 The Imperfect Conjugation (yiptol)

1. The situation or event may be present from the speaker’s perspective

2. The situation may be in the past from the speakers perspective (before he will lie
down)
3. It may be future (they will not believe me)
4. It may be future from a past point of view (they would eat a meal there)
 Iterative imperfect is habitual (thus job did continually- but using an imperfect verb)
o “They chased you as bees do”
 Potential imperfect (non-perfective of capability_
o Expresses the ability to do something (how can I bear the burden?)
 Permissive imperfect
o Non-perfective of permission
o You may kill my two sons
 Desiderative imperfect (want to)- discusses whether or not the subject of the verb
desires to do the action of the verb
o Do you want to go with this man?
 Obligative imperfect (ought to, should)
o Indicates that the subject should or should not have done an action
 Injunctive imperfect (must)
o Non-perfective of injunction
o You must keep my statutes
o On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat
 Prohibitive imperfect
o Non-perfective of prohibition
o You shall not commit adultery
 Conditional imperfect
o Even if I walk in a very dark valley
 Imperfect after a telic particle
o You shall not touch it LEST you die (rather than lest you will die)
The Adverb GĀM
 GĀM for addition (also, both, and also)
o She also gave some to her husband
 Emphatic GĀM (Even)
o You will not believe even me?
 Rhetorical GĀM
 Why do the wicked continue to live, grow old, Rhetorical GĀM
o Why do the wicked continue to live, grow old, YES, and increase in power?
 Correlative GĀM (on one’s part)
o Draw attentinon to the subject of the verb
o And on my part, I have lent him to YHWH

The Conjunction “Key”

 Causal (because)
 o Because you have done this
o Because all flesh had corrupted its way.
 Temporal (when)
o When mankind began multiplying
 Conditional (if)
o If you meet anyone, do not greet him
o If I were to say that I have hope (ruth 1:12)
 Adversative (But, but rather, but instead)
 Concessive (though, in spite of, even if)
o Though you make your bed…
 Asserverative (certainly, indeed, truly)
o KEY of affirmation
 Result Key (with the result that)
o What injustice did your fathers find in me THAT they went far from me
 Nominalizing KEY (that)
o God saw THAT it was good
 KEY in a question (is it the case? Is it not the case?)
o Is it not the case that I have commanded you?
 Recitative Key (quotation marks)
o Like the Greek hoti introducing a quote