The Origin of the Biblical Hebrew Infinitive Construct
Grammarians have long assumed that the Biblical Hebrew inf. cst. has an origin different from that of the inf. abs. They generally suppose that the inf. cst. has come down from the same origin as the imperative and imperfect, while seeking the origin of the inf. abs. in a verbal noun. This article l...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2012]
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| In: |
Journal of Semitic studies
Year: 2012, Volume: 57, Issue: 1, Pages: 25-35 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Grammarians have long assumed that the Biblical Hebrew inf. cst. has an origin different from that of the inf. abs. They generally suppose that the inf. cst. has come down from the same origin as the imperative and imperfect, while seeking the origin of the inf. abs. in a verbal noun. This article looks into this traditional hypothesis held by most scholars along with the alternative hypothesis that posits shared origin of the inf. cst. and inf. abs. For internal evidence, it will concentrate on morphological features of the Biblical Hebrew inf. cst., while examining other Semitic infinitives for comparative evidence. Based on these examinations, I will show that Hebrew originally knew only one infinitive and that the inf. cst. is an innovation through conditioned phonological change and subsequent analogy. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-8556 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Semitic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jss/fgr031 |