The Moods with Light Vav

The Moods with Light Vav
§ 64. Imper. with simple vav.—The imper. with simple vav following another imper. expresses the certain effect of the first, or it may be its purpose. The first imper. in this case virtually expresses a condition which carries with it the second as a consequence. Genesis 42:18 ‏זֹאת עְַשׂוּ וִֽחְיוּ‎ do this and live; 2 Kings 5:13 ‏רְחַץ וּטְהָר‎ wash and become clean; Isaiah 45:22 ‏פְּנוּ אֵלַי וְהִוָּֽשְׁעוּ‎ look unto me, and be saved. Sometimes the certain issue rather than strict consequence is expressed, as in the ironical concession, Isaiah 8:9 ‏הִתְאַזְּרוּ וָחֹתּוּ‎ gird yourselves, but (ye shall) be confounded. 2 Kings 18:31, Amos 4:4; Amos 5:4, Amos 5:6, Jeremiah 25:5; Jeremiah 27:12, Psalms 37:27. Without vav, Hosea 10:12, Son_4:16, Proverbs 20:13.
§ 65. Juss. and coh. with simple vav.—The coh. and juss. with simple vav are greatly used to express design or purpose; or, according to our way of thought, sometimes effect. If the purpose-clause be neg. ‏וְלֹא‎ with indic. is almost always used.
(a) After an imper., or anything with imper. sense, as coh. or juss. Genesis 27:4 ‏הָבִיאָה לִּי וְאֹכֵֽלָה‎ bring to me that I may eat; Exodus 14:12 ‏חְַדַל מִמֶּנּוּ וְנַֽעַבְדָה אֶת־מצ׳‎ leave us alone, that we may serve Egypt; Judges 6:30 ‏הוֹצֵא אֶת־בִּנְךָ וְיָמֹת‎ bring out thy son, that he may die; Exodus 32:10 ‏הַנִּיחָה לִּי וְיִֽחַר־אַפִּי‎ let me alone, that my anger may burn; Genesis 42:2 ‏שִׁבְרוּ־לָנוּ וְנִֽחְיֶה וְלֹא נָמוּת‎ buy corn for us, that we may live, and not die; 1 Samuel 5:11 ‏וְיָשֹׁב וְלֹא‎... ‏שַׁלְּחוּ יָמִית אֹתִי‎ send away the ark that it may return, and not kill me; 2 Samuel 13:25 ‏אַל־נָא נֵלֵךְ כֻּלָּנוּ וְלֹא נִכְבַּד עָלֶיךָ‎ let us not all go, that we be not burdensome to thee. Cf. Rem. 1.
(b) After clauses expressing a wish or hope. Judges 9:29 ‏מִי יִתֵּן אֶת־הָעָם הַזֶּה בְּיָדִי וְאָסִירָה‎ would that this people were in my hand, that I might (then I would) remove Abim. Isaiah 25:9, Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 20:10 (after ‏אוּלַי‎, cf. coh. Exodus 32:30), Psalms 55:6, Job 6:9-10; Job 13:5; Job 22:28; Job 23:3-5; Job 16:20-21 my eye drops ( = a prayer) that would vindicate.
(c) After neg. sentences. Numbers 23:19 ‏לֹא אִישׁ אֵל וִֽיכַזֵּב‎ God is not a man, that he should lie; cf. inf. 1 Samuel 15:29. Psalms 51:16 ‏לֹא תַחְפֹּץ זֶבַח וְאֶתֵּֽנָה‎ thou desirest not sacrifice, that I should give it. 2 Kings 3:11, Isaiah 53:2, Psalms 49:8-10; Psalms 55:13. Without and, Job 9:33 there is no daysman, that he might lay his hand upon us both. So Job 9:32.
(d) After interrog. sentences. 1 Kings 22:20 ‏מִי יְפַתֶּה אֶת־אַחְאָב וְיַעַל‎ who will entice Ahab to go up? Amos 8:5 ‏מָתַי יַֽעְַבֹר הַחֹדֶשׁ וְנַשְׁבִּירָה שֶּׁבֶר‎ when will the new moon be over, that we may sell corn? Exodus 2:7, 1 Samuel 20:4, 1 Kings 12:9 (cf. inf. 1 Kings 12:6), 2 Kings 3:11. Isaiah 19:12; Isaiah 40:25; Isaiah 41:26, Isaiah 41:28, Jeremiah 23:18 (rd. last word ‏וְיַשׁמע‎, cf. Jeremiah 23:22), Hosea 14:9 (Jeremiah 9:11), Jonah 1:11, Lamentations 2:13, Job 41:11, Esther 5:3, Esther 5:6.
Instead of vav with juss. or coh. the more vigorous imper. with vav may be found in the above cases, a-d. Genesis 20:7; Genesis 45:18, Exodus 3:10, 2 Samuel 21:3, 1 Kings 1:12, 2 Kings 5:10; 2 Kings 18:32; Psalms 128:5, Job 11:6, Rth_1:9.
Rem. 1. Additional exx. of § 650. Genesis 13:9; Genesis 18:30; Genesis 19:20; Genesis 27:21; Genesis 30:25, Genesis 30:28; Genesis 42:20, Exodus 8:8; Exodus 14:15-16, Numbers 14:42; Numbers 21:7; Numbers 25:4, Deuteronomy 1:42; Deuteronomy 5:28, 1 Samuel 9:27; 1 Samuel 11:3; 1 Samuel 15:16; 1 Samuel 17:10; 1 Samuel 18:21; 1 Samuel 28:7, 2 Samuel 14:7; 2 Samuel 16:11, 1 Kings 13:6, 1 Kings 13:18; 1 Kings 18:27, 2 Kings 5:8; 2 Kings 6:22, Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 5:19; Isaiah 55:3, Jeremiah 37:20; Jeremiah 38:24, Hosea 2:2, Psalms 45:11; Psalms 81:9, Psalms 81:11; Psalms 83:5; Psalms 90:14, Job 13:13.
In the cases a-d, Ar. uses fa with subjun. Occasionally Heb. uses vav with volunt. to express design even after the indic. in the past, as Lamentations 1:19 ‏בִּקְשׁוּ אֹכֶל וְיָשִׁיבוּ‎ they sought food that they might revive their soul (cf. inf. Lamentations 1:11). Isaiah 25:9, 1 Kings 13:33, 2 Kings 19:25.
Rem. 2. The idea of design expressed by the consn. is illustrated by its interchange with ‏ל‎ and inf., e.g. 1 Kings 12:6 inf. with 1 Kings 12:9 juss., 1 Kings 22:7 with 1 Kings 22:8, cf. Deuteronomy 17:17 with Deuteronomy 17:20. Effect is rather expressed by vav perf., ‏וְהָיָה‎ not ‏וִיהִי‎, though the distinction is not always apparent; comp. 1 Samuel 15:25 coh. with 1 Samuel 15:30 vav perf. Exodus 8:16, 1 Samuel 24:15, 2 Samuel 21:6, 1 Kings 1:2. The juss., however, does not express effect simply so as that, apart from design; though there is a tendency to put design into the action rather than the agent, and this might explain some cases of juss.; cf. § 149, R. 3.—On the other hand, in negative sent. vav perf. often expresses the effect or consequence of the action, the whole compound expression (first verb and its consequence vav perf.) being under the neg.; Deuteronomy 7:1-26, Deuteronomy 25:1-19, Deuteronomy 26:1-19 ‏וְלָֽקַחְתָּ וְלֹא־תָבִיא וְהָיִיתָ‎... ‏לֹא תַחְמֹד‎ thou shalt not covet and take, thou shalt not bring it to thy house and so become a curse. Exodus 33:20, Deuteronomy 19:10; Deuteronomy 22:4, Isaiah 28:28, Psalms 143:7.
Rem. 3. The neg. apod. is usually subordinated by ‏וְלֹא‎ (or ‏לא‎) with ordinary impf. The form ‏וְאַל‎ rather co-ordinates its clause to the preceding one, Deuteronomy 33:6, Genesis 22:12, Judges 13:14, Psalms 27:9, though some cases may seem dubious, Numbers 11:15, 1 Samuel 12:19, Psalms 69:14, cf. both neg. Proverbs 27:2.
Rem. 4. The vav is occasionally omitted. Psalms 61:7 ‏מַן יִנְצְרֻהוּ‎ (imp. pi. ‏מנה‎) enjoin that they keep him. Exodus 7:9, Isaiah 27:4, Job 9:32-33, Job 9:35, Psalms 55:6; Psalms 118:19; Psalms 119:17. In Psalms 140:8 rd. perhaps ‏יָרִימוּ‎ and attach to Psalms 140:10.
Rem. 5. Some uses of coh. are peculiar. (a) It is not unnatural that the coh. or intentional should be used to express an action which one resigns himself to do, though under external pressure—a subjective I must. Isaiah 38:10 ‏אֵֽלְכָה‎, Psalms 57:4, Jeremiah 3:25? (b) Its use is also natural when a narrator recalls and repeats dramatically his thoughts and resolutions on a former occasion, as the Bride recites the resolutions she formed in her dreams, Son_3:2, cf. Son_5:2. So perhaps Psalms 77:3, Psalms 77:7, Hab, Psalms 2:1, Job 19:18? But Psalms 66:6 ‏שׁם נִשְׂמְחָה‎ there did we rejoice, can hardly be so explained (though impf. might be according to § 45, R. 2). Other cases occur where its usual sense cannot be attached to coh. The form, however, is but a fragment of a mood, which possibly had originally a wider range of meaning. There is also a tendency in the later stages of a language to use the stronger forms without the special force they have in earlier times. Thus the coh. seems sometimes to be merely an emphatic impf., and rhythm may occasionally have dictated the form. Jeremiah 4:19, Jeremiah 4:21; Jeremiah 6:10, Psalms 42:4; Psalms 55:3, Psalms 55:18; Psalms 88:16, Isaiah 59:10.—In several cases after ‏עד‎, Proverbs 12:19, Psalms 73:17. Cf. Lamentations 3:50, where juss. ‏יֵרֶא‎ parall. to ‏יַשְׁקִיף‎, not as Psalms 14:2.
Rem. 6. The use of juss. forms, especially in later books, is full of difficulty. According to Mass. pointing (the strict moods being omitted) the following forms are in use:—
perf.|1a ‏הִקְטִיל‎|impf.|1b ‏יַקְטִיל‎ simple perf. and impf.|
 |2a ‏וַיַּקְטֵל‎.| |2b ‏וְהִקְטִיל‎ regular convers. forms.|
 |3a ‏וְהִקְטִיל‎| |3b ‏וְיַקְטִיל‎ vav copulative.|
 | | |4b ‏יַקְטֵל‎, ‏וְיַקְטֵל‎ the modified form|
with or without simple vav used in the senses of the simple impf., e.g. in descriptions of past and present ( = 1b), and as vav perf., &c. ( = 2b, 3b). While 3a is in the main late (§ 58), 3b is common at all times in animated speech. The difficulty lies with 4b; e.g. Job 13:27 ‏וְתָשֵׂם בַּסַּד רַגְלַי‎ and thou settest my feet in the stocks (the form preserved in the quotation, Job 33:11). Psalms 11:6, Isaiah 12:1, Proverbs 15:25, Job 18:9, Job 18:12; Job 20:23, Job 20:26, Job 20:28; Job 27:22, &c. Again, Joel 2:20 ‏וְעָלָה בָאְשׁוֹ וְתַעַל צַֽחְַנָתוֹ‎ his smell shall come up and his stink shall ascend, where ‏וְתַעַל‎ = ‏וְעָֽלְתָה‎ or ‏וְתַֽעְַלֶה‎; Zephaniah 2:13 ‏וְיֵט יָדוֹ‎ and he shall stretch his hand, for ‏וְנָטֽה‎ or ‏וְיִטּהֶ‎. 1 Kings 8:1; 1 Kings 14:5, Micah 3:4; Micah 6:14, Leviticus 15:24; Leviticus 26:43, Ezekiel 14:7, Isaiah 35:1-2; Isaiah 58:10, Daniel 8:12; Daniel 11:4, Daniel 11:10, Daniel 11:16-19, Daniel 11:25, Daniel 11:28, Daniel 11:30, &c.
It is perhaps well to endeavour to fit some known juss. sense on each case as it is met with, though it may prove a waste of ingenuity. Further, while the general principles of Syntax may be common to all the Shem. languages, appeals to analogies from cogn. languages are often precarious. The reader for ex. who calls in the use of Ar. au, or, with subj. in the sense of unless, or else, to explain the juss. Isaiah 27:5 ‏אוֹ יַֽחְַזֵק‎ or that (unless) he take hold, will be disconcerted to find in the next verse a juss. ‏יַשְׁרֵשׁ‎ in a plain affirmative sentence.
As many juss. forms cannot be understood in a juss. sense, many scholars are inclined to go behind the Mass. tradition, and point according to what is supposed to be classical usage. Two main lines of emendation present themselves: 1. to point ‏וַ‎ or ‏וָ‎ (vav conv.) in a number of cases where Mass. has ‏וְ‎ with juss. forms. E.g. Job 34:37 ‏וַיֶּרֶב‎ for ‏וְיֶרֶב‎, Isaiah 63:3 ‏וַיִּז‎ for ‏וְיֵז‎. Proverbs 15:25, Job 15:33; Job 20:23; Job 27:22, &c. 2. To substitute indicative (defectively written) for juss. of Mass. E.g. Micah 3:4 ‏וְיַסְתִּכ‎ for ‏ויסתֵּר‎. Deuteronomy 32:8, Psalms 85:13, Job 34:29, &c. In cases where there is consonantal shortening in the form only the first method is available; in cases where there is mere vowel difference either method may be used, e.g. Job 13:27 ‏וְתָשֵׂם‎ may be read ‏וַתָּשֶׂם‎ or ‏וְתָשִׂם‎ as may seem necessary. 3. These two principles may need to be supplemented by more or fewer of the assumptions referred to, § 51, R. 5.
Unfortunately even these very wide operations on the Mass. text fail to explain all the instances. Cases like John 2:20, Daniel 11:4, Daniel 11:16, Leviticus 15:24, Ezekiel 14:7, &c. remain. In these cases the juss. seems used as an ordinary impf., and the question is raised how wide the usage may be. While therefore it is of course legitimate to subject any case of Mass. pointing to criticism, sporadic emendations, so long as uncertainty remains on the general question, afford little satisfaction.
The state of the question being understood the following cases maybe looked into. Exx. of ‏שׁוב‎ Isaiah 12:1, Job 10:16, Ecclesiastes 12:7, Daniel 11:10, Daniel 11:18-19, Daniel 11:28. ‏שׂים‎ Zephaniah 2:13, Psalms 85:13, Job 13:27; Job 24:25; Job 33:11, Daniel 11:17. ‏גיל‎ Isaiah 35:1-2; Isaiah 61:10, Zechariah 10:7, Proverbs 23:1-35, Proverbs 25:1-28, &c. ‏היה‎ Genesis 49:17, 1 Samuel 10:5, Leviticus 15:24, Psalms 72:16, Job 18:12; Job 20:23; Job 24:14. ‏חזק‎ hiph. Isaiah 27:5; Isaiah 42:6, Job 18:9. ‏רעם‎ hiph. 1 Samuel 2:10, 2 Samuel 22:14, Job 37:4-5; Job 40:9 (nowhere in indic.). ‏שׁלך‎ hiph. Job 15:33; Job 27:22, Daniel 8:12, cf. Psalms 68:14. ‏סתר‎ hiph. Micah 3:4, Job 34:29. ‏מות‎ Isaiah 50:2. Job 36:14. ‏חוס‎ Psalms 72:13 and often. ‏מטר‎ hiph. Psalms 11:6, Job 20:23. ‏רום‎ Numbers 24:1-25; Numbers 7:1-89, 1 Samuel 2:10, Micah 5:9.—Numbers 24:19, Deuteronomy 28:8, Deuteronomy 28:21, Deuteronomy 28:36; Deuteronomy 32:8, Deuteronomy 32:18, 1 Kings 8:1, Isaiah 27:6; Isaiah 63:3, Hosea 14:6, Micah 6:14; Micah 7:10, Jeremiah 13:10 (cf. coh. Jeremiah 3:25; Jeremiah 4:19, Jeremiah 4:21), Nahum 3:11, Zechariah 9:5, Malachi 2:12? Ezekiel 14:7 with John 2:20, Zephaniah 2:13, Psalms 12:3; Psalms 25:9; Psalms 47:4; Psalms 58:5; Psalms 90:3; Psalms 107:29, Job 10:17; Job 17:2; Job 20:26, Job 20:28 (cf. Job 36:15); Job 23:9, Job 23:11; Job 27:8; Job 33:21, Job 33:27; Job 34:37; Job 38:24; Job 40:19, Proverbs 12:26; Proverbs 15:25, Lamentations 3:50, Daniel 11:4, Daniel 11:16, Daniel 11:25, Daniel 11:30.
The frequency with which certain words appear anomalously in the juss., and the place of others in the clause, suggest that rhythm sometimes dictated the form (Job 23:9, Job 23:11). The fact that the anomalous juss. is often at the head of the clause has little meaning, as this is the usual place of the verb.—Pointing like Exodus 22:5 ‏כי יַבְעֶר־אִישׁ‎ seems due to the accentual rhythm, and no more implies an intermediate ‏יבעֵר‎ than ‏מֵינֶקֶת‎ implies anything but ‏מינִיק‎. Cf. Job 39:26; Job 22:28, Psalms 21:1; Psalms 104:20?