The Verb and the Paragraph in Biblical Hebrew: A Cognitive-Linguistic Approach
The Verb and the Paragraph in Biblical Hebrew: A Cognitive-Linguistic Approach (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, Book 78) by Elizabeth Robar
English | 2014 | ISBN: 9004283013 | 220 pages | PDF | 3,3 MB
English | 2014 | ISBN: 9004283013 | 220 pages | PDF | 3,3 MB
In The Verb and the Paragraph in Biblical Hebrew, Elizabeth Robar employs cognitive linguistics to unravel the notorious grammatical quandary in biblical Hebrew: explaining the waw consecutive, as well as other poorly understood verbal forms (e.g. with paragogic suffixes).
She explains that languages must communicate the shape of thought units: including the prototypical paragraph, with its beginning, middle and ending; and its message. She demonstrates how the waw consecutive is both simpler and more nuanced than often argued. It neither foregrounds nor is a preterite, but it enables highly embedded textual structures. She also shows how allegedly anomalous forms may be used for thematic purposes, guiding the reader to the author’s intended interpretation for the text as it stands.