John C. Beckman

26 Imperative Verbs, Part 2With a pronominal suffix, paragogic, or אנ

2016.11.15

Reading Biblical Hebrew

2GoalsBe able to parse the Imperative• Any stem (Q, N, D, tD, Dp, H, Hp)• With or without prefixed vav• Strong verbs only• Paragogic ה• אנ• Any pronominal suffix

Imperative followed by a vocative

What to ReportWhen Parsingthe Imperative

4What to Report When Parsing an Imperative VerbVerb characteristics (All Verbs)• Root ךמל ,דבר , etc.• Stem Q, N, D, tD, Dp, H, Hp• Conjugation M

Information about the subject (Finite Verbs)• Person 2nd

• Gender Masculine, Feminine• Number Singular, Plural

Additions if present• +Prefixed vav ו+• +Suffix +1cs, +Parה• +Volitional marker + אנ

Paragogic He on Imperative Verbs

6Paragogic He about 7% of the Time. All Stems.

Total # # Paragogic HeTotal Imperatives 4,286 100% 309 7%Qal 2,895 68% 207 5%Hiphil 740 17% 86 2%Piel 436 10% 7Niphal 117 3% 5Hitpael 64 1% 1Hophal 2 1Pual 0 0

7Where Paragogic He OccursParagogic He• ה vowel letter on forms that end in a consonant

• Paragogic He only on imperfect and imperative verbs

• Paragogic He never occurs on forms with a pronominal suffix• For imperfects, paragogic He occurs on 1cs and 1cp

• E.g., הא ל ט קט and ה ל ט נקט• For imperatives, paragogic He only occurs on 2ms

• Because only on forms that end in a consonant on לקט , not on ט וק ל

8Spelling Paragogic He on an Imperative VerbParagogic He is Vowel Letter ה at end of M2ms or an Imperfect verb

Preceeded by Shva that overwrites VS, as usual

• QM2ms+parה ל קט הק ל ט or הק ל ט• HM2ms+parה (VS י remains, as usual) ל הקט יהקט לה • DM2ms+parה ל קט ה ל קטט• NM2ms+parה ל הק ה ל ט הק• HpM2ms+parה ל הקט ה ל ט הקט

9QM2ms+parה Looks Like QP3fsQM2ms+parה can be spelled 2 ways• V1 is usually qamats qatan, not hiriq הק ל ט or הק ל ט• Just like Q∞+pronominal suffix

The qamats qatan way looks like QP3fs• ה ל ט קל =ק QP3fs OR QM2ms+parה

Distinguish by context• QP3fs requires a FS subject• QM2ms+parה requires direct speech to a 2ms listener

10Meaning of Paragogics Is DebatedOne proposal is that they have the same set of possible meanings: (Robar 2015)

• Motion toward or involvement of the speaker• Motion toward or involvement of a named recipient/destination• Non-indicative mood• Discourse marker:

• Topic shift• Put on verbs that are central to the theme

The difficulty with this proposal is that it is so flexible that it is difficult to test.

Our initial translation will not be affected by a paragogic• We may use them later on to refine our understanding of a passage

11Parse and Translate Imperative with a Paragogic He1. בה שכט2. רה שמט3. שיבה הקט4. ה ר ספט5. עה בט הש

שכב QM2ms+parה lie down!

שמר QM2ms+parה OR QP3fs keep! OR she kept

קשב HM2ms+parה listen!

ספר DM2ms+parה tell!

עשב NM2ms+parה swear!

The Non-Indicative Marker אנ

אנ 13 . After a Verb Indicates a Request or CommandThe non-indicative particle• Spelled אנ . or אנ• Occurs 405 times in the Bible• Indicates non-indicative mood, usually a request or command

אנ / אנ . immediately after a verb verb is imperfect or imperative• 236 times immediately after an imperative verb

• א רו־נ דבר =דבט DM2mp+ אנ ‘speak!’• 105 times immediately after imperfect verb• Never after an infinitive construct verb

A Pronominal Suffixon an Imperative Verb

15Pronominal Suffixes on 9% of Imperative Verbs.Only Active Voice.

Total # # Pronominal SuffixTotal Imperatives 4,286 100% 396 9%Qal 2,895 68% 172 4%Hiphil 740 17% 145 3%Piel 436 10% 75 2%Niphal 117 3% 0Hitpael 64 1% 0Hophal 2 0Pual 0 0

16Imperatives Use the Same Pronominal Suffixes as Finite VerbsOn finite verbs, the +1cs pronominal suffix is always ני, never י • Good thing, since י is 2fs subject ending on the Imperfect and Imperative!

Pronominal suffix on a finite verb is the object

• The subject is already built-in to finite verbs, so the psuff can’t be the subject

• E.g., נו צ קבט וט ץקב = . DM2ms+1cp ‘(you) gather us!’• Remember that M2ms = ∞, so this could beץקב . D∞+1cp ‘to gather us’ (object) or ‘to our gathering’ (subject)

• For some verbs, it can be the indirect object. E.g., ני ד למט ‘teach me!’

17Pronominal Suffixes Used in the ImperativePerson Gender Number Pronominal Suffixes Nun-Type

1 Common

S

י◌ ני◌ ני

2F ך◌M ך◌ ך ◌

3F ה ה ◌ נה◌M ו◌ ה ו◌ הו◌ נו◌

1 Common

P

נו◌ נו◌

2F ןכ ◌M םכ ◌

3F ןה ◌ ן◌M םה ◌ ם◌ ( מו◌ )

18Changes to the Imperative with a Pronominal SuffixAlways accent R3, as usualM2fp never occurs with a pronominal suffixM2fs+pronominal suffix• No change (subject ending י is V3. Accent already on R3)

M2mp+pronominal suffix• No change (subject ending ו is V3. Accent already on R3)• Subject ending ו often written defectively as

M2ms+pronominal suffix• Connecting vowel (V3) is (but in N-type suffixes)• Accent moves to R3• Other changes in the Qal (next slide)

19(QM2ms/Q∞)+PronSuff Looks Like QP3ms+PronSuffNo pronominal suffix• QP3ms ל ק• QM2ms/Q∞ ל קט

Pronominal suffix• QP3ms+3ms ו ל קט• Q∞+3ms ו ל ט ק• QM2ms+3ms הו ל ט ק Direct speech. VC = Tsere. Never +2nd person

How to distinguish• 2nd person pronominal suffix or NOT direct speech QP3ms or Q∞• Connecting vowel tsere QM2ms (or Q∞+1cs/1cp)

20Parse and Translate Imperative with a Pronominal Suffix1. הו ליכ השט2. וני ומלט3. א ני נ ד כבט4. רוה קבט וט5. ם ר מט ש6. ם ר שמט לט7. ם פר סט

ךשל HM2ms+3ms throw him!

מל DM2mp+1+וcs and deliver me!

כבד DM2ms+1cs+ אנ honor me!

קבר QM2mp+3+וfs and bury her!

שמר QM2ms+3mp keep them!

שמר Q∞+3mp to keep them OR to their keeping

ספר QP3ms+3mp he counted them

Imperative Followed by a Vocative

22An Imperative May be Followed by a Vocative NounThe subject of every imperative verb is 2nd person ‘you’

The subject pronoun of an imperative verb is rarely written as a separate word• E.g., the subject תהא ‘you’ in ר־ הדב את ‘You speak!’ is very rare

• Normally, it would be written ר דב ‘(you) speak!’

An imperative is sometimes followed by a vocative noun• The person addressed = the logical subject, but not the grammatical subject• E.g., ני ר הו ה׀שמט יט ‘keep me, O YHWH!’• E.g., ו צ ם הקבט כ כלט ‘All of you, gather yourselves!’• E.g., ב ש איובהקט ‘Pay attention, O Job!’