Qatal Yiqtol (Yiqtol Qatal) Verbal Sequence in Semitic Couplets

582 Pages·5.875 MB·Hebrew-English

by  Tatu S.

T Q //Y
he aTal iQTol
(Y //Q ) V S
iQTol aTal erbal eQuence
S c
in emiTic oupleTS
GorGiaS uGariTic STudieS
3

General Editor
N. Wyatt
The Qatal//Yiqtol (Yiqtol//Qatal)
Verbal Sequence in Semitic Couplets
A Case Study in Systemic Functional Grammar with
Applications on the Hebrew Psalter and Ugaritic
Poetry
S T
ilViu aTu

GorGiaS preSS
2008
First Gorgias Press Edition, 2008
Copyright © 2008 by Gorgias Press LLC
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the
prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC.
Published in the United States of America by Gorgias Press LLC, New Jersey
ISBN 978-1-59333-958-6
ISSN 1935-388X
GorGiaS preSS
180 Centennial Ave., Suite A, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
www.gorgiaspress.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tatu, Silviu.
The qatal//yiqtol (yiqtol//qatal) verbal sequence in Semitic couplets : a case
study in systemic functional grammar with applications on the Hebrew Psal-
ter and Ugaritic poetry / Silviu Tatu. -- 1st Gorgias press ed.
p. cm. -- (Gorgias Ugaritic studies, 1935-388X)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
1. Hebrew poetry--History and criticism. 2. Hebrew language--Grammar. 3.
Hebrew language--Discourse analysis. 4. Ugaritic poetry--History and criti-
cism. I. Title.
PJ5022.T38 2008
892.4’1009
2008003083
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standards.
Printed in the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents v
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations and notations xv
General abbreviations xv
Biblical books (when chapter/verse reference is given) xvii
Hebrew characters xviii
List of tables and figures xix

1 SETTING OUT THE PROBLEM 1
1.1. Differentiating Poetry from Prose 1
1.2. Particularities of the Prose/Poetry Debate in Hebrew Literature 3
1.3. Features of Hebrew Poetry 5
1.4. The Verbal Sequence Variation in Hebrew Poetry 8
1.5. The Psalter as a Corpus of Poetic Texts 12
1.6. Terminology 16
1.7. Method 17
1.7.1. Verse-line Delimitation 17
1.7.2. Systemic Functional Analysis 19
1.8. Outline of this study 19
1.9. Relevance of this Study 21
1.9.1. Relevance to the Literary Criticism of Hebrew Poetry 21
1.9.2. Relevance to the Grammar of Classical Hebrew 22
1.9.3. Relevance to the Exegesis of the Hebrew Psalms as Preserved by the
Masoretes 22
1.9.4. Relevance to Systemic Functional Grammar 23
1.9.5. Relevance to Ugaritic studies 23

2 PREVIOUS CONSIDERATIONS OF THE QYYQ
VERBAL SEQUENCE 25
2.1. The Rhetorical Solution 25
2.1.1. Moshe Held 25
2.1.2. Mitchell Dahood 27
v
vi THE QYYQ VERBAL SEQUENCE IN SEMITIC COUPLETS
2.1.3. Stanley Gevirtz 29
2.1.4. Frank C. Fensham 29
2.1.5. Randall Buth 30
2.1.6. Wilfred G.E. Watson 32
2.2. The Pragmatic Solution 34
2.2.1. Talmy Givón 35
2.2.2. Michael Rosenbaum 37
2.2.3. Walter Gross 40
2.2.4. Nicholas P. Lunn 41
2.3. Summary 46

3 THE STRUCTURE OF POETIC VERSE AS PRESERVED BY THE
MASORETES 47
3.1. The Masoretic Tradition of Verse-line Delimitation 48
3.1.1. The relevance of the Masoretic accents 48
3.1.2. Rules of Engagement with the Masoretic Accents 52
3.2. The ‘Delimitation Theory’ 55
3.2.1. Marjo C.A. Korpel and Johannes C. de Moor 56
3.2.2. William T. Koopmans 58
3.2.3. Raymond de Hoop 58
3.2.4. Ernst J. Revell 59
3.2.5. Jan P. Fokkelman 60
3.3. Methodological Steps to Approach the Masoretic Text of the Psalms 64
3.4. The Masoretic Text and Some of Its Modern Interpreters 66
3.3.1. Julius Wellhausen 66
3.3.2. Franz Wutz 66
3.3.3. Oswald Loretz 67
3.3.4. Hans-Joachim Kraus 67
3.3.5. Peter C. Craigie, Marvin E. Tate and Leslie C. Allen 69
3.3.6. Pierre Auffret 71
3.3.7. Raymond J. Tournay 72
3.3.8. Tertulian Langa 73
3.4. Summary 74

4 SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR: A READER 75
4.1. Principles of the Systemic Theory 76
4.2. Thematic structure 85
4.2.1. The System of Information 85
4.2.2. The System of theme 87
4.2.3. Theme in declarative clauses 90
4.2.4. Theme in interrogative clauses 90
4.2.5. Theme in volitive clauses 91
4.2.6. Textual, Interpersonal and Topical Themes 91
4.2.7. Equative Constructions and Predicated Themes 93
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii
4.2.8. Theme in bound, minor and elliptical clauses 94
4.3. Mood Structure 95
4.3.1. The Mood Element 96
4.3.2. The Residue Element 100
4.3.3. Mood in Declarative Clauses 103
4.3.4. Mood in Interrogative Clauses 104
4.3.5. Mood in Volitive Clauses 105
4.3.6. Mood in Minor and Elliptical Clauses 106
4.3.7. Extensions of Mood Analysis 108
4.4. Transitivity Structure 109
4.4.1. Transitivity Structure of Material Clauses 113
4.4.2. Transitivity Structure of Mental Clauses 115
4.4.3. Transitivity Structure of Relational Clauses 116
4.4.4. Transitivity Structure of Other Types of Clauses 122
4.4.5. Circumstantial Elements 125
4.4.6. Ergativity as an Alternative Interpretation to Transitivity 128
4.5. Logical Structure 132
4.5.1. Interdependency 133
4.5.1.1. Parataxis 134
4.5.1.2. Hypotaxis 135
4.5.2. Logico-semantic Types: Expansion 136
4.5.3. Logico-semantic Types: Projection 144
4.6. Summary 151

5 A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR OF STANDARD
HEBREW 153
5.1. Thematic Structure 153
5.1.1. Theme in declarative clauses 156
5.1.2. Theme in interrogative clauses 162
5.1.3. Theme in volitive clauses 165
5.1.4. Textual and interpersonal Themes 167
5.1.5. Equative Constructions 176
5.1.6. Theme in Bound, Minor and Elliptical Clauses 178
5.2. Mood structure 181
5.2.1. The Mood Element 183
5.2.2. The Residue element 189
5.2.3. Mood in declarative clauses 191
5.2.4. Mood in interrogative clauses 194
5.2.5. Mood in volitive clauses 198
5.2.6. Mood in minor and elliptical clauses 200
5.2.7. Extensions of Mood analysis 203
5.3. Transitivity Structure 205
5.3.1. Transitivity structure of material clauses 205
5.3.2. Transitivity structure of mental clauses 209
viii THE QYYQ VERBAL SEQUENCE IN SEMITIC COUPLETS
5.3.3. Transitivity Structure of Relational Clauses 212
5.3.4. Transitivity structure of other types of clauses 218
5.3.5. Circumstantial elements 223
5.3.6. Ergativity as an alternative interpretation to transitivity 231
5.4. Logical Structure 240
5.4.1. Interdependency (taxis) 241
5.4.2. Logico-semantic type: expansion 249
5.4.3. Logico-semantic type: projection 265

6 PSALM COUPLETS WITH QYYQ VERBAL SEQUENCE:
A SFG INVESTIGATION 277
6.1. Thematic Structure of Psalm Couplets with a QYYQ Verbal Sequence 277
6.1.1. Psalm 38 277
6.1.2. Evaluation of the database 289
6.2. Mood structure of Psalm couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 291
6.2.1. Psalm 63 291
6.2.2. Evaluation of the database 298
6.3. Transitivity structure of Psalm couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 301
6.3.1. Psalm 26 301
6.3.2. Evaluation of the database 307
6.4. Logical structure of Psalm couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 310
6.4.1. Psalm 7 310
6.4.2. Evaluation of the database 316

7 THE CASE OF UGARITIC POETRY 319
7.1. The Ugaritic text 322
7.2. The poetic quality of Ugaritic narrative poems 323
7.3. The Ugaritic database 327
7.4. The SFG analysis of UPy couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 333
7.4.1. Thematic f-structure of Ugaritic couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 333
7.4.2. Mood f-structure of Ugaritic couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 334
7.4.3. Transitivity f-structure of Ugaritic couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 336
7.4.4. Logical structure of Ugaritic couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 336
7.5. Summary 337

8 CONCLUSIONS 339
8.1. Contributions of this research 339
8.2. Resources for further research 343
8.3. Recommendations for further research 343

Bibliography 345
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Functional structure of Hebrew Psalms couplets with
q*f~l//y]qf{l verbal sequence 379
TABLE OF CONTENTS ix
Appendix 2: Functional structure of Hebrew Psalms couplets with
y]qf{l//q*f~l verbal sequence 439
Appendix 3: Authorities Consulted for Verse-lines Delimitation in Psalms 481
Appendix 4: Relations among verb forms, Subject and Marked Theme 491
Appendix 5: Functional structure of Ugaritic couplets with QYYQ verbal
sequence 499
(a) q*f~l//y]qf{l 499
(b) y]qf{l//q*f~l 506
Appendix 6: Archaic HPy couplets with QYYQ verbal sequence 515
(a) q*f~l//y]qf{l 515
variant 515
(b) y]qf{l//q*f~l 516
Appendix 7: Distribution of couplets in Psalms 517
Appendix 8: Variations of verses with the QYYQ verbal sequence 531
Distribution of couplets with a QYYQ verbal sequence on one of its lines 531
Distribution of tercets with a QYYQ verbal sequence base 531
Appendix 9: An overview of verse-line delimitation in Psalms as preserved by the
Masoretes and compared with Ancient, Medieval and modern authorities 533
Index of subjects 541
Index of authorities 545
Index of biblical references 549
index of ugaritic references 561