Perfect or
Imperfect, without any subordinating particle : e.g. T\^T^'^
nnX^l nnin S^^r ipnV ly^S f Sn Jehovah was pleased
for His righteousness sake to make a tor ah great and
^Zonm^5 (Isaiah xlii. 21): ^S ^X'lp^ ''fi'^pin nS They shall
not call thee again [i.e. thou shalt not enjoy again —
literally, thou shalt not add — the state which may be
described by the words "^ Wlp*^] (Isaiah xlvii. 1).

VIII. The Imperfect is naturally used in hypo-
thetical sentences, when the idea to be expressed is that
of an incomplete action :

(a) with a hypothetical particle : e.g.

I" •• • • • : I-

If thou wilt not go with me, / will not go (Judges iv. 8)

20 TIIK ITEIiHEW TEXSFS.

[This use is identical with that by which the Imperfect
expresses a simple Future.]

(b) without a hypothetical particle : e.g.

Loj if you see somebody raving^ vihy should you
bring him to 7ne? (1 Sam. xxi. 15)

I ': • T-- |T T - : T v:)/ t •.-

If only one man sin, wilt thou be angry with the
whole co7igreyation ? (Num. xvi. 22)

• T • T - I •• •• • • :

And lo, if ive go, what shall we take to the man?

(1 Sam. ix. 7)

N.B. This use of the Imperfect is analogous to that
of the Perfect described in § x. In this case the first
clause is not subordinate but coordinated

^ Here belong such sentences as Ps. cxlvi. 4 a.

THE COHORTATIVE, JUSSIVE, AND
IMPERATIVE.

In addition to the ordinary form of the Imperfect two
modifications of it are commonly found in Hebrew, known
severally as the Cohortative and the Jussive. As the
names imply, both these modifications are used to denote
actions as willed or intended. The Cohortative is con-
fined almost exclusively to the first person, singular and
plural, while the Jussive is scarcely ever found except in
the second and third persons, singular and plural. These
two forms of the Imperfect are therefore supplementary
to one another.

The Cohortative is easily recognised by the ending

Ht^ (^-g- H/tDpi^, n7t3p3, which become in pause

nSbpi^, n?\2i)X)> except in H"? verbs, in which forms

that are obviously used in the sense of the Cohortative
have nevertheless the pointing of the ordinary Imperfecta

1 This Ht appears to be identical in origin with the an of the Arabic
Energetic. It is possible that in several of the cases in which we find
the so-called 'epenthetic nun' before suffixes we have actually the
Cohortative in its old form. See, for example, 2 Kings vi. 28, 29, where
•IsSdXJI is equivalent to ^n^5 1173X31, whereas on the other hand

V ; I : -^ T : I : 7

•"in!?5N31 (v. 29) is equivalent to "iDS "P^NSI. Ordinarily, however, the
Cohortative with suffixes is identical in form with the Imperfect.

2 The only exceptions are nrn^fOI (Isaiah xli. 23) and nrf {<"[ (Ps.
cxix. 117). It is, however, doubtful whether with so few examples we
are justified in assuming that H v verbs could take the ending T]~ in the
Cohortative. In both words quoted above the ending Ht niay have been

22 THE HEimEW TENSES.

The Jussive is in the majority of instances identical in
form with the Imperfect ^ and differs from it only in two
cases, (a) when the vowel before the last radical of the
Imperfect is essentially long (as in the Hiph'il of the
strong verbs, and in the Kal, Niph'al, and Hiph'il of V'^
verbs), in which case the Jussive appears with the cor-
responding tone-long or heightened vowel, (b) when the
Imperfect ends in Ht: (i.e. in forms derived from the so-
called n"7 verbs), in which case the corresponding Jussive
form drops the final H-.

Both the Cohortative and Jussive denote actions as
willed by the speaker.

I. Thus the Cohortative expresses a desire,

(a) when the gratification of the desire is in the
power of the speaker or speakers : e.g.

T TI-..T

/ will turn aside (Ex. iii. 3)

adopted by the punctuators simply for the purpose of securing assonance
with the preceding Cohortatives. That the Masoretes did not scruple
arbitrarily to alter the pronunciation for the sake of assonance is clear
from such passages as 1 Kings xvii. 14, where Tw^^ is so pointed for the
sake of assonance with "iDnp : cf. "|XinD (2 Sam. iii. 25) altered in K'ri
into ^NZliD for assonance with the preceding ^^?ViD. At the same time

it is not impossible that all Cohortatives from H"? verbs should be
pointed with Karnes, an obsolete form having been ignored by the later
tradition.

1 This is always the case when the Jussive has suffixes attached to it.
There are two exceptions according to the Masoretic pointing, viz. ^*]5^_\
(Deut. xxxii. 7) and DprC'^") (Isaiah xxxv. 4). It is difficult however in
the face of the frequent glaring inconsistencies in the Masoretic pointing
to attach much importance to these exceptions. Probably the words
should be pointed "^l^.^l and DDl!^^!.

THE COHOKTATIVE, JUSSIVE, AND IMPERATIVE. 23

The lad and I will go (Gen. xxii. 5)

(6) when it depends upon the permission or will
of another : e.g.

T ; T : |T • I V • : f " ' T T

If I have found favour in thy sight, let me slip away

(1 Sam. XX. 29)

n-rn tr^xn K^sia mnxj wSn nin^ n^N

V - • T V V : T ; I T - T T

0 Jehovah I let us not perish for the life of this man

(Jonah i. 14)

(c) when the speaker desires that others should
act with himself: e.g.

Let us go down (Gen. xi. 7)

T-:r: :

Come, let us shout for joy to Jehovah (Ps. xcv. 1)

II. Similarly the Jussive expresses a desire when the
gratification of it is

(a) in the speaker s own power, i.e. a command : e.g.
Jjet there he light (Gen. i. 3)

Let no one leave of it till the morning (Ex. xvi. 19)

24 THE HEBREW TENSES.

(b) dependent upon the will of others: e.g.
Let PharaoJt select a man (Gen. xli. 33)

Long live King Solomon (1 Kings i. 39)

III. It will thus be seen that the Jussive resembles
the Imperative in m.eaning, and practically supplies it with
the third person which is lacking. This being the case, it
is not surprising that the second person of the Jussive is
very rare except with the negative 7^{^ that is, as a rule,

it only takes the place of the Imperative when the latter
on account of the negative cannot be used.

There are therefore in Hebrew three verbal forms
expressing desire (each possessing various modifications
of intensity), viz. (1) the Cohortative, belonging chiefly
to the first person^; (2) the Imperative, belonging to the
second person ; (3) the Jussive, belonging chiefly to the
second and third persons^. These three verbal forms are
so exactly similar in meaning, that in treating of their
idiomatic use it will be convenient to take them together.

IV. We have already noticed the decided preference
shewn by the Hebrew for coordination rather than sub-
ordination. In many cases where the English idiom

1 According to the Masoretic pointing /HID (1 Sam. x. 8) is a Jussive
used in a positive command, but probably the form should be pointed as
an Imperfect. See below.

2 But also to the second person, e.g. HpyD (Job xi. 17), and to the
third, e.g. H'^^m, nNUni. (Isaiah v. 19).

3 But also to the tirst, e.g. "ITQ^y (Deut. x. 2), N")j)1 (Isaiah xli. 23
K'thibh).

THE COHORTATIVE, JUSSIVE, AND IMPERATIVE. 25

would subordinate a clause, the Hebrew simply coupled
together by ivaw two or more coordinate clauses, and
looked to the result of the whole. Thus, for example,
the two coordinate clauses "2"^^ ^'^^l ^^^"^ ^^ (Isaiah
Ixv. 22) mean, ' It will not be the case that, when they
shall build, another shall inhabit ' ; in other words the iiy
at the head of the sentence negatives the result expressed
by the two coordinate clauses 2^*^ ^^^i^ ^J^\

When therefore a certain desired result is expressed
in Hebrew by two coordinate tenses (Cohortative, Im-
perative, or Jussive), coupled together by simple waw,
the sense will be that which is obtained in English by
subordinating a clause.

The following are illustrations of this idiom :

(a) two Cohortatives : e.g.

) V V - V T : - -:|- T T T

Let me run, that I may take tidings to the king

(2 Sam. xviii. 19)

[In this sentence both verbs are coordinate, the end
chiefly desired being expressed by the latter verb\ It
happens that in this particular case English colloquial

1 It may indeed be stated as a general rule that, when two parallel
clauses occur, the emphasis is on the second ; so that in an English
rendering of two such indicative clauses the first may frequently be
subordinated by some such word as 'ivhereas^ or '•although^: e.g.
nV^O n^b^^ ^innnNI "I1;VD ^n^::^wX"l ry^n^ (job vlii. 7) And U slmll come
to pass that, though thy beginning were small, thy latter end shall become
very great ; cf. S. Matt. xi. 25, Kom. vi. 17, 1 S. Pet. iv. 6.

26 THE HEBREW TENSES.

idiom allows of a literal translation, ' Let nie run and
take ' etc. Perhaps the rendering which would best
bring out the exact meaning of the Hebrew sentence
would be ^ Let me by running take ' etc.]

{b) an Imperative followed by a Cohortative : e.g.

• - T - 1 : :\T : v : ••• ; - x :

Come to rtie^ that I may give thy flesh to the birds

of the air (1 Sam. xvii. 44)

(c) a Jussive followed by a Cohortative : e.g.

nynii hirt' ^'yip my nxnni mpni

T |T- : .. X : • ): - -; x t ; -): • ;

And let the puiyose of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh
and come^ that tve may know (Isaiah v. 19)

{d) a Cohortative followed by an Imperative : e.g.

Come, let me advise thee, that thou mayest save thy life

(1 Kings i. 12)

{e) a Cohortative followed by a Jussive : e.g.

m^» ^^nin r\)T\' nn-Sx nSyji idS

Come and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah,
that He may teach us of His ways (Isaiah ii. 3)

(/) two Imperatives : e.g.

vm ^£ry nxi

: I' -:

Do this, that ye may live (Gen. xlii. 18)

THE COHORTATIVE, JUSSIVE, AND IMPERATIVE. 2T

{g) an Imperative followed by a Jussive : e.g.

Ilear^ that your soul may live (Isaiah Iv. 3)
Qi) two Jussives : e.g.

Let them go^ that they imay seek thy 7naste7^ (2 Kings ii. 16)

V. A somewhat similar use of the Cohortative and
the Jussive is sometimes found,

(a) after a question implying a wish : e.g.

iniN^ npnji nij; n)r\h N^n^ lis j^xn

/5 ^Aere not here another prophet of Jehovah^s (implying ' I
wish there were here another prophet '), that we 7)iay
inquire oj him ? {\ Kings xxii. 7)

Who will entice Ahah (= I want someone to entice Ahab)
that he may go upl (1 Kings xxii. 20)

(6) after a statement of which the logical sequence
is the expression of a wish : e.g.

'Xi^ ^h ^inn tr^N D^^bm nixa yinx Syan ^N^nJi

But the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men ;
and so let them give, etc. (1 Kings xviii. 22, 23)

28 THE irEBRKW TENSES.

[In this sentence the statement of the numerical
superiority of the prophets of Baal suggests the wish
that they may prove by a sign their spiritual superiority.]

T : I : •■••.:

Perhaps he will be enticed, so that we may 'prevail

over him (Jerem. xx. 10)

]^p;i N^n pi h^^

Perhaps he is asleep so that he must he aicoke

(1 Kings xviii. 27)

(c) after a direct negative, when the logical se-
quence of the corresponding positive statement would be
the expression of a wish : e.g.

XT ■ T : ■■ T : V : I •• ' •• :

And there are no counsellors so that, when I ask thern,
they may answer (Isaiah xli. 28)

[The exact force of this sentence may be seen by

changing the negative into a positive statement, viz.

' There are counsellors, and so I will ask them.' See

above, § iv., and also on the Imperfect § vii., footnote.]

™nNi nni rbnn nS

Thou wilt not have me give sacrifice^ (Ps. li. 18)

^ Occasionally in such sentences the conjunction is omitted : e.g.

•lyp.^-Sr nj r\& n^pIO -irrn C^;. ^h There is no arbiter hetiveen us, to
lay his hand upon us both (Job ix. 33) ; but perhaps in this case we should
point N/ after the analogy of Num. xxii, 29, Job xvi. 4. Cf. the omis-
sion of the conjunction before an Imperfect denotiufj the result of a
fitatement, e.g. lOm i6 "'^'"1 HIH"' (Ps. xxiii. 1).

THE COHORTATIVE, JUSSIVE, AND IMPERATIVE. 29

N.B. When in sentences similar to those that are
treated of in § iv. it is necessary to negative the second
verb, the Hebrew does not use the Cohortative or Jussive
with 7X^ but the simple Imperfect with iiy\ In other
words it states the negative consequence of the desire
expressed in the first clause, rather that the negative
purpose: e.g. D^-IH n:DlVy'' nSi T1 Go down, that the

■■ ,T- - X : T-;|- :

7xdn may not stop tliee (literally and the rain will not stop
thee) (1 Kings xviii. 44): !)fi^in nSi ^'^yri'Sti Go

:|T • : -:i-

iiot up that ye may not he smitten (literally and ye

will not he smitten) (Num. xiv. 42). When 7X1 is found

followed by a Jussive, it negatives a distinct desire co-
ordinate with the former one or synonymous with it : e.g.

D^^p-^« ^yi!^"':^i<l "1'^ C;dS r\') Plough up for yoiir^

selves ploaghland, and scatter not your seed among thorns

(Jeremiah iv. 3) : b^yn'^Ki n^H-^K ^1' rh^r\'hii

- - - : V I :iT - : •

nDWJ3 )/ Stretch not out thine hand against the lad, and

do not unto him anvthinq (Gen. xxii. 12): lXn^n"7i<

[ ^ ^ : I- -

Dn'^JfiD lX^yri"7K*l Be not afraid, and he not terrified

hecause of them (Deut. xxxi. 6).

^ There are some instances in which according to the Masoretic
pointing the Jussive stands after N?, but as they are very few in number,
and as two of them, viz. 1 Sam. xiv. 36, 2 Sam. xvii. 12, involve the
additional peculiarity of the first person plural Jussive, it is probable
that in every case the pointing of the Imperfect should be adopted.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE COHORTATIVE
AND THE JUSSIVE.

I. In some of the examples given under § IV. the
•sense would not be very different if a hypothetical form
were adopted: e.g. Vm ^K^y HNT Do this, that ye may

live does not greatly differ in meaning from the sentence
expressed hypothetically, If ye do this, ye shall live ; and
sentences of this type frequently occur in Hebrew where
a hypothetical form may be adopted in an English trans-
lation. At the same time such a sentence does not, as
^ rule, denote a mere hypothesis, but there is the actual
expy^ession of a wish, whether real, as in the sentence
VPI*I ^Ery nXT, or ironical, as in nSHI H^fi? ^'iV Take ye

:r -; AT % : t •• %

counsel, that it may come to nought! (Isaiah viii. 10).

There are however some passages in which two
Jussives or Cohortatives appear to express a mere hy-
pothesis. Of these the stock illustration is *T|^n r\^T\

[I ) V V T

Tww \n^1 (Ps. civ. 20), which seems to mean When thou
makest darkness, night conies on. Other examples are,

If Jehovah will not help thee, whence am I to he!]) thee ?

(2 Kings vi. 27)

/ will thank Thee, 0 Jehovah, that, though Thoii inayest have
been angry with nie, when Thine anger turneth away, then
Thou coinfortest me (Isaiah xii. 1)

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON COHORTATIVE AND JUSSIVE. 31

When He smites^ He hinds us up (Hosea vi. 1)

There are several other passages which might be
quoted under this head, but either they are such as may-
be explained as having an ironical sense, or they may be
considered as Imperfects, according to the use of the
Imperfect described in § viii. (6). It is therefore ne-
cessary to inquire whether the passages just quoted are
rightly understood as hypothetical. As to Isaiah xii. 1 it
must be confessed that the text as it stands is awkward.
A simple correction would be to insert a waw before i^**,
pointing both it and the waw of the following verb as
Waw Consecutive, in which case the sentence would
mean / will thank Thee, 0 Jehovah, that though Thou hast
been angry with me (literally ' that Thou hast been angry
with me, and/ see remarks on Coordination, § iv. pre-
ceding,) Tliine anger is turned away, and Thou hast
comforted me. The text of Hosea is far from certain,
and it is possible that in vi. 1 we should read '^^\

^JEJ^'Sn^l. The interpretation of 2 Kings vi. 27 depends

upon the punctuation of the passage, and by disregarding
the Masoretic tradition we may translate. Nay ! let
Jehovah save thee; whence am I to save theeP There
remains Ps. civ. 20, and here we are at once struck by
the fact that, according to the vowel points, T\'pT\ is the

second person of the Jussive, which, with the exception of
some doubtful instances, is only used after 7X, the Im-
perative taking its place. Moreover, as Professor Driver

1 At the same time it must be admitted that the use of "pS without a
verb is not common, though it occurs in Gen. xxxiii. 10, 2 Sam. xiii. 2-5,
2 Kiugs iii. 13, Ruth i. 13. In the present instance moreover there is no
verb which is naturally supplied by the context. We should expect to
find •»S&< ''iPl^V^"^^ c^y ^^ot unto me. Perhaps the real solution of the
difficulty is to read '?ll^"'t^T n\^X unto her, Let Jehovah save thee, etc.

32 TilK i[KP>lU:\V TENSES.

has pointed out, tho tenses employed in other verses of
the same psalm, e.g. v, 17, are Iinjjerfects, as is clear from
their Indicative force. It seems therefore not improbable
that we should point DK^D^ and cori*ect M^'l into \n^1

or n^m. ' '' * ' '•■

In any case considering the small number of instances
in which, according to the Masoretic text, it is necessary
to understand two Jussives as expressing a mere hypo-
thesis, and having regard to the uncertainty as to the
text in some of these instances, it will be safest to
consider this usage of the Jussive as not proven.

II. There are a few instances in which the Jussive
with simple luaiu appears to be used in order to express a
purpose after a Perfect referring to past time. It may be
that the original force of the Jussive was forgotten and
that it had crystallized into a final sense, or that, as the
Imperfect might be used to express an action future from
some standpoint in the past, so the Jussive could be used
to express a wish from a standpoint in the past.

The number of passages however in which this is
apparently the case is very small, and in some of them we
may point the verb with Waw Consecutive. Thus, to
consider some of the passages quoted by Professor Driver
in this connexion, in 1 Kings xiii. 33 it is possible to point,
with the Septuagint, \n^1_. So also in 2 Kings xix. 25

"^nril (with Waw Consecutive) is more natural after the

Perfect H'^nX'^D/T / have brought it about. Similarly in

Isaiah xxv. 9 we may point ^Jy^L^^V'*1 and He has saved us.

In Ps. xlix. 10 the Jussive ^H^l does not seem to carry

on the sense expressed by any Perfect, and the text of this
psalm is not above suspicion. In Ps. Ixxxi. 16 the psalmist
is expressing a hope for the future \ so that there is

1 Perhaps in v. 14 of this psalm we ought to point TDi^* i.e. as an
Imperative, -v followed by an Imperative occurs in Gen. xxiii. 13, and

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON COHORTATIVE AND JUSSIVE. 33

nothing anomalous in the use of the Jussive. In 2 Chron.
xxiv. 11 the Imperfect sense is more natural than the
Jussive, though such a construction would not have been
employed in the Hebrew of the golden age. The remaining
passages quoted by Professor Driver are Lam. i. 19 and

2 Chron. xxiii. 19. In the latter passage the use of N /
shews that we have an Imperfect (see note to the sections
treating of the final sense of the Cohortative and Jussive),
and Lam. i. 19 is hardly sufficient in itself to establish
a meaning of the Jussive which seems opposed to its
fundamental sense. Perhaps, if the text be correct we
may understand ^^I'^K^'^I as an Imperfect according to the

usage of the Imperfect described in § ii.^ In Isaiah
xli. 26 ^y^J1 and npK^I may be translated that we may

recognize and that we may say : i.e. the sentence is virtually
a conditional one, ' if there is any one who has declared
these events beforehand, we for our part are ready to say '
etc.

III. There are some instances in which Cohortatives
and Jussives are used apparently with the sense of simple

Imperfects, e.g. nS'^PliX (Jeremiah iv. 19 K'ri), Hy^Ei^X

it is to be noticed that vv. 5, 14 end with the unusual expression 1*? "IDX^
while in vv. 6, 15 the first verb is in each case an Imperative. Probably
we should point -1? in each case, attaching the word to the following
verse, and reading N^ for N? in v. 11.

^ Cf. Dvyi^l 1 Sam. xii. 3. In this passage however the text is very
uncertain (see LXX), and the pointing Dvi^XJ would certainly be
possible. The Masoretes however seem to have considered that an
Imperfect or Jussive with weak wdio might represent a purpose after a
Perfect. The Targum paraphrase of Jeremiah v. 28 seems to imply a

translation 'They have not judged in order that they may prosper.'

It is noteworthy that in 2 Chron. xxiii. 19, though NH^ is Imperfect, the
Chronicler has used after a past tense the same construction as would be
used after a present or future.

K. 3

34 THE HEliREW TENSES.

(ib. 21), nilSX (Ps. Ixxxviii. Ifi), Syni (Joel n. 20), tHK

(Job xxiii. 9), £0X (ib. 11), etc. Assuming that the text

is correct in such places, the only possible explanation
appears to be that the Cohortative and Jussive forms
have lost their meaning, and are merely used poetically.
In the case of -the latest portions of the Old Testament
there would not be a great difficulty in adopting this
explanation, for some of the latest psalms are remarkable
for their use of archaic endings which have entirely lost
their significance, but it is difficult to suppose that this
could have been the case in the time of the prophet
Jeremiah. Upon the whole, considering the paucity of
instances in which it is necessary to suppose that these
forms have lost their meaning, and the unsatisfactory
state of the text of the Old Testament, it is at least not
improbable that the text is in error, especially as the
apparent deviations from the rule occur sporadically and
cannot be shewn to belong to the idiosyncrasy of any
particular author. A study of the spelling of the Masoretic
text leads one to the conviction that in a great number
of cases final vowels were still in use which were not
commonly represented by vowel letters. Thus when the
suffix of the 3rd person sing. masc. is represented by a H,
it is natural to suppose that it was intended originally
that it should be pronounced with a final voweP; cf forms
like ^ni'^p, ^ny^. This supposition is greatly confirmed

by an examination of the pointing of nJll behold. Leaving
out of account doubtful cases there are about twenty
passages in which n-3n is immediately followed by a

predicate other than a finite verb. On the other hand
there are some ten passages in which H^H is followed by a
pronoun of the third person singular or plural. iilH occurs

^ That the Masoretes were uncertain whether the spelling with n in
such cases was a justifiable variation of the spelling with 1 is seen from
the fact that in some places, e.g. Gen. xlix. 11, a K'r'i is added.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON COHORTATIVE AND JUSSIVE. 35

three times, )^]iT^ once (in K'thibh), DDH thirty-seven

times. ^!ir\ never occurs. The form fPl is never used

except where the nominative is actually expressed, and
rtiin is never found followed by a plural participle or

adjective without a nominative. In the light of these
facts we can hardly doubt that in many cases HJ/l was
meant to be pronounced ^Hiin or, if feminine, Hi)!!. It is
at least remarkable that while the Masorebic text gives us
nn^np m (2 Sam. i. IS) we never find D^^^H^ H^H
but always D'*i^n3 Din. Similarly, as Professor Driver
has shewn in his Commentary on Deuteronomy, pp. 78, 79,
it is probable that 7X these was originally intended to be
pronounced with a final vowel viz. HyU. On the other

hand the so-called waw and yodh compaginis^ if, as seems
most probable, they are in reality merely case-endings
that have lost their meaning, may possibly represent final
vowels which were commonly pronounced though, being
sliort, they were not commonly ivritten. If this supposition
be correct the fact that they occur most frequently in the
latest portions of the Old Testament is readily explained
by the late origin of the scriptio plena.

Moreover it must be remembered that the grammar
of the Old Testament is practically the same throughout,
a fact which is very significant when we remember that
the literature of the Old Testament extends over a period
of scarcely less than a thousand years. In such a space
of time the grammar would inevitably become moditied,
especially when from the almost vowelless character of the
writing, modification would be in many cases imperceptibly
introduced. Sometimes indeed we have words which
point to grammatical forms different from those in use
left through a misconception of their meaning; e.g. ^*^I3ptJ^

Judges V. 7, '^m;!^ and ""J^pJ^^ Jeremiah ii. 20 (cf iii. 4,

3—2

36 TTTE ITKP.REW TEXSES.

'"3), 'TlJ^nnm Micah iv. 13, when the 2nd person singular

feminine Perfect is intended, and the yudh has probably
been allowed to remain, because it was mistaken in each
case for the ending of the 1st person singulai*. So also in
13^^} 1 Sam. xxi. 14 and 13^1 2 Sam. xiv. G we have

probably an archaic form of the Pi'el Imperfect in u which
has elsewhere been changed into H-, but has been allowed
to remain here, because it was supposed to be the suffix
of the 3rd person masculine singular. This same form of
the Pi'el occurs on the Moabite Stone, viz. Ijy'l line 5, and
IjyX line G.

Furthermore it must be remembered that the received
Masoretic text seems to have been made up from a
considerable number of manuscripts of various dates, and
therefore of different modes of spelling, and that the
vowels were not added till Hebrew had ceased to be a
spoken language, and its place had been taken by Aramaic
even in the Schools. In the latter language also there
were considerable variations in spelling : e.g. in the Biblical
Aramaic it is scarcely possible to decide as to the relative
values of hireh and sere. Under these circumstances the
wonder is, not that there should be so many anomalies in
the pointing of the Hebrew Bible, but that there should
be so few.

These considerations may help us on the one hand to
understand why in several instances we find forms pointed
as Jussives when the grammar requires Imperfects, e.g.

*1X2i^J I Sam. xiv. 36, which as the N7 before it shews

must be an Imperfect and should be pointed ^NtTJ

(compare the precisely similar sentence 1 Kings xviii. 5

where the Imperfect is actually found H^^^J ^^i^l), tHX

Job xxiii. 9, which should be pointed TPIN (cf HN^X at

vv:iv V :v

the end of the same verse) ; and on the other hand we
need not be surprised if a Cohortative is occasionally
accidentally written for an Imperfect, especially when we

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON COHORTATIVE AND JUSSIVE. 87

find that the text of the passage in which it occurs
exhibits signs of corruption.

Although we may freely acknowledge the enormous
debt which we owe to the Masoretes, we may fairly
hesitate to accept them as our guides in all matters of
grammar. Seeing that in the overwhelming majority of
cases, grammatical forms have a definite and easily re-
cognized meaning, in the few instances where we find
apparently a departure from the usual significance, it is
at least as natural to suppose a corruption in the text, as
it is to assume that a grammatical form, which ninety-
nine times out of a hundred has a definite meaning,
should the hundredth time lose this meaning altogether.

SEQUENCE OF TENSES.

The Imperfect with Waw Consecutive.

I. We have seen that the Hebrew tenses convey no
idea of time, but express merely the state of an action,
and also that there is a marked preference for coordinate
rather than subordinate clauses. It might therefore hap-
pen that we should occasionally be in doubt as to the
time to be assigned to each of a number of actions — that
is to say whether such actions should be understood as
taking place simultaneously or successively — were it not
that by an idiom peculiar to itself the Hebrew makes this
perfectly clear. Thus in describing a series of actions in
the past the Hebrew represents each successive action
after the first as arising out of, or at least following upon,
the one preceding. Thus in such a sentence as ' Tlie
Aramceaiis went out on forays and took captive etc' it is
clear that the second action is developed after, even if it
is not the direct consequence of, the former action. Now
the tense which expresses development is the Imperfect.
It is therefore quite natural that the second action should
be expressed by the Imperfect. In the case of the first
action, however, it is unnecessary to represent it as de-
veloped out of some other action, for no such action is
mentioned ; and as a past action is usually thought of as

SEQUENCE OF TENSES. 39

complete (unless it be necessary to dwell upon its several
stages), it is naturally represented by a Perfect. We
have therefore a Perfect ^N5f^ (expressing the completion

of the act of going out) and an Imperfect )^^^ (ex-
pressing the development of the act of taking captive)
coupled together by 'and' V But though the Imperfect
^3K^*^ in any case represents the act of taking captive as
in course of development, we require to know definitely
that it is developed out of, or at least in connexion with,
the act of going out ; and this is accomplished by means
of a more emphatic form of the conjunction 'and.' This
conjunction which originally had the form lua^ is found in
such cases in its original form somewhat intensified by
the doubling of the preformative letter of the Imperfect,
e.g. ^jI^-^'I. This emphatic form of the conjunction serves

to denote the close connexion between the word with
which it is combined and the previous clause ; and since
the Imperfect expresses development, the natural inference
is that the action denoted by the Imperfect is developed

1 That the original form of the conjunction was iva is proved not only
by the comparison of Arabic and Syriac, but also from the Hebrew itself.
Thus when two or more words are in close connexion, more especially
when they fall into pairs, if the second word be accented on the first
syllable, the conjunction is pointed 1 . See for example the eight words
falling into four pairs in Gen. viii. 22, viz. DPIJ 'ip)^ "'^VP''. Vl.t

rh'h) Di^i, ^ir\) rpi.

The doubling of the preformative letter of the Imperfect arises
probably merely through the desire to keep the syllable iva clear and
distinct. It may be compared with the doubhng of the 12 in n^b which
before a guttural, especially when a hatef vowel follows, appears in its
original form HDa

40 TIIK IIEHREW TENSES.

out of, or after, the action denoted by the Perfect. This
emphatic conjunction luaw is called Waw Consecutive.

The old name * Waw Conversive,' which is a translation
of the Hebrew *?[13n 11, arose from the idea that the two
tenses were respectively Past and Futiire, and that the
' Waw Conversive' converted the one into the other; but
it must be clearly understood that in this idiom the
original meaning of tiie tense is not in any way changed
by the waw, which simply serves to connect it as closely
as possible with the previous clause.

This emphatic syllable prefixed to the Imperfect has a
tendency to modify the word by drawing back the tone.
This can however take place only when the penultimate
syllable^ is open, and the word is out of pause. Thus we
find ^31-^1, Xnp'^1, nnnn^ ^^% but from ^S^ we get

^^•^1, from D^|T Dj'^'n, from ^ON^ nfij^^l, from 1^ ^V^l,

from ^nn^ ^^y\, from D'^ET' D2J^*1. The tendency of
this drawing back of the accent was to make the Im-
perfect in such cases resemble the Jussive, and accordingly
in nearly all cases where the Jussive can be distinguished
in form from the ordinary Imperfect we find the Imperfect
with Waw Consecutive assimilated to the form of the
Jussive. It is probable indeed that the verbal form in
such cases was actually regarded as the Jussive, and
hence by a mistaken analogy the Cohortative was fre-
quently used with Waw Consecutive in the first person.

1 The tone can never be drawn farther back than the last syllable but
one. Words like nn^^L' ^^^ i^ot real exceptions, for the sh'icd should by
analogy be silent.

2 The ddghesh is always omitted with yodh when it is followed by
a sKwd,

SEQUENCE OF TENSES. 41

We see therefore that in describing a series of actions
in the past the Hebrew expresses the first action by the
Perfect, since it is thought of as complete, and each sub-
sequent action by the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive ;
the emphatic form of the conjunction and the tense
denoting development together signifying that such
action is developed out of the one preceding: e.g.

niyj ha^t' rnx?2 ):im onnj ^nv^ anxi
pyj nm ':sh *nni n3Dp

Now the Aramceans went out on forays, and took captive from
tlie land of Israel a little maid, and she became the servant
oj (lit. was before) Naaman^s wife (2 Kings v. 2)

Pharaoh, king of Egypt, cam,e up and took Gezer, and
burnt it with fire (1 Kings ix. 16)

N.B. Since Hebrew for the most part uses coordina-
tion rather than subordination, and the best Hebrew style
consists of short clauses coupled together by 1 and^, the
Imperfect with Waw Consecutive is naturally the tense
most commonly employed in describing a series of actions

1 It may perhaps be well to draw attention to the fact that the
Hebrew relates a history in the exact order of each action, and never
puts into a subordinate clause any portion of the main narrative. This
will be abundantly impressed upon the mind of anyone who attempts to
translate the Acts of the Apostles into Hebrew. Thus, for example,
in Acts xiv. 19 a Hebrew would never have expressed in a subordinate
clause so important a fact as the stoning of S. Paul. The verse in
Hebrew would rather run thus, 'And there came thither certain Jews
from Antioch and Iconium, and they persuaded the people, and they
stoned Paul, and drew him out of the city, for they supposed, etc'

42 THE HEBREW TEXSES.

in the past^ It is however essential that the verb should
stand at the head of the ' consecutive ' clause, for in a less
emphatic position the idea that the action of the Imper-
fect is developed out of that of the preceding clause is
overlooked. Accordingly in a negative sentence, since
the negative must always stand before the verb, the
construction with Waw Consecutive is impossible. Thus
we find

T X I V T X V I X X *■ ~ : ~

And Lahan searched all the tent^ but did not find {them)

(Gen. xxxi. 34)
and likewise

T -:i- •• T : - : '^ -.- •• x • ix I- \ -

And the woman was taken into PliaraoKs house^ and Ahram
(for his part) he (Pharaoh) treated well on her account

(Gen. xii. 15, 16)

[In this sentence it is desirable to contrast Abram
with Sarai, and for this reason m!3N7 is put first in the

X ; ~ ;

second clause, thereby making the construction with
Waw Consecutive impossible in that clause.]

11. Although according to its precise meaning the
Imperfect with Waw Consecutive expresses direct se-
quence in time, it has nevertheless become so common in
Hebrew, that it is sometimes used in a clause referring to
past time (provided that such a clause has the verb at its

^ i.e. the distant past, or the past continuing into the present. It is
however rarely used after a Future Perfect or after a Prophetic Perfect.

SEQUENCE OF TENSES. 4S

head, and is connected with a previous clause by the
conjunction 'and'), even though the action of the second
clause does not follow upon one expressed by the first:
e.g.

'^'ii nan ^jx nj^Sx r\m

TT- • T T T ; - T •

/ am a widow, and my husband died (2 Sam. xiv. 5)

N.B. In sentences of this kind, which are not very
common^ the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive is used
somewhat loosely, to denote an idea which is parallel, not
subsequent, to that of the preceding clause, but which is
naturally placed second in a narrative. It must not
however be supposed that the Imperfect with Waw
Consecutive can ever express a real Pluperfect-. When
it is necessary to interrupt the main narrative by some
explanatory clause, this usually has the subject at its
head, so that the close connexion of the verb with the
preceding clause is impossible. Such explanatory or, as
they are generally called, circumstantial clauses are very
common. An example is found in 2 Sam. xviii. 18, viz.
i7"I15i^l np^ Di^K^^XI JSfow Absalom had taken and set
itp for himself etc. In this instance the Hebrew merely
states that Absalom did take etc., and from the absence
of the consecutive tense makes it clear that the taking

1 The more usual form of the sentence quoted above would be as

follows: np •'^^xi "»:« nj^^N n^\s.

2 The passages where this is apparently the case may be explained
either by the fact that large portions of the Old Testament are a
compilation of documents originally quite distinct, as for example
Gen. xii. 1 (see A. V.), or by confusions in the text as in Isaiah
xxxviii. 21, 22.

44 THE HEIiREW TENSES.

was not subsequent to the events just recordecP. On the
other hand Di7ti*DX Up''*! would mean And Absalom took
etc. after the events just recorded.

III. We have seen that the Imperfect with Waw
Consecutive denotes the development of an action in
close connexion with a preceding clause. It is not there-
fore surprising that we should find it even after a clause
which does not contain a verb, as, for example, a mark of
time : e.g.

And at the time of her death they spoke (1 Sam. iv. 20)

V : V IT T- •.. I V V - - : •

In the year that King Uzzlah died I saiv (Isaiah vi. 1)

N.B. Constructions of this kind may be explained
thus. The Hebrew as a rule shuns long sentences,
preferring to present to the hearer one by one ideas
which in English are naturally combined into one
sentence. Thus in the example just given the words

*n7Qn nitt n^tJ^S suggest one idea, viz. that of the time,
while the following Imperfect with Waw Consecutive
suggests another idea, viz. that of an action connected
with the former idea and indeed developed out of it. It
is impossible, as has been already pointed out, to translate
Hebrew into English without employing limitations
foreign to the former language ; but we may perhaps
paraphrase the above sentence thus : " Think of an

1 See on the Perfect, § V, note. It cannot be too strongly insisted
upon that the Hebrew did not tliink of an action as a Pkiperfect.

SEQUENCE OF TENSES. 45

occasion in the year of King Uzziah's death, and then
imagine me beginning to see."

IV. Similarly the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive
may stand after a casus pendens : e.g.

.... .._ . . : • I" ^ : I T • : -

And it came to pass, that all ^vhosoever J tad known him
previously saw, and behold, etc. (1 Sam. x. 11)

•• T -; T - T V -; I T - V T - T • : ~

And it came to pass, that all, whosoever catne to the
place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still

(2 Sam. ii. 23)

N.B. In the two last instances the Imperfects with
Waw Consecutive, ^XH^I and ^by**'! , follow upon the

casus pendentes. The \T'1 at the beginning of these

sentences is merely used to connect them with what
precedes. This indeed is true of all those sentences
beginning with '^H'^l, in which an adverbial clause in-
tervenes between the ^H^l and the following Imperfect
with Waw Consecutive. \T1 is never followed im-
mediately by another Imperfect with Waw Con-
secutive, though it may be followed by a clause in
which the nominative stands first, as is the case when it
is desired to link with a preceding clause either some
description introductory to the subsequent narrative, as
in Gen. xi. 1, 1 Sam. i. 2, or two simultaneous actions

46 THE HEBREW TENSES.

(according to the idiom described below in Exceptions to
the Rule of Waw Consecutive, § ill.), as in 2 Kings ii. 11,
2 Kings XX. 4. With the exception of some passages in
which '^n'^l is obviously followed by its nominative \ it

would perhaps be correct to say that in all cases T\*^) is

a mere link to the preceding sentence, and all that follows
it is in apposition to it.

V. Hitherto we have described the Imperfect with
Waw Consecutive as the sequence of a completed act or
state. There are some passages in which it appears to
follow a present, or even a future. A careful examination
of such passages, however, will shew that the original
meaning is never lost. Thus for example we find,

^y-n bix^r nniD n)r\'

-|T-

Jehovah hringeth down to SJteol and then hringeth it})

(1 Sam. ii. 6)

Tlie Angel of Jehovah encartipeth round about those that
fear Him^ and delivereth them (Psalm xxxiv. 8)

1 As is the case in "I'lN ^"1)1 (Gen. i. 3). It is however difficult to
resist the conviction that the Masoretes have sometimes joined with
Tl^l a word which really stands at the head of a sentence that contains
no verb. Thus, for example, in Gen. xxv. 20, although pnV^. is con-
nected by the accents with \'1)1, the sentence should probably be trans-
lated, '•And it came to pass^ Isaac was 40 years old when he married, etc.,'
not ^And Inaac became 40 years old, etc' Compare Gen. xi. 1 where the
following nominative is feminine, and 1 Sam. i. 2 where it is plural.

SEQUENCE OF TENSES. 47

N.B. It must be borne in mind that in such sentences
the Participle is not a real present. The poet does not
mean to state that at the moment at which he is speaking
Jehovah is bringing down to Sheol, nor yet that the
Angel of Jehovah is actually encamping. Just as the
Participle may be used with the definite Article simply
to qualify a noun without any thought of the time of the
action denoted by it (e.g. N5f-^n Joshua v. 4), so here the

Participles state predicatively distinguishing acts of
Jehovah or His Angel, of which the time is not specified,
but which assuredly go on to completion. There is there-
fore nothing anomalous in the fact that the sequence of
such acts is represented by the Imperfect with Waw
Consecutive. In the first illustration given above it
must not be supposed that the two clauses r\*^J^J2 mn^
n-^np^ and 7y-*>1 7iNEJ^ T^li^ are synonymous parallels.
The two Participles n-'^Plfi^ ^^!3tt merely state coordinately
the fact that Jehovah is One to Whom may be assigned
the actions both of putting to death and also of preserving
alive. On the other hand the second clause 71X2^^ T^IID
75?*^ states that after bringing down to Sheol Jehovah

-|T-

goes on to bring up again. Similarly in the second illus-
tration, if the first verb should not be pointed nJIl as the

T T

Perfect, the sense is that the Angel is one who encamps
and the effect of this encampment when completed is the
deliverance of those who fear Jehovah ^

^ Such instances of the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive after a

Participle as P^Nn^l ilD^ U?'^^ (^ Sam. xix. 2) may be explained on the
analogy of 2 Sam. xiv. 5, quoted above, § II. Translate The king is
weeping f and has put on mourning (lit. has made himself a mourner)^
cf. Jeremiah vi. 13, 14.

48 THE HKBHEW TENSES.

VI. The Imperfect with Waw Consecutive is oc-
casionally found in sentences which English idiom puts
into a conditional form, in w^hich case it represents the
effect of a certain condition. There is not however in the
Hebrew any division of the sentence into jyi^otasis and
apodosis. The Perfect iu the first clause is used ac-
cording to the usages described above (see on the Perfect,
§§ VI., IX. and x.), and the Imperfect with Waw Con-
secutive merely expresses its consequence. Examples are,

When he has blown u^yon them, they wither (Isaiah xl. 24)

When pride has come, humiliation comes (Prov. xi. 2)

nSSnni n^Sy p\^t\ "nain '3

For when thou hast wielded thy hatchet on it, thou hast
profaned it (Exodus xx. 25)

If only thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, thy
prosperity had heen like a river (Isaiah xlviii. 18)

[In this case Tl^l is not the apodosis, but the com-
pletion of the first condition specified in the protasis.
The real apodosis of the sentence is suppressed, but it
may be supplied somewhat as follows : " If thou hadst
hearkened to my commandments and as a consequence
thy prosperity had been like a river etc., then it would
have been well."]

SEQUENCE OF TENSES. 49

VII. Similarly the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive
may be used to express the result of an interrogative
clause, such result being introduced in English by * so
that ' : e.g.

T |~VT • ~; T:~T XT

Why didst thou say to me, She is iny sister, so that
I took her? (Gen. xii. 19)

V : V T I AX T : • : • " : ■ t x

Why hast Thou made me Thy target, so that I
have become, etc, ? (Job vii. 20)

[In these examples the HO? asks the reason of the

X X

series of actions, expressed by the Perfect and the fol-
lowing Imperfect with Waw Consecutive. Thus we may
paraphrase the passage from Gen. xii. 19 as follows :
" Why was it the case that thou saidst to me, She is my
sister, and I consequently took her ? "]

VIII. Occasionally the Imperfect with Waw Con-
secutive is found in passages which cannot well be classed
under any of the above heads, where, however, the meaning
is clear. It must be remembered that, although the
Imperfect with Waw Consecutive originally merely denoted
an action as following upon another completed action, it
has from its frequent use in narrative come itself to denote
the completion of each successive act. Accordingly we
sometimes find it used, especially in passages of a later
date, to express the completion of an act following upon
an incomplete act. Thus, for example, we find

K. 4

50 THE IIEJJUKW TENSES.

Snam ^nv v'^n x'^rn ^ha iSbn nny '2

/or ?io?/; if comet k * 1^71^0 ^A^*?, and thou art overcoiiui ;
it reacheth unto thee and thou art j^cinic-strickeu

(Job iv. 5)

[The sentence means that, while the coming is not
yet complete, Job's panic is complete. This construction
is not however common. The ordinary prose idiom would

be as follows : n^K'^J HilHI ^^Sx NUn]

IX. One other illustration will suffice to shew the
sense acquired by the Imperfect w^ith Waw Consecutive.
In Ps. cxliv. 3 there is an echo of Ps. viii. 5, in a somewhat
altered form, viz.

WJtat is vian, that Thou shouldest have known him, or the
son of mortal mxin, that Thou shouldest have taken account
of J dm ?

[In the above sentence the force of the Imperfect with
Waw Consecutive may be seen by substituting some
definite predicate for the interrogative T\^'. e.g. Man is
(great), and so Thou hast knoivn him, and tltc sun of mortal
man is honourable, and so Thou hast taken account of him.

It must not however be supposed that the iny^DI and
^n3E.rnni of this verse are exactly synonymous with the

^ For this use of the Imperfect see above on the Imperfect, § I, b.

CAMPBELL
COLLECTION

SEQUENCE OF TENSES. 51

)T\^]n ^3 and ^3npSn "^2 of Ps. viii. o\ The latter

phrases denote habitual acts : by the former the psalmist
means to express the completion of the acts yn^ and iti^n.
The ordinary way of expressing this however would be
by ^3 followed by the Perfect.]

^ It is not altogether unnecessary to protest against the assumption
that parallel passages which convey the same general sense are of
necessity exactly synonymous. The general sense expressed by avi/e-
(TTavpujOr) (Eom. vi. 6) is, with the difference of the person, the same as
that expressed by avveo-ravpu/jLaL (Gal. ii. 20), but no one supposes that
an Aorist is synonymous with a Perfect. May we not plead that the
same precision which is employed in translating the text of the Greek
Testament should be likewise employed in translating the Hebrew Bible?

4—2

THE PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE.

We have seen that, although past actions are usually
conceived as complete, and future actions as incomplete,
it may nevertheless be desirable for the sake of greater
vividness or emphasis to paint each detail of the former,
or to represent the completion of the latter. We have an
instance of the former idiom in Isaiah vi. 4, where the
Imperfect K /©^ brings vividly before our mind the whole
process of the filling of the temple, and of the latter
idiom in Pl^J? HlSn Vv^ (Isaiah xxv. 8), where the

~ V T V T ~ ~ •

representation of the annihilation of death as accomplished
implies in the most emphatic manner the certainty of this
annihilation.

We have seen that in describing a series of past
actions the Hebrew represents each successive action as
developed out of the one before it, the attention of the
hearer having been directed to the past by a Perfect or
by some mark of time.

It now remains for us to consider the method employed
by the Hebrew in representing a series of actions in the
future. We will take as an example the sentence, He
will put forth his hand and luill take, etc. The first verb
of this sentence, being a simple Future (whereof the
action is conceived as incomplete), will naturally be
expressed in Hebrew by the Imperfect Tw^^ , The

THE PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. 53

second verb, however, is also a simple Future, and we
might therefore expect that it would be expressed likewise
by the Imperfect 11(5^ But in a sentence consisting of
two similar tenses coupled together by and 1, there would
be nothing to denote that the second action was conceived
as the consequence of the first. The two actions might
in fact be parallel or simultaneous^ But in the case of
two successive future actions however uncertain the first
may be, the latter is, generally speaking, certain relatively
to the first. Thus in the sentence which we have taken
for an illustration, though the putting forth of the hand
may be uncertain, yet, assuming that the hand will be
put forth, the taking of the fruit may be regarded as a
certain consequence. But we have seen that, when it is
desired to express the certainty of a future action, the
Perfect is used : accordingly in the instance before us he
will take will naturally be expressed by the Perfect Hp /
and the fact that this Perfect of Certainty is immediately
connected with the preceding clause by the conjunction
*) and implies that the action of taking is regarded as
certain in relation to the action of putting forth the hand.

The sentence will therefore run Hp^l IT' rh^\

)-T : T - : • '

N.B. It will be observed that in this construction
the conjunction has its ordinary form. It is however by
no means certain that originally Waw Consecutive assumed
different forms with the Perfect and with the Imperfect.
We have seen that the original form of the conjunction

1 As for example in the sentence D^>N* i^dh J^HI PIDQ SjN3 :hy, ^
Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall
shout for joy (Isaiah xxxv. 6).

o4 THK iiEimEW tkxsks.

was wa, the doubling of the pre formative letter of the
Imperfect being probably merely euphonic and analogous

to the doubling of the J2 in T\u7 , Although it is obvious

T T

that there must always have been some means of dis-
tinguishing between the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive
and with the ordinary weak waw, it is nevertheless open
to question whether such a doubling existed in primitive
Hebrew : it may possibly have arisen unconsciously from
an effort to keep the syllable wa clear and distinct. In
the case of the Perfect, on the other hand, though it is
probable that the conjunction w^as originally pronounced
with the same vowel, the first consonant was not doubled
and the wa was therefore reduced to 1. It is somew^hat
difficult to find a reason for this anomaly. It may be
that, since all Imperfects (from whatever root they may
be derived, or to whatever conjugation they may belong)
begin in the several persons with the same consonants,
the emphatic form of Waw with the Imperfect tended to
crystallise into -1, whereas before the various consonants
with which the Perfect may begin, such crystallisation
was less likely to take place, and the conjunction being
usually two places from the tone was accordingly pointed
in the ordinary way\

One other peculiarity of this Perfect of Certainty with

1 In the eight words quoted above from Gen. viii. 22 "n^VP? ^^ "^*' ^^^^
closely connected with yiT than Dill with "Ipl, the slCicd in the former
word being due merely to the distance from the tone. But in the spoken
language the difference in the pronunciation of the syllable wa, if it
existed at all, must have been very slight.

Occasionally before a monosyllabic Perfect the Waw Consecutive is
pointed J, as for example in "•nj (Gen. iii. 22), but this pointing is not
uniform.

THE PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. DO

Waw or, as it is usually called, the Perfect with Waw
Consecutive, is the shifting of the tone. Whereas Waw
Consecutive with the Imperfect tends to draw the tone
back to the penultimate, with the Perfect, on the other
hand, it tends to throw it forward from the penultimate

to the final syllable, e.g. ^DOK^I nilp'^V But it is
doubtful whether this shifting of the tone is primitive,
for just as we can only explain the first Kames in the

word nnp7 by postulating an earlier form nPlp / (a sup-
position which is confirmed by the pausal form Htlp/),

T ItT

so the pointing nnp7l can only be explained on the
supposition that, when the short vowel of the first syllable
of the Perfect was heightened into Kames, the accent was
on the second syllable, to which indeed it returns in pause.
We have seen that there is a close affinity between
the so-called Perfect of Certainty and this Perfect with
Waw Consecutive. As in the case of the Imperfect with
Waw Consecutive, so in this idiom also the Perfect must
stand at the head of its clause, for if the emphasis^ be on
any other woid, even the negative, the intimate connexion
of the act represented as complete with that represented
as incomplete is overlooked'-.

I. In representing a series of future actions, therefore,
the Hebrew, after directing his hearer's attention to the

^ The first word of a sentence is always the most emphatic.

2 It is most important to bear in mind that both in the case of the
Perfect and of the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive there is no change
ivhatever in the essential weaning of the tense. The emphatic Waw is
merely a strong conjunction shewing that the subsequent action is most
intimately connected with the preceding.

56 THK HKMIIEW TKXSES.

future by the use of the Imperfect, expresses each
successive action by the Perfect with Waw Consecu-
tive : e.g.

iXnpi 172V) ^)'i' ^)i' '^^

To me he will come out^, and will stand and call

(2 Kings V. 11)

I V V - • ' T : •• ••

/ will go J'orih, and become a spirit of lyiny

(1 Kings xxii. 22)

II. It is not however necessary that Waw Consecutive
wdth the Perfect should actually be preceded by an
Imperfect. It may be used where there is an idea of
an incomplete or future action, even though that idea
is not expressed by an Imperfect. Thus it is found,

(a) after a Participle : e.g.

Dn^fO Nni ^T) nrSy n^h n\n^ i:ir\

■ - . • T |- T - ••

Zo, Jehovah rideth on a swift cloud, and ivill come to Egypt

(Isaiah xix. 1)

I;|T : T T tt: -att ~ i • •.••.• •.• t • ; ~ • : •

Lo, I will rain food for you from the heavens ; and the
jjeople shall go forth and gather (Ex. xvi. 4)

1 The emphatic position of vN ' to me ' shews Naaman's sense of his
own importance. In consequence of this, however, the verh loses some-
what of its emphasis. But as Naaman wishes to put emphasis on the
verb also (contrasting his own expectation that the prophet would come
out with the actual fact of his staying indoors), the lost emphasis is
more than restored by the use of the Infinitive Absolute.

THE PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. 57

(b) after a mark of time : e.g.

... - , .

At even ye shall know (Ex. xvi. 6)

V • r- I: : • : v • •- : t -; :

In the day of your eating of it your eyes will he opened

(Gen. iii. 5)

(c) after a Prophetic Perfect : e.g.

n^s mys^ hk^sj Sixej^ nn^nnn pS

T T-;|T T : - : T • ; • ' •• T

Therefore shall the appetite of Sheol he increased (lit. shall
Sheol increase her appetite)^ and she shall open wide her
mouth (Isaiah v. 14)

• : - : T V T • : - T •• : - 1 - :

For your sake I will send to Bahylon and hrimj down, etc.

(Isaiah xliii. 14)

{d) after a statement referring to the present or
to the immediate past, the consequence of which is
future : e.g.

This has touched thy lips, and so thy guilt shall he removed

(Isaiah vi. 7)

T-:i- V - It- • ••*: _ . . I ..

There is no religion in this place, and so they will kill me

(Gen. XX. 11)

^ In the Masoretic text this word is pointed as a Piel, but the Kal is
more natural in the sense which the word evidently has here.

58 THE HKliKKW TENSP:S.

(e) after a casus pendens : e.g.

_ .. ... _.|_ I ._ .. .. _ . _

Whosoever speaketJi unto thee, thou sJudt hrincj him to me

(2 Sam. xiv. 10)

T •: • T :|T :

For every hoot of noisily tramping warrior and garment rolled
{? defiled) in blood shall become a bonfire (Isaiah ix. 4)

III. Similarly when a series of actions is desired,
each successive action after the first is expressed by the
Perfect with Waw Consecutive.

Thus we find it,

(a) after an Imperfect expressing a command : e.g.

vSy nnnn Vncryn nanx nsix:

TT t;-t: • v-.j- TT-; ~:*

An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and thou shalt
sacrifice thereon (Ex. xx. 24)

'vr^hi< DE^^'-nx rhhm nptr^ ^ctrn ^yntrh nSi

Neither shalt thou swear falsely by My name, and so
profane the name of thy God (Lev. xix. 12)

{h) after a Jussive : e.g.

nhxS vni nhxo \t

Let there he lights and let them he signs (Gen. i. 14)

b"VD 2 9 n^sip

THE PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. 59

May El Shaddai give you favour before the man, and may
he set free your brother (Gen. xliii. 14).

(c) after a Cohortative : e.g.

nyS n^ni nna nnn^i

... T T : • : "T : : •

Let us make a covenant and let it be a witness

(Gen. xxxi. 44)

-: l:~ --: t;):-

Ze^ us draw near to some place or other, and let us spend
the night, etc. (Judges xix. 13)

(d) after an Imperative : e.g.

wnsri ^DN ii)i)r\' n-m-Si

:iT : It- •• T-|- T

All the living things take out with thee, and let them swarm

(Gen. viii. 17)

mn^ ^isS inn moyi n^c

.... T T T : -|T :

Go forth, and stayid upon the mountain before Jehovah

(1 Kings xix. 11)

{e) after an Infinitive Absolute with the sense of
an Imperative : e.g.

Go and wash seven times in the Jordan (2 Kings v. 10)

S"

V3

<>0 THK IIKIUtKW TKNSES.

Dnix mam n^nmn n^rSx rjiSn

T T . - TIT V I T

Go to thr. house of tha Ucchahites, and speak unth tltera

(Jeremiah xxxv. 2)

N.B. Although it is frequently impossible in an
English translation to distinguish between a Perfect
with Wavv Consecutive and a Cohortative, Jussive, or
Imperative with simple ivaw, when a Cohortative, Jussive,
or Imperative has preceded, there is nevertheless a shade
of difference in the Hebrew which must not be ignored.
We have seen that, when tw^o parallel clauses, each
expressing a desire, are coupled together by simple waw,
it is the end chiefly desired which is expressed by the
latter verb, and a final particle may therefore be used in
translating it : e.g. DD^SJ ^HH^ ^^J2^ Hear, that your
soul may live (Isaiah Iv. 3). On the other hand the
construction of the Perfect with Waw Consecutive repre-
sents each of the successive actions as willed in turn by
the speaker, and expresses a series of directions or a
series of actions each of which is more or less desired.
D^^'SJ nnTll WfiEi^ would mean, to adopt a paraphrase,
' I desire that first you should hear and afterwards your
soul should live.' These two constructions are both found
in 2 Kings v. 10, quoted above, and the sentence is a
good illustration of the difference in their meanings. The
passage runs, "im j^n*3 U'f^V^'V'^p ^^^?^. T'^'?
nnpl \) ^n^b^S which may be translated, Go and wa^h
(a series of directions) seven times in the Jordan, that thy
flesh may he restored y and thou mayest he clean (the end
chiefly desired).

The Perfect with Waw Consecutive never expresses

THK PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. 61

the purpose of the preceding action. Thus, for example,
in 1 Kings xvii. 12 the verbs 'in'^riWI 'TlKS^

)^r\fy\ ^nj^DXI merely express the series of actions which

: |TT •.. : --li-
the widow has resolved upon and the subsequent starvation

which she considers inevitable. The ^' that I may go"

and " that we may eat " of the English version are quite

wrong.

IV. The Perfect with Waw Consecutive is likewise
used after an Imperfect when the latter possesses a
frequentative sense, not only

(a) in the future : e.g.

\sn ':sh r\)nmrh itTh^ ii)y

;|T; - T I ~'\~ '. ' '. T T T T

All flesh shall come (month by month and week by week) to

worship before me and they shall go forth

(Isaiah Ixvi. 23, 24)

d^ut'73 ^hii. nnji mn^ n^a in n\T p3

The mountain of JehovaKs house shall he established and

all the nations shall flo^v unto it (Isaiah ii. 2)

and

{b) in the present : e.g.

Sr\m2 pmi iax-nNi v^n-hn ^r^N-nry^ p-Sy

Therefore a man leaves his Jather and his mother and cleaves
to his wife (Gen. ii. 24)

As the sweet juice is found in the cluster^ and one says,
Destroy it not (Isaiah Ixv. 8)

62 THE HKUKEW TENSES.

but Jllso

(c) in the past : e.g.

T T -;|T •• : T It: • : I ••• t t ' • v-:i- •• :

And a mist used to yo up from the earthy aud water all
the surface of the ground (Gen. ii. G)

T t: t V I- •

Now Moses used to take the tent^ and jntch it^ etc,

(Ex. xxxiii. 7)

[The use of the Perfect with Waw Consecutive in such
cases, which is extremely common, seems somewhat incon-
sistent with the explanation given above which connects
the Perfect with Waw Consecutive with the Perfect of
Certainty. Logically there seems to be no reason why
the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive should not have
been used in such cases. The probable explanation is
that, as the Imperfect with Waw Consecutive became
stereotyped as the sequence of a Perfect or Perfect idea,
so the Perfect with Waw Consecutive became stereotyped
as the sequence of an Imperfect ; and since in all cases
where the Imperfect refers to the present or the future
the Perfect with Waw Consecutive is the natural sequence,
it has come to be used in the past also.]

N.B. For the use of the Perfect with Waw Consecutive
after an Infinitive Absolute see below.

V. The Perfect with Waw Consecutive is likewise
used in the apodosis of conditional sentences : e.g.

)ny) ):m p^ri )yr\i^ sr^-cx

If our youngest brother be with us, we will go down

(Gen. xliv. 26)

THE PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. 63

,• :at T : • • • :i ••
If thou wilt go with me, / will go (Judges iv. 8)

If he said (whenever he said) thus, The spotted shall be thy
wages, then all the sheep would bear spotted (Gen. xxxi. 8)

:att : - t • :

And if we tarry (shall have tarried) here, we shall die

(2 Kings vii. 4)

It ~t *!~t; •I~t

^5 soon as I have lain down, I say When shall I arise?

(Job vii. 4)

N.B. The use of ^vaw in the apodosis of a conditional
sentence is strange to our way of thinking, but it is not
confined to the case of Waw Consecutive with the Perfect.

Thus we find hS^n^dsj^ni i^^^h-dxi nj^^Ni bubm DK

If {thou goest) to the left hand, I will go to the right ; and
if {thou goest) to the 7^ight hand, I will go to the left
(Gen. xiii. 9). The explanation seems to be that DS<
does not subordinate a clause in Hebrew in the way that
if subordinates one in English. Compare the use of

DK n to express utrum an. Waw is also found

after other particles such as ^3, e.g. Dent. xxi. 18, 19.

^ Dt< is commonly used as a temporal particle before a Perfect when
the time of the action is indefinite, cf. Ps. Ixxviii. 34 •IH-ICn*!-'! DJ"in"DN

T : T T-: •

Whenever He had slain them, they would seek Him.

64 THE HEBREW TENSES.

VI. The Perfect with Waw Consecutive is also found
in many sentences which must be put into a hypothetical
form in English, but which are not strictly hypothetical in
Hebrew : e.g.

I - -r ■ . X TV T :

A7id if they overdrive them one day, nU the nheep will die

(Gen. xxxiii. 13)

Drnnini nn-^:D'?n n^'x ^n^a nox ^nwsnpi

And if harm befall him on the journey on which ye go, ye
will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol

(Gen. xlii. 38)

[In the above sentences what is possible or probable is
stated as certain together with its result.]

VII. Sometimes in sentences similar to those de-
scribed in the foregoing section it may be necessary to
translate the Perfect with Waw Consecutive as an
interrogative. Such sentences however are not, strictly
speaking, interrogative. They are rather statements
which are sarcastically^ assumed to be the thought of
the persons addressed : e.g.

1 It may be laid down as a definite rule that whenever the inter-
rogative n is omitted in a sentence which is apparently interrogative
there is always a touch of irony. A good illustration of this idiom is

found in Isaiah i. 18, viz. DD't^On -Vn.^'DN HIH^ "IDX" nriD-IJI fc^r-I^S

•')i''3T52 ^/?^'5 D''^t^3 Come and let us argue, Jehovah keeps saying ; if your
sins he as crimson^ are they to be white as snoiv? The word nnp-l^l let
us argue shews that the sentence is virtually interrogative, for there is
no argument in the promise which the English version understands here,

THE PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. 65

If he has given forth upon usury and has taken increase,
shall he live? (Ezek. xviii. 13)

[We may paraphrase the above sentence thus : " A
man may have given forth upon usury and taken increase,
and yet, according to your notions of fairness, he is to
live !"]

• : l-|T : T -; •• : • :it : • - • x -:

There are many servants now-a-days that break away from
their several masters^ and so I forsooth am to take my
bread, etc.! (1 Sam. xxv. 10, 11)

N.B. Similar sentences are found where owing to
the presence of the negative the Imperfect is used instead
of the Perfect with Waw Consecutive : e.g. PlSTi jH

^:iSpD^ nSi nn'rxh Dn:^ a nayin-nx Lo i we are to

sacrifice that which is an abomination to the Egyptians
before their eyes, and they will not stone its ! (Ex. viii. 22.)

and which moreover is unsuitable to the context. We may paraphrase
the sentence thus: "You seem to imagine that, even when your sins are
as glaring as crimson, you have but to come to the sanctuary and hold a
sacrificial feast, and they will be as white as snow !"

ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE PERFECT
WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE.

There are some instances in which the Perfect with
Waw Consecutive appears after an Infinitive Absolute to
express an action simultaneous with that of the Infinitive :

^'S' ^Vp^) *=!*' /'"^ D^^D /H going on and trumpeting as they

went (Joshua vi. 13), Hpyil Tli^n *Tj7ni and she luent

away, crying atoud as she ivent (2 Sam,, xiii. 19). This
construction however is not very certain, for, although
there is nothing intrinsically improbable in this use
of the Perfect with Waw Consecutive, further proof of
it is desiderated. It is noteworthy that according to the
Masoretic text there are four variations of the common
idiom by which two or more Infinitives Absolute coupled
by wavj express simultaneous actions qualifying the main
action of the sentence. Thus we have

(1) the Infinitive Absolute followed by the Perfect
with Waw Consecutive, as in Joshua vi. 13, 2 Sam. xiii.
19, quoted above,

(2) the Infinitive Absolute followed by the Im-
perfect with Waw Consecutive, as in 1 Sam. xix. 23,
2 Sam. xvi. 13,

(3) the Infinitive Absolute followed by the Parti-
ciple, as in Gen. xxvi. 13, 2 Sam. xvi. 5, Jerem. xli. 6,

(4) the Infinitive Absolute followed by an Adjective,
as in Judges iv. 24, 1 Sam. xiv. 19, 2 Sam. v. 10, 1 Chron.
xi. 9.

i

ADDITIONAL NOTE, PERFECT WITH WAW CONSECUTIVE. 67

It must however be confessed that in the existing
condition of the Masoretic text it is difficult to feel
convinced that all these variations actually existed, since
in some instances it is possible to restore the ordinary
idiom by merely altering the points, and in others there*
is some doubt as to the correctness of the consonantal
text. Thus in examining the passages referred to above
we find that doubt is thrown on ^J^pm (Joshua vi. 13)

by the occurrence of the normal JJipni in v. 9, while the

K'thibh in the latter part of the verse implies the work

of a 'sleepy scribe.' Again in //p''! (2 Sam. xvi. 13) it

is remarkable that we have a variation from the 77pjy\

in V, 5 of the same chapter, and moreover the presence of
"iSyi (Perf with Waw Consec.) in the same verse seems

to imply some confusion in the text. Again /IJII (Gen.

xxvi. 18) might be pointed 7*1^1 (compare 2 Sam. v. 10),

ntrpl (Judges iv. 24) HETpV 3^1 (1 Sam. xiv. 19) :ihl

T It : It :' TT ^ T

(compare lb Num. xxiii. 25, 72^' Ruth ii. 16), whereas

7nJ'l (2 Sam. v. 10, 1 Chron. xi. 9) has the proper form

of the Infinitive Absolute.

It will thus be seen that variation 1 rests on the
solitary evidence of npVl) (2 Sam. xiii. 19), unless iyj'l

(1 Sam. vi. 12) was intended by the author to be read
)Vy\: variation 2 depends on N3in'*1 (1 Sam. xix. 23);

variation 3 on /ypjyi (2 Sam. xvi. 5), whereas variation 4

has no certain proof In, 1 Sam. xix. 23 it would be

possible to connect the *!ji7n with the preceding verb on

the analogy of 2 Sam. iii. 24 (where however see LXX),
translating 'and he went right on, and he prophesied.*
This division is actually implied by the accents in Joshua
vi. 13^ but the analogy of other passages is against it.

5—2

68 THE HEliKEW TENSES.

On the other hand in 2 Sam. xii. 16 the accentuation of
U))iy which connects it with DV*1 and separates it from the

TT-

following KD^, is probably correct. The Infinitive Abso-
lute in this verse is to be understood on the analogy of
tOiS^ (Gen. xix. 9), i.e. as giving emphasis to the preceding

finite verb. Translate, ' And David .sourjitt God on the
child's behalf] and David actually fasted (an extraordinary
act seeing that the child was still alive), and he would go
in and pass the nicjht lying on the gi^ound'

In view of the circumstances considered above, although
we are scarcely justified in arbitrarily altering the text,
we may refuse to admit the above variations among the
recognised rules of Hebrew Syntax unless further proof
be forthcoming.

It is hardly necessary to say that those cases in which

the Participle of ^"^H is followed by another Participle

or by an adjective, which is virtually equivalent to the
Participle of a stative verb, as in Ex. xix. 19, 1 Sam. ii. 26,
2 Sam. XV. 12, Jonah i. 11, 13 etc., present no difficulty
and require no comment.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF
WAW CONSECUTIVE.

It is evident from the foregoing pages that the Perfect
with Waw Consecutive may be used in every place where
the simple Imperfect might have stood if the conjunction
' and ' had been absent ; and that, conversely, the Im-
perfect with Waw Consecutive takes under similar
circumstances the place of a simple Perfect. It must
be borne in mind, that, with the exceptions given below,
whenever it is necessary to connect two clauses by means
of the conjunction 'and,' the verb in the second clause
must have Waw Consecutive.

I. Waw Consecutive is not used when the second
clause is only explanatory of, or synonymous with, the
first clause : e.g.

• : - T • :)-T -:i-
Aiid I am old and gray-headed (1 Sam. xii. 2)

* Children have I reared and brought up (Isaiah i. 2)

dW mh pni nD2 ':?»k2 hi' tn

Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue
of the dumb shall shout for joy (Isaiah xxxv. 6)

70 THE HKHHKW TENSKS.

':^h "^jjiy DriD: nni: ^^ '3ini -iniia 'D3Dn-DN '3

/^or thouyh thou shouldest scour with soda, and take thee
much soap, thy guilt would he indelible before me

(Jerem. ii. 22)

N.B. This use of weak waw, as it is called, to couple
two similar tenses is not common, and, especially in the
case of the Perfect, it has evidently been avoided even
where it might have been employed. Thus, for example,
although we cannot say that DmX2^^ (Joshua xxii. 3) or

ri/NtJ^I (1 Kings iii. 11) violates any of the principles

which have been explained above, since between the
negation of a fact and the affirmation of what is con-
trasted with it there is no actual sequence, yet the
presence of weak waw in these instances strikes the
reader as unusual. In fact as a rule the common idiom
either discards wdw altogether after a negative sentence,
using instead ^'S or DK "^^^ or, if it keeps the -im^^;, places

some word other than the verb at the head of the second
clause, or even, though less logically, uses the Imperfect
with Waw Consecutive as in ^nn32J^'*1 (Gen. xl. 23),

n^r-'^l (Judges i. 21) etc.

On the other hand there appears to have been less
objection to the use of the Imperfect with weak wdw ;
perhaps because the Imperfect in most cases exactly
resembles the Jussive and Cohortative, and, as we have
already seen, the Jussive and Cohortative with weak wdw
can frequently be used where the Perfect with Waw
Consecutive might stand, although the two idioms are

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF WAW CONSECUTIVE. 71

not quite synonymous \ Thus we find DhDXI (Deut. x. 2)
where the parallel passage Ex. xxxiv. 1 has ^mn^l,
y^i^) (1 Sam. xii. 3), I'^^il (1 Kings xii. 9), whereas in

a very similar sentence (Num. xxii. 8) the Perfect with

Waw Consecutive '^nhK^DI occurs. It is not however

• r -:r

impossible that such forms are in many cases to be
regarded as Jussives, or, which in the above instances
would be preferable, pointed as Cohortativesl

In the later Hebrew, perhaps under the influence of
Aramaic dialects, the use of Waw Consecutive was
gradually discontinued : in the earlier books however it
is possible that in several instances where weak waw
appears to be combined with a Perfect, an Infinitive
Absolute was intended by the writer : e.g. Nb^Jl (2 Kings

xxiii. 4), r\'^^r\) (ib. 5), yn:] (ib. 8), KStDl (ib. 10).
On the other hand we must remember how easy it would
be for a scribe accidentally to leave out a yodh or in the
old character to confuse he and yodh. Moreover in docu-
ments of quite early date there are many passages which
are late interpolations. Is it possible to believe that
Genesis xv. 6 was written before the Exile ?

1 See above on the Perfect with Waw Consecutive, § III, note.

2 See above, Additional Notes to the Cohortative and Jussive, § III.
The strongest argument against considering such forms as ^''l^'NI as
Jussive is the extreme rarity of the Jussive in the first person. On the
other hand the scriptio 'plena of the Mrek is not a fatal objection, for in
Aramaic both icdw and yodh are used as matres lectionis of short as well
as long vowels, and there are several instances of similar spelling in the
Hebrew Bible. See, for example, HDI^D (K'thibh, Judges ix. 8), '•3vD
(ib. 12), probably representing respectively the old pronunciation of the
Imperative m'lukha, m'lukhi, pCT^D^ (Ps. cxv. 7) from &C'0, mpn
(Isaiah 1. 11) r= nipt, etc.

72 THK HKHHKW TEXSES.

II. Wfiw Consecutive is not used when some word in
the second clause has to be emphasized in order that it
may be contrasted with something in the first clause. In
such a case the emphatic word stands first and the verb
not being at the head of the clause is not 'consecutive.'
Thus we find,

T -:i- • •• T : - : '^ : - t • it I- \ -

A7id the woman was taken into FliaraolCs house, and
Ahram he (Pharaoh) treated kindly on her acconnt

(Gen. xii. 15, 16)

T-:i- -T V V- : T : •.• - •.-•• -: •• ••-

And Lot went out to the entrance, hut the door he
shut after him (Gen. xix. 6)

N.B. In sentences of this sort the time can only be
inferred from the context and the action may belong to
some earlier occasion, i.e. it may correspond to an English
Pluperfect. In the latter case however the Nominative is
generally, though not always, placed at the head of the

clause : e.g. D'^SnrHl'nX nnp7 7mi Xoiu a ivas Rachel
• T : - V T ' :|T •• T :

who had taken the images (Gen. xxxi. 34). On the other
hand we find DlS^'aX nHwX nih' IJINI And him she

T : - •— :i- t:it ;

had borne (Should we not read n7^ he Iiad begotten ?)
after Absalom (1 Kings i. 6).

III. Waw Consecutive is naturally not used when it
is necessary to emphasize the simultaneity of two actions
or states, in which case two parallel clauses in which the
Nominative stands first^ are coupled together by simple

^ Occasionally however when the clause contains a word, other than
the verb, which must stand first, the Nominative is omitted : e.g.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF WAW CONSECUTIVE. 73

waw. This construction is found not only with the
Perfect but also with the Imperfect and the Participle,
and even when one clause does not contain a verb: e.g.

|T~: I T ; I V T T ~ TT V V

As the sun rose ujwn the earth, Lot came to Zoar

(Gen. xix. 23)

ninyj ^i<'iJ2 r\i2:r\ n^yn nSyaa D^Vy T\i:ir\

T : : |T T • : • t •• -;|- : • t ••

As they were going up the ascent to the city, they^ met
some damsels (1 Sam. ix. 11)

•!innK NinK ^jsi ^Ssn-oy ctr man;!: 'vSv n^n

Zo, while thou art there speaking with the king, I will
come in after thee (1 Kings i. 14)

If it is necessary to connect two such clauses with what
precedes, this is done by placing before them "^H^l, if the
reference is to the past, n^ni if the reference is to the
future : e.g.

m 'n^T n^ni n!ni rhr\ d^jSh nan ^nn

V V •• • : •• - : I -r • : I t •• • :-

And it came to pass that, as they were going along and
talking, lo, there tvas a chariot of fire (2 Kings ii. 11)

And it will com.e to pass, I shall no sooner go away from,
thee than the Spirit of Jehovah ivill carry thee off

(1 Kings xviii. 12)

n^Sn-Si; -ISpJ n^rn ^m^] bst:*^ rr\}2 Theij had not yet gone to

bed, and (Anglice when) the men of the city beset the house (Gen. xix. 4).

1 The use of nfpT} in the second clause is merely for the sake of
making this clause begin with the Nominative, as is usual in this idiom.
In such a case there is no emphasis on the pronoun.

THE PARTICIPLE.

The Participle like the other verbal forms is altogether
timeless. It is in fact a noun agent, and indeed the most
usual form in which the noun agent occurs. Thus we not
only find many common nouns which exist in Hebrew

only in a participial form, e.g. ^^N, nniN, Ss^'lD, "l^^TO,

tOSiK^, npi*^^ etc., but in the case of stative verbs the

participle is usually identical with the adjective, e.g.

\pl X^Jp etc.

Now although a noun agent is in most languages
generally used to denote some permanent occupation or
characteristic, it is manifest that this is not always the
case. A man, for example, may be called a regicide,
though the murder of kings does not constitute his chief
occupation. In such a case the noun agent ' regicide ' is
merely used to denote that the man so described is dis-
tinguished from other men by the fact that he is in some
way or other connected with the murder of a king, though
the time of the murder is in no wise specified. But if a
man is described as being, say, a ruler on some definite
occasion, we naturally connect the action of ruling with
that occasion, and indeed, since there is nothing to denote
the completion or development of the action, we under-
stand it as continuing. Thus to say that a certain thing

THE PARTICIPLE. 75

happened when Quirinius was governor is equivalent to
saying that it happened while he was governing ; in other
words our attention is directed neither to the completion
of the act of government, nor to its development from
stage to stage, but to its mere continuance.

This sense, however, of the continuance of an action
must be regarded as a development, though a very
natural one, from the primary sense of the Participle,
which merely denotes the agent, or in the case of a
Passive Participle, the sufferer of an action which is in no
way defined as to time or state.

The Participle is thus used to denote the agent or
sufferer of some verbal action, whether

(a) habitual : e.g.
Jehovah killeth and preserveth alive (1 Sam. ii. 6)

Jehovah your God, He it is that fighteth for you

(Deut. iii. 22)

or

(6) of isolated occurrence, both

(a) with reference to some one special act in the
past, present or future, in which case the Participle will
naturally be definite : e.g.

Dn_v^ pNX? D^nx nSyon t\v\' ^^k

I am Jehovah who brought you up from the land of Egypt

(Lev. xi. 45)

76 THE 1IK1{KP:\V texsks.

rixn-nx '\irh n':hnn

t V T r V T ■ : I ~

^ow Joshua the sou of Nuit and Caleb the son of Jephunneh
were of the number of those men v:ho went to spy out
the land (Num. xiv. 38)

It is my mouth that speaks to you (Gen. xlv. 12)

The men of Anathoth who seek thy life (Jerem. xi. 21)

That which shall die Tnay die, and that which shall
perish may perish (Zech. xi. 9)

- •' ■ ••-:!- '•- •• •• -: -

The man who shall speak to thee (i.e. if any one speak

to thee), thou shalt bring him to me

(2 Sam. xiv. 10)
and

(^) with reference to some action in connexion
with the main narrative, in which case it corresponds to
our Participle : e.g.

• -: I T • : I T ••

They were going along, talking as they went

(2 Kings ii. 11)

D^an py-Sy n5:j ois n^n

Behold, I am standing beside the well (Gen. xxiv. 13)

THE PARTICIPLE. 77

N.B. 1. When it is necessary to negative an act in

a state of continuance, px (Ti^), ^ot K7, is used with

the Participle : e.g. i?OK^ '^ilJ^N / am not (or shall not be

or was not) hearing ; literally I am not, shall not be, was
notj present as a hearer.

2. When it is desired to mark to some extent the
time of an action, and at the same time to represent it as
continuing, the verb n\T is sometimes used with the
Participle : e.g. niH^^'ni^ n^lE^b n\n ny^m And the boy

was ministering to Jehovah (1 Sam. ii. 11), 7^*1315 '^H'^l
that it may be (continually) dividing (Gen. i. 6).

3. When the definite article is used with a predicative
Participle, it has the effect of emphasizing the Nominative.
Thus, for example, the phrase DlNin UyTV (Deut. iv. 3)

literally Your eyes are those that see, have seen etc., means
It is your own eyes that have seen. This idiom may be
explained as follows : niKin implies certain definite eyes

that see ; these are stated to be D^'^J*'!? .

THE INFINITIVE.

There are two forms of the Infinitive in common use
in Hebrew, the one, the so-called Infinitive Construct,
corresponding roughly to the Infinitive of the Greek ; the
other, the Infinitive Absolute, altogether idiomatic and
peculiar to the Hebrew. Both these forms are nouns of
action, undefined as to time, person and state. The
difference between them lies in the method of their use
and not in their essential meaning.

THE INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT.

The name * Infinitive Construct' is somewhat mis-
leading. It suggests that the form which is so called is
the construct state of the Infinitive Absolute, whereas in
the Kal always, and to some extent in the other con-
jugations, the two Infinitives are derived from different
stems^ Moreover the Infinitive Construct, though fre-
quently used in the construct state, is also very commonly
found when no Genitive follows it. But unsuitable as
the name is, it is so familiar, that any change would cause
confusion.

^ Thus the Infinitive Absolute ?")lOp arises from katal, the Infinitive
Construct ?]2\> from ktul or kutl.

THE INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT. 79

The Infinitive Construct, being a noun of action, can
naturally be followed by a subjective Genitive ^ e.g. ^^HH

my lifting up, ^n^TX? thy forsaking , IDiK^y his making etc.

At the same time it possesses sufficient verbal force to
allow it to govern an Accusative : e.g. DV'HX DiJJ^y^

i\2WT\ to keep the Sabbath day (Deut. v. 15).

I. The Infinitive Construct being an abstract noun
of action may occur as the subject of a sentence: e.g.

An evil and grievous thing is thy forsaking (Anglice An
evil and grievous thing it is that thou hast forsaken)
Jehovah (Jeremiah ii. 19)

Obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Sam. xv. 22)

nnS DTNn nvn aiD-xS

- : XT ix v:

It is not tvell that man should be alone (Gen. ii. 18)

N.B. It is however doubtful whether in such cases
the Infinitive Construct should be regarded as the Nomi-
native, since in many exactly similar cases the preposition

1 Whether the Infinitive Construct is ever followed by an objective
Genitive is doubtful. There is a distinct form for the Accusative suffix
of the first pers. sing., e.g. ''^n^pnS to kill me. We find also \m TVbvh
to do it. At the same time it must be admitted that HQilX and HNT

T -: i- T : • >

which are commonly used as Infinitives Construct of the verbs ^HN and
N")** , and which ordinarily govern the Accusative, may be followed by an
objective Genitive: e.g. Tpn nQHS") and to love kindness (Micah vi. 8),
mn^ riN"}^. the /ear of Jehovah (Isaiah xxxiii. 6).

«S0 THE HEHKEW TENSES.

S occurs with the Infinitive : e.g. ^TTniS niH' 'TV^ 2)^2
7S1JJ^^"ni< It vjds (food in Jehovalts eyes to bless Israel
(Num. xxiv. 1). The rule indeed seems to be that, if the

Infinitive stand before the 3itO, it is used without the 7,
but if it stand after, it may be used with or without the
preposition. See 1 Sam. xv. 22, Prov. xvii. 2fi, xviii. 5.

Perhaps however in such cases the preposition 7 has
become part and parcel of the Infinitive as to in English :
cf. Rom. vii. 18 To will is present with me. The Infinitive
Construct seems never to occur as the Nominative to a
finite verb.

II. More commonly however the Infinitive Construct
is used objectively, being governed either by a verb or by
a preposition. In such cases, although there is no change
in the essential meaning of the Infinitive Construct, the
translation of it in English will vary considerably, it being
sometimes necessary to translate it by an abstract verbal
noun, as for example when it is followed by a subjective
Genitive, sometimes by the ordinary Infinitive, as when
it is followed by an Accusative. Thus we find it used

{a) as the direct object of a verb : e.g.

He knows thy traversing (Anglice how thou didst traverse)
this great wilderviess (Deut. ii. 7)

"iDn nib'y "iDrxS

••• ir -; -T

He thought not of kind dealing (Ps. cix. 1 6)

THE INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT. 81

/ am pleased to justify thee (JoVj xxxiii. 32)

And what was I able to do in comparison of you ?

(Judges viii. 3)

nin^ nnin yia^' ^nx-xS

7%62/ would not hear JehovaKs law (Isaiah xxx. 9)

^nc? He tried to kill him (Ex. iv. 24)

I ... T : •• • • r

/ have begun to set before thee (Deut. ii. 31)

(6) governed by a preposition : e.g.

I V TV-: -M-
After I have seen (literally after my seeing) thy face

(Gen. xlvi. 30)

V •• T • -:i- - T V V : I -: I --

Forasm/ach as ye do (literally because of your doing)
all these deeds (Jerem. vii. 13)

And in order to perform the word (Deut. ix. 5)

And because of their putting Jehovah to the test

(Ex. xvii. 7)

K. 6

82 THE llKliKKW TKNSES.

When he scuv (literally in his srj'iiuj) the amjel

(2 Sam. xxiv. 17)

^TTom nisrya imsDi

' ••• -r . -.,.. :- • :

And tJio'ii ivilt honour Him r<Uher than earry out thy

own doi7ig.s (Isaiah Iviii. 13)

r-iK3 -13:1 nrnS ':'nn x^n

J ... T T : • • ■•

He began to be a invjhty 7nan in the land (Gen. x. 8)

Jehovah intended to put them to death (1 Sam. ii. 25)

And they v:ere not able to dwell together (Gen. xiii. 6)

And she went to fetch some (1 Kings xvii. 11)

N.B. 1. It must be remembered that the preposition
7 is used in Hebrew in a much wider sense than to in

English ; for example PDN/ means in truth, truthfully.

Accordingly the Infinitive Construct with the preposition

7 is frequently used in cases where it cannot be translated

by the English Infinitive : e.g. ^bX*^ literally in saying.

On the other hand with the exception given above, § I.
note, in every case where the Euglish Infinitive would
be used the Infinitive Construct with the preposition ^

may be used in Hebrew.

THE INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT. 83

2. When it is necessary to negative an Infinitive
Construct with 7 this is effected by the use of TlT^^7

instead of ^: e.g. Kii Ns^ rw ^nSiS nfiin-nx \y)

TiT •• •• • : • : T TjT V I V —

')y\ And he built Ramah so as to allow none to go out or

come in etc. (1 Kings xv. 17), n'^T "IK^X &iir\]

|rl3n"SN yb^r "^ih^h jhrn And the man who shall act

presumptuously in not hearkening to the priest (Deut.
xvii. 12).

3. When the Infinitive Construct is the direct object
of a finite verb, the agent of the action expressed by the
Infinitive is usually the same as the subject of the finite
verb, and the Infinitive therefore needs no definition as to
the agent. But when the Infinitive is subordinated by a
preposition, it is frequently necessary to define the agent,
and this is done by placing a subjective Genitive im-
mediately after the Infinitive Construct : see above,
§ II. (6), examples from Gen. xlvi. 30, Jerem. vii.
13, etc. That the agent in such cases is the subjective
Genitive there can be little doubt, but after the decay of
the case-endings in Hebrew the exact nature of the con-
struction became obscured, and the Accusative or some
other word is sometimes inserted between the Infinitive
Construct and its Genitive: e.g. MIN ^pS niH'' Uti^^)
iXXb'Ss inN"ni3n "^rh^h And Jehovah appointed to
Cain a sign, to the intent that any one ivho might meet him
should not slay him (Gen. iv. 15), TViT\ nStJ^ Di7 That a

~ '• T T \T

homicide might flee thither (Deut. iv. 42). It is however
not impossible that in such cases the noun defining the

6—2

84 THE HEBREW TEXSES.

Infinitive Construct is added as an afterthought and is
to be regarded as a casus pendens.

III. By a slight extension of the foregoing usages

the Infinitive Construct with the preposition ^ is em-
ployed to denote actions as being necessary, desirable,
possible, or about to take place, and in late style it is
even combined with the conjunction ) in lieu of a finite
verb. Examples are

What can be done for thee ? Can the king he spoken to
concerning thee^ ? {2 Kings iv. 13)

And it came to pass^, the sun was just setting

(Gen. XV. 12)

d^:ddj rh "^^rhr n'fzti^n n^bt^h' nntapa ^^hjx-^di

And when we burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven, and
pour out libations to her etc, (Jerem. xliv. 19)

N.B. To negative such sentences both N7 and TN
are employed: e.g. T\\T? D2J^2 *T^3Tn*7 N*7 Jehovah's name

1 Compare the phrase ' This house to let ' and the North-country
idiom 'What is to do with so-and-so?'

- That ^T\)\ is used in its common meaning, and that E^ptf*n is not
the Nominative to it, is proved hy v. 17 where C^Dif*!! is construed as
feminine.

3 Point thus.

THE INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT. 85

must not he mentioned (Amos vi. 10), 1i?i^"7X Kli/ TN

*n7ten It luas impossible to enter the kings gate (Esther

iv. 2).

The use of the Infinitive described in the foregoing
section belongs, however, rather to a treatise on Hebrew
syntax than to a description of the Hebrew tenses, since
in every case the Infinitive Construct retains its essential
meaning.

THE INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE.

'I'he Infinitive Absolute is, as stated above, peculiar to
the Hebrew. Leaving out of account a few instances in
which it takes the place of the Infinitive Construct after
another verb, where the Infinitive Construct should pro-
bably be restored, its usage is altogether idiomatic.

I. Since the Infinitive Absolute denotes the mere
action of the verb without any limitation of time, person,
or state, it is frequently used in addition to the finite
verb, which it generally precedes but sometimes follows,
in order to emphasize the purely verbal notion. In
practically every case the meaning conveyed by it can, by
an intelligent reader, be represented in English by the
mere emphasis : though in order to leave no doubt as to
the exact meaning of a translation, it is frequently de-
sirable to render it by some adverb. It may in fact be
said that whatever meaning is capable of being conveyed
by the emphasis on an English verb may be expressed in
Hebrew by the addition of the Infinitive Absolute. Thus
it may express solemn assurance or warning, impatience,
surprise etc., contrast with another action ; or it may
imply that the action is in some way limited to the verb
which it qualifies. The context will always be a sufficient
guide to its exact shade of meaning. Examples are

/ ivill return to thee (Gen. xviii. 10).

THE INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE. 87

^nn^an-Sx nam

And on no account slay it (I Kings iii. 26)

The fellow came here alone as an uitla^nder and now he
has turned judge !! (Gen. xix. 9)

yiTH ijm'/iJ:'?!! ^h &i<r\ W hsm

Well, hut the man actually asked about us and our kindred

Were we to know (Anglice, How were we to know) that he
would say etc. ? (Gen. xliii. 7)

D^nK rn^i rn^) cy'^nS yb^rS ^n^nx ih\

V : V I T I VT : - T : • : - : • • • t :

But I would not listen to Balaam, arid he blessed you

(Joshua xxiv. 10)

[The emphasis on the word blessed is to bring out the
contrast with Balaam's intention of cursing.]

tj^n^ toyD ^nayta oyto

- . - . . . _ ^ ^ ^

/ only just tasted a little honey (1 Sam. xiv. 43)

nil: hyA\ h^ yiDC' lypK^'

Ordy hearken unto me, and ye shall enjoy ^ prosperity

(Isaiah Iv. 2)

V T - T • ;

But if, on the other hand, the slave shall say etc,

(Exodus xxi. 5)

1 For this use of the Imperative see above, on the Cohortative,
Jussive and Imperative, § IV.

<S8 THE HEHIIKW TENSES.

•T : ~~:i" : -t . •.• - t t ' •• • ' t

// Thoii wilt only c/ive this people into my harul^ I imll
destroy their cities (Ninn. xxi. 2)

ci-ib n^m ntrb C'-n D'nT nxtsnn n^yb' nxi

'AT •• • : ••• - T T '^ ~ I ' ■ : •• :

And Moses inquired indeed Jor the sin-offer viuj (joat^ and
lo, it had been burnt (Lev. x. 16)

[The Infinitive Absolute in this sentence implies that
Moses could do no more than inquire, since the goat was
not forthcoming.]

^Sa Dn^Si? nJrbS D^vyn ^^Sn rb-r^

\ V V .... - . . -IT : |T I T

The trees went to anoint over them a king (Judges ix. 8)

[The meaning of the emphasis here seems to be that
the trees started with a certain purpose, but, as the fable
shews, this purpose was unsuccessful.]

N.B. The explanation of this use of the Infinitive
Absolute seems to be as follows. Hebrew possesses but
few particles, and makes good its deficiency in this respect
entirely by the emphasis. Unfortunately this is a matter
to which translators have as yet given practically no
attention. Not only is the whole force of many passages
entirely overlooked through this neglect of the emphasis,
but translations are frequently suggested, especially in the
book of Job, which absoUitely ignore the emphatic word,
and depend for their meaning on the supposed emphasis
on some word that in the Hebrew is altogether without
emphasis. Under ordinary circumstances the first word
in a sentence is most emphatic, and as in a normal
sentence the chief emphasis falls on the verb, it naturally

THE INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE. 89

occupies the first place. It frequently happens however
that it is necessary to put some extra emphasis on the
verb, and since it is manifest that this cannot be done by
altering its position, it can only take place by the addition
of some word. Now a finite verb consists of two parts,
either of which may require to be emphasized. If it is
desired to emphasize the person, this is naturally done by
the addition of a personal pronoun. If, on the other hand,
it is necessary to lay stress on the action, the Infinitive
Absolute, which expresses the mere action of the verb
undefined as to time, person or state, is employed in
addition to the finite verb, and qualifies it as an adverbial
Accusative. In such cases the Infinitive Absolute is
usually, but not necessarily, of the same conjugation as
the finite verb.

II. By a slight extension of the foregoing usage two
Infinitives Absolute are commonly coupled together to
express simultaneous actions qualifying that of a finite
verb or participle. In this case one of the Infinitives will
be from the same root as the finite verb. Examples are

nbn^ rhn n^\^« nnx tt^-^i

And her husband weyit with her^ weeping as he went

(2 Sam. iii. 16)

/ sent U7ito them my servants the prophets from the begin-
ning onward (literally starting early and sending)

(Jerem. xxix. 19)

Mincing along they go (Isaiah iii. 16)

00 THK HKIiKKW TKXSES.

III. By a similar usage the Infinitive Absolute is
frequently employed adverbially to (|ualify the action of a
preceding verb, though the Infinitive Absolute of that
verb is not expressed. This is especially common in the
case of inX3 DtO^H and nS^lH vvhich have in fact become

mere adverbs. The following are examples:

And I heat it to atoms, grindiiuj it thorouyJdy

(Deut. ix. 21)

They have quickly turned aside from, the vmy (Ex. xxxii. 8)

Jehu shall serve him much (2 Kings x. 18)

IV. The Infinitive Absolute is used interjectionally
to express the wish of the speaker, generally as an
Imperative, but occasionally perhaps as a Cohortative or
Jussive \ This usage, however, which is especially common
with the verb ^/H, occurs more frequently in the silver

^ This last usage is a little doubtful from the paucity of illustrations.
There are indeed only three passages in which it seems necessary to
understand an Infinitive Absolute as equivalent to a Cohortative or
Jussive, viz. 1 Kings xxii. 30 (quoted p. 91), Num. xv. 35, Prov. xvii. 12.
Another difficulty presents itself in the last two of these passages in the
fact that the Infinitive Absolute is coupled with a Nominative. In
Num. XV. 35 myiT^B may be explained as due to an afterthought,
added in order to take away any ambiguity. This explanation will not
however serve in the case of the passage from Prov. xvii. 12, and it is
possible that here and in 1 Kings xxii. 30 the text needs correction.

THE INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE. 91

age of Hebrew, i.e. the period subsequent to Isaiah and
Micah. Examples are

V - T - V • --It

l^ake this law-book (Deut. xxxi. 26)

T : - It : I T
Go and wash (2 Kings v. 10)

T X T T • T

i^a^ 6*^6^ drink, for to-morrow we shall die (Isaiah xxii. 13)

T T ; • - T .. _ • .

/ will disguise myself and go into the battle

(1 Kings xxii. 30)

V. The Infinitive Absolute is used to denote actions
of which it is unnecessary to specify the agents or state ;
either because these have been already sufficiently indi-
cated or because the actions are purely general : e.g.

^y\ !i5fn3 ftxji nJJi my\ ^ny\ nSx

XT It; t;- t; " ~ \ t

They commit perjury (literally swear and lie) and murder
and steal and commit adultery, they break out etc.

(Hosea iv. 2)

[In this sentence the Infinitives are in reality a series
of nouns, as much as to say * There is perjury etc.']

... X - X

Thus saith Jehovah, They shall leave after eating

(2 Kings iv. 43)

92 THK HEBREW TENSES.

f?n) '^ynS ii3|"5i -ip^^ y^c^'m cix:^ nvn nJ:n

•;i-

Are you to steal , murder, and commit adultery and perjure
yourselves^ and burn sacrifice to Baal, and follow other

gods and then come and stand before Me?

(Jerem. vii. 9, 10)

DO-io'? HMi n-i5 rhs nynS rrni insicra non

t;*: tt: •■ •} -r " T \ tt; t "t

And notv I ivill tell you what I am. going to do to my
vineyard: I shall take away its hedge, so that it shall
be browsed upon ; I shall pull down its wall, so that it
shall be trampled down (Isaiah v. 5)

n^SD ^Jc^^^ "^bx nixn ^'?-nn

~ • T T T ~ T T I ; V;

And this will be the sign for thee ; ye shall eat (i.e. there
shall be an eating) this year that which is self-sown
(2 Kings xix. 29, Isaiah xxxvii. 30)

Whosoever will boast, let him boast in this, that he under-
stands and knows Me (Jerem. ix. 23)

VI. The Infinitive Absolute is likewise used in
narration in lien of the Perfect or Imperfect with Waw
Consecutive, when the time and the person have been
made sufficiently clear by a preceding finite verb. This
usage however can hardly be considered an elegance, and
belongs to the later period. Examples are

THE INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE. 93

It: tt - - - -:|- T : : ••• )• : —

And they comTuitted Jeremiah to the Court of the Guard,
and gave him a loaf of bread a day

(Jerem. xxxvii. 21)

\r\^ nynb^S-pNi Sidk tayx: Nnm r\ir\r\ Dnynr

Foi^ Aa-ye sown much and brought in little ; you eat but
cannot satisfy your hunger ; you drink but cannot get
mellow ; you, ivrap yourselves up but cannot grow warm

(Haggai i. 6)

Dny nym Dinm nS5D3 nin:3i ijp^ tiDsa nhb

They shall buy fields for money, and write deeds, and
seal them, and take witnesses (Jerem. xxxii. 44)

ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE INFINITIVE.

Any account of the use of the Infinitive in Hebrew is
complicated by the fact that, if we are to trust the
Masoretic text, the two forms of the Infinitive can be
used indifferently except that the Infinitive Absolute can-
not take a suffix. Thus we find the Infinitive Absolute
used for the Infinitive Construct in the following instances:

(a) when governed by another verb : e.g. HSS? yin )h^r\
ntO**!! Cease to do evil, learn to do ivell (Isaiah i. IG, 17);

h^V vh ^pi^n Keep still it cannot (Isaiah Ivii. 20,

Jerem. xlix. 23); ^iSpl V^^ni ^IX nSi And they would

not walk in His ways (Isaiah xlii. 24); yi3 DIXXS inyi7

!lil33 lin!!^ When he comes to the knowledge to refuse

what is bad and to choose what is good (Isaiah vii. 15, cf.

V. 16) ; T*SnX ^N"7t< riDin*l And I ivould state my case

to God (Job'xiii. 3)"; ^nn n^H Ojn^ nS He will not

.. ^ .....

suffer me to draw breath (Job ix. 18) ; PI^IH ]*^ DHN^ N7

i^ A scoff^er loves not that one should reprove him (Prov.
XV. 12): (b) apparently as the subject of a sentence: e.g.
DniX TN ^''b^n Well-doing is not with them (Jerem.

X. 5); nit3 iih niann ^'n^ SbX To eat much honey is
not good (Prov. xxv.27); isy nilSI h^f^H Sovereignty
and terribleness are luith Him (Job xxv. 2) : (c) when

ADDITIONAL NOTi: ON THE INFINITIVE. 95

governed by a preposition : e.g. U^)Si \V/V /lUnSl When
the most High apportioned the nations (Dent, xxxii. 8) ;
^^y^ n73n ''S when thou shalt finish tithing (Deut.

xxvi. 12); D-^l^n nb^ya when the Levites take the tithe
(Nehem. x. 89); D^nn^OJ r\'T\P\ nHDni^ tDptTH!! In
keeping quiet and in confidence shall he your might (Isaiah

XXX. 15); ^DnS^i D^a^rn nsSaS^ Dntspa ^:3^J^<-^31

D'^JDJ Tw And when we burn sacrifices to the queen of
heaven, and pour out'^ libations to her (Jerem. xliv. 19, of.
V. 25) ; inSJ^I SbsS Dyn ntJ^'^l And the people sat down

T : V:)V T T V ••-

to eat and drink (Ex. xxxii. 6) ; 113*1)1/ in abundance
(Nehem. v. 18); Hy^'li? till an end is made (2 Kings
xiii. 17, 19, Ezra ix. 4); Hp^^ Hi? till they had made an

end (2 Chron. xxiv. 10, xxxi. 1).

It is however remarkable that in most of the above
instances the difference between the two Infinitives is
merely one of pointing, and moreover a concordance
shews that in similar cases the Infinitive Construct is the

normal form. Thus Htt/ and 7nn are elsewhere always
followed by the Infinitive Construct with or without the

preposition. 7; /y is elsewhere always construed with
the Infinitive Construct, unless ^HK^i? (Ex. xviii. 18) be

the Infinitive Absolute with a suffix !, and HSIIJI (Jerem.
xlix. 10) be a mistaken pointing for nSIlJI. H^X, J^H^
VSrij 3nNj iJli (in the sense to allow, governing an
Accusative of the person) are all elsewhere followed by

^ Point thus.

'^ For the construction see above, on the Infinitive Construct, § III.

9G THK HKP.REW TEXSKS.

the Infinitive Construct with or without the preposition

^. A^ain, to consider the instances quoted under (b), it
is ncjteworthy with reference to Proverbs xxv. 27 that in
all other similar cases in which 2iC3 is the predicate —

with the doubtful exception of D''i3"13n (Prov. xxiv. 23,

• T V ~

xxviii. 21), which owing to the sliortening of the syllable
through the Makkef may be either the Absolute or the
Construct — the Infinitive Construct is the normal form ;
the rule being apparently that, if the Infinitive stand
before the predicate DiCO, it is used without the preposition

7. Moreover as a parallel to the passages quoted from

Jeremiah x. 5 and Job xxv. 2, we find with the Infinitive

It » »

Construct ^5^ pm^^ ^^:i^ *?ITn^ And in Thine hand it

is to make great and. to give strength unto all (1 Chron.
xxix. 12). At the same time it must be admitted that in

/^t2r\ (Job xxv. 2) we seem to have a mere abstract

noun of which the verbal force is almost entirely lost, and
it is not improbable that the Infinitive Absolute Hiph'il
was actually so used in the later stages of the language ;
at least this seems to be the natural conclusion from the
occurrence of such nouns as *lD3n in Rabbinic Hebrew.

In most of the instances quoted under (c) it is probable
that the pointing is wrong. In Ex. xxxii. 6, however, we
may possibly have the work of a ' compassionate editor,'
whereas nS^lH has so completely become an adjective,

that there is no great difficulty in accepting the reading
n^in? (Nehem. v. 18), though the text is not improbably

corrupt.

On the other hand we find the Infinitive Construct
used for the Infinitive Absolute in niSlin (Prov. xxv. 27),

^ninC'l (Isaiah xxii. 13), ^niSs (Hosea x. 4), ni3n"l

ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE INFINITIVE. 97

(2 Kings iii. 24), T^yH (Josh. vii. 7), TDH Dnni,

S'32rn (Ezek. xxi. 31), nVH (Ps. 1. 21), SlH (Neh.
i. 7), r\)hvT\) (1 Chron. xxi. 24), nhim (2 Chron.' vii. 8).
It is however noteworthy that DiS^n as an adverbial
Infinitive is unique, whereas n3*in occurs upwards of forty
times, though, strangely enough, not in Proverbs. The
curious hybrid niDK^l is probably a scribe's blunder, since
iPK^I occurs in the same verse. It is, how^ever, significant

that the Masoretes, notwithstanding the fact that the word
looked like a Construct, pointed it as Absolute. The same
remark applies to ni?^^, unless we are to understand it
as the Construct Plural of the noun H^N^ Hosea else-
where (chap. iv. 2) uses H/K as the Infinitive Absolute.

In 2 Kings iii. 24 the text is certainly corrupt : the LXX.
read two Infinitives, but whether their MS. had )2n or

niSn it is impossible to say. Perhaps the final H is due

to the following flN. In Ezek. xxi. 31 the pointing is
chaotic : it is scarcely likely that the forms HSJIl and

7^3K^n w^ould be used by the same writer. In Ps. 1. 21

the text is uncertain, the LXX. having read nilH (cf. Ps.

Ivii. 2). 7hn (Neh. i. 7) was probably intended by the

punctuators to be understood as a noun with the same
sense as in Ezek. xviii. 16 : in any case the vowels only
are in question. In the two instances from Chronicles a

7 has probably dropped out, and should be restored
according to the idiom described above : see on Infin.
Constr., section III.

It is true that an objection may be made to altering
the Masoretic pointing on the ground that there exist
forms, pointed by the Masoretes as Constructs in accord-
ance with the norm, which would more naturally be
K. 7

IJ8 THK HKIilJKW TKNSES.

pointed ;is Absolutes: c.o. -*pj {(Un^. xxxviii. I)), (HJ
(Num. XX. 21) as the Infinitive Construct of pJ; "n'^H
seven tiuKjs as the Infinitive Construct of H /H ; TM^V
ib^y four times for r\)t^V. ^'if^ tlio pointing of these

forms as the Infinitive Absohite would involve the con-
clusion that the Infinitive Absolute can be used with the

prepositions "^riT^^T^, p, [fi, ]Vu? ; ^nd in the face of the

great number of cases in which these prepositions govern
forms which can only be the Construct, it would be
difficult to accept such a supposition. Great as the work
of the Masoretes undoubtedly is, it is impossible to shut
our eyes to their numerous vagaries. The men who
pointed, for example, DrX^I^ (Joshua iv. 24), even though

in this instance we can find a motive for the pointing in
Jewish exclusiveness, were, from a grammatical point of
view, capable of anything !

INDEX OF PASSAGES QUOTED OR
REFERRED TO.

Genesis page

i. 1 2

i. 3 23, 46

i.6 77

i. 14 58

ii. 2 4

ii. 6 13, 62

ii. 18 79

ii. 24 61

iii. 5 57

iii. 22 19

iv. 15 83

viii. 17 59

viii. 22 39, 54

X. 8 82

xi. 1 45, 46

xi. 7 23

xii. 1 43

xii. 15, 16 42, 72

xii. 19 49

xiii. 6 82

xiii. 9 63

xiv. 22 3

XV. 6 71

XV. 12 84

xviii. 10 86

xix. 4 73

Genesis page

xix. 6 72

xix. 9 68, 87

xix. 23 73

XX. 11 e57

xxi. 7 6

xxii. 5 23

xxii. 12 29

xxiii. 11 5

xxiii. 13 32

xxiv. 13 76

XXV. 20 46

xxvi. 13 66, 67

xxix. 26 15

XXX. 31 17

xxxi. 8 63

xxxi. 34 4, 42, 72

xxxi. 44 59

xxxiii. 10 31

xxxiii. 13 64

xxxviii. 9 97

xl. 23 70

xii. 33 24

xiii. 18 26

xiii. 38 :.64

xliii. 7 12, 87

xliii. 10 6

100 IXDKX OF l'ASSA(iKS QUOTKl) OR JiKKKKKKD TO.

(tKNKSIS I'AGK

xliii. 14 59

xliv. 26 02

xlv. 12 76

xlvi. 30 HI, R3

flxODTIS

iii. '^ 22

iii. 11 18

iv. 24 81

viii. 20 10

viii. 22 65

x. 3 5

XV. 1 11

XV. 14 11

xvi. 4 56

xvi. 6 57

xvi. 19 23

xvii. 7 81

xviii. 18 95

xix. 19 68

XX. 17 18

XX. 24 58

XX. 25 48

xxi. 5 87

xxii. 2 7

xxxii. 6 95

xxxii. 8 90

xxxiii. 7 13, 62

xxxiv. 1 71

Leviticus

X. 16 88

xi. 45 75

xix. 12 58

Numbers

xlv. 2 8

xiv. 38 76

xiv. 42 29

XV. 35 90

xvi. 22 20

XX. 21 97

xxi. 2 88

Numbers pacie

xxii. 8 71

xxii. 29 28

xxiii. 19 18

xxiii. 25 67

xxiv. 1 80

xxiv. 17 11

Deuteronomy

ii. 7 80

ii. 31 HI

iii. 22 75

iv. 3 77

iv. 42 83

V. 15 79

ix. 5 81

ix. 21 90

X. 2 24, 71

xvii. 12 83

xxi. 18, 19 63

xxiii. 24 17

xxvi. 12 94

xxxi. 6 29

xxxi. 26 91

xxxii. 6 95

xxxii. 7 22

xxxii. 8 94

Joshua

iv. 24 98

v. 4 47

vi. 9 67

vi. 13 66, 67

vii. 7 97

xxii. 3 70

xxiv. 10 87

Judges

i. 21 70

iv. 8 19, 63

iv. 24 66, 67

V. 7 35

V. 25 2

viii. 3 81

INDEX OF PASSAGES QUOTED OR REFERRED TO. 101

Judges page

viii. 19 6

ix. 8 71, 88

ix. 9 5

ix. 12 71

xix. 13 59

1 Samuel

i. 2 45, 46

ii. 6 46, 75

ii. 8 17

ii. 11 77

ii. 25 82

ii. 26 68

iv. 20 44

vi. 12 67

ix. 7 20

ix. 11 73

X. 8 24

x. 11 45

xii. 2 69

xii. 3 33, 71

xiii. 13 18

xiii. 17 16

xiv. 19 66, 67

xiv. 36 29, 36

xiv. 43 87

XV. 22 79, 80

xvii. 44 26

xviii. 5 16

xix. 23 66, 67

XX. 22 3

XX. 29 23

xxi. 14 36

xxi. 15 20

XXV. 11 65

xxvi. 19 .7

2 Samuel

i. 18 35

ii. 23 45

iii. 16 89

iii. 24 67

2 Samuel page

iii. 25 22

iii. 33 12

V. 10 66, 67

vii. 18 18

xii. 16 68

xiii. 19 66

xiii. 25 31

xiv. 5 43, 47

xiv. 6 36

xiv. 10 58, 76

XV. 12 68

xvi. 5 66, 67

xvi. 13 66

xvii. 12 29

xviii. 18 43

xviii. 19 25

xix. 2 47

xxiv. 17 82

1 Kings

i. 6 72

i. 12 26

i. 14 73

i. 39 24

iii. 11 70

iii. 26 18, 87

viii. 5 15

viii. 27 15

ix. 4 17

ix. 16 41

xii. 9 71

xiii. 33 32

XV. 17 83

xvii. 11 82

xvii. 12 61

xvii. 14 22

xviii. 5 36

xviii. 9 18

xviii. 12 73

xviii. 22, 23 27

xviii. 27 28

102 INDEX OF l'ASSA(iKS QTOrKD ()|{ ItKFEHUEl) TO.

1 KiNOS PA(iK

xviii. 44 29

xix. 11 59

xxii. 7 27

xxii. 20 27

xxii. 22 56

xxii. 30 90, 91

2 Kings

ii. 11 4(), 73, 70

ii. 10 3, 27

iii. 13 31

iii. 24 97

iii. 27 12

iv. 13 84

iv. 24 3

iv. 43 91

V. 2 41

V. 7 18

V. 10 59, 60, 91

V. 11 56

V. 17 9

vi. 27 30, 31

vi. 28, 29 21

vii. 2 9

vii. 4 63

X. 15 9

x. 18 90

xiii. 14 12

xiii. 17, 19 95

xix. 9 92

xix. 25 32

XX. 4 46

xxiii. 4, 5, 8, 10 71

Isaiah

i. 2 69

i. 10, 17 94

i. 18 04

ii. 2 01

ii. 3 20

iii. 14 11

iii. 10 89

Isaiah page

iv. 4 7

V. 5 92

V. 11 17

V. 11 57

V. 19 24, 20

vi. 1 44

vi. 4 10, 52

vi. 7 57

vii. 15, 10 94

viii. 10 30

ix. 4 58

xii. 1 30, 31

xix. 1 50

xxii. 13 91, 96

xxiii. 16 18

XXV. 8 5, 52

XXV. 9 32

XXX. 9 81

XXX. 15 95

xxxiii. 6 79

xxxiii. 16 18

XXXV. 4 22

xxxv. 5 11

XXXV. 6 53, 69

xxxvii. 30 92

xxxviii. 21, 22 43

xl. 7 5

xl. 24 48

xli. 23 21, 24

xli. 26 33

xli. 28 28

xiii. 14 16 -

xiii. 21 19 ^

xiii. 24 94

xliii. 14 5, 57

xlvii. 1 19

xlviii. 7 19

xlviii. 18 48

1. 11 71

Ii. 12 16

INDEX OF PASSAGES QUOTE]> OR REFERRED TO. 103

Isaiah page

Iv. 2 87

Iv. 3 27, 60

Ivii. 20 94

Iviii. 13 82

lix. 1 3

Ixi. 10 If)

Ixiii. 19 8

Ixv. 8 61

Ixv. 22 14, 25

Ixvi. 7 11

Ixvi. 23 14

Ixvi. 23, 24 61

Jeremiah

ii. 19 79

ii. 20 35

ii. 22 70

iii. 4, 5 35, 36

iv. 3 29

iv. 19 33

iv. 21 34

V. 28 33

vi. 4 11

vi. 13, 14 47

vii. 9, 10 92

vii. 13 81, 83

ix. 19 33

ix. 23 92

x. 5 94, 96

xi. 21 76

XV. 6 16

XX. 10 28

xxix. 19 89

xxxii. 44 93

XXXV. 2 .60

xxxvii. 21 93

xli. 6 66

xliv. 19 84, 95

xlix. 10 95

xlix. 23 94

EZEKIEL PAGE

xviii. 13 65

xviii. 16 97

xxi. 31 97

HOSEA

iv. 2 91, 97

vi. 1 ...31

X. 4 92

Joel

ii. 20 34

Amos

vi. 10 85

Jonah

i. 11, 13 68

i. 14 23

MiCAH

iv. 13 36

vi. 8 79

Haggai

i. 6 93

Zechariah

xi. 9 76

Psalms

vii. 4, 6 7

viii. 5 18, 50

xxiii. 1 18, 28

xxiii. 2 14

xxxiv. 8 46

xli. 7 7

xlix. 10 32

1. 21 97

Ii. 18 28

Iv. 13 18

Ivii. 2 97

Ixxviii. 6 19

Ixxviii. 34 63

Ixxxi. 16 32

Ixxxviii. 16 34

xcv. 1 23

xcviii. 1 2

civ. 20 30, 31

104 INDEX OF PASSAGES QUOTED OU REFERRED TO.

PAGE

...80
...21
...21

Phalms

cix. 10

cxv. 7

cxix. 117

cxliv. 3 50

cxlvi. 4 20

Provekbs

xi. 2 48

XV. 12 94

90

xvii. 12

xvii. 26 80

80

9

96

XVlll. o

xviii. 22*

xxiv. 28

XXV. 27 94, 96

xxviii. 21 96

Job

iii. 11 13

iv. 2 9

iv. 5 50

iv. 8 14

iv. 21 9

vii. 4 63

vii. 20 49

viii. 7 25

ix. 18 94

ix. 33 28

xi. 17 24

xiii. 3 94

xvi. 4 28

xxi. 6 7

xxiii. 3 8

Jon PAGE

xxiii. 9 34, 36

xxiii. 11 34

xxiv. 16 5

XXV. 2 94, 96

xxxiii. 32 81

xlii. 5 4

Ruth

i. 13 .....31

i. 20 2

ii. 16 67

iv. 3 5

Lamentations

i. 19 33

ESTHKR

iv. 2 85

EZKA

ix. 4 95

Nehemiah

i. 7 97

V. 18 95

x. 39 95

1 Chronicles

xi. 9 66, 67

xxi. 24 97

xxix. 12 96

2 Chronicles

vii. 3 97

xxiii. 19 33

xxiv. 10 95

xxiv. 11 33

xxxi. 10 95

CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

CO
CO

a

Xennett, R.

A short account of the Hebrev
tenses

PJ
.Kh

PONTIFICAL INSTITUTE

OF MEDiA~v/.L SiUOIES

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