Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

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Charles Grebe
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Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Charles Grebe »

What is the significance of the 2 qatals in Judges 18:17?

The verse starts with a wayyiqtol placing this in the common historical narrative discourse genre, i.e. the narrator recounting to us the reader some events that happened in the past. Then it’s followed by 2 phrases each starting with a qatal, בָּאוּ and לָקְחוּ respectively. Neither qatal is preceded by a waw. Also neither is preceded by an “X” element so nothing is being topicalized. So my question is why would the author NOT use wayyiqtols here? Or to put it another way, how would the sense be different if the author DID use wayyiqtols here in place of the qatals? All the English translations I could find translate the qatals in this verse the same way one would translate wayyiqtols, namely as two events that follow in sequence after the initial wayyiqtol, i.e. “they went up… they went in… they took…”. Does anyone know how we should read these qatals?

Note that in the following verse (Judges 18:18), the first clause is off-line with an X-qatal element, followed by 2 wayyiqtols and the verse gives us more detail about how the events of verse 17 occurred. I’m not sure if the recapitulation in verse 18 of the events in verse 17 would influence a writer’s choice of verb form in verse 17. Maybe there is no connection here but I thought I’d just point out the possibility.

Verse 17
וַֽיַּעֲל֞וּ חֲמֵ֣שֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים הַהֹלְכִים֮ לְרַגֵּ֣ל אֶת־הָאָרֶץ֒
בָּ֣אוּ שָׁ֔מָּה
לָקְח֗וּ אֶת־הַפֶּ֙סֶל֙ וְאֶת־הָ֣אֵפ֔וֹד וְאֶת־הַתְּרָפִ֖ים וְאֶת־הַמַּסֵּכָ֑ה
וְהַכֹּהֵ֗ן נִצָּב֙ פֶּ֣תַח הַשַּׁ֔עַר
וְשֵׁשׁ־מֵא֣וֹת הָאִ֔ישׁ הֶחָג֖וּר כְּלֵ֥י הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃


Verse 18
וְאֵ֗לֶּה בָּ֚אוּ בֵּ֣ית מִיכָ֔ה
וַיִּקְחוּ֙ אֶת־פֶּ֣סֶל הָאֵפ֔וֹד וְאֶת־הַתְּרָפִ֖ים וְאֶת־הַמַּסֵּכָ֑ה
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן מָ֥ה אַתֶּ֖ם עֹשִֽׂים׃
Charles Grebe
Maniwaki, QC, Canada
http://www.animatedhebrew.com
Charles Grebe
Maniwaki, Quebec, Canada
http://www.animatedhebrew.com
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Ken M. Penner
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Ken M. Penner »

I agree that the choice of qatal rather than wayyiqtol is hard to explain. It's not what I would have expected.
I don't normally appeal to multiple sources to resolve grammatical difficulties unless there's no better explanation.
Moore, ICC Judges, 396 wrote:Came thither, took the pesel and the ephōd and the teraphīm and the massekah] the asyndeton, which in English would make no great difficulty, is very unusual in old Hebrew, and in such a connexion almost unparalleled. This grammatical difficulty is an additional reason for thinking that v. 17a is not from the hand of the author of the narrative; see above.
The "above" Moore is referring to is the view of Oort, Wellhausen, and Kuenen that "the narrative is not all from one hand," but is "the result of somewhat extensive interpolations, the disorder occasioned by these being aggravated, as is often the case, by corruption of the text and secondary glosses" (367) and the view of Vatke, Bertheau, and Budde that these are two narratives united by a redactor.
Ken M. Penner, Ph.D.
St. Francis Xavier University
Isaac Fried
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Isaac Fried »

The mystery of the "wayyiqtol" exposed:
וַיִּקְחוּ = בא-היא-(ל)קח-הוּאwith the PP היא referring to the performer of the act קח, 'take', and with the last הוּא added to say that there was actually more than one actor.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Charles Grebe
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Charles Grebe »

I found 7 other examples of wayyiqtol followed by qatal in non-direct speech where the qatal is neither a we-qatal nor an X-qatal. I've coloured the relevant bits below to make it easier to read.


Joshua 11:12
וְֽאֶת־כָּל־עָרֵ֣י הַמְּלָכִֽים־הָ֠אֵלֶּה
וְֽאֶת־כָּל־מַלְכֵיהֶ֞ם לָכַ֧ד יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ
וַיַּכֵּ֥ם לְפִי־חֶ֖רֶב
הֶחֱרִ֣ים אוֹתָ֑ם
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֔ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה עֶ֥בֶד יְהוָֽה׃
Judges 2:17
[right]וְגַ֤ם אֶל־שֹֽׁפְטֵיהֶם֙ לֹ֣א שָׁמֵ֔עוּ
כִּ֣י זָנ֗וּ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים
וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם
סָ֣רוּ מַהֵ֗ר מִן־הַדֶּ֜רֶךְ
אֲשֶׁ֙ר הָלְכ֧וּ אֲבוֹתָ֛ם לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ מִצְוֹת־יְהוָ֖ה לֹא־עָ֥שׂוּ כֵֽן׃[/right]


Judges 20:31
[right]וַיֵּצְא֤וּ בְנֵֽי־בִנְיָמִן֙ לִקְרַ֣את הָעָ֔ם
הָנְתְּק֖וּ מִן־הָעִ֑יר
וַיָּחֵ֡לּוּ לְהַכּוֹת֩ מֵהָעָ֙ם
חֲלָלִ֜ים כְּפַ֣עַם׀ בְּפַ֗עַם בַּֽמְסִלּוֹת֙
אֲשֶׁ֙ר אַחַ֜ת עֹלָ֣ה בֵֽית־אֵ֗ל וְאַחַ֤ת גִּבְעָ֙תָה֙ בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה
כִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים אִ֖ישׁ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃[/right]


1 Samuel 17:13
[right]וַיֵּ֙לְכ֜וּ שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת בְּנֵֽי־יִשַׁי֙ הַגְּדֹלִ֔ים
הָלְכ֥וּ אַחֲרֵי־שָׁא֖וּל לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה
וְשֵׁ֣ם׀ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת בָּנָ֗יו אֲשֶׁ֤ר הָלְכוּ֙ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה
אֱלִיאָ֣ב הַבְּכ֗וֹר וּמִשְׁנֵ֙הוּ֙ אֲבִ֣ינָדָ֔ב וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖י שַׁמָּֽה׃[/right]


1 Kings 21:11-12
[right]וַיַּעֲשׂוּ֩ אַנְשֵׁ֙י עִיר֜וֹ
הַזְּקֵנִ֣ים
וְהַחֹרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙ בְּעִיר֔וֹ
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר שָׁלְחָ֥ה אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם אִיזָ֑בֶל
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר כָּתוּב֙ בַּסְּפָרִ֔ים
אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁלְחָ֖ה אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃
קָרְא֖וּ צ֑וֹם
וְהֹשִׁ֥יבוּ אֶת־נָב֖וֹת בְּרֹ֥אשׁ הָעָֽם׃[/right]


2 Kings 23:15
[right]וְגַ֙ם אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֜חַ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּבֵֽית־אֵ֗ל
הַבָּמָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֙ר עָשָׂ֜ה יָרָבְעָ֤ם בֶּן־נְבָט֙
אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֶחֱטִ֣יא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל
גַּ֣ם אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֧חַ הַה֛וּא וְאֶת־הַבָּמָ֖ה נָתָ֑ץ
וַיִּשְׂרֹ֧ף אֶת־הַבָּמָ֛ה
הֵדַ֥ק לְעָפָ֖ר
וְשָׂרַ֥ף אֲשֵׁרָֽה׃[/right]


2 Chronicles 5:5
[right]וַיַּעֲלוּ
אֶת־הָאָרוֹן
וְאֶת־אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד
וְאֶת־כָּל־כְּלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר בָּאֹהֶל
הֶעֱלוּ אֹתָם הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם׃[/right]


Here’s my proposal. Let me know what you think.

The proposal:
A qatal following a wayyqitol,
- in historical narrative (i.e. narrator speaking, not direct speech),
- with no waw before the qatal
- and no fronted “X” component,
restates or expands on the action described by the wayyiqtol.

In all the examples I could find of a qatal following a wayyiqtol as described above (8 examples), it seems to me that the qatal can be better thought of as restating or expanding on the action of the preceding wayyiqtol rather than describing a new subsequent action, as we would expect with a wayyiqtol.

It feels like the initial wayyiqtol is somehow incomplete semantically (this is probably a poor choice of terms) and so it's filled out with a succeeding qatal. No intervening waw is needed because the qatal clause is in some sense subordinate to the wayyiqtol clause, restating or expanding on it. If a wayyiqtol were used instead of the qatal, the sense would be a second event that follows the event described by the first wayyiqtol rather than a filling out of the action of the first wayyiqtol. Below is an English gloss of how it seems to me these verbs are working together.


Judges 18:17
They went up (wayyiqtol)... entering (qatal) and taking (qatal)...

Joshua 11:12
He struck them (wayyiqtol)... chereming/devoting them (qatal)...

Judges 2:17
They worshipped (wayyiqtol)... quickly turning aside from (qatal)...

Judges 20:31
They went out (wayyiqtol)... being drawn away from the city (qatal, also passive)...

1 Samuel 17:13
They went (wayyiqtol)... going (qatal)...

1 Kings 21:11-12
The men of his city did (wayyiqtol)... calling a fast (qatal) and seating Naboth at the head of the people (qatal).

2 Kings 23:15
He burnt the high place (wayyiqtol)... pulverizing it to dust (qatal) and burning the Asherah (qatal)

2 Chronicles 5:5
They brought up (wayyiqtol)... the priests, the Levites, bringing them up (qatal)...

Thoughts?

Charles Grebe
Maniwaki, QC, Canada
http://www.animatedhebrew.com
Charles Grebe
Maniwaki, Quebec, Canada
http://www.animatedhebrew.com
Isaac Fried
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Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Isaac Fried »

"wayyiqtol" has wa in it.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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Ken M. Penner
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Ken M. Penner »

Charles Grebe wrote: Joshua 11:12
הֶחֱרִ֣ים אוֹתָ֑ם
FWIW, LXX has καὶ ἐξωλέθρευσαν αὐτούς
Charles Grebe wrote: Judges 2:17
[right]סָ֣רוּ מַהֵ֗ר מִן־הַדֶּ֜רֶךְ[/right]
LXX has καὶ ἐξέκλιναν ταχὺ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ,
Charles Grebe wrote: Judges 20:31
[right]הָנְתְּק֖וּ מִן־הָעִ֑יר[/right]
LXX has καὶ ἐξειλκύσθησαν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως
Charles Grebe wrote: 1 Samuel 17:13
Not in LXX
Charles Grebe wrote: 1 Kings 21:11-12
[right]קָרְא֖וּ צ֑וֹם[/right]
LXX has ἐκάλεσαν νηστείαν [no καὶ ]
Charles Grebe wrote: 2 Kings 23:15
[right]הֵדַ֥ק לְעָפָ֖ר
וְשָׂרַ֥ף אֲשֵׁרָֽה׃[/right]
LXX has καὶ ἐλέπτυνεν εἰς χοῦν
καὶ κατέκαυσεν τὸ ἄλσος.
Charles Grebe wrote: 2 Chronicles 5:5
[right]הֶעֱלוּ אֹתָם הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם׃[/right]
LXX has καὶ ἀνήνεγκαν αὐτὴν οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ οἱ Λευῖται.

For Judges 18:17's בָּאוּ שָׁמָּה לָקְחוּ
LXX has a participle ἐπελθόντες ἐκεῖ ἔλαβον

None of these passages are in the DSS.
Ken M. Penner, Ph.D.
St. Francis Xavier University
Charles Grebe
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Charles Grebe »

I found one more, Joshua 3:16.

[right]וַיַּעַמְד֡וּ הַמַּיִם֩ הַיֹּרְדִ֙ים מִלְמַ֜עְלָה
קָ֣מוּ נֵד־אֶחָ֗ד[/right]




As with the others (except for Judges 18:17 where the LXX has a participle for the qatal) the LXX makes no distinction between the wayyiqtol and the qatal translating them all with aorist indicative verbs.
Charles Grebe
Maniwaki, Quebec, Canada
http://www.animatedhebrew.com
Charles Grebe
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Charles Grebe »

Isaac, I honestly don't follow what you're trying to say in either of your two posts above.

Do you have any thoughts on how we should read these qatals differently than the wayyiqtols that precede them?
Charles Grebe
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Ken M. Penner
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Ken M. Penner »

DSS 4Q48 did not preserve the end of the line we need here! (fragment 2, line 2)
Ken M. Penner, Ph.D.
St. Francis Xavier University
Charles Grebe
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Re: Qatal vs Wayyiqtol in Judges 18:17

Post by Charles Grebe »

Time to go digging in some caves for that extra line of text! :)
So none of these verses show up in the DSS? Josh 3:16 isn't there either? I don't have access to the DSS.
Charles Grebe
Maniwaki, Quebec, Canada
http://www.animatedhebrew.com
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