A critical grammar of the Hebrew language Volume 2

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1841 Excerpt: ...Oh that the day 2. From this use of the future or bbp"1 form in relation to a preceding past time denoted by a preterite or particle, for the purpose of predicating events that take place antecedent to the time of narration, has arisen that of the bbj5s1 form as a relative past tense. In this form the prefixed 1, which is the essential part of the substantive verb TO (§§212, 690), serves like 1 conjunctive to connect it to the preceding past tense expressed or implied. The uses of this tense as also of the relative future or bt3j31 form we will now discuss separately and at length. EELATIVE TENSES. §968. It has been stated above, that the two temporal forms bcj? and blip"1 are used to denote their respective tenses absolutely, that is, with regard to the time of narration; but that when the writer wishes to indicate the time of an action by its relation to an action or to a period of time previously designated, he generally employs for such relative past the form bb)5s1, and for the relative future the form bt251 (§§959, 966. 2., 967. 2.). We are now to treat of the various uses and constructions of these forms considered with relation both to their preceding and following verbs. might have perished on which I was about to be horn, and when I was not yet born!" This is much more forcible than the similar expression in Jeremiah, 13 ipflk'i "«BS BiTI 1V1K cursed be the day on which I was born! 20: 14. We consider that the simple 1 conjunctive and the so-called 1 conversive are derived from the same origin, viz. the substantive verb fpn ( = Kilrt §§ 648, 690), and that they both consequently have the force of a conjunction and relative, and are in fact essentially the same. When used as a mere conjunc...