§ 164.Temporal Clauses.

(a) Actions or events are represented as wholly or in part simultaneousby connecting a noun-clause with another noun-clause or verbal-clause introduced by w> (or hNEhiw>), e. g. Gn 7:6 and Noah was six hundred years old(prop. a son of six hundred years), hy"h' lWBM;h;w> and (i. e. when) the flood was. This is especially the case when the predicate of the noun-clause (frequently introduced by dA[ still) is expressed by an active participle, e. g. Jb 1:16 f. hz< dA[ägw ab' hz<w> rBed;m. he was yet speaking, and there came another, &c.; see the numerous examples in § 111 g and § 116 u. Instead of a complete nounclause there often occurs a simple casus pendens after -lK' with a participial attribute in the sense of whenever any one …, e. g. 1 S 2:13 xb;z<ñ x;bezO vyai-lK' ägw ab'W whenever any man offered sacrifice, then came,&c.; 2 S 2:23, &c see the examples (in which the second member is generally introduced by waÒw apodosis) in § 116 w.

b

(b) Sequence is expressed by the juxtaposition

(1) of two imperfects consecutive, e. g. Gn 24:19 rm,aoTw: Atqov.h;l. lk;T.w: and when she had done giving him drink, she said, &c.; 28:8 f., 29:31, 30:9, 32:26, &c.; Cf. § 111 d;

(2) of a noun-clause with a passive participle as predicate, and a verbal clause attached by w>, e. g. Gn 38:25; cf. § 116 v; in Gn 49:29 an imperative follows without w>;

(3) of two perfects (frequently with the secondary idea of rapid succession¹ of the two actions or events in past time), e. g. Gn 19:23  ägw aB' jAlw> … ac'y"vm,V,ñh; the sun was just risen …, and(= when) Lot came, &c., cf. 1 S 9:5, 2 S 2:24; Gn 44:3 f., Ju 3:24, 15:14, 20:39 f. — In all these examples the subject follows immediately after the connective WaÒw, and then the (simple) perfect. On the other hand,

(4) a perfect consecutive follows another perfect consecutive to express the contingent succession of future actions, e. g. Gn 44:4 ~h,lea] T'r>m;a†'w> ~T'g>F;hiw> and when thou dost overtake them (as soon as thou shalt have overtaken) thou shalt say unto them. Naturally, examples of this kind are very closely related to conditional sentences; see, therefore, the examples in § 112 kk and § 159 g. On the connexion of an imperfect consecutive or a perfect with detached expressions of time (as equivalent to complete clauses), cf. § 111 b; on the imperfect consecutive after yhiy>w: and a statement of time cf. § 111 g; on the perfect consecutive following a detached statement of time, as in Ex 16:6, cf. § 112 oo. — In 1 S 29:10 an imperative with w> follows the perfect consecutive.

c

(5) The fact that one action or event has not yet taken place on the occurrence of another, is expressed by ~'r,j,ñ (an adverb, not a conjunction) with the imperfect (according to § 107 c). The apodosis, which may consist of a subject and perfect or even of a noun-clause (Gn 24:15),² is then connected by w> (or hNEhiw>) as in the examples above, under no. 3, e. g. Gn 19:4 (cf. Jos 2:8)  ägw WBs;ñn" … ry[ih' yven>a;w> WbK'ñv.yI ~r,j,ñ they had not yet lain down, and ( = when) the men of the city … compassed, &c.; Gn 24:25.

e

Rem. 1. With regard to the tenses used with the above conjunctions, the rules are practically the same as those given in § 158 d for causal clauses. The perfect indicates actions completed in the past or future (in the former case corresponding to the Latin pluperfect, § 106 f. and in the latter to the Latin futurum exactum, § 106 o), the imperfect denotes actions occurring contingently in the future. On ~r,j,ñà~r,j,ñB., and d[; with the imperfect as a tempus historicum, cf. 107 c.

f

2. Clauses introduced by d[;àyki-d[;, or rv,a]-d[;, sometimes express a limit which is not absolute (terminating the preceding action), but only relative, beyond which the action or state described in the principal clause still continues; thus, d[; with the imperfect, y Ps 110:1; yKi-d[;with the perfect, Gn 26:13, with impf. 49:10; rv,a]-d[; with the perfect, Gn 28:15; with the imperfect, y Ps 112:8.— Like the Arab. , d[; may even introduce a main clause; e. g. Ex 15:16 rbo[]y);-d[; prop, no doubt = thus it came to this — they passed through, i. e. so they passed through.

g

3. The infinitive construct governed by a preposition (§ 114 d, e) is very frequently used as the equivalent of a temporal clause; the infinitive with B. may usually be rendered by when, as, or whilst; the infinitive with K. by when, as soon as (in Pr 10:25 followed by a noun-clause introduced by waÒw apodosis), or, when referring to the future, by if; the infinitive after !mi by since. According to § 111 g such statements of time are generally preceded by yhiy>w: and the apodosis follows in the imperfect consecutive; hence in 1 S 17:55 (ct. Driver on the passage) tAar>kiw> with a simple perfect following, is unusual. On the continuation of these infinitival constructions by means of the perfect consecutive, cf. § 112 v, and in general, § 114 r.— With the participle, K. appears to be used as the equivalent of a conjunction in byvimeK. as he drew back, Gn 38:29 (unless we should read byvih'K. [or byv;he AmK. cf. an 19:15), and in tx;r;ñpoK. when it budded, 40:10.

Footnotes:

¹[1] This secondary idea is implied here by the mere co-ordination of two independent verbal-clauses, just as the idea of simultaneous occurrence (according to § 116 u, note 1) is implied in the co-ordination of a noun-clause with another clause. In Gn 27:30 the immediate succession is especially emphasized by %a; and the infinitive absolute, Jacob was yet scarce gone out … then Esau his brother came; in 1 K 9:24 by %a;i only in y Ps 48:6 by !Ke and the addition of two more perfects without w>.

²[1] On the perfect in the protasis, which is critically doubtful, cf. § 107 c.

³[2] On rv,a] as an original demonstrative, cf. § 138 a; hence bWvn" rv,a]-d[; is properly up to that (moment) — we shall return.

⁴[3] Cf. the frequent use of wenn [prop.if ] for wann [ = when] in German.