Towards a complex analysis of Wayihî + T constructions in Biblical Hebrew
What it is about
The full text is not in the library; this card rests on the repository's abstract, so the ideas are provisional. The paper studies וַיְהִי followed by a temporal expression (T) and then a main clause, which is either a wayyiqtol or a (we-)X-qatal clause, from Genesis to 2 Chronicles. In a Construction Grammar and cognitive frame it compares three construction types by the form and meaning of the temporal adjunct, the discourse function and distribution, and the tense–aspect values of the verbs. All share a core function (setting a new temporal frame), but they differ in where in a discourse they occur, and the choice depends on several interacting factors rather than one rule.
Ideas
- I1. Classify every וַיְהִי + temporal phrase in the Torah by (a) the shape of T (בְּ/כְּ + infinitive, אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, כַּאֲשֶׁר + qatal), (b) the following main clause (wayyiqtol, וְהִנֵּה, X-qatal), and count the combinations.
- I2. A prag/discourse rule: וַיְהִי + T opens a new episode or scene; mark it as a boundary and do not treat the וַיְהִי as a mainline event.
- I3. Tree check: וַיְהִי + T should not be the root of the sentence when a main clause follows; the main verb should be the root and the וַיְהִי a discourse marker attached to it.
For Mova
I1 and I2 go to Discourse: narrative, speech and the shape of a text (וַיְהִי) and tools/macula/src/prag.rs. I3 is a conversion rule to measure in tools/macula against PTNK (macula compare) and to record in 13-mova-tools.md §6.
Cite
@inproceedings{westbury2018complex,
title = {{Towards a complex analysis of Wayihî + T constructions in Biblical Hebrew}},
author = {Westbury, Josh and Andrason, Alexander},
booktitle = {SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University)},
year = {2018},
url = {https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/106379}
}This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/hbo-2018-westbury-towards-complex-analysis-wayihi-t/