“And Now”: Transitions in Northwest Semitic Epigraphy and Narrative
The Canaanite phrase w‘t ‘and now’ appears frequently both in epigraphic material from the first millennium B.c.E. and in direct speech within Biblical Hebrew narrative. As a macrosyntactic marker signaling a transition, wt most commonly introduces a command, request, or other volitive expression |...
Subtitles: | Zimrat JAH: A Tribute To Ann Hackett |
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Main Author: | |
Contributors: | |
Format: | Print Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
University of Chicago Press
2021
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In: |
Maarav
Year: 2021, Volume: 25, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 17-30 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Epigraphy
/ Semitic studies
/ Canaanite languages
/ Story
/ Syntax
/ Speech
/ Step response
B Aramaic language |
RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism HB Old Testament |
Further subjects: | B
Northwest Semitic
B direct speech B discourse markers B Festschrift B epistolary B Biblical Hebrew B Hackett, Ann |
Summary: | The Canaanite phrase w‘t ‘and now’ appears frequently both in epigraphic material from the first millennium B.c.E. and in direct speech within Biblical Hebrew narrative. As a macrosyntactic marker signaling a transition, wt most commonly introduces a command, request, or other volitive expression | that is logically connected with the preceding context. In Hebrew, Edomite, and Ammonite letters, w‘t also marks the ' transition from the opening address to the main subject of the message. The supposed Aramaic cognates (w)k‘n/k‘nt/kt exhibit similar behavior, though the broader epistolary witness in this language provides us with the opportunity to examine the function of these terms in more diverse contexts. This paper surveys w‘ and its cognates across Northwest Semitic epigraphic material and the speech patterns reflected in Hebrew narrative, demonstrating how its use in each of these contexts elucidates its function and interpretation in the other. |
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ISSN: | 0149-5712 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Maarav
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