אִם . . . הֲ: A rhetorical question anticipating a negative answer
The interrogative sequence אִם . . . הֲ in Biblical Hebrew can be employed in two forms of disjunctive question. The first offers mutually exclusive questions and the second comprises a rhetorical pair. Close examination of the extant examples reveals no difficulty in distinguishing between these...
| Published in: | Journal for the study of the Old Testament |
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| Subtitles: | ha... ʾim$dA rhetorical question anticipating a negative answer |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
[2020]
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Rhetoric
/ Doppel
/ Particle
/ Question
/ Interrogative clause
/ Noun
/ Hebrew language
/ Bible. Jeremia 31,20
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
rhetorical num
B Bibel. Habakuk, 3,8 B interrogative particles B Jeremiah 31 B Biblical Hebrew B double rhetorical B Habakkuk 3 B motivated interrogative sentence B triple rhetorical B rhetorical questions B אם . . . ה B Keywords Biblical Hebrew B אם . . . ה |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The interrogative sequence אִם . . . הֲ in Biblical Hebrew can be employed in two forms of disjunctive question. The first offers mutually exclusive questions and the second comprises a rhetorical pair. Close examination of the extant examples reveals no difficulty in distinguishing between these two forms and, further, that, when employed to express a rhetorical question, the double rhetorical sequence אִם . . . הֲ anticipates the answer ‘No’. Careful study of a debated example, Jer. 31.20, confirms that a negative answer is implied here, hence the evidence strongly favours this reading in the other contentious passage, Hab. 3.8. Here, triple rhetorical questions introduced by the interrogative particles אִם . . . אִם . . . הֲ are employed in a motivated interrogative sentence, suggesting that a negative answer is therefore expected. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0309089219862826 |