Hard to explain question about a verb ending

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Kenneth Greifer
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Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

I know that people don't like you to say "future tense" about Biblical Hebrew, but this is the only way I know how to ask this question. I read a quote somewhere, but I am not sure where it was,and it had a future tense verb with the ending נה for "her" or "it" (the object of the verb). I understand that normally it would be the letter ה only. Is that ending common? Are there other verbs with that ending?
Kenneth Greifer
kwrandolph
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Re: Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by kwrandolph »

Kenneth Greifer wrote:I know that people don't like you to say "future tense" about Biblical Hebrew, but this is the only way I know how to ask this question. I read a quote somewhere, but I am not sure where it was,and it had a future tense verb with the ending נה for "her" or "it" (the object of the verb). I understand that normally it would be the letter ה only. Is that ending common? Are there other verbs with that ending?
Du you have any examples? I think I know what you mean, but would like to see some examples to make sure.

If I’m right, it’s a pattern found only with yiqtol verbs.

Karl W. Randolph.
Kenneth Greifer
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Re: Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

Karl,

I saw it somewhere once, but I don't know where. I was hoping you or someone else on B-Hebrew would know more about this. I thought maybe it was just a freak occurrence in that one quote.
Kenneth Greifer
Jemoh66
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Re: Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by Jemoh66 »

It's a nun energicum[i/].

58i 4. A verbal form with a suffix gains additional strength, and sometimes intentional emphasis, when, instead of the mere connecting vowel, a special connecting-syllable[4] (ăn)[5] is inserted between the suffix and the verbal stem. Since, however, this syllable always has the tone, the ă is invariably (except in the 1st pers. sing.) modified to tone-bearing Seghôl. This is called the Nûn energicum[6] (less suitably demonstrativum or epentheticum), and occurs principally (see, however, Dt 3210 bis) in pausal forms of the imperfect, e.g. יְבָֽרֲכֶֽנְהוּ‎ he will bless him (Ps. 7215, cf. Jer 522), אֶתְּקֶ֫נְךָּ‎ Jer 2224; יְכַ֫בְּדָ֥נְנִי‎ he will honour me (ψ 5023) is unusual; rarely in the perfect, Dt 2413 בֵּֽרְכֶךָּ‎. On examples like דָּנַ֫נִּי‎ Gn 306, cf. §26g, §59f. In far the greatest number of cases, however, this Nûn is assimilated to the following consonant (נ‍‎, כ‍‎), or the latter is lost in pronunciation (so ה‎), and the Nûn consequently sharpened. Hence we get the following series of suffix-forms:— 1st pers. ־ַ֫ נִּי‎ (even in pause, Jb 714, &c.), ־ֶ֫ נִּי‎ (for ־ַ֫ נְנִי‎, ־ֶ֫ נְנִי‎).
Jonathan E Mohler
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Jemoh66
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Re: Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by Jemoh66 »

Continued

2nd pers. ־ֶ֫ ךָּ‎ (Jer 2224 in pause ־ֶנְךָּ‎) and, only orthographically different,

־ֶ֫ כָּה‎ (Is 1024, Pr 211 in pause).

3rd pers. ־ֶ֫ נּוּ‎ (for ־ֶ֫ נְהוּ‎),[7] fem. ־ֶ֫ נָּה‎ for ־ֶ֫ נְהָ‎.

[1st pers. plur. ־ֶ֫ נּוּ‎ (for ־ֶ֫ נְנוּ‎), see the Rem.]

In the other persons Nûn energetic does not occur.
Jonathan E Mohler
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Baptist Bible Theological Seminary
Jemoh66
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Re: Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by Jemoh66 »

Continued

58k Rem. The uncontracted forms with Nûn are rare, and occur only in poetic or elevated style (Ex 152, Dt 3210 [bis], Jer 522, 2224); they are never found in the 3rd fem. sing. and 1st plur. On the other hand, the contracted forms are tolerably frequent, even in prose. An example of ־ֶ֫ נּוּ‎ as 1st plur. occurs perhaps in Jb 3115 [but read ־ֵנוּ‎ and cf. §72cc], hardly in Ho 125; cf. הִנֶּ֫נּוּ‎ behold us, Gn 4416, 5018, Nu 1440 for הִנְנוּ‎ (instead of הִנְּנוּ‎; see §20m).—In Ez 412 the Masora requires תְּעֻגֶ֫נָה‎, without Dageš in the Nûn.
Jonathan E Mohler
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Jemoh66
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Re: Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by Jemoh66 »

58l That the forms with Nûn energicum are intended to give greater emphasis to the verbal form is seen from their special frequency in pause. Apart from the verb, however, Nûn energicum occurs also in the union of suffixes with certain particles (§100o).

This Nûn is frequent in Western Aramaic. In Arabic the corresponding forms are the two energetic moods (see §48b) ending in an and anna, which are used in connexion with suffixes (e.g. yaqtulan-ka or yaqtulanna-ka) as well as without them.
Jonathan E Mohler
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Jemoh66
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Re: Hard to explain question about a verb ending

Post by Jemoh66 »

Also I noticed footnote 4.

It is, however, a question whether, instead of a connecting syllable, we should not assume a special verbal form, analogous to the Arabic energetic mood (see l, at the end) and probably also appearing in the Hebrew cohortative (see the footnote on §48c).—As M. Lambert has shown in REJ. 1903, p. 178 ff. (‘De l’emploi des suffixes pronominaux...’), the suffixes of the 3rd pers. with the impf. without waw in prose are ־ֶ֫ נּוּ‎ and ־ֶ֫ נָּה‎, but with waw consec. ־ֵ֫ הוּ‎ and ־ֶ֫ הָ‎ or ־ָהּ‎; with the jussive in the 2nd and 3rd pers. always ־ֵ֫ הוּ‎, ־ֶ֫ ההָ‎, the 1st pers. more often ־ֶ֫ נּוּ‎ than ־ֵ֫ הוּ‎, and always ־ֶ֫ נָּה‎.
Jonathan E Mohler
Studying for a MA in Intercultural Studies
Baptist Bible Theological Seminary
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