성경 히브리어 동사의 양태 특성 소고

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive description of the Biblical Hebrew verbal system that focuses on the value of modal concept. Until recently, some Hebraists insisted that the verbal system of classical Hebrew is tense-prominent, but scholars at the opposing end disputed the theory, and insisted it as aspect-prominent. In this context, some scholars suggest a new syntactic and pragmatic perspectives in the light of common understanding of tense, aspect and modality. I demonstrate that the value of modality is absolutely indispensible in understanding the functions of verbal conjugations of Biblical Hebrew: qatal, yiqtol, wayyiqtol, weqatal and weyiqtol. As far as the verbal system is concerned, it is true that verbal forms could carry the value of tense, aspect, and modality. But as Joosten, Hatav, Warren, and Andrason insist, epistemic and deontic modality gives various new perspectives to solve complex issues of the yiqtol and waw-consecutive weqatal forms. I propose that deontic and epistemic modality contributes to accurate identification of the meaning of yiqtol and weqatal. Furthermore, with regard to the qatal form, Hebraists generally advocate that the qatal expresses the meaning of indicative past and also the value of resultative construction, but sometimes the qatal conceptually could be shown to be modal, involving the remaining dominant sense of propositional/evidential modality. In this respect, I propose that the modal concept should be considered in the semantic and pragmatic categories of Biblical Hebrew verbal system.