Word Order and Time in Biblical Hebrew Narrative (Oxford Theological Monographs)

This book addresses the problem of temporal interpretation within narrative of the biblical Hebrew verb, thus exploring the broader issue of the expression of time in language and the ways in which we can attempt to understand and represent it. Goldfajn offers a summary of this controversy, which has been argued over since at least the tenth century, presenting previous scholarly opinions and theories. She argues that one possible way of understanding the fundamental meanings of the Hebrew verbs is by examining the role played in ordering time by the four main verb forms used in biblical Hebrew narrative. Accordingly, emphasis is given to the intersentential use of these forms and the variety of interesting ways in which they establish the order of events.