The Verb in Archaic Biblical Poetry: A Discursive, Typological, and Historical Investigation of the Tense System

377 Pages·2013·2.61 MB·English

by  Tania Notarius

The Verb in Archaic Biblical Poetry
Studies in
Semitic Languages and
Linguistics
Editorial board
A.D. Rubin and C.H.M. Versteegh
VOLUME 68
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ssl
The Verb in Archaic Biblical Poetry
A Discursive, Typological, and Historical
Investigation of the Tense System
By
Tania Notarius
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2013
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Notarius, Tania, 1967– author.
 The verb in archaic Biblical poetry : a discursive, typological, and historical investigation of the
tense system / by Tania Notarius.
  pages cm. — (Studies in Semitic languages and linguistics ; Volume 68)
 Includes bibliographical references.
 ISBN 978-90-04-25336-0 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25335-3 (e-book) 1. Hebrew
language—Tense. 2. Hebrew poetry, Biblical—History and criticism I. Title.
 PJ4659.N68 2013
 492.4’562—dc23
2013016316
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ISSN 0081-8461
ISBN 978-90-04-25336-0 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-25335-3 (e-book)
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Dedicated to my mother Irina Veviurko
and to the memory of my father Iliah Veviurko ל”ז
’אחכתשמ אל אתוקניד אסרג‘ יכ

CONTENTS
List of Tables  .................................................................................................... xxi
Acknowledgements  ........................................................................................ xxiii
Preliminary Notes  ........................................................................................... 1
PART ONE
INTRODUCTION: THE LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF
VERBAL TENSES IN BIBLICAL POETIC TEXTS
1 Verbal Tenses in Classical Biblical Prose:
A Selected Bibliographical review  ....................................................... 7
1.1 Approaches and Terminology  ........................................................ 8
1.1.1 Discourse Analysis and the Hebrew Verb ...................... 8
1.1.1.1 Various Tendencies in Discourse Analysis  ...... 9
1.1.1.2 Discourse Modes: Definition and Typology ...... 10
1.1.2 Structural Analysis  ................................................................ 11
1.1.3 Generative Syntax and Functional Analysis  ................. 12
1.1.4 Speech Act Theory  ................................................................ 12
1.1.5 Formal Semantics and Tense-Aspect Research  ........... 13
1.1.6 Theoretical Frameworks in BH Modality Studies  ....... 14
1.2 The Morphosyntax of BH Verbal Forms  .................................... 15
1.2.1 Nominal Forms in Predicate Position: Participles
and Infinitives  ....................................................................... 16
1.2.2 Volitive Modal Forms: The Cohortative, Imperative,
and Jussive  ............................................................................... 17
1.2.3 Indicative finite verbal forms: לטק, לטקיו, לטקי, לטקו  19
1.2.3.1 The Morphosyntactic Status of the
Indicative Forms  ..................................................... 19
1.2.3.2 The Semantic Constituents of the Categories  20
1.2.3.3 The Sequential Tenses  ........................................... 21
1.3 Diachronic and Dialectal Research on the BH Verb  .............. 22
viii contents
2 The Problem of Verbal Tenses in Biblical Poetry:
Review of Research  .................................................................................. 25
2.1 Word Order in the Verbal Clause in Poetry  ............................. 25
2.2 Verbal Semantics in Poetry  ............................................................ 26
2.3 The Verb in Poetry: Different Theoretical Standpoints  ........ 26
2.4 The Diachronic Study of the Verb in Poetry: A Glance at
‘Archaic’ Poetry  .................................................................................. 27
3 Verbal Tenses in Poetry: The Methodological Standpoint  .......... 28
3.1 Towards a Method: Preliminary Insights  .................................. 28
3.2 Discourse Analysis of Biblical Poetry: Basic Criteria  ............. 29
3.2.1 Linear vs Pragmatic Standpoints in the Discursive
Analysis of Biblical Poetry  .................................................. 29
3.2.2 Investigating Biblical Poetic Discourse:
Five Principle Criteria  .......................................................... 31
3.2.2.1 The Communicative Situation and the
Problem of Subjectivity  ......................................... 31
3.2.2.1.1 The Conversational Framework
and Quoted Speech  ............................... 32
3.2.2.1.2 Monologue-Blocks  ................................. 34
3.2.2.1.3 Subjectivity in Poetic Speech:
Levels of Personal Presentation  ........ 35
3.2.2.2 Pragmatic Information in Poetry:
Direct and Indirect Speech Acts  ........................ 36
3.2.2.2.1 Illocutionary Intentions in the
Conversational Framework  ................ 37
3.2.2.2.2 Illocutionary Intentions in
Monologue-Blocks and the
Principle of Pragmatic Attraction  ..... 38
3.2.2.3 Temporal Patterns  .................................................. 40
3.2.2.3.1 Deictic Time and its Textual
Marking  ..................................................... 42
3.2.2.3.1.1 Deictic Time in
Conversational
Framework  ........................... 42
3.2.2.3.1.2 Deictic Time in Quoted
Speech  ................................... 43
3.2.2.3.1.3 Deictic Time in
Monologue-Blocks  ............. 44
contents ix
3.2.2.3.2 Anaphoric Time  ..................................... 45
3.2.2.3.3 Sequential Time  ..................................... 46
3.2.2.4 Aspectual Entities  ................................................... 47
3.2.2.5 Principles of Text-Progression  ............................ 49
3.3 Discourse Modes in Biblical Poetry: A Working Typology  .. 51
3.3.1 From Discursive Analysis to Discourse Classification:
An Overview  ........................................................................... 51
3.3.2 Defining Poetic Discourse Modes  .................................... 53
3.3.3 Introducing the Discursive Heterogeneity of Poetic
Composition  ............................................................................ 58
3.4 TAM and Discourse Modes in Poetic Speech  .......................... 58
3.4.1 The Contribution of Discourse Modes to Semantic
Analysis  ..................................................................................... 58
3.4.1.1 From Discourse Modes to Tenses and Back  ... 58
3.4.1.2 Discourse Mode and Volitive Forms:
An Illustration  .......................................................... 59
3.4.2 TAM Semantics and Pragmatic Constraints  ................. 60
3.4.3 The Problem of Ambiguity in Poetic Language  ........... 62
3.4.3.1 Atemporal Perspective  .......................................... 62
3.4.3.2 The Dynamic Interchange between
Aspectual Viewpoints and Types of Modality  64
3.4.3.3 Episodic vs. Generic Interpretation  .................. 65
3.5 Linguistic Diversity in ‘Archaic’ Biblical Poetry:
A Multifaceted Interpretative Framework  ................................ 66
PART TWO
CORPUS ANALYSES
4 The Song of Moses (Deut 32:1–43)  ...................................................... 73
4.1 Introduction: Discourse Structure  ............................................... 73
4.2 Verbal Forms  ...................................................................................... 76
4.2.1 Nominal Verbal Forms  ......................................................... 76
4.2.2 Preterite לטקי(ו) (< *yaqtul)  ............................................... 77
4.2.2.1 The Preterite: Morphosyntactic
Characteristics  ......................................................... 78
4.2.2.2 The Preterite: Semantic, Pragmatic, and
Discursive Characteristics  .................................... 79