Subject in אז הוחל לקרא בשׁם יהוה

[Michel Gilbert]

Hi Robert,

 

I noticed that your analysis of this clause is in line with GKC 144k, "Representation of the Subject . . . by the passive, e.g. Gn 4²⁶then (was it begun=) began men to call upon . . ., and not in line with Jouon-Muraoka 124b & 155a, "The subject of the verbal clause is . . . rarely the infinitive construct preceded by ל , Gn 4.26."

 

JM only lists Gen 4,26 as an example. Do you think there are any cases of ל + inf cstr . . .  as subjects of verbal clauses in the HB?

 

Thanks,

 

Michel

[Robert Holmstedt]

Michel,

 

I've read your post and question -- it's been a day of a bunch of little stuff and a dept. meeting, so I'll get to this tomorrow.

 

Robert

[Robert Holmstedt]

Michel,

 

I count 81x of the infinitive as the subject: Gen 2:18; 18:13; 23:8; 29:19; 30:15; 31:29; Exod 8:22; 14:12; Num 14:3; Josh 11:20; 24:15; Judg 9:2; 9:2; 1 Sam 6:3; 15:22; 15:22; 16:4; 18:23; 23:20; 29:6; 2 Sam 13:2; 14:19; 18:11; 22:36; 1 Kgs 8:17; 8:18; 16:31; 2 Kgs 4:13; Jer 2:19; 40:4; 40:4; Ezek 11:3; 18:3; 36:32; Mic 3:1; 6:9; Mal 3:14; Psa 92:2; 118:8; 118:9; 133:1; 147:1; Job 28:28; Prov 10:23; 13:19; 16:12; 16:16; 16:16; 16:19; 17:7; 17:7; 17:26; 18:5; 19:10; 21:3; 21:9; 21:15; 21:19; 22:27; 24:23; 25:2; 25:2; 25:7; 25:12; 25:24; 25:27; Eccl 4:17; 7:2; 7:5; Esth 3:8; 3:9; 4:2; Ezra 4:3; 9:15; Neh 13:13; 13:27; 1 Chr 23:26; 2 Chr 6:7; 6:8; 20:17; 35:15.

 

Of these, 33x have a L- preposition on the front of the infinitive: Gen 23:8; 31:29; Exod 8:22; Josh 11:20; 24:15; 1 Sam 15:22; 2 Sam 13:2; 18:11; 1 Kgs 8:17, 18; 16:31; 2 Kgs 4:13; Jer 40:4 (2x); Mic 3:1; Psa 92:2; 118:8, 9; Prov 17:26; 21:9; 22:27; Eccl 4:17; 7:2, 5; Esth 3:8, 9; 4:2; Ezra 4:3; 9:15; Neh 13:13, 27; 1 Chr 23:26; 35:15; 2 Chr 6:7, 8; 20:17. 

 

Robert

[Michel Gilbert]

Many thanks Robert.

There is a reason I don't ask you a question every day. Lots of work for you, and lots of work for me. Thanks again for the effort. And, for the enjoyable learning experience.

I have a few more questions. I will just use the ל + inf examples.

First, when I looked quickly at the diagrams and the tagging in Instant Details, no ל + inf phrases (that I found) were tagged as Subject. Based on that, I started with this Construct Search:

 

I revised it, and ended up finding some examples with ישׁ and אין. I was beginning to wonder if you thought there was such a thing as  ל + inf phrase as subject in verbal clauses in BH. That is one of the reasons why I posted in the first place. I knew that your answer would show whether you did or not, and, perhaps why I couldn't find as many examples as I thought I should (by eventually looking up the inf cstr manually).

I started going through your examples up to Jer 40,4, and it is the first ל + inf diagrammed as Subject, with ל also tagged as a Subject in ID. But, I stopped at that example because I noticed the L^S tag for the first time, diagrammed with covert Subject and ל + inf as Predicate. I looked it up in the Brief User's Guide and saw it does tag its role as Subject. That is something I missed.

Is there a way to find L^S and infinitive constructs? Is that how you found all of these examples? I guess I will experiment with the Construct Search in the meantime.

Second, my searches did find some ל + infs as Subjects in clauses that begin with ישׁ and אין . I was wondering if you classified these clauses as verbal, quasi-verbal, or something else.

Third, what was your reasoning for not including Gen 4,26 in your analysis?

Don't worry about when you get back to me. Have a nice long weekend.

שׁלום

 

[Robert Holmstedt]

Michel,

 

First, your query helped me uncover a slight inconsistency in the database on this issue, which I have now fixed. So you'll find more consistency with this in a future syntax update. 

 

Second, I actually found them by doing a simple search in my underlying data, not in Accordance. The easiest thing in accordance would be to find an example and then have Accordance create the construct search based on the example (that is such a useful feature now, even if you have to remove items irrelevant to the pattern you're seeking). 

 

Third, it's important to know that VERY FEW infinitives are actually treated as simple non-verbal items (i.e., a gerund). In 99.9% of the cases, even when it fills a subject (TO KNOW God is good) or complement (I like TO KNOW things), the infinitive remains verbal and so it tagged as a predicate. But here's the key -- in these cases, so is the L preposition when it occurs on those examples. So a really simple search for the 33x subject infinitives that I listed above would be to search for cases of L as a subject. (*just remember that the number of hits you get right now will be lower than 33x due to the fix I made.)

 

For complement infinitives it's a bit trickier, since L as a complement is more common than just with infinitives. That's best found using the method I mentioned in the second point -- using Accordance to create the search.