Anteriority and justification: Pragmatic functions of the W^ex-qatal form indirect speech in the book of Genesis

 

 

William R. Osborne

College of the Ozarks

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Recognizing that scholarship has long struggled with the so-called "freeness " of Hebrew word order in direct speech, this study seeks to demonstrate that the primary pragmatic functions of the w^ex-qatal form within direct speech in classical biblical Hebrew are justification and anteriority. Examining the issues of word order and the syntactical opposition between the wayyiqtol and w^ex-qatal, the work concludes by presenting numerous examples of both functions in Genesis texts. The implications of the study are an improved understanding of clausal relationships within direct speech and improved translations and interpretations of these passages.

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Correspondence:
William R. Osborne
College of the Ozarks, 345 Opportunity Ave. Point Lookout
Missouri USA
Email: wrosborne@cofo.edu