FUNDAMENTALS
2.1. Information Structure
2.1.3. Thematicity
In the Word – Exegetical Insights
Psalm 129:2
yr"_W[N>mi ynIWrår"c. tB;r:â
`yli( Wlk.y"ï-al{ ~G:÷
tB;r:â
: Adjective feminine singular construct, many, many a time, often. Exegetical comment: It appears that the psalmist places the adjective first for emphasis.
Wlk.y"ï
is a stative verb fromlkoy"
meaning was able or he prevailed. Often the verb takes the latter meaning when it is not followed by the characteristic infinitive construct with a prefixedl
.
`yli(
: In this context following the previous verb, thel
expresses the concept of against. Being part of the body of a psalm, this verse consists of Hebrew poetry. Parallelism characterizes Hebrew poetry. For translating this verse, the student should compose two lines of English dividing the verse as the major Hebrew disjunctive accent divides it.
1A. Segholate Nouns 1B. Introduction
A significant number of Hebrew nouns
(1) generally possess a seghol under the second syllable and
(2) indicate an accent on the first syllable (if a word ends in a seghol, the accent precedes it).
Such nouns are called segholate nouns and demand special attention since they are pointed uniquely.
2B. Declension Examples: segholates follow this pointing. Remember that longer Hebrew words tend to prefer an accented syllable at the end, a long vowel in the next to last syllable, and in the third syllable from the end as short a vowel as possible.
See page 69 (3A).
2C.
xb;z<ñ
Since gutturals prefer pathach under them and even before them, the seghol has given way to a pathach.3C.
#r<a,ñ
Two things should be noted about this segholate:1. The word is feminine and takes a feminine ending in the plural.
2. The word begins with a guttural and since gutturals cannot take simple shewa, it receives a composite shewa.
4C.
r[;n:ñ
Similar to 2C, the pathachs owe their presence to the preference of gutturals to have pathach under and before them.5C.
!z<aoñ
This slightly different segholate:1. Takes a dual ending. See page 68 (5B).
2. Takes a qamets-hatuph under the aleph since the syllable is now closed and unaccented, thereby demanding a short vowel. See pages 45–46 (3A).
2A. Stative Verbs (Verbs of Being) 1B. Introduction
Three basic types of verbs exist in Hebrew that may be classified generally by the vowel in their second syllable:
(1) The a-class verbs, such as
rm;v'
, are normally fientive260 and denote motion or action.
260 Stative verbs express a state of being (e.g., be afraid, be good). Fientive verbs are verbs denoting actions—verbs of doing. Fientive verbs divide into two groups: transitive and intransitive.
Transitive verbs take an object. Intransitive verbs do not take an object. Some verbs may partake of both senses when used in different contexts. Consider the use of the English verb run: (1) Mr. Jones runs a
(2) The e-class verbs, such as
dbeK'
, are generally stative, verbs denoting states—verbs of being. English translation of statives characteristically employ some form of the verb be.(3) The o-class verbs, such as
lkoy"
, are also generally stative.2B. Conjugating Stative Verbs
The stative verb conjugates essentially in the same forms as the Qal of the regular verb, with only a few exceptions.
QAL Active (a-class)
Stative
e-class o-class Perf. sg. 1 com.
yTil.j;ñq' yTid>b;ñK' yTin>joñq'
2 masc.
T'l.j;ñq' T'd>b;ñK' T'n>joñq'
2 fem.
T.l.j;q' T.d>b;K' T.n>joq'
3 masc.
lj;q' dbeK' !joq'
3 fem.
hl'j.q") hd"b.K") hn"j.q")
pl. 1 com.
Wnl.j;ñq' Wnd>b;ñK' WNjoñq'
2 masc.
~T,l.j;q. ~T,d>b;K. ~T,n>j'q.
2 fem.
!T,l.j;q. !T,d>b;K. !T,n>j'q.
3 com.
Wlj.q") Wdb.K") Wnj.q")
Impf. sg. 1 com.
ljoq.a, dB;k.a, !j;q.a,
2 masc.
ljoq.Ti dB;k.Ti !j;q.Ti
2 fem.
ylij.q.Ti ydIB.k.Ti ynIj.q.Ti
3 masc.
ljoq.yI dB;k.yI !j;q.yI
3 fem.
ljoq.Ti dB;k.Ti !j;q.Ti
pl. 1 com.
ljoq.nI dB;k.nI !j;q.nI
2 masc.
Wlj.q.Ti WdB.k.Ti Wnj.q.Ti
2 fem.
hn"l.joñq.Ti hn"d>B;ñk.Ti hN"j;ñq.Ti
3 masc.
Wlj.q.yI WdB.k.yI Wnj.q.yI
3 fem.
hn"l.joñq.Ti hn"d>B;ñk.Ti hN"j;ñq.Ti
Impv. sg. masc.
ljoq. db;K. !j;q.
Ptcp. sg. masc.
ljeqo dbeK' !joq'
factory. This sentence employs run as a transitive fientive—an active verb describing an action that acts upon a direct object (a factory). (2) Instead of walking, the man ran. In this use of run, the verb is an intransitive fientive—an active verb that does not impose action upon a direct object.
3B. Explanatory Notes:
1. Note that the stative verb’s participle displays the same form as the perfect 3ms. Context as well as the rules governing participles help determine which of the two forms the writer intends.
2. Note the qamets-hatuph in the perfect 2 pl forms of
!jq
. The long vowel holem was replaced by the short vowel because the syllable is now closed and unaccented, thereby demanding a short vowel. See pages 45–46 (3A).3. Note the strong dagesh (forte) in the
n
of!joq'
in the perfect 1cp and in the imperfect 2fp and 3fp. The strong dagesh (―the doubling dot‖) indicates that then
of the root and then
of the suffix are both present.4A. Vocabulary Nouns: