HOW A STORY MEANS:
A NARRATIVE LINGUISTIC READING OF EXODUS 2-4
by
DOUGLAS JAMES DUNBAR

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
in
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard

...............................................................................
Dr. Robert J. V. Hiebert, PhD; Thesis Supervisor

................................................................................
Dr. Larry Perkins, Ph.D.; Second Reader

................................................................................
Dr. Dirk Büchner, Ph.D.; External Examiner
TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY
April 2015
© Douglas James Dunbar

Abstract
Well-written narratives communicate more than information. What a story communicates
is as important as how the story communicates. The narrative flow of a story engages the reader
in the action. Narrative conventions assist the reader in connecting prior knowledge or
experience with the story. Authors also make linguistic decisions as to how the story is
conveyed. The syntax of clauses, sentences, paragraphs and whole documents conveys the story
to the reader in expected, and at times unexpected, ways.
This study merges narrative and text-linguistic exegetical methods in the reading of
Exodus 2-4. Text-linguistics, the primary method employed, examines the syntax of the story in
an effort to understand how the language has been employed in the communicative act. These
observations are then combined with narrative observations: characterization, plot, type-scenes,
and connections with other stories within the same work, in this case the Pentateuch.

ii

Contents
Ackowledgements

iv

Introduction

1

Chapter One. Exodus 2-4: A Narrative Unit

15

Dividing Chapters One and Two

16

Dividing Chapters Four and Five

19

We-X-Qatal in the Pentateuch

22

Conclusion

31

Chapter Two. The Narrative Structure of Exodus 2-4

34

Narrative Syntax of Exodus 2-4

37

From Narrative Syntax to Narrative Context

46

Conclusion

51

Chapter Three. The Structure and Genre of Direct Speech

53

Method and Genre Categories of Direct Speech Analysis

55

Clause Types in the Direct Speeches of Exodus 2-4

67

From Dialogue Syntax to Narrative Purpose

99

Conclusion

101

Conclusion

102

Bibliography

107

Curriculum Vitae

112

iii

Acknowledgements
In the beginning, there was a 1990 Honda Civic and one child. And God said, "Be fruitful
and multiply, fill the mini-van." While it did not happen overnight, it was so.
When I began my studies at ACTS in 2003, life was rather simple. We had moved from
Edmonton so that I could study here, we were living with my wife's parents, and my time was
devoted to studies. Fast-forward 11 years, we have five children, a mini-van, a mortgage, and I
am now the Lead Pastor at North Valley Baptist Church in Mission. It has been an adventure.
I would like to thank, first of all, the faculty of ACTS for providing an engaging and
enriching learning environment. Kenneth G. Radant, PhD, encouraged me early on, when I was
struggling with whether or not to continue in the MTS program. "God never wastes experience,"
was a statement that has helped me through this process. Bruce L. Guenther, PhD, was also a
voice of reason and encouragement. "Just write the stupid thing!" played in my mind many times
during this project. William Badke, the ACTS Librarian and a member at North Valley, has also
been a great encouragement throughout this process, and provided many rides to the campus.
Robert J.V. Hiebert, PhD, my thesis advisor and mentor, has been both gracious and
thorough in his evaluation of this work. Dr. Hiebert's involvement in this project has spanned
many revisions. His questions, corrections and insights have taken this project far beyond what I
could have accomplished alone. Thank you for your patience and diligence as it was often a year
or more between submissions. Thank you, also, to Larry Perkins, PhD. and Dirk Büchner, PhD.
who were involved in the oral defence. Your questions and conversation were enriching.
Graduate education is costly, so I would like to thank Canadian Baptist Seminary and
ACTS for the financial aid and grants they provided. Through CBS/ACTS I was awarded the
following scholarships: the AA Nieuwenhuis (2004), the Long Family (2004), the John Hoo Kee

iv

Lam Memorial (2005, 2006), and the Broadway West (2005, 2006). Thank you for making
graduate level theological education a priority and more affordable.
I would also like to thank the students and fellow faculty of Pacific Life Bible College
where I have had opportunity to teach over the past seven years. Teaching the Pentateuch has, in
no small way, assisted me in this project. The encouragement and support of you all has been
great. I look forward to continuing to learn and grow as part of the PLBC community.
To my parents Dan and Doris, and my in-laws Jim and Barb, thank you for your support
in many ways. You have always been encouraging. Thank you for your prayers.
Thanks are also extended to Gerry Teichrob, Phyllis Heppner, Fred Tappenden, and Bob
Shatford who have been part of this journey for the past ten years as QuintEssential Jazz. Getting
out and playing jazz has been a much-needed mental and emotional diversion.
To my church family at North Valley Baptist Church, thank you for your continued
prayer support and encouragement. As a church family we have been through many changes in
the past number of years. Thank you for entrusting to me the task of leading you in this next
phase of our journey together.
To my wife Sarah, thank you for refusing to let me quit. There were times when that was
all that kept me from abandoning this project. To my children Kara, Cadance, Kristen, Caleb and
Corban, thank you for keeping life interesting. Thank you for your patience as I would
occasionally glaze over during bedtime stories; I was considering the linguistic and narrative
structuring of Franklin the Turtle and Dora the Explorer. Early on in my studies, it was Kara's
bedtime routine insistence that we read "Jesus was born. Jesus died. Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus is coming." May I keep it that simple.

v

1
Introduction
The study of Exodus is, for many, primarily concerned with the events recounted in the
text. Commentators have been more concerned with whether or not the Exodus from Egypt
occurred, the role of the tradition in Israel's religion, or the prehistory of the present text, than
with the text itself. Some scholars seek archaeological and historical evidence that they use to
date and map the exodus and wilderness journeys, as well as to attempt to prove that Moses did
in fact write the book of Exodus—and the Pentateuch as a whole. Other scholars look at the same
data and conclude the opposite, i.e., there was no exodus or Moses, at least not as the Bible
recounts them. The events recounted in the text and the origins of the text tend to receive more
attention than the text itself.1 However, this is beginning to change as the methods of narrative
criticism and text-linguistics are being used in the reading of biblical texts.2 The aim of this study
is to follow this latter trend and merge these two reading strategies in relation toExodus 2-4,
which describes the call of Moses.

1

Representatives of these two approaches can be found in Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus (Interpretation, A
Bible Commentary For Teaching And Preaching; Louisville: John Knox Press, 1991); Richard E. Friedman, The
Bible with Sources Revealed: A New View into the Five Books of Moses (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003);
Richard E. Friedman, Commentary on the Torah: With a new English translation (San Francisco:
HarperSanFrancisco, 2001); Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005); William H. Propp, Exodus 1-18: a New
Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Bible; New York: Doubleday, 1999); Douglas K.
Stuart, Exodus (The New American Commentary; Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006).
2

Carol L. Meyers, Exodus (New Cambridge Bible Commentary; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2005); G. W. Ashby, Go Out and Meet God: A Commentary on the Book of Exodus (International Theological
Commentary; Grand Rapids; Edinburgh: Eerdmans; Handsel Press, 1998); Jean-Marc Heimerdinger, Topic, Focus
and Foreground in Ancient Hebrew Narratives (JSOTSup 295, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999); Arie C.
Leder, "The Coherence of Exodus: Narrative Unity and Meaning," Calvin Theological Journal 36 (2001): 251-269;
Robert E. Longacre, Joseph: A Story of Divine Providence: A Text Theoretical and Textlinguistic Analysis of
Genesis 37 and 39-48 (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1989); Pamela T. Reis, Reading the Lines: A Fresh Look at the
Hebrew Bible (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002); John Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative: A BiblicalTheological Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992).

2
Underlying Assumptions and Limitations of this Study
It will be necessary, from the very outset, to define and examine the underlying
presuppositions of the current investigation. Discussing the developments in pentateuchal
scholarship, Jean-Louis Ska concludes, "From now on, no one can begin to study the Pentateuch
without first taking into consideration what his or her methodological presuppositions are,
because there is no longer a consensus."3 Since the 1970s, Ska contends, the assumptions and
methods behind research on the Pentateuch have become so varied and diverse that it is essential
for interpreters to examine and defend their particular mode of investigation. In discussing textlinguistics, a method employed in this study, David A. Dawson asserts that "there are at least
three things to which a reader should find access—in addition to the results of a work
undertaken—in a research publication: the author's presuppositions, theoretical perspectives and
methodology."4 What follows in this introduction is a response to these challenges.
This investigation of Exodus 2-4 will concern itself with the text and little else. This
assumes that the text of Exodus is to be explored as a piece of literature within the larger literary
unit of the Pentateuch.5 Whether or not the text as it stands is the combination of various sources
redacted and edited over time until it obtained canonical status is, for the purpose of this study, a
non-issue. The compositional history of the text is largely a matter of conjecture and remains
theoretical. "Despite the massive amount of information provided by these studies, much of it
helpful, an understanding of the Book of Exodus as a whole, and as it stands in the received text

3

Jean-Louis Ska, Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2006), 129.

4

David Allan Dawson, Text-Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew, JSOTSup 177 (Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press, 1994), 15.
5

This agrees with the tradition that the Pentateuch is a unified document at some level, distinct from the
other divisions of the Hebrew Bible. Thus the notion of a Hexateuch (Genesis-Joshua) is not in view in this work.

3
of the OT, has been lacking."6 While it is possible that the text has been composed and reworked
in the course of its compositional history, all that remains is the completed text. The underlying
assumption being made is that one can read the Pentateuch as a literary unit, and therefore
interpret the parts in the light of the whole.
A further implication of the focus of this study is that the events behind the text are of
secondary importance. "In other words, whether or not the story is true history, its meaning is
detachable from the specific story it sets forth."7 The question as to the historical veracity of the
events recounted in the text has been set aside. While the historical location of the events and
persons recounted is valuable in certain contexts, the present study is concerned with the
linguistic and narrative features of the text that create a coherent story.
The text before the reader is that preserved in the Masoretic Text [MT] and presented in
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia [BHS].8 With the exception of Exodus 2:24 and 4:24-26, Exodus
2-4 is not very problematic from a text-critical perspective, and alternate readings do not
significantly contribute to, or challenge, the methods employed.9 Therefore, this study will not
offer a reconstruction of the text, but will assume the veracity of the text as it stands. Admittedly
this creates some hermeneutical tensions in relation to defining author(s) and reader(s) and their
respective historical relationship to the events and the text under investigation.
A further assumption of this investigation is that literary themes, variations, and type
scenes are related to others within the Pentateuch. Though the text may be reminiscent of other
6

John I. Durham, Exodus (Word Biblical Commentary; Waco: Word Books, 1987), xxi.

7

Hans Frei, The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative (New Haven: Yale University Pree, 1974), 6. This is a
summary statement regarding the approach of Dr. Conyers Middleton.
8

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia  : With Werkgroep Informatica, Vrije Universiteit Morphology; Bible. O.T.
Hebrew. Werkgroep Informatica, Vrije Universiteit. (Logos Bible Software, 2006).
9

Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, New American Commentary 2 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers,
2006), 26–27.

4
ancient Near Eastern traditions, these comparative studies will be set aside. For example, the
birth story of Moses will be investigated in relation to the birth narratives in Genesis rather than
in the Sargon birth legend. An attendant study of comparative philology will also be set aside.
Thus, for example, whether or not the "ark" of Moses is a common term in cognate languages for
a "basket" is not as important as the fact that the biblical use of the word is elsewhere restricted
to the vessel built by Noah. The present study, therefore, only engages in comparative studies
that could be termed inner-biblical.
Though much has been written regarding the analysis of biblical narrative, the narrative
segments of Exodus have received little attention. The bulk of work has focused on Genesis and
the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua - 2 Kings).10 The reason for this is probably that the genre
of these works, in contrast to Exodus, is almost completely narrative. Exodus contains large
segments of legal material, though an examination of the narrative framework of the legal
material is a fascinating study.11 The change of genres throughout the book makes it rather
cumbersome for taking a narrative critical reading, inasmuch as that necessitates considerable
discussion of how the other genre elements contribute to, or distract from, the narrative flow of
the text. Exodus does not present a series of vignettes, but rather an extended story, which does
not end within the confines of the book – unless one takes the entire Pentateuch (or at least
Exodus-Deuteronomy, itself a debatable termination point for the story) as a single literary unit,

10

A survey seminal works on biblical narrative supports this claim. Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical
Narrative (New York: Basic Books, 1981); Yairah Amit, Reading Biblical Narratives: Literary Criticism and the
Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001); Shimeon Bar-Efrat, Narrative Art in the Bible (JSOTSup 70,
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1990); Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative (Winona
Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1994); J. P. Fokkelman, Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 1999); Meir Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and
the Drama of Reading (Indiana Studies In Biblical Literature16; Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987).
11

Sailhamer, The Pentateuch, 47-59.

5
as John Sailhamer has done.12
Discourse analysis, a relative newcomer to the field of OT studies, has also tended to
focus attention on Genesis and the Deuteronomistic History.13 The reason for this may simply be
that the field is young and those researching and publishing in this field have yet to apply the
method to Exodus. Instead the focus has been on developing the method's theoretical base, and
then using various other texts to demonstrate the its usefulness. This method will be employed in
the present study and in the process its legitimacy as an exegetical tool will be shown.
In summary, then, this investigation seeks to sidestep the previously mentioned
historical-critical problems involved in Exodus research by focusing solely on the text and
utilizing methods that are compatible with such an approach. The decision to do so does not,
however, mean that the prehistory of the text, comparative studies, or the historical investigation
into the events described in the text are not important or relevant in the task of interpretation.
These are merely being set aside in order to investigate the text as it is presented. It is the hope of
this writer that the present study contributes to a fuller understanding of the text as we now have
it and its place within the larger complex of the literary traditions of ancient Israel.
Description of Method
As mentioned above, this analysis is predicated upon the merging of two text-centered
approaches. Narrative criticism focuses on the story as presented by the text, with attention given
to the elements of plot, character, setting, intertextual links and rhetorical function/features of the
12
13

Ibid.

Robert D. Bergen, "The Role of Genesis 22:1-19 in the Abraham Cycle: A Computer Assisted Textual
Interpretation," Criswell Theological Review 4 (1990): 313-326. Walter R. Bodine, Discourse Analysis of Biblical
Literature: What It Is and What It Offers (The Society Of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies 46; Atlanta: Scholars
Press, 1995); Alviero Nicciacci, The Syntax of the Verb in Classical Hebrew Prose (JSOTSup 86; Sheffield: JSOT
Press, 1990). Some work has been done in Exodus. See E. J. van Wolde, Narrative Syntax and the Hebrew Bible:
Papers of the Tilburg Conference 1996 (Biblical Interpretation Series 29; Leiden; New York: Brill, 1997).

6
text. Discourse analysis focuses on the linguistic structuring of the text. Both approaches assume
the unity and coherence of the text as presented, regardless of the form-, source-, and redactioncritical possibilities that may or may not underlie the final form of the text. What follows is a
brief description of the strengths and weaknesses of each method. In the analysis of Exodus 2-4,
both methods will be used either comparatively or contrastively.
Narrative Criticism – Assumptions and Procedures
The narrative critical approach to the biblical text assumes the coherence of the text as it
stands. Rather than explaining inconsistency or repetition of material as evidence of separate
sources, narrative critics endeavour to explain the literary function of such phenomena. They
assume that the final redactor or author has written a cogent text, and that apparent problems in
the text may indicate lack of understanding on the part of the modern reader. The primary focus
is the text as it is presented, rather than facets that might lie behind the text.
Narrative criticism looks primarily at the elements that make up a story, and how the
story will impact readers. The question of what a text means is secondary to how a text means.
"Literary theory has shifted from assuming that meaning exists objectively in texts to assuming
that meaning is relative, not fixed or absolute, and that meaning arises as the result of a complex
interaction between the reader and the text – and the cultures from which both emerge."14 This
shift in approach indicates that meaning is ascertained as the reader encounters the text. While
this assertion of modern literary theory may be valid, the assumption made here is that the author
of the text has attempted to control the reader's response. Using type scenes (a repeated or
familiar storyline), specialized vocabulary, grammatical constructs, and the narrator's point of

14

Gary F. Waller, et al, The Lexington Introduction to Literature: Reading and Responding to Texts
(Lexington: D.C. Heath, 1987), 4-5.

7
view; the author seeks to guide the reader in appraising the events and characters of the text.
How the story means is the artistic design of the author to guide the reader in determining what
the story means.15
Narrative Criticism – Weaknesses of the Method
That the text of Scripture should be analyzed based on the assumptions of twenty-first
century literary-analytical methodologies has caused some to question the validity of the
approach. Various scholars have employed narrative criticism. Those who use this method, at
times, do so from a perspective that a biblical narrative is no more than a story.
Narrative critics often assume when they study the Bible as literature that the text must be
viewed as fiction. This seems to result, however, not from the nature of the method itself
but from a misunderstanding of the number of features that historical and fictional texts
share. Students of ancient historiography helpfully stress how few literary characteristics
actually enable the reader to distinguish what we today would call historical fiction from
well-written, interesting history.16
While the present study, as has already been stated, sets aside the issue of the historical veracity
of the events behind the text, this is not to say that the text does not have a historical background.
The commitment to reading the text as story does not necessarily imply that the events depicted
are fictitious. Since the aim of this study is to determine the function of Exodus 2-4 within the
narrative of the Pentateuch as a whole, it falls outside the scope of investigation to attempt to
distinguish historical and fictitious elements of the text.
A second charge leveled against applying a narrative critical method is the tendency of
some literary critics to ignore the original intention behind the composition of the text. The
modern reader replaces the initial audience, for whom the text was intended. Reader response

15
16

Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1983), 17.

William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation
(Nashville: W Publishing Group a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1993), 437.

8
criticism, one extreme along the narrative critical spectrum, assumes that meaning is not inherent
in the text itself, but in the reader's/hearer's understanding of the text.17 The contention of this
study is that the response of the reader is important, but that the text has been composed in such a
way as to guide this response.18
Discourse Analysis – Assumption and Procedures
Discourse analysis, like narrative criticism, assumes the basic coherence of the final form
of the biblical text and seeks to understand the syntactic strategy of the language. In addition,
discourse analysis focuses on larger units of communication. "It is now recognized that human
communication as it is normally practiced actually occurs only above the sentence level."19 A
linguistic exegesis of a text must therefore locate its findings within the larger work to which a
pericope is related; meaning is not found in the analysis of sentences and clauses, but in the
communication act as a whole. While the prehistory of the text may be acknowledged, the
linguistic structuring of the final text is assumed to be deliberate and meaningful. "[B]iblical
exegesis that fails to take into account the morphosyntactic contours of the text overlooks
significant aspects of the message deposited by the producer(s) of the text."20 The text as a whole
is taken as the object of investigation.
The primary goal of discourse analysis is to understand the linguistic hierarchy of the
passage based on the verbal forms found in the text. It has long been noted that biblical Hebrew

17

Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 153.

18

Sailhamer, The Pentateuch, 90.

19

Robert D. Bergen, "Text as a Guide to Authorial Intention: An Introduction to Discourse Criticism,"
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society September (1987): 327.
20

Robert D. Bergen, "Evil Spirits and Eccentric Grammar: A Study in the Relationship between Text and
Meaning in Hebrew Narrative," in Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, ed. Robert D. Bergen (Winona Lake:
Summer Institute of Linguistics; Eisenbrauns,1994), 332.

9
narrative is driven along the temporal plane primarily by the waw consecutive verb form. Many
discourse grammarians refer to this as the wayyiqtol form of the verb, and consider this to be the
mainline of the discourse. While this is often discussed in grammars and syntax texts in
connection with Hebrew sentences, discourse analysis focuses on larger sections of text beyond
the sentence. "By noting how the text itself syntactically defines paragraphs, the interpreter can
better know what elements of the narrative are to be read together or separately."21 "A fullfledged discourse analysis is not only concerned with the smallest units within the language, but
is also concerned with how these smaller units comprise ever more complex and larger units."22
Therefore, the linguistic structure of a paragraph or episode and the linguistic organization of a
text are examined, as is the syntax of individual clauses, phrases and sentences. Ernst R.
Wendland's succinct description of the procedure of discourse analysis is instructive for the
present study,
The procedures of discourse analysis cannot be regarded as valid unless they are applied
to a complete, self-contained unit, or pericope, of some kind. The text must have
recognizable borders that can be precisely defined and defended—at whatever level in the
compositional hierarchy it happens to lie. Furthermore, a smaller segment will have to be
related to the larger portion in which it is included as an integral unit, while a larger
section must be broken down during the course of analysis into its constituent elements.
This implies that a holistic (whole-part), discourse perspective has been adopted from the
start and consistently maintained throughout a particular study.23
The works of Alviero Niccacci, Roy Heller, Brian Rocine, Robert Longacre and Robert
Bergen are the primary sources for this study. Niccacci has provided a framework for analyzing,
categorizing and diagramming the text by means of verb form and syntax, and that framework
21

Roy L. Heller, Narrative Structure and Discourse Constellations: An Analysis of Clause Function in
Biblical Hebrew Prose (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2004), 429.
22

Peter Cotterell and Max Turner, Linguistics and Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove: InterVarsity,

1989), 38.
23

Ernst R. Wendland, "Discourse Analysis of Hebrew Poetry: A Procedural Outline," in Discourse
Perspectives on Hebrew Poetry in the Scriptures ed. Ernst R. Wendland, USB Monograph Series 7 (Reading; New
York: United Bible Societies, 1994), 7.

10
will be used in the analysis to follow.24 Heller, Rocine and Longacre have developed discourse
linguistic tools and understandings that are similar to one another, yet diverse as well. The
discussion on direct speech in chapter three will reveal the diversity of these authors and some of
the challenges of utilizing discourse linguistics. Bergen's work on eccentric grammar as a
rhetorical device of the text will also be applied to the text that is the focus of the present
analysis.25 Bergen suggests that biblical authors employ unusual syntax and vocabulary to
indicate points of emphasis or salience.
Exodus 2-4 will be analyzed linguistically to determine both its boundaries and its inner
divisions. It should then be possible to determine whether or not there are correlations between
the linguistic structure and the narrative elements of the text that suggest a specific and deliberate
organization of the passage.
Discourses Analysis – Weaknesses
One of the first weaknesses encountered in text-linguistics or discourse analysis is the
diversity of nomenclature used by various scholars. The first problem has to do with the two
common designations for the method just mentioned, and this has caused confusion and
misunderstanding in the field. Dawson critiques Niccacci for his use of "discourse" to refer only
to direct speech elements, when—in Dawson's understanding—a "discourse" refers to a selfcontained pericope.26 Niccacci explains the misunderstanding, "I would have never suspected
that an 'innocent' term like 'discourse' might cause so many misunderstandings until I became

24

Nicciacci, Syntax, 218.

25

Bergen, "Evil Spirits and Eccentric Grammar," 320-335.

26

Dawson, Text-Linguistics, 31.

11
familiar with 'discourse analysis,' the USA counterpart to European text-linguistics."27 What one
considers a "discourse" the other considers a "text"; what one considers a "speech" the other
considers a "discourse." From that root comes many other theoretical designations and tags that
suggest that the discipline is in need of clarity in terminology. One struggles through the
publications to find common ground. It will be understood throughout this work that discourse
analysis and text-linguistics are synonymous and refer to method rather than text types or genre.
Once the above fog has cleared, however, the primary weakness of discourse analysis is
that it tends to be descriptive and focused essentially on syntax, thus contributing little to
discerning the meaning of the text because the investigator typically stops short of taking this
exegetical step.
Overall, these studies [modern linguistic analyses] might be characterized as abundant in
formal analyses but somewhat skimpy in meaning… The descriptive studies of forms and
constructions are of value since they represent systematic and rigorous inventories of
specific linguistic phenomena. They sort out items and classify them, giving a clearer
picture of the linguistic material at hand in Old Hebrew. But one has to remember that it
is not syntactic forms and construction types on their own which produce meaning in
natural language understanding.28
The method is primarily designed to decipher how the language communicates through detailed
analysis of clause forms and hierarchy within a larger text. It is for this reason that the present
study will correlate the linguistic data with the narrative function of the passage within the larger
story of the Pentateuch, with a view to demonstrating how the linguistic elements of the text
contribute to its meaning.
Another weakness of the method is not so much the fault of the method as it is with the
practitioner. In order to discuss the discourse structures of the language one must have a high
27

Alviero Niccacci, "Review of Dawson, D. A., Text-Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew," Libre Annuus 45
(1995), 544.
28

Jean-Marc Heimerdinger, Topic Focus and Foreground in Ancient Hebrew Narrative (JSOTSup 295;
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 13.

12
level of competence in the language, and the ability to relate findings and conclusions of a
particular passage to the composition or book as a whole.29 The successful employment of
discourse analysis then depends greatly on the analyst's competence in the language and
knowledge of the composition in question. In the case of biblical Hebrew, the extant corpus upon
which to make judgments as to what is typical ancient Hebrew syntax and what is unusual—and
therefore marked or highlighted in the text—is limited. However, since this investigation is
limited to the narrative segments of the Pentateuch, the linguistic data under consideration is
confined to that particular textual body.
The Combination of Methods
By bringing narrative criticism and discourse analysis together, this writer proposes that
the strengths of each will offset the weaknesses in the other. The descriptive and syntactic study
of the text through discourse analysis can be enriched by considering the artistry of the
storytelling, and vice versa. "A narrative is, in the last analysis, words: storytelling builds worlds,
and characters, and actions, out of vocabulary and syntax—nothing more, nothing less."30
Furthermore, a discourse linguistic approach to the text assumes that the results of the analysis
will point to the intentions of the author(s) as they have been encoded in the linguistic
phenomena of the text.31 This offsets the tendency of narrative criticism to analyze the text based
on modern literary conventions. Studying the linguistic conventions of biblical Hebrew brings
the literary structure and artistry of the text to the fore. Thus, linguistic analysis offers a needed

29

Bruce K. Waltke and Michael P. O'Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake:
Eisenbrauns, 1990), 54.
30

Jerome T. Walsh, Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press,

31

Bergen, "Text as a Guide," 327-336.

2001), 1.

13
control.32
Both methods focus on blocks of text that are larger than clauses or sentences. However,
in order to appreciate the structure of larger blocks of text, the form and function of individual
clause types must be considered. Throughout this study, a "necessarily circular"33 approach will
be taken, moving from the larger to smaller contexts and back again. The syntactic phenomena
will be considered in the light of the narrative function of the clause types.
In chapter one, the boundaries of the text will be established based on linguistic signaling
and plot structure. Whether or not Exodus 2-4 can be treated as a self-contained unit needs to be
established at the outset. Chapter two will then proceed to examine the internal structure of the
pericope. The narrative (non-quotational) material will be examined. Narrative and direct speech,
as will be evident in the discussions, operate on the basis of different grammatical and syntactic
parameters and, therefore, will be examined separately. The traditional divisions of the text – be
they marked paragraphs in the MT, chapter and verse designations, or the boundaries of
constituent sources – will be set aside. How the author tells the story linguistically and how the
story itself develops should converge to yield a fuller understanding of the story's intention.
Since both methods are text-centered, the blend is natural and even necessary, as will be evident
in the subsequent discussion.
Chapter three will focus on the direct speeches found in Exodus 2-4. The syntax and
structure of direct speech is markedly different than that of narrative. As a result this will be the

32

This, of course, assumes that the intention of the exegete is to explore the meaning communicated in and
through the text by the author(s). For some literary critics this is not a concern as they assume that meaning is only
produced in the mind and response of the reader. In this thesis, the assumption is that the meaning of the text is
contained in the text and is so intended by the author(s), and therefore is to some extent recoverable from the text
itself.
33

Robert E. Longacre, Joseph: A Story of Divine Providence: A Text Theoretical and Textlinguistic
Analysis of Genesis 37 and 39-48 (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1989), 42.

14
most involved and complex chapter. The individual clause types and how the clauses function to
create a cohesive text will be considered. Among the text-linguistic models consulted in this
study, there seems to be significant diversity as to how to analyze direct speech. It is hoped that
by combining various approaches and analyzing the text, that some clarity as to a unified method
may be suggested.

15
Chapter One
Exodus 2-4: A Narrative Unit
Exodus 2-4 is to be read as an uninterrupted and continual text that introduces the reader
to the character of Moses and the plan of God to deliver his people. Moses' early life and call are
necessarily recounted together to communicate his status as the agent of Israel's deliverance from
Egypt. The events of his early life (Exodus 2) suggest his connection to the Patriarch stories of
Genesis, while the account of his Call (Exodus 3:1-4:18) reflects a development in God's
relationship with "the sons of Israel" (Exodus 1:1). Moses is not a Patriarch—a founding father
of the nation—but his significance and authority as leader are strongly intimated in a unified
reading of Exodus 2-4 as the complete Call Narrative. The principle actors in the narrative, God
and Moses, are introduced and their relationship is established.
The question of whether this reading can be supported by the linguistic structure of the
passage or not is the focus of this chapter. If the language suggests certain main divisions, the
pericope boundaries need to be evaluated in the light of linguistic functions evident in the text.
Whether the linguistic structure accords with the above claim—based on a preliminary
conclusion from a narrative-critical stance—will be discussed at the conclusion of this chapter.
Alviero Niccacci argues that Exodus 1-4 should be divided as chapters 1-2 and 3-4. As he bases
his argument on both text-linguistic and narrative critical evidence—an approach employed in
the present study—his conclusion will be examined and evaluated.34 Most commentators
separate the early life of Moses (Exodus 2:1-22) from the call (Exodus 3:1-4:18) and return to
Egypt (Exodus 4:19-31). Exodus 2:23-25 is usually treated as a separate segment—an intrusion

34

Alviero Niccacci, The Syntax of the Verb in Classical Hebrew Prose, trans. W. G. E. Watson, JSOTSupp
86 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), 56–60.

16
or transition in the text—owing to the shift in locale and participants, or as editorial insertion.35
The function of Exodus 2:23-35 is variously explained, and will be discussed in this chapter. In
addition, Exodus 4:19-31 is often separated into various segments. The goal of this chapter is to
examine the boundaries of the proposed textual unit, with attention given to the linguistic
evidence for or against reading chapters 2-4 as a unit. Specific linguistic elements in Exodus 2-4
will be examined as they occur throughout the Pentateuch to determine their basic functions.
Dividing Chapters One and Two
It may be argued that the events of chapter two can only be understood in the light of
chapter 1 and, therefore, that the proposed reading of Exodus 2-4 may be misguided. This
concern is supported by the fact that there is no clear linguistic form that marks Exodus 2:1 as a
new textual unit. One may read Exodus 1:22-2:1ff as a continual text. The wayyiqtol verbs
suggest that this is the case:
1:22a
b
c
2:1a
b

And Pharaoh commanded all his people saying
"Every son born, you shall cast into the Nile
and every daughter you shall preserve."
And a man went from the house of Levi
And he married a daughter of Levi

rmo)l' wOm@(-a lkfl; h(or:pa% wcay:wA
w%hkuyli#$;t@a hrF)oy:ha dwOl@y,Iha Nb@'h-lk@f |----Nw%y,xat;@ tb@aha-lkfw: |----ywIl' tyb@'mi #$y)I K7ley,'wA
ywIl'-tb@-a t)e xq@ay,IwA

The chain of wayyiqtol verbs typically communicates sequential actions. This means that
the command of Pharaoh is followed by further action by the unnamed man and woman
marrying and subsequently having children. They now stand as the foils to Pharaoh's decree, as
did the midwives in chapter one. In addition, it is the daughters—those allowed to live—in
chapter two who will thwart the decree of Pharaoh. The repeated use of tb@a (daughter) in the
passage surely connects with Exodus 1:22 as they become the principle actors in the next episode
35

Richard Elliott Friedman, The Bible with Sources Revealed: A New View into the Five Books of Moses
(San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003), 121; George W. Coats, Exodus 1-18, vol. IIa, The Forms of Old
Testament Literature (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1999), 33; Meyers, Exodus, 46.

17
(Exodus 2:1-10).36
It may also be argued that Exodus 1:21 serves as a conclusion to the second attempt at
controlling the population (Exodus 1:15-21). Therefore, the next verse introduces Pharaoh's new
solution that is again ineffective, as the story of Moses' birth and early life indicates. If it is the
case that Exodus 1:21 closes a narrative unit, then 1:22 stands as the introduction to 2:1. The
uses of yhiy:wA at 1:21 may suggest that the text be read in this manner. While yhiy:wA often begins a
pericope,37 it can also serve as a conclusion marker (cf. Genesis 2:7; Exodus 1:5).38 The scene
with the midwives concludes at Exodus 1:21. It is possible, therefore, that both the chapter
division and MT paragraph markers are misplaced by one verse—if such a division should even
be made.39 The decree of 1:22 and the subsequent hiding of the child in the river belong together.
The program of Pharaoh to deal with the Hebrew threat in chapter 1 comes to a climax
with the command in Exodus 1:22. The tension builds throughout chapter 1. In this it can be said
that to approach any pericope of the Pentateuch as a unified entity is not to argue for its
independence from the larger narrative. Indeed, as will be argued, the call of Moses is
intrinsically and deliberately bound up with the prior book of Genesis and also intimates
significant aspects of the coming narrative. From his mother's first evaluation of Moses to the
Midianite sojourn, the author is deliberately reminding the audience of the stories of Genesis.
One cannot completely separate a scene from the entire play and hope to understand all the
36

Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, trans. Israel Abrahams (Jerusalem: Magnes
Press, Hebrew University, 1967), 17.
37

Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, ed. E. Kautzsch and Sir Arthur Ernest Cowley
(Bellingham: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2003), 327.§111.g.
38

C. H. J. van der Merwe, Jackie A. Naude, and Jan H. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar
(Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 333. §44.5.1.ii.d.
39

One has to wonder if traditional reading boundaries of chapter/verse or ancient paragraph markers have
influenced not only interpretation of verses and narrative units, but also the understanding of syntax—as will be
explored in relation to Exodus 3:1 and 5:1.

18
nuances and intricacies present in the smaller segment.
The boundaries of a unit are dynamic; they are not defined in advance, once and for all,
but are redefined and reorganized anew, according to the questions one seeks to answer,
according to the kind of observation that one wishes to apply… Every researcher and
every research [sic] demarcate their own boundaries, and are quite free to do so, provided
they take into account—explicitly or implicitly—all the other frameworks, both narrower
and wider, to which the unit in question belongs.40
However, a few narrative elements may support the chapter or paragraph division
between Exodus 1:22 and 2:1. First, the participant has changed. The speech of Pharaoh
concludes and he effectively exits the scene with these words and a new cast of characters is
introduced: a man and a daughter of Levi. This shift of participant can be understood as a
disjunctive feature of the text. "Generally, change of time or period or of place, introduction of
new participants and full noun phrase reintroduction (or re-identification) of old participants are
some of the context-changing devices that may mark the beginning of a new paragraph."41 Since
Exodus 2:1 introduces new characters—including the mother, who is the main character of the
next verses—one may conclude that a new scene is beginning.
The second issue that may support a division of chapter two from chapter one is that the
infanticide program of the Pharaoh is left at this point. There is no further mention of it in the
book. As a character, Pharaoh is absent until chapter five. Throughout chapter one he has been a
central character, now he fades to the background and is only indirectly involved. However, the
plan to control the Hebrew population through the killing of the sons continues the theme
established in the first chapter. Chapter two provides the contrast that, while echoing the
midwives' deliberate refusal to comply, brings the action of women to the foreground again and
40

Menahem Perry and Meir Sternberg, "Caution: A Literary Text! Problems in the Poetics and
Interpretation of Biblical Narrative," Hasifrut/Literature 2:608-663, 1970: 632 [Heb.]; quoted in Amit, Reading
Biblical Narratives, 15-16.
41

L. J. de Regt, Participants in Old Testament Texts and the Translator: Reference Devices and Their
Rhetorical Impact, Studia Semitica Neerlandica 39 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1999), 17.

19
in a more ironic manner.
To separate Exodus 1:22 and 2:1 is not, therefore, completely acceptable. The change of
characters and setting suggests that a new scene is being presented. However, the command of
Pharaoh provides the context in which the following narrative is to be understood.42 That a man
takes a tb@a (daughter) and immediately has a son stands in stark contrast to the command.
Furthermore, the command of Pharaoh provides the reason that Moses' mother acts as she does,
and makes his adoption as a son of Pharaoh's daughter all the more ironic.43 In addition, Exodus
1:21 closes the previous pericope involving the rebellion of the midwives against Pharaoh's
second decree. Therefore, the subversive actions of Moses' mother and his own daughter provide
the foil for his third decree.
Dividing Chapters Four and Five
Our focus now turns to the other end of the proposed pericope. What evidence exists to
support concluding the reading at Exodus 4:31? Exodus 4:31-5:1 reads:
4:31a
b
c
d
e
f
5:1a
b
c
d
e

And the people believed
And they heard
that YHWH was concerned about the sons of Israel
and that he saw their suffering
And they bowed down
And they prostrated themselves
And afterward Moses and Aaron entered
And they said to Pharaoh
"Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel
'Send out my people
that they may hold a feast to me in the desert.'"

M(fhf Nm')jy,AwA
w%(m;#$;y,IwA
l)'rF#&;yI yn'b-@; t)e hwFhy: dqap-f yk@i ↑
MyFn(f-t)e h)frF ykiw: ↑
w%dq@;y,IwA
w%w%xjt@a#$;y,IwA
Nrohj)aw: h#$emo w%)bf@ rha)aw:----h(or:p-%a l)e w%rm;)Oy,wA
l)'rF#&;yI yh'lo)v hwFhy: rma)-f hk@o |---ym@i(a-t)e xla@#$a |-------rbfd:mi@b@a yli w%g%xoyFw: |--------

The action of Moses and Aaron coming to the people in Exodus 4:31 logically follows
42
43

Coats, Exodus 1-18, 26.

John Van Seters, "The Patriarchs and the Exodus: Bridging the Gap Between Two Origin Traditions," in
The Interpretation of Exodus: Studies in Honour of Cornelius Houtman, ed. Riemer Roukema, Contributions to
Biblical Exegesis & Theology 44 (Leuven: Peeters, 2006), 8.

20
the command of God to Moses and Aaron. "In its present stage, the text accounts for an
execution of the commission to Moses and Aaron leading to an increase in oppression (cf.
Exodus 1:8-12) and finally the exodus."44 Moses and Aaron have passed on the message given
by God and have won the support of the people (Exodus 3:16-18; 4:27-31). Their coming before
Pharaoh opens a new scene, while also completing the prior instruction of God to do so (Exodus
3:10, 18; 4:21-23) with the participants for the next chapters being reintroduced. The character of
Pharaoh is not named, but this is a new Pharaoh of whom it may be said that he does not know
Moses (cf. Exodus 1:8). The previous Pharaoh who would have been Moses' adoptive
grandfather has passed away (Exodus 2:23). Therefore, the new Pharaoh is a new character and a
new conflict is about to ensue. The narrative issues of plot and character imply a division of the
text at this point.
The linguistic marker of we-X-qatal45 may also suggest a text division. While it is a
complete sentence, Niccacci suggests that the clause type is dependent on a preceding or
following wayyiqtol.46 The action to take place happens after Moses and Aaron complete the
journey to Egypt and have secured the support of the people. The question of where Moses and
Aaron have come is answered in the rest of Exodus 5:1—they have entered the presence of
Pharaoh after having departed from the people. However, determining whether the we-X-qatal is
tied to the preceding or following wayyiqtol is more problematic.
The we-X-qatal construction may also serve to reintroduce previous characters. The
actors—the subject of the verbs—in Exodus 4:31 are the people. In Exodus 5:1 the focus
44

Coats, Exodus 1-18, 53.

45

This grammatical structure consists of a waw conjunction + any non-verbal element, typically a noun that
is the subject, + perfect verb form.
46

Alviero Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," in Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, ed.
Robert D. Bergen (Winona Lake: Summer Institute of Linguistics; Eisenbrauns,1994), 123.

21
changes from the people's acceptance of the message and promise of God through Aaron and
Moses to the beginning of the confrontation with Pharaoh. In the case of Exodus 2:23-3:1 the
attention of the reader is diverted from Moses in Midian to the plight of the people in Egypt and
the response of God. In both cases, the narrator returns to Moses with the same construction (weX-qatal). This construction marks a reintroduction of a previous character as well as a new scene
in the story. This observation accords with traditional Hebrew grammars against a discourse
linguistic approach. This understanding of the function of we-X-qatal supports the assertion that
a historical narrative begins with qatal and the storyline is then continued by the wayyiqtol.47
Text-linguists argue against this understanding, stating that the we-X-qatal is a dependent
construction. "Narrative never begins with QATAL; initial QATAL only denotes the antecedent;
the narrative proper begins with a WAYYIQTOL."48 However, in practice it seems that this may
be an overstatement regarding the function of we-X-qatal. Randall Buth notes that this form
often serves simply to mark the beginning of a paragraph. "They [we-X-qatal clauses] are used
as a discontinuity structure to break up and mark off time, paragraph, or episode divisions."49
The we-X-qatal construction is a disjunctive marker, providing background or antecedent
information, which continues from the disjunctive using the wayyiqtol form.
This creates a problem for the proposed reading of Exodus 2-4 as a single unit. How can
the linguistic marker we-X-qatal provide a reading boundary in one instance (5:1) and not in the
other (3:1)? In addition, Exodus 2:1-10 and 2:21-22 can be viewed as demarcating the limits of
47

Gesenius, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, para. 111.1; Coats, Exodus 1-18, 40.

48

Niccacci, Syntax, 37; "Basic Facts and Theory of the Biblical Hebrew Verb System in Prose," in
Narrative Syntax and the Hebrew Bible, ed. E. J. van Wolde, Biblical Interpretation Series 29 (Leiden: Brill, 1997),
178.
49

Randal Buth, "Functional Grammar, Hebrew and Aramaic: An Integrated Textlinguistic Approach to
Syntax," in Discourse Analysys of Biblical Literature: What It Is and What It Offers, ed. Walter Ray Bodine, Semeia
Studies (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature; Scholars Press, 1995), 89.

22
an inculsio, which would suggest that chapter 2 be read as a unit, to the exclusion of chapter 3-4.
In order to maintain a reading of Exodus 2-4 as a unit, the following questions will need to be
explored in detail: 1) What are the basic functions of the we-X-qatal construction in the
Pentateuch, and how do these two instances (Exodus 3:1; 5:1) compare to other occurrences? 2)
Do 2:1-10 and 2:21-22 really form an inclusio or do they serve another function on the literary
level?
We-X-Qatal in the Pentateuch
Biblical Hebrew is often described as a language system whose default pattern is VerbSubject-Object (VSO). This means that the typical grammatical construction of a sentence has
the verb as the initial grammatical unit, followed by the subject and then the object. In narrative,
the first position element is typically the wayyiqtol form of the verb. If a sentence or clause
begins with another element, the sentence is said to be marked, being dependent on either a
preceding or a following wayyiqtol construction. Niccacci describes the relationship of the two
sentence types as coordinate or subordinate. "The distinction between a verbal sentence with the
finite verb in the first position and a compound nominal sentence with a finite verb in the second
position provides us with a criterion for determining if a sentence is main or subordinate."50
Whether the we-X-qatal clause is dependent on a prior wayyiqtol or a following one depends on
context and, perhaps, on content. The two occurrences at Exodus 3:1 and 5:1 differ in that the
first has a proper noun in the X position, and the second a temporal adverb. An examination of
the various forms and functions of these two grammatical constructions throughout the
Pentateuch may suggest a solution.
Within the Pentateuch there are ninety-eight verses that contain a we-X-qatal
50

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 127.

23
construction, where the 'X' element is a noun.51 The distribution of occurrences is as follows:
Genesis (61) Exodus (16), Leviticus (3), Numbers (10), and Deuteronomy (8). The contexts in
which these are found need to be examined in order to understand the function of this clause
structure. The first division of the search results is between narrative and direct speech. "In
Hebrew, as in many languages, some verb forms used for narrative are different from those used
for direct speech, while other verb forms are commonly used in both."52 In Genesis it is
necessary to note that the we-X-qatal construction is frequently used in genealogical lists (e.g.,
Genesis 10:15, 24, 26), which may be considered a separate genre. Another observation is that
this grammatical construction is predominantly found in narrative texts. The occurrences drop
dramatically once the Pentateuch shifts from story to legal material, which is presented as direct
speech. In general, then, the we-X-qatal construction is a narrative device.
An examination of the context in which we-X-qatal occurs, outside of the genealogical
and direct speech occurrences, leads to the conclusion that there are four specific functions for
this construction. First, it can mark a contrast with previous material or actions (Genesis 6:8;
31:47; 35:18). Second, it can indicate simultaneous action by a subsequent party (Genesis 18:33;
19:23-24; 45:14; Exodus 9:23; 10:13a). Third, it can signal a pause in the narrative—an intrusion
of the narrator on the action, providing comment (Genesis 24:1; 24:62). Fourth, it can signify the
resumption of a story after an interruption by reminding the reader of a previous situation or

51

BibleWorks 8 search using the Groves-Wheeler Westminster Hebrew OT Morphology database (WTM)
release 4.10 (2008): search string = '*@v?p* *@n* ‫ = ו‬search for all phrases beginning with waw + any noun + any
verb in the perfect tense. This search string does not include occurrences of nouns with the definite article or a
preposition. Eliminating the waw conjunction from the search string yields 602 results in the Pentateuch—many of
which occur in direct speech.
52

Alviero Niccacci, "Analysis of Biblical Narrative," in Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, ed.
Robert D. Bergen (Winona Lake: Summer Institute of Linguistics; Eisenbrauns,1994), 176.

24
character (Genesis 39:1).53 This relates specifically to those constructions in which the X element
is a noun. What follows is a short explanation and example of each function listed above.
We-X-Qatal: Contrastive Function
The we-X-qatal clause can serve to draw a contrast between two elements. In some
instances, this is immediately apparent (Genesis 4:2b; 31:47) as the clause is non-initial and two
characters' actions are being paralleled. In both of these examples, the contrast is clear in the
repetition of the verbs: hyFhf in the case of Genesis 4:2, and )rFqf in Genesis 31:47. It should also
be noted in these examples that the we-X-qatal form is the second element in the contrast.
4:2b
c
31:47a
b

Abel was a shepherd of flocks
while Cain was a worker of the soil
And Laban called it Yegar-sahadutha
while Jacob called it Galeed

N)co h('ro lbeh-e yhiy:wA
hmfdF)j db'(o hyFhf Nyiqaw:----)tfw%dhj#&f rgay: Nbflf wOl-)rFq;y,IwA
d('l;ga% wOl )rFqf bqo(jyAw:-----

In other cases the contrast takes place after a narrative diversion; i.e., a character or
situation is left while the narrator relates another story and then comes back to the previous
character or situation. The introduction of Noah in Genesis 5:29-32 is followed by the story of
the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-7), after which the story continues with Noah as the main character.
5:32a
6:1-7
6:5
6:8

hnf#$f twO)m' #$m'x-j Nbe@ xaOn-yhiy:wA
And when Noah was 500 years old...
Story of the Increase of Wickedness & Nephilim
And YHWH saw that man's wickedness on the earth
CrE)fbf@ MdF)fhf t(arF hbf@rA yk@i hwFhy: )r:y,AwA
had become great…
hwFhy: yn'y('b;@ Nx' )cfmf xaOnw:
But Noah found favour in the eyes of YHWH

In Genesis 6:8 the contrast between Noah and the rest of humanity prior to the flood is

53

These four functions have been determined after examining the contexts of each occurrence within the
defined limits of this study; i.e. the Pentateuch. Niccacci has done similar studies with the entire Hebrew Bible in
view. There is some overlap with his categories and those of this study. His categories have developed over the
course of time as well. In Syntax of the Verb in Classical Hebrew, he describes five functions: 1. anteriority, 2.
simultaneity, 3. contrast, 4. emphasis, and 5. circumstance of the following wayyiqtol. In a later article, "Basic Facts
and Theory of the Biblical Hebrew Verbal System in Prose" (1997) 172-175, he lists three narrative functions of weX-qatal (the fourth being its function in oral report): 1. antecedent information, 2. circumstance, 3. contrast.

25
separated from the immediate contrast (Genesis 6:5) by the narrator's report of YHWH's decision
and proclamation to destroy humanity along with all animal life (Genesis 6:6-7). The contrast is
made, not in the comparison of two participants, but in YHWH's evaluation of the two, using the
sense of sight (h)frF in 6:5 and NyI(a in 6:8) as the contrast. This example also demonstrates the
resumptive function of the we-X-qatal. The narrator introduces Noah in Genesis 5:29-32, but
then recounts the increase of wickedness on the earth and YHWH's decision to act before
returning to Noah and his role in the story (Genesis 6:1-7). The above three examples provide a
contextual clue as to whether or not the subjects are being contrasted: both parties are in close
proximity and their actions are being compared via reuse of the verb, or with opposite evaluative
statements.
We-X-Qatal: Simultaneous Action
Actions that occur simultaneously are difficult to represent in a text. This is the second
function of we-X-qatal. Niccacci cites Exodus 9:23 and 10:13a as prime examples of this
function.54 Since the construction of these two examples is almost identical, one example will
suffice.
9:23a
b

And Moses stretched his staff toward the heavens
and YHWH sent (gave) thunder and hail

Myima#$%fh-a l(a w%h+%'m-a t)e h#$emo +y,'wA
drFbfw% tloqo Ntanf hwFhywA-----

The action of Moses and YHWH are simultaneous. If the verb in 23b were a wayyiqtol the action
would appear as subsequent to Moses raising his staff.55 Similarly the chain of we-X-qatal
clauses in Genesis 19:23-24 can be understood as actions that are occurring at the same moment;
i.e., everything happened at sunrise.

54

Niccacci, Syntax, 63.

55

Ibid., 64.

26
19:23a
b

The sun had risen on the land
and Lot had entered Zoar
and YHWH rained upon Sodom and upon
Gamorrah…

24a

CrE)fh-f l(a )cfyF #$me#$%eha----hrF(jco )b@f +wOlw:----hrFmo(-j l(aw: Mdos-; l(a ry+im;hi hwFhywA-----

We-X-Qatal: Narrative Pause
In some cases the we-X-qatal provides the narrator with the means of pausing the
narrative so as to provide information necessary for the following narrative. Niccacci terms this
"antecedent" information.56 A break from the preceding wayyiqtol chain is made, and the
narrative resumes following the background information presented in the we-X-qatal clause(s).
These clauses could be called scene-setting devices, in which the narrator switches participants,
locations or jumps ahead in time without providing a temporal indicator. This seems to be the
case in Genesis 24:1. This verse introduces Abraham's last act in the narrative. It also reminds
the reader of God's promises in Genesis 12, 15, 17 and 22; God has fulfilled his promises to
Abraham and the last thing Abraham must do is to ensure, as best he can, that the family line
continues.
24:1a
b
24:2a

Now Abraham was old, advanced in years
and YHWH blessed Abraham in everything
Then Abraham said to his servant…

Mymiy,Fb@a )b@f Nq'zF Mhfrb
F ;)aw:----lk@ob@a MhfrFb;)-a t)e K7rFb'@ hwFhywA----wOd@b;(-a l)e MhfrFb;)a rme)yO,wA

In this example, the narrator is transitioning from the account of Sarah's death and burial
with the attendant land purchase, to the story of Rebekah and Abraham's servant. This
introduction comes into play later in the narrative in the words of Abraham's servant to Laban
(24:34). The introduction provides the reason for the following narrative. There is an urgency
embedded in this introduction as the promise of God to Abraham is becoming realized, yet
Abraham is getting old and Isaac has yet to marry.57 The introduction sets the scene for the

56

Ibid., 63.

27
coming narrative.
We-X-Qatal: Resumptive Function
As noted above in the discussion of Genesis 5:32-6:8, the we-X-qatal can also be used to
re-introduce a character. The narrator may leave one character for a while in order to recount
another story and then resume by reminding the reader about the situation in which the character
was last seen. A comparison of Genesis 37:28e and 39:1a is a clear example.
37:28e
39:1a

And they brought Joseph to Egypt
And Joseph had been brought/taken down to Egypt

hmfy:rFc;mi Ps'wOy-t)e w%l(jy,AwA
hmfy:rFc;mi draw%h Ps'wOyw:-----

After Genesis 37:28 the story continues with the brothers, and then the story of Judah and Tamar
(Genesis 38). When the narrator returns to Joseph, he does so by reminding the reader of the fact
that Joseph is now in Egypt, and that he had been brought there. This effectively reminds the
reader of the prior narrative as to how Joseph had come to Egypt.58
We-X-Qatal in Exodus 3:1 and 5:1
In Exodus 3:1 the X element of the initial clause is a proper noun. The function of this
clause construction with X as a proper noun in the Pentateuch is variable. However, in the
majority of occurrences it serves either to provide a contrast between characters59 or to present
simultaneous actions. Can these two functions come together in Exodus 3:1? The prior character
is God (2:24-25). While God is hearing, remembering, seeing, and knowing, Moses is
shepherding. Moses cannot hear or see the plight of Israel in Egypt as he had done in Exodus
57

Bruce K. Waltke and Cathi J. Fredricks, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 323.

58

Niccacci, Syntax, 36. Niccacci also cites 1 Samuel 25:1; 28:3 as an example of recalling previous
information (the death of Samuel). In 1 Samuel 25:1 the account is told with the wayyiqtol, recounting the historical
event. In 1Sam 28:3 the reader is reminded of the fact with the we-X-qatal form (48).
59

C. H. J. van der Merwe, "Discourse Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew Grammar," in Biblical Hebrew and
Discourse Linguistics, ed. Robert D. Bergen (Winona Lake: Summer Institute of Linguistics; Eisenbrauns,1994), 32.

28
2:11. At this point, he does not know what has transpired, though he does seem to be aware that
the situation is unchanged (cf. 4:18). Therefore, the we-X-qatal clause in this instance could be
contrastive, connecting Moses and God who are the focus of the narrative for the next two
chapters. Beyond the specific reference to Moses, this may involve a scene-setting technique
whereby the new Pharaoh (who will be the central antagonist in 5:1-14:28), the people of Israel,
God, and Moses are rapidly introduced and the setting for the story established. However, as
noted above, the two elements of close proximity of participants and parallel actions reflected in
repeated verbs (or synonyms) are not evident. Therefore, the contrastive function seems unlikely.
The report of the Pharaoh's death, the people's crying out, and God's response occur in
sequential order—as the chain of wayyiqtols in Exodus 2:23-25 indicates. The simultaneous
function of we-X-qatal in Exodus 3:1, that Moses' occupation as shepherd coincides with God's
awareness of the situation in Egypt, could be in effect. This understanding would make the
transition back to Moses conjunctive. This is a textual way of presenting two scenes that overlap
and belong together. All at once the reader is to hear the cry of Israel, the response of God, and
the location and vocation of Moses as a simultaneous occurrence.
The resumptive function of the clause in Exodus 3:1 is perhaps most obvious. The
narrator intrudes into the Moses story to provide details as to the situation in Egypt and YHWH's
decision to act in response to the cry of the Israelites.60 He has left Moses, married and now a
father, settled in Midian. The question of the state of the nation is now renewed. A second
unnamed Pharaoh has come to power, but the oppression of the people is unchanged. The
narrator informs the reader that God is now going to act. The reader/hearer of the story may
know that Moses is the chosen deliverer (assuming a prior oral tradition, the text will not have

60

Cassuto, Exodus, 30.

29
been the first encounter with the Exodus story for the ancient audience), but at this juncture in
the story he is removed from the situation of the people of Israel.61 How will Moses move from
his settled-down life to the wandering, Law-giving, triumphant leader who will have no parallel
in Israel's history? This question drives the following narrative. In fact, one of the themes of the
Pentateuch is that God will act in and through the least likely candidate for success. Moses, at
this point, is just that.
Given the above discussion, we conclude that the we-X-qatal construction in Exodus 3:1
is transitional. The use of this grammatical construction ties the preceding and following sections
of text together. Though a contrast between Moses and God is unlikely, the two main characters
are introduced side-by-side after the establishment of the situation in Egypt. Moses and God
have not yet met, but now they will meet in the first extended dialogue in the book of Exodus.
However, the disjunctive function of this clause type as a paragraph marker must also be
acknowledged.62 Furthermore, this clause introduces a new setting and character palette; all other
characters are removed from the scene. A unified reading of Exodus 2-4 provides a clear
introduction of the two main protagonists (sometimes antagonistic toward each other) throughout
the rest of the Pentateuch.
In the case of Exodus 5:1, the X element is an adverb (rxa))a . This type of construction is
found twelve times in the Pentateuch (Genesis 10:18; 30:21; 32:11; 33:7; 38:30; 49:31; Exodus
5:1; 15:25; Numbers 2:34; 12:16; 13:33; Deuteronomy 10:22).63 Of these, six use rxa)a (Genesis
10:18; 30:21; 33:7; 38:30; Exodus 5:1; Numbers 12:16). In each case—apart from Exodus 5:1—

61

Martin Sicker, The Exodus and the Reluctant Prophet (New York: iUniverse, Inc., 2007), 37.

62

Buth, "Functional Grammar," 89.

63

BibleWorks 8 WTM. Search string = *@v?p* *@Pd* ‫ו‬: waw + any Particle, limited to adverbs + any
perfect verb.

30
the clause concludes a scene and serves as a transitional device to the next. In Genesis 10:18 the
transition is from genealogical list to narrative comment. In Numbers 12:16 the transition is from
a short narrative regarding a situation that occurred at Hazeroth back to the geographic
movements of Israel in the wilderness.
Gen 10:18
Num 12:16

And afterward the families of the Canaanites
dispersed…
And afterward the people set out from Hazeroth…

yni(jnak@;ha twOxp%;#$;mi w%cponf rxa)aw:
twOrc'xjm' M(fhf w%(s;nf rxa)aw:

In Genesis 30:21, 33:7 and 38:30 the clause appears as a conclusion to a series of events,
the last action being conveyed in the "and afterward…" clause. The conclusion does not,
however close the scene, but presents the last action prior that sets up the ensuing action.
30:21

And afterward she gave birth to a daughter…

33:7

And afterward Joseph and Rachel drew near…

38:30

tb@a hdFl;yF rxa)aw:
lx'rFw: Ps'wOy #$g%ani rxa)aw:

And afterward his brother came out…

wyxi)f )cfyF rxa)aw:

If this formula tends to conclude a scene, in what sense does Exodus 5:1 conclude a scene
or series of events? George W. Coats suggests that "[t]his unit must be classified as an ACCOUNT
dependent on the VOCATION ACCOUNT in 3:1-4:18. Its apparent relationship with 1:8-12; 3:14:18; and 7:7-10:29 suggests that it serves as one element of a more extended popular history."64
Based on the linguistic data of the Pentateuch and following Coats' form critical approach, it
seems that 5:1 naturally flows from the call narrative to the confrontation between Moses and
Pharaoh, or, more accurately, God and Pharaoh. The parameters and expectations of how the
exodus from Egypt is going to come about are clearly intimated in Exodus 3-4.
It could very well be that the description of Moses and Aaron entering Pharaoh's presence
completes the thwarting of the previous Pharaoh's command to have the male children of the
64

Coats, Exodus 1-18, 52.

31
Hebrews executed at birth (1:22). The first address directed to Pharaoh, after the declaration of
infanticide, is made by those who should have been victims of that command. This encounter
picks up the oppression of the people, and intensifies it yet again. Although not stated, the
general failure of the infanticide program (note the presence of other males questioning and
confronting Pharaoh in 5:15-16) leads to increased oppression. This observation would suggest
that the oppression narratives of chapters 1 and 5 frame the call of Moses in chapters 2-4.
Pharaoh's "solutions" to the Hebrew problem are answered by the commissioning of Moses and
the revelation that God will ultimately overcome the oppression of Egyptian servitude, resulting
in a worshipping (serving) community that He saves.
Conclusion
Exodus 2-4 cannot be entirely separated as an independent unit. It is linguistically bound
to the surrounding context so that one must read before and after in order to make sense of the
text. The early life of Moses is focused on the thwarting of the third program of Pharaoh to
control the Israelite population—the elimination of the male Israelite population.65 If this is true,
then the unit can be treated as the third movement in the story of Israel's oppression. The setting
is established in Exodus 1:1-7, which is followed by a description of the triad of attempts at
controlling the Israelite population that runs from Exodus 1:8-4:31: first, the forced labour (1:813); second, the command to the midwives to kill the male children (1:15-21); third, the general
command to kill all male Israelite babies (1:22). All three attempts fail.
However, this does not end the oppression narrative as evidenced by the response of
Pharaoh in Exodus 5:5-9. The language of Pharaoh at 5:5-9 could even be understood as an

65

74–81.

J. Cheryl Exum, "You Shall Let Every Daughter Live: A Study of Exodus 1:8–2:10," Semeia 28 (1983),

32
inclusio with 1:9-11.66 This new Pharaoh notes that the Israelites have become numerous, and
proceeds to increase their workload. Perhaps the call narrative is to be viewed in the larger
context of the oppression stories that book end the introduction and call of Moses. Pharaoh's
oppressions are presented as a triad + one: the first three attempts to control the population in
Exodus 1, then increased oppression in Exodus 5. Perhaps this is connected to the three triads of
plagues + one (Passover) that YHWH will inflict on Egypt in order to free His son (compare
Exodus 1:22 and 4:22-23). Furthermore, chapters 1-5 could be construed as a chiastic structure:
A. Oppression under Pharaoh (Exodus 1)
B. Rescue and Escape of Moses who will "draw out" (Exodus 2)
C. Divine Commission and Calling of Moses (Exodus 3-4:17)
B'. Return of Moses to "draw out" Israel (Exodus 4:18-31)
A'. Increased Oppression of Pharaoh (Exodus 5)
"What all this means is that the biblical stories call for dynamic reading, which must determine
the boundaries of the stories and even their titles."67 On the basis of both the narrative and the
linguistic evidence, one cannot separate the proposed pericope from the larger context. This
creates a tension for the proposed reading of Exodus 1:22-4:31 as a narrative unit. It was noted in
the introduction that "the procedures of discourse analysis cannot be regarded as valid unless
they are applied to a complete, self-contained unit, or pericope, of some kind."68 Maintaining the
pericope boundaries as Exodus 1:22-4:31 can only be done by acknowledging its
interconnectedness with the surrounding context (Exodus 1 and 5) and its dependence on the
larger narrative begun in Genesis.
66

Bruckner, Exodus, 57; Fretheim, Exodus, 83.

67

Amit, Reading Biblical Narratives, 16.

68

Wendland, "Discourse Analysis of Hebrew Poetry," 7.

33
Given the fact that the approach taken here is synchronic, reading the text of the
Pentateuch as a finished and unified product, the preceding conclusion is not surprising. The
linguistic and narrative evidence supports reading the text as it has been preserved. Exodus 2-4 is
integral to the overall narrative strategy of the Pentateuch. It introduces the main characters—
God and Moses—and brings the foreshadowed oppression of Abraham's descendants (Genesis
15:12-16) to a climactic point. The reader, cognizant of the preceding Genesis narrative, knows
that God has promised deliverance. This passage begins answering the questions of how, and
through whom, that deliverance will be accomplished. As the following chapter will explore, the
narrator uses specialized vocabulary, syntax and literary type scenes from Genesis in Exodus
1:22-4:31 that both recall the past and anticipate the future.

34
Chapter Two
The Narrative Structure of Exodus 2-4
The focus of this chapter is on the linguistic structure of the narrative elements of Exodus
2-4. The primary method employed comes from the work of Alviero Niccacci. His articles on the
Hebrew verbal system and analysis of biblical narrative will be used extensively. In addition,
Robert Bergen's argument that rare grammatical structures and vocabulary choices provide clues
as to the text's organization and inherent structure will be explored.69 The overall goal of this
chapter is to offer an analysis of Exodus 2-4 that moves from the morphological to syntactical
and then discourse structures of the text.
Three different levels of analysis need to be established. Proceeding from the bottom up
(from small to broad units), they are: morphological, syntactical, and discourse levels.
Morphology is concerned with grammatical analysis of the sentence. Syntax identifies the
relationships among sentences and paragraphs in the framework of a text. Discourse
analysis brings to the fore the macrosyntactic, semantic, and pragmatic devices used by
the author to convey his message in a forcible way. I insist that the higher levels be based
on the lower ones. Syntax must be based on morphology, and discourse analysis on
syntax.70
However, Bergen argues that the direction of investigation proceed from the higher levels
to the lower. His contention is that the genre employed by the author dictates how the story will
be shaped, how sentences will be structured, and what grammatical forms will be used to achieve
the desired meaning.
Each successive higher level of textual organization influences all the lower levels of
which it is composed. Language is organized from the top down. Thus within narrative,
story-level considerations place constraints upon episodes, paragraphs, sentences,
clauses, phrases, words, syllables, and letters, while word-level considerations place
constraints only upon syllables and letters.71
69

Bergen, "Evil Spirits and Eccentric Grammar," 320–335; "Text as a Guide," 327–336.

70

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 118.

71

Bergen, "Text as a Guide," 330.

35

According to this view, the linguistic structures employed depend on the genre of text
one is composing. The author is bound by conventions of communication. But by introducing
elements that are uncommon—grammatically or lexically—the author may intentionally indicate
points of emphasis or reading boundaries. However, it seems that a decision as to genre can only
be made after first analyzing content and how a passage is structured syntactically (if Bergen's
contention that verb form is an indicator of genre holds true). Therefore, it is more natural to
begin—as Niccacci does—at the bottom, at the level of morphology and syntax, and proceed
upward to paragraph and discourse structures.
In practice, however, a spiralling approach between the two is necessary. To determine
what is normative syntactically, parallel genre texts must be examined. The results of careful
study of large blocks of text suggest that certain patterns of morphology and syntax emerge in
various genres. Whether one starts at the micro- or macro-syntactic level, it is necessary to
proceed to the opposite pole and back again in the course of investigation. The present
investigation will follow the approach of Niccacci. A determining factor for this writer is
Niccacci's extensive publications that both detail his theoretical framework and demonstrate the
relevance of his methodology to various biblical texts, thereby providing a more well-developed
model to follow than that of most other text-linguists, including Bergen.
Both Bergen and Niccacci begin their analysis of biblical narrative by bracketing out
direct speech or dialogue.72 Direct speech involves grammatical and syntactic rules and verb
forms that differ from those of narrative.73 The narrative, or nonquotational, material is primarily
characterized by the wayyiqtol verb form that communicates a sequence of actions. Breaks in the
72

Bergen, "Evil Spirits and Eccentric Grammar," 323; Niccacci, Syntax, 29–34.

73

Niccacci, "Basic Facts," 164.

36
sequence of this verb form are to be analyzed as to their function in the text. According to
Niccacci, the principle verb form in direct speech74 (dialogue, prayer, or sermon) is yiqtol, even
though discourse typically contains a wider variety of verb forms than does narrative.75
Accordingly, the present chapter will begin with an analysis of the nonquotational material,
focusing on the syntactic elements that break the wayyiqtol chains. The discussion will then
move to other syntactic features that may point to significant elements of the text and its
connections with the larger body of the Pentateuch. The following chapter will focus on the
direct speech elements of Exodus 1:22-4:31 in similar fashion.
In this chapter we will follow Niccacci's lead in first analyzing and presenting the
Hebrew text that is broken down into clauses and diagrammed in four levels: mainline clauses,
dependent clauses, background/antecedent clauses, and direct speech.76 The mainline (wayyiqtol)
clauses will be the furthest right in the diagram. Dependent clauses will be marked with a
vertical arrow (↑). Background or antecedent clauses (non-wayyiqtol) will be indented five
74

In The Syntax of the Verb, Niccacci uses the term "discourse" in discussing direct speech. In his later
works, he replaces the term "discourse" as it has become a somewhat broad term. The terminology discussed in this
later work is historical narrative vs. direct speech, rather than narrative vs. discourse. The clarification in
terminology in the field of text-linguistics and its use in biblical studies is the focus of David A. Dawson's opening
chapters in Text-Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew, JSOT Supp 177 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994).
Dawson criticizes Niccacci on his rather inclusive definition of "discourse" as not recognizing the different text
types (dialogue, prayer, sermon, etc) (Dawson, 31).
Since different genre types seem be communicated in direct speech, Dawson's critique seems justified.
Exodus 15, for example, is presented as a quoted song of Moses, yet one would need to recognize the genre of
poetry as distinct from the conversation between Moses and God in Exodus 3. Further distinctions would need to be
made in Exodus as the legal material is presented as direct speech from God, but here again there is variety in the
genre of texts and legal types. However, Niccacci does offer justification for limiting his text-types to two genres
because the verbal system seems to be consistent within the broad scope of "direct speech" regardless of suggested
sub-genre (hortatory, procedural, expository, etc.); see "On the Hebrew Verbal System" (119).
Niccacci responds to Dawson's critique and book in an extensive review in "Text-Linguistics and Biblical
Hebrew," (Liber Annuus 45, 1995), 543-580. In his review of Dawson, Niccacci notes that the confusion over the
word "discourse" is due to the difference between the European "text-linguistic" method and the "discourse analysis"
method of the USA; two separate terms have been used for the same method.
75

Niccacci, Syntax, 29. Since Niccacci also states that traditional grammars assume that the qatal form is
dominant in discourse, this claim will be evaluated in the analysis of Exodus 3-4, as it contains extended dialogue.
76

Niccacci, "Analysis of Biblical Narrative,", 175–198; "Syntactic Analysis of Ruth" (1995): 69–106;
"Syntactic Analysis of Jonah" (1996): 9–32.

37
spaces. Direct speech will be indented and a vertical line will be placed to the right of the text. A
translation of the text is provided in the left column.
The results of this analysis will contribute to the discussion of the particular form and
function of the passage by identifying the macrosyntactic structure inherent in the text itself. The
goal is to determine what elements of the text shape the reading experience. The key issue is,
again, how the text means. Understanding how the text is organized syntactically will assist the
narrative analysis by defining the salient elements of the text based on syntax, grammar, and
vocabulary. The assumption is that the text is constructed in such as way as to guide the reader's
interpretation of the content.77
Narrative Syntax of Exodus 2-4
Due to the fact that Exodus 3-4 contains an extended dialogue, this analysis of the
narrative elements (nonquotational material) in these chapters is relatively limited. The
percentage of verbs in the wayyiqtol form in these chapters is as follows: Exodus 2 = 65.5%,
Exodus 3 = 21.2%, and Exodus 4 = 40.6%.78 Noting that wayyiqtol initiates the majority of
clauses in narrative, we will examine the remaining clauses that have some other element in the

77

Bergen, "Text as a Guide," 331; Niccacci, "Basic Facts," 189. While Bergen and Niccacci discuss these
features as intended by the author, I am choosing to discuss this as a feature of the text itself. This leaves open the
debate as to what one means by "authorship" and the possibility that more than one "author" has been involved in
the production of the Pentateuch in its final form. In the technical sense, the Pentateuch is an anonymous book, and
one should perhaps take that as part of the intention of the author(s). Kirk E. Lowery notes, "Regardless of the
history of the text, the text appeared in a final form. Why was the text placed in the form that it was? Here was a
question that could be explored profitably without knowing the history of that text. Whether by an editor, a team of
editors or the original author, there was a purpose to the text as it now stands." Kirk E. Lowery, "The Theoretical
Foundations of a Hebrew Discourse Grammar," in Discourse Analysis of Biblical Literature, ed. Walter Ray Bodine,
Semeia Studies (Atlanta: Scholar Press, 1995), 104.
78

These percentages reflect the total number of wayyiqtol forms against the total verb count in each chapter
regardless of whether the verbs occur in narrative of dialogue. According to Bergen, quantity of information—where
the author spends more time—indicates salience ("Text", 332). Therefore, the narrative elements of Exodus 2-4
seem to provide a platform for the dialogue, most notably the extended speeches made by God in Exodus 3-4. It is
not the story of Moses that is central, but the speeches of God. The following chapter will focus on the implications
of this reality in more detail.

38
first position in order to determine their function within the text. Beginning at Exodus 1:22, we
will discuss the various interruptions of the wayyiqtol sequences as they appear in the text and
other occurrences of the same structure throughout the text of Exodus 1:22-4:31.
Exodus 2:3a – A Negative Clause
In some cases—such as when an infinitive construct, a participle, or a negation is
involved—the clause structure is dictated by standard rules of Hebrew grammar. In those
situations the clause structure cannot be reworked into a wayyiqtol sequence.
The backbone of a narrative is not only indicated by waw consecutive + imperfect. The
interruption of a waw consecutive + imperfect series is sometimes necessitated by
B[ibilical] H[ebrew] syntax, for example, where a conjunction, negative adverb, relative
pronoun and words such as hn'%hi and htf@((a w:) are used. These cases must therefore be
distinguished from those in which a waw consecutive + imperfect sequence—and thus
the flow of the narrative—is interrupted with a specific semantic-pragmatic purpose.79
An example of this is found in the first non-wayyiqtol clause in Exodus 2:3a:
2:3a

But she was no longer able to hide him

wOnypic=;ha dwO( hlfk;yF-)low:

The negative particle must precede the verb.80 This suggests that a negative statement
cannot be made in the mainline clause of a narrative since a wayyiqtol form cannot take second
position in the sentence. "[I]n Hebrew the only way of negating a wayyiqtol is using )lw +
qatal….As a consequence )lw + qatal is not a qatal but a negated wayyiqtol; syntactically, it is
on exactly the same level with wayyiqtol."81 The clause is not demoted in importance82; rather, it
provides the impetus for the action to come in the following series of wayyiqtol clauses. In this
79

Merwe, Naude, and Kroeze, BHRG, 167.

80

Page H. Kelly, Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1992), 87.
81

Niccacci, "Review of Dawson," 551; see also "Syntactic Analysis of Jonah," 18. While the verb form
designations are italicized throughout this work, they are not in the source document of this citation.
82

Bryan M. Rocine, Learning Biblical Hebrew: A New Approach Using Discourse Analysis (Macon:
Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 2000), 53.

39
way it should be considered on the same level as the wayyiqtol.
However, this we-X-qatal clause may serve a particular function in the narrative flow of
the paragraph. According to Bryan Rocine, grammatical constructions such as this serve to "slow
or even freeze the video for commentary, often at points of greatest emphasis."83 Given that the
clause is also accented by segolta, the clause seems to slow the narrative, as well as create a
moment of tension.84 The content and context of the clause support the conclusion that a
dramatic pause is intended: The child cannot remain hidden. What will happen? The answer to
the question comes in the next segment. Therefore, this clause—while moving the plot
forward—serves as a bridge between the birth account and the following exposed-infant / threatto-life story.
Exodus 2:4-5, 16 – Infinitives Construct
2:4a
b
2:5a
b
c
2:16c
d

And his sister stationed herself at a distance
to know what would happen to him
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down
to bathe at the Nile
and her maidens walked along the side of
the Nile
And they filled the watering troughs
to give drink to their father's flock

83
84

qhorFm' wOtxo)j bc=atat'w@ A
wOl h#&e(fy",-hma h(fd"l; ↑
h(or:p-%a tba@ drEt'w@ A
r)oy:ha-l(a Cxor:li ↑
r)oy:ha dya-l(a tkol;ho hfytero(jnaw: ↑
My+ihfr:h-f t)e hnf)le@mat@;wA
Nheybi)j N)co twOq#$;hal; ↑

Ibid.

Lars Lode, "A Discourse Perspective on the Significance of the Masoretic Accents," in Biblical Hebrew
and Discourse Linguistics, ed. Robert D. (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1994), 160. Admittedly, recourse to the
Masoretic accentuation system is, in my opinion, perhaps more of a window into the Masoretes' understanding of
the text and could be taken as an interpretive interpolation onto the text. It may reflect an early and useful insight
into an ancient understanding of the syntax and relationship of clauses and, as Lode suggests, indicate section breaks
and that the accents—such as segolta—contain "semantic overtones of focus and emphasis in addition to their
traditionally recognized disjunctive value" (156). The seven occurrences of segolta in Exodus 2-4 do occur at key
moments in the narrative flow; often the clause introduces a significant moment or statement. While a full
exploration of the syntactic and discourse functions of the accentuation of the text may yield some insight, such
conclusions should come from the syntax and narrative analysis. A detailed analysis of the accentuation of Exodus
2-4, in line with Lode's article, would be beyond the scope of this thesis—as evidenced by the choice to represent
the Hebrew text in consonantal form.

40
The clauses in Exodus 2:4b, 5b and 16d each begin with l + infinitive construct. In every
case the clause is connected to the preceding wayyiqtol and does not constitute a disjunctive verb
form. The infinitives construct introduce purpose/result clauses.85 The verbal ideas are depicted,
not as sequential, but as contingent on the wayyiqtol verbs.
Exodus 2:6c, 13b; 3:2c; 4:6e, 7e – hn%'hiw:
2:6a
b
c
2:13a
b

And she opened it
And she saw the child
And behold! the boy was crying.
He went out on the second day
And behold! two Hebrew men were
struggling

xt@ap;t@iwA
dleye,ha-t)e w%h)'r:ti@wA
hkebo@ r(an-a hn%'hiw: ↑
yni#$%'ha MwOy,b@a )c'y,"wA
Myc=ini MyrIb;(i My#$inf)j-yn'#$; hn%'hiw: ↑

The particle hn%'hi has a distinct function when it appears in narrative. "It often introduces
an important change of perspective in a story."86 This description fits the contexts in Exodus 2:6c
and 2:13b. In the first case, what is in question is how Pharaoh's daughter will respond given the
command of Pharaoh recorded in Exodus 1:22. Will she comply with the edict? The tension
surrounding the outcome is held up for a moment—the child is crying. Will she toss him in the
river? She is standing in a place where the situation can go either way. An important change
takes place and the Pharaoh's command is disobeyed yet again, this time by his own daughter.
The clause following the hn%'hi clause answers the question as to whether or not this child will live
or die.
Taken with the rest of the sentence, this clause adds to the tension of the situation.
Exodus 2:6b-c literally reads, "And she saw him, the child. And behold, the young boy was
crying." Note that the pronominal suffix (w%h) is specified in 2:6b, and then a modifier (r(anA)is
85

Merwe, Naude, and Kroeze, BHRG, 154; Waltke and O'Connor, IBHS, 36.2.3.c–d.

86

Merwe, Naude, and Kroeze, BHRG, 330.

41
used in 2:6c. "This unusual style adds to the suspense of the narrative."87 The reader knows that
the "him" is the child in the basket, and that it is a Hebrew male child. The modifier is, therefore,
seemingly unnecessary. However, the point-of-view is that of the princess. The reader is
experiencing the discovery of the child from her perspective, and it is her decision that will
decide the fate of the child.
In Exodus 2:13, Moses witnesses two Hebrews fighting. The verb of action ()cfyF) is
followed by a temporal note (yni#$%'ha MwOy@b@a), which is immediately followed by the hn%'hi clause.
While the prior event—the killing of the Egyptian—is related with the wayyiqtol verb chain, the
second conflict that Moses observes is the striving of the two Hebrews, and is presented with this
"off-the-line" construction. This may serve to increase the tension of this scene in contrast to the
previous one. The struggle between the Egyptian and Israelite is somewhat natural given the
context. The surprise is that the Israelites are struggling amongst themselves as well. This
foreshadows the situation to come: Moses will mediate the striking of the Egyptians (Exodus 714), but then will be embroiled in conflicts among Israelites (Exodus 18) and in challenges to his
place as leader and judge as well (Exodus 32; Numbers 12).
3:2a
b
c
d

And the messenger of YHWH appeared to
him in a flame of fire from the midst of the
bush
And he looked
And behold! the bush burned with fire
but the bush was not consumed

hnes@;ha K7wOt@mi #$)'-tb@alab@; wylf)' hwOFhy: K7)al;ma )rFy,"wA
)r:y,"wA
#$)'b@f r('bo@ hn's@;ha hn%'hiw: ↑
lkf@)u w%n%ney)' hn's@;haw: ↑

The hn%'hi clause in Exodus 3:2 fits Christo van der Merwe's description of the particle's
use in narrative: "A close or personal observation, often after an act of movement + hn%'hiw: +
cognitive effects of personal experience (i.e., cognitive proximity) or a character. What a

87

Noel D. Osborn and Howard Hatton, A Handbook on Exodus, UBS Handbook Series; Helps for
Translators (New York: United Bible Societies, 1999), 34.

42
character experiences as noteworthy is sometimes already known to the reader or other
characters in the narrative."88 The act of movement is described in Exodus 3:1b-c ()boy,FwA…ghan;y,Iwa).
The report of the messenger of YHWH appearing to him "in a flame of fire out of a bush"
follows in 3:2a and alerts the reader to the situation, the full implications of which Moses is
unaware. His experience of the vision is then communicated beginning with the hn%'hiw: clause of
3:2c. This first break in the wayyiqtol chain signals a slowing down of the narrative pace in the
remainder of chapter three and into chapter four. Rather than encountering the quick overview
with substantial time gaps that has been evident in Exodus 1-2, the reader experiences the
conversation at the bush "as it happens."
4:6a
b
c
d
e
4:7a
b
c
d
e

And YHWH said to him again,
"Put your hand in your bosom."
And he placed his hand in his bosom
And he drew it out
And behold! His hand was leprous like the snow
And he said,
"Return your hand into your bosom."
And he returned his hand into his bosom.
And he drew it out from his bosom
And behold! It had returned to flesh.

dwO( wOl hwFhy: rme)y,owA
K1qeyx'b;@ K1d:yF )nf-)b'hf |--wOqyx'b;@ wOdyF )b'y,FwA
h@)fciwOy,wA
gle#$%fk@a t(arAcom; wOdyF hn%'hiw: ↑
rme)yo,wA
K1qeyx'-l)e K1d:yF b#$'hf |--wOqyx'-l)e wOdyF b#$ey,FwA
wOqyh'm' h@)fciwOy,wA
wOr#&fb;ki@ hbf#-$f hn%'hiw: ↑

The passage in Exodus 4:6-7 exhibits an interesting pattern with the hn%'hi clauses that
conclude each verse. The order of each verse is parallel. The 'a' line contains the introduction of
direct speech (rme)y,owA), the 'b' the content of the speech. Parts 'c' and 'd' contain verbs of motion,
which are then followed by the hn'%hi clause that describes the result. It is as if reader is watching
the action and is just as surprised at the result as Moses.89

88

C. H. J. van der Merwe, "A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective on ‫ ִהנֵּה‬in the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges,
and Ruth," Hebrew Studies 48 (2007): 134.
89

NET translators note: "The particle hnh (hinneh) points out the startling or amazing sight as if the reader
were catching first glimpse of it with Moses." The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006).
Logos Bible Software.

43
Exodus 2:10c, 11a, 23a; 4:3d, 4d, 24a – yhiy:wA
yhiy:wA

is the third masculine singular wayyiqtol form of hyFhf (to be, become), and should,

therefore, function as a mainline verb. However, it often appears as a marker of time at a
transition point in a narrative.90
Despite the fact that it is a verb it is not essentially an action word but a word that
describes a state or condition of being. For that reason clauses that use the verb "to be"
are most closely akin to verbless clauses than to verbal ones….As we might expect,
clauses that use "to be" in the simple past break narrative sequence. But even clauses that
use the narrative tense of "to be" are usually "off-line" and often function as unit
boundaries.91
The occurrences of yhiy:wA in Exodus 2-4 seem to be divided into two classes: 1) those that describe
a state of being (2:10c; 4:3d, 4d), and 2) those that are part of a clause that contains a scene shift,
either temporal or locative (2:11a, 23a; 4:24a).
2:10a
b
c
d

And the child grew
And she brought him to the daughter of
Pharaoh
And he became her son
And she called his name Moses

4:3c
d

And he cast it to the ground
And it became a snake

4:4d
e

And he grasped it
And it became a staff in his palm

dley,Eha ld@ag:yIwA
h(or:p-%a tbal; w%h)'bit@;wA
Nb'l; h@l-f yhiy:wA
h#$emo wOm#$; )rFq;t@iwA
hcfr:)a w%hk'yli#$;y,AwA
#$xfnfl; yhiy:wA
wOb@ qzexjy,AwA
wOp%kab;@ h+%emal; yhiy:wA

The first class follows actions that bring about the state of being described in the yhiy:wA
clause. Note that the clauses are not first in the verse structure. In these cases the clause is not
disjunctive; the content of the clause describes a new state of being contingent on the prior

90

The function of yhiy:wA has been a source of contention in linguistic studies of biblical Hebrew. Niccacci
and Dawson's reviews of each other's work evidences considerable difference of opinion regarding the function of
the word and its text-level importance. Niccacci, "Review of Dawson," 547–548; David Allan Dawson, TextLinguistics and Biblical Hebrew, JSOTSupp 177 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 34–35.
91

Walsh, Style and Structure, 159.

44
action. Therefore, these clauses do not highlight divisions in the text or paragraph boundaries.
2:11a
b

And it came about in those days
when Moses grew older

2:23a
b

And it came about in those many days
that the king of Egypt died

4:24a
b

Mh'hf Mymiy,Fb@a yhiy:wA
h#$emo ld@Ag:y,IwA
Mh'hf Mybi@rAhf Mymiy,Fba yhiy:wA
MyIrAc;mi K7leme tmfy,FwA

And it came about on the way to the lodging
place
that YHWH met him

NwOlm@fb@a K7rEd@Eba yhiy:wA
hwFhy: w%h#$'g%:p;y,IwA

The second class, however, heads the verse. These three contain a time reference and
indicate that a new scene is about to be described that is temporally different from the preceding
section. Therefore, the clause in Exodus 2:11a separates the birth and adoption narrative from the
next section that describes Moses' action in Egypt and his flight to Midian. Similarly, Exodus
2:23a breaks into the narrative flow to inform the reader of the state of affairs in Egypt. The
narrator uses this device to "fast-forward" to a new temporal setting.
In Exodus 4:24a, a switch in location is evident in the content of the clause. The prior
report had to do with YHWH's command to Moses in Midian. This clause informs the reader that
Moses is now "on the way" to Egypt, and has left Midian. Perhaps this is a bit of a narrative
flashback considering that Exodus 4:20c has informed the reader that "he returned to the land of
Egypt."
Exodus 2:16a – Verbless Clause
2:16a
b
c

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters
And they came
And they drew water

twOnb@f (ba#$e NyFd:mi Nh'kol;w%---hnf)bot@fwA
hnfled:t@iwA

This is the only verbless clause in the narrative of Exodus 2-4. The preceding verse
describes Moses settling in Midian. Attention is now turned to a new character of some
significance in the Exodus narrative, though at this point his title and family are of more

45
importance than his name. Discussing this particular verse, Niccacci states "from the context,
however, it is clear that this is not 'a significant break in communication' but a slight pause, since
the narrative returns to the same topic."92 The information of the verbless clause serves to
identify the participants in the scene with their father. Moses is at the well, the identity of the
women coming to the well is defined, and then the description of what happens at the well is
recounted.
Exodus 2:22c; 3:1a, 6g; 4:26b, 28b-c, 30b, 31c-d – X-Qatal Clauses
Since Exodus 3:1a was discussed in the previous chapter, attention here will focus on the
remainder of (we)-X-qatal occurrences. Of these constructions, four are yk@i clauses (2:22c; 3:6g;
4:31b-c); two have t)e, the direct object marker, at the beginning of the clause (4:28b-c); and one
is an r#e$)j clause. These clauses are syntactically dependent on the preceding wayyiqtol and do
not constitute independent sentences and, therefore, are not breaks in the narrative. They supply
information that supplements that of the main clause.
The remaining instance, 4:26b, however, requires additional consideration.
4:26b

At that time she said, "a bridegroom of blood"
because of the circumcision.

tlow%m@la Mymid@F Ntaxj hrFm;)f z)f

The conjunction z)af occurs in Exodus 4:26b at the conclusion of the threat to life / circumcision
story (4:24-26). This clause seems to elaborate further on Zipporah's speech in 4:25 after the
threat has been removed (4:26a). The narrator does not stop to explain the meaning of Zipporah's
words until after the conclusion of the story. He then 'rewinds the tape' a bit to explain what
Zipporah meant. The function of z)a in this instance introduces the narrator's comment on a rather

92

Niccacci, Syntax, 58.

46
puzzling element of the scene.93 This particle and clause close the scene and mark a short break
before the call of Aaron is recounted (Exodus 4:27).
From Narrative Syntax to Narrative Context
One of the weaknesses of text-linguistics noted in the introduction is the tendency for the
analyst to get lost in the minutiae of clausal relationships and never really to emerge with
something concrete in terms of exegetical worth. Perhaps this danger is more evident in the
bottom-up approach advocated by Niccacci, whereas the top-down approach of Bergen can help
one to avoid failing to see the forest for the trees. The syntactic signaling within a passage or
paragraph only provides a starting point for the discussion of how the text in question relates to
the whole. These segments must be understood to comprise a whole communication event. The
salient information has been encoded in the linguistic choices of the author(s).
Modern linguistics recognizes that when an author creates a text he personally considers
certain portions of his literary creation to be more important than others. To help the
audience figure out which portions he considers to be more significant, the author drops
hints in the text. These hints are created by the manipulation of three variable factors: (1)
order of information, (2) quality of information, and (3) type of information.94
In the preceding discussion, the various elements of the text that break into the normal
mode of moving the story along in Hebrew narrative have been examined. However, the question
as to what those signals may mean to the macro-structure of the text remains. In addition, there
may be elements encoded in the text that do not emerge from syntactic analysis alone. Bergen's
first variable (order of information) has been the primary concern of the first section of this
chapter. The two remaining factors will be the focus of the next section. As other textual clues
are explored, the question of how this passage relates to the larger context of the Pentateuch will
93

The biblical narrator seems a bit more reserved in his explanation than modern essays on the same topic.

94

Bergen, "Text as a Guide," 331.

47
be in view.
On the basis of the preceding analysis of Exodus 1:22-4:31 the following outline may be
suggested:
1. Exodus 1:22-2:10 – The Third Failure of Pharaoh
a. Marriage and Birth Account (2:1-2)
b. Preservation of the Male Child (2:3-9)
c. Adoption and Naming of the Child (2:10)
2. Exodus 2:11-22 – From the Palace to Priest: Moses in Exile
a. Confrontations
i. With the Egyptian: resulting in a final "smiting" (2:11-12)
ii. With the Hebrews: resulting in unresolved challenge (2:13-14)
b. Flight from Pharaoh to Midian (2:15)
c. Settlement in Midian (2:16-22)
3. Exodus 2:23-4:31 – The Plight of Israel and the Response of God
a. Endurance of Oppression (2:23-24)
b. God Enters as an Active Participant (2:25-3:1)
c. God Confronts Moses (3:2-4:17)
d. From Midian to Egypt (4:18-26)
e. Introduction of Aaron (4:27-28)
f. Israel Initially Accepts the Leadership of Moses and of YHWH (4:29-31)
This three-part outline centres on the temporal clauses introduced by yhiy:wA. These macrosyntactic markers serve to divide the passage into historical periods based on the experience of
the participants. The first marks the time between Moses as an infant and Moses as an adult. The

48
second marks the time between the Pharaoh of the oppression and the Pharaoh to be confronted
by Moses in the remainder of Exodus. Notably, when this later Pharaoh leaves the scene (Exodus
14), the people of Israel will celebrate their freedom from oppression (Exodus 15). From 2:23 on,
the narrative does not seem to offer much in the way of temporal cues. That is to say, the
narrative ceases to jump from one time period to another, in effect slowing the pace down.
Within each of these time frames, the passages can be outlined in various ways. The
conversation between Moses and God in Exodus 3-4 will be evaluated as to its structure and
genre(s) in the following chapter. At this point, it is enough to note that the shorter sections (1
and 2 above) serve to move Moses from Egypt to Midian. What does the narrator intend to
communicate regarding Moses at this point?
The introduction of Moses in Exodus 2:1-10 deviates from the standard way of
introducing main characters in the Pentateuch. Throughout Genesis, a key character is often
introduced after a genealogy sets the stage for the arrival of that person. In this case, Moses' birth
and vocational call are recounted and the genealogy comes later (Exodus 6). While the inversion
of information is usually considered at the clause level (e.g., another word coming before the
verb), this is an example of an episodic or even a story-cycle inversion.95 Had the geneaology
come before the birth narrative, the reader would have been aware of the fact that Moses was the
second oldest son of his parents.
The introduction of Aaron in chapter four comes as a surprise. The fact that Moses has a
sibling in addition to his as yet unnamed elder sister has been suppressed. The relative age of
Moses and Aaron are also suppressed at this point, and will not be revealed until Exodus 6.
"Biblical narrative often withholds pieces of exposition until the moment in the story when they

95

Ibid.

49
are immediately relevant."96 As it stands, Moses is presented as the oldest boy of the Levite
couple. It is somewhat odd that the narrator has chosen to relate the marriage and the birth
without mention of other sons or daughters. The fact that the three children are born of a Levite
couple may hint at their combined roles in the leadership of Israel in the coming narrative, but at
this point the focus of attention is Moses. This inversion of material—birth announcement and
genealogy—serves to direct the reader's attention solely toward Moses as the main human
character of the story.97 With the exception of Jethro, Zipporah, Gershom, and Aaron, all other
characters in Exodus 2-4 are nameless, serving to highlight the importance and prominence of
Moses as the key character of the text.
In addition, Moses' introduction occurs at the beginning of a "new creation" account. His
mother notes that he is "good" (bwO+; cf. Genesis 1). When she can no longer hide him from the
Egyptians, she places him in an "ark" (hbat'@; cf Genesis 6:9ff). Both the creation account of
Genesis 1 and the account of Noah (which includes the first example of re-creation: see Genesis
9:1-7) are brought together in this introductory text to indicate that something monumental is
about to take place. If the intention is to recall these prior narratives, the implications of the birth
narrative and adoption story can be understood as having universal implications. The Genesis
texts being hinted at are global in nature—not specific to Israel as a nation, but to humanity as a
whole. However, the global implications will not be declared until Exodus 19:5-6.
The narrative gap between Moses' birth account and the conflict in Egypt (Exodus 2:1114) provides no information as to how Moses was aware of whom "his own people" were,

96
97

Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 66.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament., Logos electronic edition.
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996), vol 1, 277.

50
though later tradition would fill this gap.98 The focus of the two scenes is the identification of
Moses with the Hebrews as wyxf)e "his brothers," which occurs twice in Exodus 2:11. The narrator
wants to ensure that the reader understands Moses' awareness of his relationship to the Hebrew
people. The nation is becoming the focus, not the individual. The reader is returned to the plight
of Israel in Egypt, and the agent of deliverance is now introduced to the situation. "Interest in
Moses is restricted to those events which relate to the destiny of the new nation Israel."99 How
Moses knows about his family relationships (Exodus 4:14) and his relationship to the Hebrew
slaves is not important.
As is commonly noted, the action of Moses in these scenes foreshadows God's actions in
the coming narrative of Exodus 7-12. Moses sees the labours and oppression of "his brothers"
(2:11c, e) and acts on behalf of the oppressed. In the same way, when God sees the oppression of
the people He is moved to action. Both Moses and God act decisively and violently in "striking"
(hkfnf) the oppressor.
The story of the flight to Midian has many parallels with the Patriarch stories of Genesis.
In Genesis, from Isaac onward, the Patriarchs find their wives in a foreign land. There is an
encounter of the future bride at a well, and a time of service to the father-in-law. These close
parallels with the Jacob story may suggest that the reader is to understand that God stands behind
all that is happening.100 The conflict that causes Jacob to flee from Esau, his brother, can be seen
as an outworking of the word of God to Rebekah regarding the adversarial relationship of the

98

Flavius Josephus, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, rev. ed., trans. William Whiston,
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1990), Antiquities 2.227.
99

James S. Ackerman, "The Literary Context of the Moses Birth Story (Exodus 1-2)," in Literary
Interpretation of Biblical Narrative, vol. 1, ed. Kenneth R. R. Gros Loius, James S. Ackerman, and Thayer S.
Warshaw (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1974), 96.
100

Sailhamer, The Pentateuch, 244.

51
brothers (Genesis 25:23). God promises to be present with Jacob as he flees to Laban's
household (Genesis 28:10ff) with the specific statement K7m@f(i ykinO)f "I am with you." He then flees
from Laban—his place of safety becomes one of oppression, a microcosm of Israel's later
experience in Egypt—at which point God says to him, K7m@f(i hyEh;)e "I will be with you" (Genesis
31:3; cf. Exodus 3:12, 14; 4:12, 15). The promise of divine presence connects the Patriarchal
stories with Moses' call, and answers the question of the Hebrew slave, "Who made you prince
and judge over us?"(Exodus 2:14).
YHWH's attack on Moses contrasts with YHWH's previous statement that he would
strike the firstborn of Pharaoh. Carol Meyers notes that this scene foreshadows the later events of
the Passover, both the salvation by blood and the identification of those able to participate in the
ceremony (Exodus 12:43-49).101 Again, the reader is not told whether or not Moses was aware of
the covenant implications of circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14). From a narrative perspective, the
uncircumcised son indicates reluctance on Moses' part to identify completely with "his brothers,"
an attitude that needs to be addressed. Moses cannot act as mediator for God and deliverer of the
people unless he fully identifies with them.
Conclusion
The exploration of the narrative elements of Exodus 2-4 reveal that the text intentionally
brings past themes from Genesis into the account of Moses, and foreshadows the narrative to
come. The account of the birth and early life of Moses constitutes a re-creation account; God is
beginning again. Creation and the Flood are hinted at in the birth narrative, while the account of
the life of Moses before and after his encounter with God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-4:17)
reflects themes and events in the lives of the Patriarchs.
101

Meyers, Exodus, 67.

52
The emphasis of Exodus 2-4 is on the emergence of Moses as the deliverer through the
divine commission. In regard to content, however, the story is told less in terms of narrative and
more through dialogue. The emphasis on the words of God and his self-revelation to Moses
forms the core of these chapters. God/YHWH speaks for the first time since Genesis 35:12.
These speeches describe God's intentions and goals with respect to Israel's exodus from Egypt.

53
Chapter Three
The Structure And Genre Of Direct Speech
As one moves from narrative to direct speech in biblical Hebrew, changes in syntax and
morphology become evident. The dominance of the wayyiqtol verb form in narrative gives way
to a variety of verb and clausal forms. As was noted in the previous chapter, the text of Exodus
3-4 consists predominantly of direct speech: the percentage of wayyiqtol verbs is 21.2% and
40.6%, respectively.102 Without the convention of quotation marks, Hebrew narrative introduces
each speech with a narrative cue (often a form of rma)f), and sets off the material as a quotation by
means of specific distinctive syntax. Exodus 2:8-9 provides a succinct example of the shift from
narrative to direct speech:
2:7a
b
c
d
2:8a
b
c
d

And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter,
"Shall I go
And call for you a nursing woman from the
Hebrews
To nurse the child for you?
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her,
"Go!"
So the young girl went
And she called the mother of the child

h(or:p-a% tba-@ l)e wOtxo)j rme)Ot@wA
K7l')'ha |--ty,OrIb;(iha Nmi tqeneym' h#$a%(i K7lf yti)rFqfwA |--dley,Fha-t)e K7lf qniyt'w: |--h(or:p-%a tb@a h@l-f rme)Ot@wA
ykil' |--hmfl;(ahf K7let'@wA
dley,Fha M)'-t)e )rFq;t@iwA

Outside of the speeches the action is conveyed with wayyiqtol forms. Note that lines
2:7b-c use the same verbs as lines 2:8c-d. First, in the speech of "his sister," the verbs occur in
the yiqtol and weqatal forms. In reporting the follow-up action, the narrator repeats the verbs in
wayyiqtol form. Examining any narrative text with dialogue shows the move from wayyiqtol in
the narrative to various verb forms in direct speech to be the norm. The aim of this chapter is to
examine the speeches of Exodus 2-4, determine their various genres, and relate these findings to
the narrative strategy of the text. Roy Heller introduces the topic well:
102

For a detailed discussion regarding the percentages of verb occurrences in Exodus 2-4 see p. 37 above.

54
The structure of direct discourse in biblical Hebrew prose differs from that of narrative
proper in several respects. Because they are marked otherwise, no predominant verbal or
clausal type characterizes the beginning or ending of speeches or characters. Moreover,
whereas narrative is marked throughout by chains of WAYYIQTOL clauses, no consistent
clause type occurs regularly throughout speeches. Likewise, in general, there is no
consistent syntactically marked means of expressing points on or off the mainline of the
discourse. Furthermore, whereas the predominant purpose of narrative proper is to relate
events in the past, only rarely is this the purpose of direct discourse. Finally, whereas
narrative generally has the single predominant function of relating sequential events in
the past, direct discourse has multiple functions: occasionally to relate past events, in
other cases to predict or plan the future, in still other cases to explain universal truths or
to declare immediate relationships or actions. Moreover, direct discourse, unlike
narrative, can occasionally directly motivate actions in its hearers, either as a response to
a stated question or as a reaction (or rebellion) to a command or request. For this reason,
the structure of direct discourse is more complex than that found in narrative. Although it
is more complex, however, its structure is still consistent and regular.103
The different syntactic structures employed and the dominant functions of direct speech
passages are the basic problems to be addressed in this chapter. The complexity of the problem is
highlighted in the italicized segments in the above quotation. Heller claims a lack of consistency
in the syntax of direct speech, and yet states that there are consistent and regular structures.
These seemingly contradictory claims are resolved by creating genre categories for direct speech
based on common syntactic patterns and content. In other words, direct speech communicates for
a specific purpose (Heller lists several possibilities above) and utilizes specific and consistent
linguistic features in doing so.
Heller identifies five basic genres of speech and describes the syntactical elements that
characterize each. Bryan Rocine lists three main genres of direct speech: Predictive Narrative,
Instructional Discourse, and Hortatory Discourse.104 Rocine also includes Embedded Direct
Speech and Procedural Discourse as off-the-line elements in his Historical Narrative Discourse
Profile Scheme. Alviero Niccacci discusses direct speech syntax under the heading "Discourse"
103

Heller, Narrative Structure, 456-457. Italics added.

104

Rocine, Learning Biblical Hebrew, 424.

55
in Syntax of the Verb.105 However, he does not move to classify different speech structures with
genre titles, as do Heller and Rocine.
The differences among these three authors are indicative of a lack of consensus regarding
how to proceed in analyzing direct speech from a text-linguistic perspective. Indeed, it seems
that each text-linguist has developed his/her own view as to the significance and function of
verbal forms within direct speech. For example, Robert Longacre states that the weqatal form is
not dependent on a prior verb form but forms the backbone of three discourse genres,106 whereas
Niccacci views the same form as continuative in relation to a prior verb form.107 The
grammatical rules seem less clear for speech than for narrative. The variety of syntactic
structures and verbal forms used in communicating direct speech suggests that more needs to be
done on this front. What does emerge when examining the biblical text, as well as the various
approaches to analyzing direct speech, is that the weqatal and yiqtol verb forms assume
prominence in most direct speech genres, with Hortatory Discourse exhibiting high
concentrations of volitional (cohortative, imperative, and jussive) forms, while wayyiqtol fades to
the background. Due to the variety of views presented on the verbal system within direct speech
and the proposed genre classifications of direct speech units, it seems prudent to discuss these
problems prior to analyzing the text of Exodus 2-4.
Method and Genre Categories of Direct Speech Analysis
As will be evident in the discussion below, various genres within direct speech are

105

Niccacci, Syntax, 73–109.

106

Robert E. Longacre, "Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-Modular Approach," in
Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, ed. Robert D. Bergen (Winona Lake: Summer Institute of Linguistics;
Eisenbrauns, 1994), 51.
107

Niccacci, Syntax, 82.

56
suggested in the text-linguistic studies consulted for this thesis. This diversity does tend to
complicate matters, and thus it becomes necessary to articulate clearly what one means by
"genre." For our purposes this term is used to denote a text-type that exhibits specific linguistic
characteristics and rhetorical relationships within an overall communicative act. Employed in
this fashion, it embraces a range of what might otherwise be regarded as genres and subgenres.
The Pentateuch, as a whole, could be divided into two primary genres: historical narrative
and legal codes.108 In the same corpus there are poems, songs, lists, and genealogies present in
the Pentateuch, but history and law are the most prominent genres. Exodus 2-4 could be
considered historical narrative, including both the narrator's report and (non-quotational)
framework, on the one hand, and the direct speeches, on the other.
As has been noted already, there is a lack of consensus among scholars, both with respect
to the ways that the syntactic functions that are operative in direct speech are characterized, and
in regard to the matter of the classification of the different kinds of direct speech in Hebrew
narrative. One may question whether or not such classification is even necessary.109 What
function or benefit to the exegete is there in being able to label an instance of direct speech as
Instructional, Procedural, or Hortatory? Is it useful or even appropriate to apply the term genre to
these forms of discourse? Does the context and the content of the speech provide sufficient
information as to how the text is to be understood and read without the aid of such distinctions?
Speech and dialogue are primary in biblical narrative, and often the main point or
message of the text is presented in the form of direct speech. "Spoken language is the substratum
for everything human and divine that transpires in the Bible, and the Hebrew tendency to
108

Peter T. Vogt, Interpreting the Pentateuch: An Exegetical Handbook, (Grand Rapids: Kregal
Publications, 2009), 25.
109

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 119.

57
transpose what is preverbal or nonverbal into speech is finally a technique for getting at the
essence of things, for obtruding their substratum."110 Large portions of the Pentateuch consist of
direct speech (e.g., Exodus 20:1-23:33; 25:1-31:18; Leviticus 1:1-8:3; 11:1-27:34; most of
Deuteronomy). All the law codes are communicated by means of direct discourse from YHWH
to Moses, with the introduction to the speech act being the only intrusion into these long spoken
texts. Much of the Pentateuch is framed as monologue, first stated by YHWH to Moses (ExodusNumbers), then reviewed by Moses (Deuteronomy). The narrator does not take it upon himself to
announce the name of God or the content of any promises made to the Patriarchs or Moses. God
himself speaks. The narrator does not question God's promises or plans, though Abraham and
Moses may do so in conversation with God (Genesis 15:2-3; 17:17; Exodus 3:11, 13; 4:1).
The prevalence of direct speech and the syntactic variety evident suggests that "speechgenre" distinctions are possible. Content alone may be an indicator of different functions of
speeches (e.g., reports about the past, commands for immediate action, predictions of future
events). However, when observations of syntactic patterns are combined with content, a
discernable system emerges. "The use of different verbal forms or clausal varieties in direct
discourse in most cases defines the type and function of the speech."111 Therefore, genre
distinctions should be useful for helping one to discern the overall purpose of a speech, the
expected syntactic phenomena. Deviations from the expected syntax within a speech can then be
explored to determine if there has been a marked genre switch or if the change has been made for
emphasis.
Because we are using the term "genre" to describe different speech types in a text, it is

110

Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 70.

111

Heller, Narrative Structure, 457. Italics added.

58
necessary to determine how the identification of a genre on the basis of text-linguistics differs
from doing so by means of a form-critical approach. Form criticism tends to assign genre
categories based on the nature of the text's content (what the text says) and linguistic elements
(how the text is constructed), an assumed or imagined use of the text (how a text may have been
used), or the supposed oral stage (the "text" before the text). The latter two approaches are by
nature speculative, whereas the first is the only verifiable or testable approach. Text-linguistics
and form criticism overlap in some respects in that both define genre types based on how the text
is constructed – how the text says. Dialogue between the two disciplines may, therefore, offer
reciprocal correctives and/or clarifications.
While the assertion in the present study is that Exodus 2-4 may be termed a complete
"Call Narrative," a rather form-critical thing to say, it must be the linguistic phenomena and the
organization of the text that are determinative. In relation to the direct speeches in the text, the
various genre classifications to be suggested will emerge from detailed study of the syntax and
morphology. "Humans tend to process information in chunks and pieces, and these units need to
be ordered in some way. Thus, language is hierarchical. This means that each form will be
embedded in a higher form."112 The higher form of Exodus 2-4 may indeed be "Call Narrative,"
but within this genre, sub-genres/forms may be discerned, forms that allow the reader to process
the whole.
All three of the approaches of the previously mentioned authors (Niccacci, Heller, and
Rocine) will be utilized in the analysis of the direct speeches of Exodus 2-4. Therefore, a
summary and comparison of these approaches to direct speech and genre/function is in order.
Niccacci's analysis of direct speech (what he calls "discourse") has four elements that are

112

Lowery, "Theoretical Foundations," 114.

59
summarized in the following chart:113
Foreground:
• Jussive yiqtol and volitional forms,
weyiqtol, weqatal
• indicative X-yiqtol
• (X-)qatal
• simple noun clause
Recovered Information
• qatal preceded by yki@, r#e)j, etc.

Background:
• we + simple noun clause
• we-X-qatal

Anticipated information
• indicative yiqtol
• other final clauses

What is immediately obvious from this chart is that the majority of clauses in direct
speech are termed "Foreground." In this regard, Niccacci's approach is easy to apply. One can
readily identify secondary clauses, allowing investigation of the secondary elements to come to
the forefront. However, the categories of "foreground/background" seem to place most clauses
into very broad categories.
A second observation is that Niccacci does not look at direct speech in terms of genre. He
states his position on the question of genre classifications quite clearly: "To distinguish different
text types beyond these two [narrative and direct speech] is not relevant at this stage because
there is not a distinct set of verb forms; the distinction of narrative and direct speech is relevant,
however, because the two have a separate set of verb forms in Hebrew (as in many other
languages)."114 While he analyzes direct speech as a distinct form of communication, he does so
within the broader category of prose, hence the title of his seminal work.
In contrast, Longacre, Rocine, and Heller have suggested various text types in which
specific syntactical constructions are utilized. This makes their models somewhat more
cumbersome, yet more detailed. Heller states, "The use of differing verbal forms or clausal

113

Niccacci, Syntax, 73–109.

114

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 119.

60
varieties in direct discourse in most cases defines the type and function of the speech."115 This
suggests that analysis of the content, context, and syntax of speeches should result in definable
text types or genres. The distinction of genre types also assists the interpreter in defining what
the author's overall tone or intent of a speech passage is meant to communicate to the reader,
and, therefore, how the reader is to respond to the information contained in the speech.
Bryan Rocine's introductory grammar takes the work of Longacre and places it in a more
general and systematic form that is more readily usable.116 While Longacre's work is
foundational, his focus is specifically on the Joseph story in Genesis 37, 39-48. Longacre applies
a method to a body of text, whereas Rocine seeks to define the method that can then be applied
to any text. Rocine's introductory grammar highlights two main "discourse profiles" for direct
speech in the following charts. Examples of these genre types will follow in combination with
Heller's discourse profile schemes.
PREDICTIVE NARRATIVE AND INSTRUCTIONAL
DISCOURSE PROFILE SCHEME:
Note: The difference between Predictive Narrative and Instructional Discourse is often
elusive. Instructional Discourse has an occasional imperative form. Whereas Predictive
Narrative is participant oriented, Instructional Discourse is goal oriented.
1. Mainline: Weqatal (or in Instructional Discourse, an occasional Imperative to mark
major procedures)
Off-the-line:
2. Topicalization: X-yiqtol
3. Relative past background: Qatal in dependent clause
4. Non-past background: Yiqtol in a dependent clause
5. Backgrounded activities: Participle
6. Transition marker: Mainline form of hyh
7. Scene-setting: Verbless clause
8. Irrealis: Negation of any verb

115
116

Heller, Narrative Structure, 457. Italics added.

In his introduction Rocine thanks both Longacre and Niccacci for their contributions not only in print
but in personal interactions during the writing of his text (Rocine, Learning Biblical Hebrew, vii).

61

Mainline:

HORTATORY DISCOURSE PROFILE SCHEME:
1a. Imperative
1b. Jussive
1c. Cohortative
Note: These four are equally ranked
1d. Weqatal (for Mitigated Hortatory
Discourse)

Off-the-line:
2. Topicalization: X-Imperative (or Jussive or Cohortative)
3. Prohibitive commands: l)a or )Ol + Yiqtol
4. Express possibility: Yiqtol
5. Consequence, purpose: Weqatal
6. Consequence, purpose: )Ol or Np%e + Yiqtol
7. Consequence, purpose: Embedded Predictive Narrative
8. Identification of problem: Embedded Historical Narrative
9. Backgrounded activities: Participle
10. Scene setting: Verbless Clause117
Rather than a simple Mainline/Off-the-line scheme (Niccacci's Foreground/Background),
Rocine offers a more thorough analysis of the "off-the-line" material found in a speech. He goes
beyond relegating the "off-the-line" clauses to the "background," and defines what kind of
background information is being presented, based on the clausal forms. Regarding the
descending order of clause forms Rocine states, "The lower a verb form is in the profile, the
farther away it is from the mainline and the more it tends to retard the forward progress of the
mainline."118 Therefore, not only does the syntax of the clauses indicate linguistic hierarchy of
clausal relationships, but narrative or functional structures as well. Substantiating the claims
regarding the purpose or function of the off-the-line forms would require examining many direct
speeches. The direct speech analysis of Exodus 2-4 will contribute to this end.
Roy Heller's approach seems to mediate between Niccacci and Rocine to some degree.
Like Niccaci, he assigns only two levels of ranking: Primary and Secondary. However, the verb
forms he associates with these functions does not comport totally with those identified by
117

Rocine, Learning Biblical Hebrew, 425.

118

Ibid., 53.

62
Niccacci. The distinction between jussive and indicative yiqtol is absent, as is clear discussion on
pre-verbal clauses (X-verb). Clauses are identified not by the position of the verb in the sentence,
but rather by verb form. Therefore, whereas Niccacci and Rocine differentiate between X-yiqtol
and yiqtol clauses, Heller lists the clause type simply as yiqtol.
Heller's inclusion of other clause types with brief functional descriptions is similar,
though not as specific as Rocine's. Neither does Heller suggest a hierarchy of clauses for the
"Secondary" elements. Whereas Rocine outlines two main speech "schemes," Heller defines five
speech genres (narrative, predictive, expository, hortatory, and interrogative). The first four are
summarized in his Discourse Constellation Charts, with the fifth being defined simply as
"marked by the use of interrogative adverbs or particles."119 The other four genres are discussed
in terms of their syntax and functions.
Narrative Discourse120
Primary Verbal/Clause
Forms
Secondary Verbal/Clausal
Forms

QATAL
WAYYIQTOL
Verbless
hyh verbal
Participle
YIQTOL

Basic Past
Continuative Past
Off-line status
Off-line status
Off-line action
Off-line ongoing action

Its must be noted here that Narrative Discourse is to be understood as a direct speech
genre distinct from the narrative framework of the text. Simply put, rather than the
narrator/author describing a past event, one of the characters in the scene is speaking and is
recounting a past event. The function of wayyiqtol is, therefore, similar on either side of the
quotation marks. However, the recounting of a past event in direct speech is, according to Heller,
initiated with qatal and continued with wayyiqtol. Niccacci similarly asserts that "historical
119

Heller, Narrative Structure, 475.

120

Ibid., 462.

63
narrative begins with wayyiqtol while oral narrative begins with qatal or X-qatal."121 In this case
both agree that there is a difference between narrative proper and the narration of past events
within direct speech. An example of Narrative Discourse can be found at Exodus 3:7-9:
3:7a
b
c
d
3:8a
b
c
d
e
f
3:9a
b
c

And YHWH said
"I have surely seen the affliction of my people in
Egypt
and I have heard their cry from their oppressors
for I have known their sorrows
And I have come down
to snatch them from Egypt's hand
and to bring them up from this land
into a land good and spacious
into a land flowing with milk and honey
into the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites
and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites
and the Jebusites
And now Behold! the cry of the sons of Israel has
come to me
And also I have seen the oppression
with which the Egyptians oppress them

hwFhy: rme)Oy,wA
MyIrFc;mib@; r#$e)j ym@i(a yni(/-t)e ytiy)irF h)orF |--wy#&fg:nO yn'p%;mi yt@i(;ma#$f Mtfqf(jc-a t)ew:
wybf)ok;ma-t)e yt@i(;dAyF yk@i
dr")'wF
MyIrFc;mi dy,Ami wOlyc=ihal;
)whiha CrE)fh-f Nmi wtlo(jhal;w%
hbfxfr:w% hbfwO+ CrE)-e l)e
#$bfd:w% blfxf tbazF CrE)-e l)e
yrImo)vhfw: yt@ixihaw: yni(jnak@;ha MwOqm;-l)e
ysiw%by:haw: yw%Ixihaw: yz@irIp%;haw:

|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|---

ylf)' h)fb@f l)'rF#&;yI-yn'b;@ tqa(jca hn%'hi ht@f(aw: |--Cxal@ah-a t)e ytiy)irF-Mgaw:
Mtf)o Mycixjlo MyirAc;mi r#$e)j ↑

|--|---

This speech is dominated by X-qatal clauses, the foundation of a Narrative Discourse.
Again, Heller's scheme leaves the 'X' element aside. However, as will become evident below, a
clause initial qatal is rare in Exodus 2-4, whereas the X-qatal construction is prevalent. The
wayyiqtol in 8a is, according to Heller, continuative past.122 The switch from qatal to wayyiqtol
clauses will be addressed in the following discussion.
Predictive Discourse123
Primary Verbal/Clause
Forms
Secondary Verbal/Clausal
Forms

YIQTOL
WeQATAL
Verbless
hyh verbal
Incomplete
Participial

121

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 121.

122

Heller, Narrative Structure, 461.

123

Ibid., 464.

Basic Future
Continuative Future
Off-line status
Off-line status
Off-line status
Off-line status

64

Exodus 3:12-13 provides a concise example of this genre:
3:12a
b
c
d
e
f
3:13a
b
c
d
e
f
g

And he said
"Surely I am (or will be) with you
and this [will be] a sign for you
that I myself have sent you
when you [sg.] have delivered the people from Egypt
you [pl.] will serve God on this mountain
And Moses said to God
"Behold! I am about to go to the sons of Israel
and I will say to them
'The God of your father has sent me to you'
and they will say to me
'What is his name?'
What shall I say to them?"

rme)Oy,wA
K7m@f(i hyEh;)e-yk@i |--twO)hf K1l-;@ hzEw: |--K1yti@x;la#$; ykinO)f yk@i ↑ |--MyIrAc;,mi@mi M(fh-f t)e K1)jyciwOhb@; |--hz@Eha rhfhf l(a Myhilo)vh-f t)e Nw%db;(at@a |--Myhilo)-v l)e h#$emo rme)Oy,wA
l)'rF#&;yI yn'b-;@ l)e )bf ykinO)f hn%'hi |--Mhelf yt@ir:ma)fw: |--Mkeyl')j ynixalf#$; Mkeyt'wOb)j yh'lo)v |------yli-w%rm;)fw: |--wOm#$;%-hma |-- Mhel')j rma)o hma |---

The primary verb forms of Predictive Discourse (yiqtol and weqatal) are highlighted in
this example. The content of the speeches also indicates that the actions will take place following
the dialogue between God and Moses at the bush. The X-qatal clause at 3:12d falls outside of the
Predictive Discourse parameters, as it states a reality that is not to take place in the future, but is
taking place in the present. At the time the events spoken of as future in this verse come to pass,
the "sending" of Moses will be a past event.
Expository Discourse124
Primary Verbal/Clausal
Forms

Secondary Verbal/Clausal
Forms

3:6a
b
c
d
e

Verbless
hyh Verbal
Incomplete
Participial
Obj. + QATAL/YIQTOL

And he said
"I [am] the God of your father
the God of Abraham
the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob"
124

Ibid., 468.

Primary Present status
Primary Present status
Interj./Oath/Voc./Answer
Primary Present action
Secondary Present action

rme)Oy,wA
K1ybi)f yh'lo)v ykinO)f |--MhfrFb;)a yh'lo)v |--qxfc;yi yh'lo)v |--bqo(jyA yh'lo)w" |---

65
f
g

wynFpf% h#$emo rt@'s;y,AwA
Myhilo)vh-f l)e +ybi@ham' )r"yF yki@ ↑

And Moses hid his face
for he feared to look at God

Expository Discourse involves "a state or activity that is occurring at the time of the
speech or that is perpetually true."125 The clauses are verbless, but the present tense is understood
not as an action but a state of being or existence. Rocine limits the function of verbless clauses to
"scene setting," a low level, off-the-line clause form. However, the whole speech of Exodus 3:6
is verbless, therefore it seems best to understand this as something more than setting the scene. In
Exodus 2-4 the Expository Discourse segments are declarations of identity.
Hortatory Discourse126
Primary Verbal/Clausal
Forms

Secondary Verbal/Clausal
Forms

3:5a
b
c
d

Imperative
Cohortative
Jussive
'al – YIQTOL
(We)YIQTOL-na
QATAL
WeQATAL
YIQTOL
WeYIQTOL

And he said
"Do not draw closer
Remove the sandals from your feet
for the place on which you are standing is holy ground

2nd Person Volitional
1st Person Volitional
3rd Person Volitional
Negative Volitional
Precatory Volitional
Performative Utterance
Continuative Volitional
Continuative Volitional
Consequential/Purpose
rme)Oy,wA
Mlohj brAq;t-@i l)a |--K1yleg:rA l(am' K1yle(fn:-l#$a |--wylf(f dm'wO( ht@f)a r#$e)j MwOqm@fha yki@ |--)w%h #$dEq-o tmad:)a |---

In this short speech, the negative volitional and the imperative are present. Like
predictive discourses, hortatory speeches are common in Exodus 2-4. Primary verb/clausal forms
for Hortatory Discourse tend to come at the beginning of a speech and are then continued with
weqatal or yiqtol clauses. These two forms are also the primary clause forms of Predictive
Discourse. The following discussion will seek to clarify how these forms function in either
125

Ibid., 464.

126

Ibid., 475.

66
context, given the usage in Exodus 2-4.
Examining Heller's genre distinctions brings to the fore the idea that genre must be
identified in order to determine the function of the syntax. How is one to determine the function
of a yiqtol clause without first determining whether the discourse is predictive (in which case the
yiqtol is the primary verb form), or hortatory (in which case the yiqtol is a secondary form)?
This can potentially lead to circular reasoning whereby genre is determined by syntax, and
syntax dictated by genre. Longacre admits the potential circularity of this process:
Here, as everywhere, discourse analysis insists that the whole legislates the parts, while,
in turn, a study of the parts is necessary to the comprehension of the whole. Our
argumentation is, therefore, necessarily circular. However, if we construct our circles
with sufficient care so that the overall design and the detail are brought into plausible
harmony, our circle is not a vicious one.127
In summary, a cursory look at these tables suggests that Niccacci's claim that yiqtol is the
dominant verb form of speech will either have to be confirmed, or viewed as too simplistic.128
Niccacci clearly identifies how clauses with a pre-verbal (X) element function within direct
speech, whereas Heller does not. However, Niccacci does not pursue the combination of syntax
and genre in as thoroughgoing a manner as do Heller and Rocine.
Rocine explores three main speech genres — hortatory, predictive, and instructional —
and offers a way of analyzing the clause hierarchy of each.129 Predictive and Instructional
overlap in Rocine's model with no discernable difference. The only difference he notes is that
occasionally an Instructional Discourse will include an imperative verb.130 Heller, in contrast,

127

Robert E. Longacre, Joseph: A Story of Divine Providence: A Text Theoretical and Textlinguistic
Analysis of Genesis 37 and 39-48 (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1989), 42–43.
128

Niccacci, Syntax, 29.

129

Rocine, Learning Biblical Hebrew, Module 2, 62–151.

130

Ibid., 103.

67
states that "whenever any of these [volitional] forms appear in a speech, the associated discourse
is, by default, hortatory."131 Heller does not posit an Instructional Discourse category, and it
would seem that the Hortatory Discourse scheme he presents would have little need of the
distinction.
The differences of approach and analysis of the clause functions evident between these
authors suggest that no consensus has emerged. As James Gee asserts, "No one theory is
universally right or universally applicable. Each theory offers tools, which work better for some
kinds of data than they do for others. Furthermore, those engaged in their own discourse analysis
must adapt the tools they have taken from a given theory to the needs and demands of their own
study."132 The diversity of opinion regarding the analysis of direct speech found in Niccacci,
Longacre, Rocine, and Heller will be brought into conversation as the direct speeches of Exodus
2-4 are examined. The resulting "conversation" may suggest a more unified text-linguistic
approach to direct speech as commonalities and differences among these approaches emerge.
Clause Types in the Direct Speeches of Exodus 2-4
The initial observation to be made regarding clause types in the direct speeches of
Exodus 2-4 has to do with their distribution. Verb initial clauses dominate (73/178 [41%]), with
(we)-X-verb clauses ranking second (67/178 [38%]), and the remainder being verbless clauses
(38/178 [21%]). The distinction between verb initial clauses and those with the verb in second
place needs to be defined. Do these two constructions serve differing purposes in the structure of
the speech? In other words, is there a clear rationale for maintaining a distinction between the
two syntactic constructions? These questions will be addressed following an examination of the
131

Heller, Narrative Structure, 469.

132

James Paul Gee, How to Do Discourse Analysis, 3rd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2011), xi.

68
verb initial clauses. The verb-in-second-position clauses will then be examined with a view to
determining the nature and function of the pre-verbal element. Finally, non-verbal clauses will be
examined as to their form and function. Clauses without verbs sometimes involve lists (3:8, 15;
4:10-11), which may be understood as complete syntactic units, but they are here being counted
as separate clauses. This investigation will proceed in descending order from those clause types
and verb forms that dominate the dialogues to the less-used forms. The divergent interpretations
of how these clauses function found in the writings of Heller, Rocine and Niccacci will be
brought together with examples from Exodus 2-4.
Verb Initial Clauses
Within the dialogues of Exodus 2-4, verb initial constructions are made up of weqatal
(34/73 [46.6%]), volitional forms (28/73 [38.4%]), weyiqtol (6/73 [8.2%]), wayyiqtol (4/73
[5.5%]), and qatal (1/73 [1.4%]).
1. Weqatal clauses
In verb initial clauses the dominant form is weqatal (34/73 [46.6%]). In contrast, clause
initial qatal occurs once (4:14d). Longacre considers weqatal in dialogue to be parallel to
wayyiqtol in narrative. "I consider weqatal forms as backbone structures in predictive,
procedural, and instructional discourses. Here they occur in their own right and not consecutive
on other preceding verb forms."133 However, if the genre of the speech is hortatory then,
according to Longacre and Heller, the weqatal communicates a result clause connected to the
preceding volitional form.134

133
134

Longacre, "Weqatal Forms," 51.

Longacre, Joseph, 134. Heller states that, "When any of these [volitional] forms appear in a speech, the
associated discourse is, by default, hortatory." Narrative Structure, 469.

69
Niccacci too regards the weqatal form to be continuative, expressing a future or
successive action that is linked to a preceding volitional form.135 Like Longacre, he views the
weqatal in direct speech as serving the same function as wayyiqtol in narrative.136 However, a
key difference is that Niccacci argues that weqatal is always a secondary form.
Weqatal is a first-position verb form at the level of the sentence but a second-position
verb form at the text level because it is not found at the beginning of an autonomous text
unit. In fact, no direct speech is found to begin with weqatal. It indicates a grammatically
main but syntactically dependent sentence.137
Rocine's scheme suggests that the weqatal can serve two functions in hortatory discourse:
as a mitigated hortatory utterance (a "softened" command) or an off-the-line statement of
consequence or purpose. If the clause in question is preceded by a volitional form, and is
therefore part of a hortatory discourse, then there seems to be consensus as to the continuative
function of the weqatal form.
This is where a decision regarding the genre of the speech in question must be
established. If weqatal is continuative (so Niccacci), this form could only occur within a
paragraph and not at the beginning. Therefore, another verb form would have to be used to
indicate the beginning of a new paragraph. If, however, weqatal forms the backbone of the
dialogue, one might look to a break in the weqatal chain to determine the structural scheme. The
question would be, does one arrive at the same structural scheme from both perspectives?
Two examples may help to establish some clarity of the function of weqatal. Exodus 3:13
contains two weqatal clauses that do not relate to a preceding volitional form. Exodus 3:16, 18

135

Niccacci, Syntax, 82, 94.

136

Ibid., 83.

137

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 127.

70
offer examples of weqatal following an imperative.138
a. Exodus 3:13
3:13 a
b
c
d
e
f
g

And Moses said to God,
"Behold! I am about to go to the sons of
Israel
And I shall say to them,
"The God of your fathers has sent
me to you,"
And they will say to me,
"What is his name?"
What shall I say to them?

Myhilo)vh-f l)e h#$emo rme)yo,wA
l)'rF#&;yi yn'b-@; l)e )bf ykinO)f hn'%hi |----Mhelf yt@ir:ma)fw: |----Mkeyl')j ynixalf#$; Mkeyt'wOb)j yh'lo)v |---------yli-w%rm;)fw: |----wOm#$%-hma |---------Mhel')j rma)o hmf |-----

In both instances of the weqatal in this example, the actions are described in a sequential
manner. Therefore, it seems that Longacre's claim that weqatal functions in direct speech as
wayyiqtol does in narrative is evident here. Whereas qatal is normally understood to indicate a
completed or past action, the weqatal forms, at least in this instance, carry a predictive sense.
Moses is stating a future event as if it has happened. The specific function in this case—
introducing embedded speech with rm)—is like that of the wayyiqtol in narrative. In this case, it
is the speaker, Moses, who is narrator.
However, when one considers the narrative context, presenting this particular speech as
predictive, seems a bit forced. Had Moses already decided that he was "about to go to the sons of
Israel"? Given the entire narrative context and Moses' increased resistance, it would seem best to
understand this speech more as a potential future rather than a certain future. This would lead
one to translate, "If I go to the sons of Israel…", which has been done in most English
translations.139
138

In the textual examples the Hebrew forms in question will be shaded and the English translation
underlined. Underlining the Hebrew text interferes with the vowel pointing of the text.
139

NASB seems to be one of the few exceptions that maintains the more literal "Behold I am going…" The
KJV and revisions maintain this as well, "Behold, when I come…" NIV, NRSV, NET, NLT, ESV all translate with
the more reticent "If I go…" or a close equivalent. The LXX presents the verbs in the future active indicative.

71
b. Exodus 3:16a-c, 18a-c: weqatal in Hortatory Discourse
3:16 a
b
c
3:18 a
b
c

K7l' |----l)'rF#&;yi yn'q;zi-t)e t@fp;sa)fw: |----Mhel')j t@fr:ma)fw: |-----

"Go!
and gather the elders of Israel
and say to them,…
…and they will listen to your voice
and you and the elders of Israel shall go
to the king of Egypt
and you [pl.] shall say to him,…

K1leqol; w%(m;#$fw: |----MyIrAc;mi K7lem-e l)e l)'rF#&;yI yn'q;ziw: ht@f)a tf)bfw% |----wylf)' Mt@er:ma)jwA |-----

In this case the weqatal forms follow a clear imperative (16a). The sense of command
continues in the additional instructions. The immediate command—what Moses is to do at this
moment—is stated in the imperative. What he must do upon the completion of the first command
is stated in weqatal forms instead of a continual list of imperatives. In fact, in Exodus 2-4 it is
rare that a list of imperatives is given in one speech act without intervening forms or narration.
According to Rocine, the weqatal forms within Hortatory Discourse function either on or
off the mainline of the discourse. As a mainline form they serve as mitigated commands. If they
are understood to be off the mainline, they express consequence or purpose related to the
preceding volitional form in the mainline. Longacre states that the weqatal form is not a simple
continuation of the volitional sense, but rather expresses the result or consequence of the
addressee following the mainline command.140
The string of weqatal verbs in Exodus 3:16 resumes in 3:18. The intervening clauses
(3:17) comprise an embedded speech (what Moses is to say to the sons of Israel). While the
result or purpose seems clear enough, the weqatal forms also present a logical sequence of
events, i.e., they present the order in which the main command is to be carried out. This suggests
that weqatal has the dual function of continuing the sense of command in these clauses while
also presenting an expected sequence of events in a fashion similar to the way that wayyiqtol is
140

Longacre, Joseph, 122; Longacre, "Weqatal Forms," 54.

72
used in narrative.
Within the lengthy speech of God that runs from Exodus 3:15-22, the weqatal form
occurs eleven times. In addition to the above occurrences, which are connected to the imperative
of 3:16a, weqatal verbs are found at 3:20a-b, 21a-b, 22a, c, and d. At 3:19a the focus of the
verbal action changes from second to first person address.
c. Exodus 3:19-22: weqatal in Predictive Discourse
3:19 a
b
c
3:20 a
b
c
d
3:21 a
b
c
d
3:22 a
b
c
d

"But I know
that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless by a strong hand.
But I will send out my hand
and I will strike Egypt with all my wonders
which I shall do in the midst of it
and afterward he will send you out
And I will give this people favour in the eyes of
Egypt
And it will be
that when you go out
you will not go empty.
And a woman will ask her neighbor and the
woman staying in her house
for utensils of silver and utensils of gold and
garments
and you shall put them on your sons and
daughters
And you shall plunder Egypt."

yt@i(;dAyF yni)jwA
K7lohjla MyirAc;mi K7leme Mket;)e Nt@'yi-)Ol yki@
hqfzFxj dyFb;@ )Olw:
ydIyF-t)e yt@ix;la#$fw:
yta)ol;p;ni lkob;@ MyirAc;m-i t)e ytiyk@'hiw:
wOb@r:qib@; h#&e(v)e r#$e)j
Mket;)e xl@a#$ay: Nk'-yr"xj)aw:

|----|----|----|----|----|----|-----

MyirFc;mi yn'y('b;@ hz@Eh-a M(fhf Nx'-t)e yt@itanFw: |----hyFhfw: |----Nw%kl't' yk@i |----Mqfyr" w%kl;t' )Ol |----h@tfyb@' trAg%Fmiw% h@t@fn:ke#$%;mi h#$%f)I hlf)j#$fw: |----tlomf#&;w% bhfzF yl'k;w% Psek-e yl'k@; |----Mkeyt'nOb@;-l(aw: Mkeyn'b-@; l(a Mt@em;#&w: |----MyirFc;m-i t)e Mt@el;c=aniw: |-----

To emphasize the switch, the author has used the (we)-X-qatal, with the X element being
the first person pronoun yni)j (3:19a). With the switch of personal address, the genre switches
from Hortatory to Predictive. God is no longer commanding Moses to act, but is stating what will
occur following Moses' actions and words in fulfilling the command.
However, the linear progression of the events is still evident in the weqatal verbs.
Without content a basic paraphrase of the progression would be, "You go do this, and I'll then do
this." Again the parallel function to that of the wayyiqtol in narrative seems apparent regardless

73
of the genre switch. This would, therefore, suggest that weqatal clauses are both mainline and
unmarked clauses that, while moving the speech along, do not indicate macro-structrural
organization or points of importance.
2. Volitional verb forms
The second most common verb initial form is the imperative (20/73 [27%]). Since clause
initial yiqtol forms also have a volitional sense, these are added to the imperative count for a total
of volitional clauses (28/73 [38%]).141 Therefore, 38% of the dialogue clauses in Exodus 2-4 are
potentially volitional in meaning: the speaker is commanding or desiring the hearer to do
something. If the weqatal form is continuative of a volitional form, 85% of the speeches in which
the clauses are verb initial are potentially to be understood as volitional in some sense. This
would amount to 35% of the total clauses in the dialogue of Exodus 2-4. As the preceding
section suggests, however, each weqatal clause must be evaluated in the light of the context in
which it occurs. Examining examples of volitional clauses and the surrounding contexts should
illuminate the function of both the initial volitional clause and the varieties of constructions that
may express the volitional sense.
a. Exodus 2:8-9; 4:19: Volitional Verb Chains
Rarely are primary volitional verbs (imperative, jussive, cohortative forms) strung
together in Exodus 2-4. Most often an initial volitional form is followed by weqatal clauses (see
above). In the few instances where a chain of primary volitional forms appear together, the
speeches are concise and pointed, and the command(s) obeyed.
2:8a
b

And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her,
"Go!"
141

Niccacci, Syntax, 78.

h(or:p-%a tb@a h@l-f rme)Ot@wA
ykil' |-----

74
c
d
2:9a
b
c
d
e
f
4:19a
b
c
4:20a
c

And the girl went
And she called the mother of the child
And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her,
"Take this child
and nurse him for me
and I myself will give your wages."
And the woman took the child
And she nursed him
And Yhwh said to Moses
"Go!
Return to Egypt!..."
So Moses took…
And he returned….

hmfl;(ahf K7let'@wA
dley,Fha M)'-t)e )rFq;t@iwA
h(or:p-%a tb@a h@l-f rme)Ot@wA
hze@ha dley,eha-t)e ykiylih' |----yli w%hqiniyh'w: |----K7r"kf#-&; t)e Nt@')e yni)jwA |----dleye,ha h#$%f)ihf xq@at@iwA
w%hq'ynit;@wA
h#$em-o l)e hwFhy: rme)Oy,wA
K7l' |----MyirFc;mi b#$u |----…h#$emo xq@ay,IwA
…MyirFc;mi hcfr:)a b#$fy,Fw…
A

b. Exodus 3:3, 14; 4:18: Jussive/Cohortative Sequence
Niccacci insists that when yiqtol comes first in a sentence it is always volitional, whereas
(we)-X-yiqtol is always indicative unless it is immediately preceded by a volitional form, in
which case it carries an indirect volitional force.142 Similarly, though not as strongly, Gary
Pratico and Miles Van Pelt state that clause initial yiqtol in the first person is usually cohortative
in meaning.143 There are only a few examples of clause initial yiqtol in the speeches of Exodus 24, one of which has involved a hotly debated translational problem. Given the rarity of this mode
of speech, we must also consider the possibility suggested by Bergen that these clauses may
indicate something with regard to the macro-structuring of the passage or to salient points that
the author is intending to convey.
3:3a
b
c
d

And Moses said,
"I must turn aside
and take a look at this great sight
why the bush is not burned up."
142
143

h#$emo rme)Oy,wA
hnf%-hrFsu)f |----hz@eha ldog%Fha h)er:ma@h-a t)e h)er:)ew: |----hnes@ha r(aby; i-)lo (aw%d@ma |-----

Ibid., 77–81.

Gary D. Pratico and Miles V. Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2007), 217. The same claim is made as Niccacci; however, Pratico and Van Pelt state that this is the case "usually"
or that "in general", whereas Niccacci states "always". In addition, Pratico and Van Pelt agree with Niccacci that the
indicative (non-cohortative) is usually second in the sentence.

75
The first verb (3b) is clearly a cohortative form with the cohortative ending (h f) and the
addition of the particle of entreaty ()nf%). The second verb is a plain weyiqtol, but connected to the
initial verb with by means of the coordinating conjunction, thereby transferring the cohortative
meaning. In addition, the Masoretic accents indicate that the two verbs be understood as a unit.144
3:14a
b
c
d
e

And God said to Moses,
"I will be what I will be!"
And he said,
"Thus you are to say to the sons of Israel,
'I Will Be has sent me to you.'"

h#$em-o l)e Myhilo)v rme)Oy,wA
hyeh;)e r#$e)j hyeh;)e |----rme)Oy,wA
l)'rF#&;yi yn'b;li rma)Ot hko@ |----Mkeyl')j ynixalf#$; hyeh;)e |----------

Clause 3:14b is problematic, as is evident in most English translations. Is this a statement
of existence ("I Am"), a sense of promise or desire ("I will be"), or is it a simple future statement
("I shall be")?145 If Niccacci's claim that indicative yiqtol never comes first in a sentence, and
that initial yiqtol is always volitional, then "I will be" would be the appropriate translation.
Niccacci would, then, solve the dispute by insisting that the verbs here be understood as
volitional, i.e., cohortative.
Heller's profile schemes require a decision regarding genre, as he lists hyfhf verbal clauses
under three genre types: 1) off-the-line status in Predictive and Narrative Discourse, 2) Primary
Present status in Expository Discourse, or 3) Hortatory Discourse, if the cohortative sense is to
be understood because the yiqtol is clause initial (in agreement with Niccacci). Without a clear
discourse genre cue, Heller's approach leaves the question open. Can this three-word statement
be given a genre classification? As an answer to Moses' question, it seems that this clause could
144

The conjunctive accent mûnaḥ is present with the )nf% particle. The second verb is accented with the
disjunctive zāqēp qāṭōn.
145

This assumes, of course, that English grammar maintains this distinction between the use of "will"
versus "shall." Leech, Deuchar and Hoogenraad suggest no difference in current usage [Geoffrey Leech, Margaret
Deuchar, and Robert Hoogenraad, English Grammar for Today: A New Introduction, 2nd ed. (New York: Palgrave
MacMIllan, 2006), 186.] Others maintain the distinction ["Modals - Shall versus Will," last modified February 22,
2012, accessed February 22, 2012, http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-modals_shall-will.htm. accessed
February 22, 2012].

76
fit any of the genre classifications. Heller's model does not help solve the problem.
However the issue may be resolved, it seems that the overall context of Exodus 3-4 and
additional occurrences of hyeh;)e are often not taken into account. In the immediate context, it is
apparent that the verb in clause 14e is also functioning as a noun. The main verb is ynixalf#$;. What
is the subject of this verb? The only possibility is that hyeh;)e is the grammatical subject of this
clause. The line between verb and noun blurs in verses 14 and 15. The subject switches from the
first person verbal form hyeh;)e to the proper noun hwhy, which may (potentially) be construed as a
third person verb derived from the same root as that of hyeh;)e. The generic term for deity, Myhilo),v
with its modifying attributive phrases featuring the names of the Patriarchs, stands in apposition
to hwhy, which, like hyeh;)e in verse 14, functions as the subject of ynixalf#$;.
Perhaps it is best to suggest a dual meaning here and to understand the revelation of the
divine name and character as a present person (noun) and one who will accomplish future action.
4:18a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

And Moses went
And he returned to Jethro his father-in-law
And he said to him,
"Please allow me to go
so that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt
and see if they still live."
And Jethro said to Moses,
"Go in peace."

h#$mo K7ley"w, A
wOnt;xo rteye-l)e b#$fy,fwA
wOl rme)Oy,wA
)n%f hkfl;)' |----MyirAc;mib@; yxa)-a l)e hbfw%#$)fw: |----Myy,ixa MdFwO(ha h)er:)we : |----h#$emol; wOrt;yi rme)Oy,wA
MwOl#$fl; K7l' |-----

The cohortative sequence in 4:18d-f is similar to that in 3:3b-c discussed above. The first
two forms include the cohortative ending. The first, as in 3:3b, has the particle )nf% to mark this
further as a cohortative clause. The difference here is that Moses is addressing someone and not
talking to himself. The function of polite request seems most evident here, rather than an
intensification of Moses' desire or wish. As with the example in 3:3, the chain is concluded with
a weyiqtol form of the verb h)fr.F

77
c. Exodus 2:20: Imperative à weyiqtol
2:20a
b
c
d
e

And he said to his daughters,
"Where is he?
What is this leaving the man?
Call to him
that he may eat bread."

wytfnOb@;-l)e rme)Oy,wA
wOy,)aw: |----#$y)ihf-t)e Nt@eb;zA(j hze@ hm@flf |----wOl N)er:qi |----Mxelf lka)Oyw: |-----

Jethro's short speech begins with two interrogative clauses, and then switches to hortatory
address. The first imperative (2:20d) is addressed to his daughters, stating what they are to do
immediately. The second (2:20e) has been translated as a result clause.
3. Remaining verb initial forms
The remainder of verb initial forms attested in the direct speeches of Exodus 2-4 are:
weyiqtol (6/73 [8.2%]), wayyiqtol (4/73 [5.5%]), and qatal (1/73 [1.4%]). Since these constitute
the minority of clause types in the dialogues, it is possible that these clauses communicate either
salient points, macro-structural markers, or both. Robert Bergen argues that deviations from
normal syntactic patterns or vocabulary can point to elements of a text that the author wishes to
emphasize.146 However, Bergen's approach focuses on the narrative framework and brackets out
direct speech. Therefore, whether or not these rare verb initial clauses function similarly within
direct speech remains to be seen.
a. Weyiqtol clauses
Niccacci associates weyiqtol with a foreground clause, a continuative form dependent on
a prior volitive or an indirect jussive.147 Niccacci further differentiates the semantic function of
the continuative forms (weqatal and weyiqtol) of direct speech. Weyiqtol, he claims, expresses

146

Bergen, "Evil Spirits and Eccentric Grammar," 322.

147

Niccacci, Syntax, 88, 91.

78
intention, whereas weqatal expresses result.148 Heller considers weyiqtol to be a secondary form
of Hortatory Discourse. Rocine does not have the weyiqtol form listed.
Exodus 2:7 offers an example of weqatal and weyiqtol preceded by yiqtol that may not
support Niccacci's view. The weyiqtol clause shifts the attention from the speaker (Moses' sister)
to the one she will call and to the purpose for this call.
2:7a
b
c
d

And his sister said to the daughter of Pharaoh,
"Shall I go
and call for you a nursing woman from the
Hebrews
that she may nurse the child for you?"

h(or:p-%a tb@-a l)e wOtxo)j rme)t@owA
K7l')'ha |----tyO,rIb;(iha Nmi tqeneym' h#$%f)i K7lf yti)rFqfw: |----K7ley,Fha-t)e K7lf qniyt'w: |-----

The content of the verse suggests that the weqatal (7c) be understood as a continuative
form signifying an action subsequent to that of the main verb (7b). The weyiqtol is not a
secondary action, but a result clause, i.e., the expected outcome of the preceding clauses. Exodus
2:20e (see above) also communicates a result clause with the weyiqtol form. This observation
suggests that Niccacci's above claim (that weyiqtol communicates intention, and weqatal
purpose/result) is not quite accurate. The remaining weyiqtol occurrences (3:10b, 18f; 4:18e-f,
23c) are all dependent on the preceding clause, providing the purpose or expected result of the
preceding statement. Therefore, from a narrative perspective, they do not constitute main breaks
or salient points. Though rare, they seem to have a limited function in direct speech.
b. Wayyiqtol clauses
All three authors (Rocine, Heller and Niccacci) identify the wayyiqtol as a primary form
in Narrative Discourse speeches. However, the wayyiqtol in a Narrative Discourse must be
preceded by another clause form, often an initial qatal. Narrative Discourse is the recounting of a

148

Ibid., 93.

79
past event within a direct speech. Heller identifies its function as "continuative past."149 There
are four occurrences of wayyiqtol in a Narrative Discourse in Exodus 2-4: 2:19d; 3:8a, 17a;
4:23a. Again it should be remembered that this form, prevalent in narrative, is rare in direct
speech.
i. Exodus 2:19
2:19a
b
c
d

And they said,
"An Egyptian man delivered us from the shepherds
and he also drew water for us
and he gave drink to the flock."

Nfr:ma)ot@wA
My(irohf dyA,mi w%nlfyc=ihi yrIc;mi #$y)i |----w%nlf hlfdF hlod-F@ MgAw: |----N)Oc=ha-t)e q;#$;y,AwA |-----

Jethro's daughters are recounting the recent event in which they met Moses. The first two
statements contain X-qatal clauses. In both instances the presence of a preverbal element negates
the possible use of the wayyiqtol, as is the case in narrative that does not involve direct speech.
The short account of what happened follows the linear sequence of events.
ii. Exodus 3:7-8b
3:7a
b
c
d
3:8a
b

And Yhwh said,
"I have surely seen the affliction of my
people who are in Egypt
and I have heard their cry on account of
their oppressors
for I know their sorrows
So I have come down to snatch them from
Egypt's hand
and to bring them up from the land…"

hwFhy: rme)Oy,wA
MyIrFc;mib@; r#$e)j ym@i(a yni(/-t)e ytiy)irF h)orF |----wy#$fg:nO yn'p%;mi yt@i(;ma#$f Mtfqf(jc-a t)ew: |----wybf)ok;ma-t)e yt@i(;dAyF yk@i ↑---------MyIrAc;mi dy,Ami wOlyc=ihal; dr")'wF |----)whiha CrE)fh-f Nmi wOtlo(jhal;w% |-----

iii. Exodus 3:16f-17b
3:16f
g
h
3:17a
b

"saying,
'I am surely aware of you
and what has been done to you in Egypt
and therefore I say,
'I will bring you up…
149

see chart on p. 65.

rmo)l' |----Mke;t;)e yt@id:qap%f dqop%f |---------MyIrFc;mib@; Mkelf yw%#&(fh-e t)ew: |---------rma)owA |---------Mket;)e hle(j)a |---------------

80
In both of these examples the wayyiqtol introduces a result clause. It is, therefore,
appropriate to reflect this in translation ("So" in 3:8a and "therefore" in 3:17a). Christo van der
Merwe, however, suggests that the wayyiqtol in dialogue only has a continuative sense, assuming
the tense/aspect of the preceding verbs.150 However, this does not explain the switch and the
content of the speeches. It seems evident in the above examples that the (we)-X-qatal statements
describe the impetus for the actions being stated with the wayyiqtol verbs.
iv. Exodus 4:22-23a
4:22a
b
c
4:23a

"And you shall say to Pharaoh,
'Thus says YHWH,
'My firstborn son is Israel.
and so I said to you,…'"

h(or:p-%a l)e t@fr:ma)fw: |----hwFhy: rma)f hk@o |---------l)'rF#&;yi yrIkob; ynib@; |--------------K1yle)' rma)owF |---------------

This speech, the final words of YHWH in Exodus 2-4, is slightly more complex than
other speech elements. The wayyiqtol verb is used to introduce a second level of embedded
speech. The first level contains direct address to Moses (4:21-22a). The second level provides the
introduction to the words that Moses is to speak to Pharaoh (4:22b). As in the prior examples, it
seems that the statements following the wayyiqtol verb communicate a result flowing from the
statement(s) made immediately prior to the wayyiqtol. In this case, the report of the prior
command to release Israel to worship YHWH is related to the fact that Israel is YHWH's
firstborn son.
From these four examples of wayyiqtol in direct speech, two functions are evident. First,
there is a linear time aspect. The action described follows the preceding actions. In this way the
wayyiqtol function is parallel to the function it serves in narrative. Second, the wayyiqtol
introduces a clause that reports the anticipated outcome or result of the preceding clauses. Rather

150

Merwe, "Discourse Linguistics," 24.

81
than being simply a rare form in dialogue, the wayyiqtol communicates, at least in these
instances, significant information. The rarity of this verb form in direct speech serves to highlight
the content of the clause. With the exception of Exodus 2:19, the wayyiqtol clauses of direct
speech in Exodus 2-4 tell the reader exactly what YHWH is going to do for his people based on
his knowledge of their situation in Egypt.
c. Qatal clause
There is one occurrence of a verb initial qatal clause in Exodus 4:14. In this instance
there seems to be a convergence of opinion between Heller and Niccacci, at least, that the genre
of this speech is Narrative Discourse. Niccacci states that "Narrative Discourse begins with a
(foreground) construction as is normal in pure discourse: either QATAL in first position or its
equivalent, x-QATAL, or even with a simple noun clause (with or without a participle)."151 The
combination of the verbless clause followed by qatal would fit with Niccacci's definition.
Heller's clause ranking would regard the first clause (14c) to be a secondary off-the-line clause,
followed by the primary clause communicating a basic past sense. Accordingly, the translation
provided below attempts to communicate the basic past sense. Aaron's ability to speak well has
been known to YHWH.
4:14c
d
e
f
g
h

"What about Aaron your brother, the Levite?
I already know
that he can speak well
and also, behold, he is coming to meet you
and he will see you
and he will rejoice in his heart"

ywIl@'ha K1yxi)f Nrohj)a )Olhj |----yt@i(;dayF |----)w%h rb@'day: rb@'d-a yk@i ↑-------K1te)rFq;li )c'yO )w%h-hn%'hi MgAw: |----K1)jrFw: |----wOb@lib@; xma#&w: |-----

Rocine defines qatal at the third level of off-the-line clauses, defining it as relative past
background in Predictive Narrative. This would indicate that the mainline of communication

151

Niccacci, Syntax, 109.

82
does not begin until the weqatal clauses. The introduction of Aaron and his ability to speak is
then introduced as antecedent information to the following Predictive Discourse in which a chain
of weqatal clauses (4:14g-4:17b), broken at times by (we)-X-yiqtol clauses, completes the
speech. The transitional clause, then, must be 4:14f, with the presence of the two particles Mgf and
hn%'hi

marking the transition between the statement of fact (past narration of God's knowledge)

with the imminent meeting of Moses and Aaron.
It was suggested at the beginning of this section that rare clause constructions may
indicate salience or author-embedded macro-structural cues. The examples examined above
reveal dependence of rare clauses types upon more common constructions. The fact that these
last verb initial clause constructions are rare does not seem to support the idea that they are in
some way syntactically marked for prominence or that they serve any macro-syntactic function
in the text.
Verb in Second Position Clauses: (we)-X-verb
The second subsection of clause types to be considered from Exodus 2-4 is that in which
the verb is in second position. First, the nature of the preverbal elements (X) needs to be
discussed. In many cases, it seems that the linguistic parameters of biblical Hebrew confine
various words or independent particles to the preverbal slot. The question as to whether or not
these clauses should, therefore, be considered truly "verb in second position" clauses will be
addressed. Second, whether the presence or absence of the waw affects the function of the clause
must be established. Third, the verb forms associated with these clauses, and their functions
within the dialogues, will be examined. Only four clause types are found in Exodus 2-4: (we)-Xyiqtol (33/67 [49%]), (we)-X-qatal (28/67 [41%]), (we)-X-participle (4/67 [6%]), and (we)-Ximperative (2/67 [3%]).

83
The X element in many of the clauses in question involves a word that cannot be placed
anywhere else in the sentence. In other words, biblical Hebrew has no other way to construct the
sentence. The following words appear in Exodus 2-4, and are necessarily preverbal: yk@i, hm@fl,f ymi,
MgF, l)a, hn%'h,i ht@f(,a hk@,o )Ol, r#$e),j N(amal;, wO). These

fall into various classes of words and syntactic

function, but all share the need to be first in the sentence or clause. While some initiate
dependent or relative clauses (e.g., yk@i, hk@,o r#$e))j , other words stand at the beginning of sentences
that are not dependent, as in the case of a negative (l)a, )Ol) or an exclamation (hn%'h,i ht@f(a). The
question is whether or not these constructions are necessarily secondary as most discourse
grammarians seem to classify them. Biblical Hebrew necessitates that certain clause forms
involve something other than the verb in the first position of the sentence and such clauses
should not, therefore, automatically be relegated to off-the-line status. The X element of a verb in
second position clause may be there out of linguistic necessity rather than authorial choice. As
the various clause constructions are considered below, the various preverbal elements will be
evaluated as to the potential subordination of the clause to a mainline form, or whether the clause
could be understood as a mainline form with the verb in second position.
An element of discussion that seems absent in the literature on this topic has to do with
whether or not the switch to, or use of, second position verb clauses in direct speech is analogous
to that found in narrative. In narrative, the second position verb is usually qatal in place of
wayyiqtol in the narrative mainline. Perhaps, as these occurrences are examined, it might be
suggested that there is a pattern of verb-initial and verb-in-second-position counterparts
analogous to that which is found in narrative. Given that the majority of (we)-X-verb clauses are
not speech-initial, it may be that the non-initial occurrences are somehow grammatically
dependent on the preceding or following verb-initial clauses. Whether these pairings reveal any

84
patterns that are similar to those that appear in narrative is yet to be determined.152
The (we)-X-verb clauses also exhibit variety in regard to the presence or absence of the
waw. Does this affect the syntax of the clauses? Niccacci suggests that there is no significant
difference in the function of the clause because "the function does not depend on the waw but on
the position of the verb in the sentence."153 His discussion regarding the function of hn%'h(i w:) and
ht@f(a(w:)

notes no distinction between these particles with or without the conjunction, hence the

bracket around the waw.154 Heller's and Rocine's charts above reveal that they view the waw as
significant only when it is attached to a verb. The present study will also bracket the waw, as has
been done in the enumeration of clause types above, and leave the question open until the
evidence of Exodus 1:22-4:31 is considered.
1. (We)-X-yiqtol Clauses
The first observation to make regarding this clause type is that in the majority of cases it
does not begin a speech segment. None of the linguistic analysis models surveyed in this project
have suggested that clause placement within paragraphs should be examined. The central
concern seems to be with verb placement within the sentence or clause. This seems somewhat
ironic since discourse linguists insist that the larger context determines the form and function of
the parts. This then may be where the present study can make a contribution to the discipline.155
152

In chapter 1 the various functions of the we-X-qatal clauses revealed the following functions when
considered alongside the narrative mainline: contrast, simultaneous action, narrative pause, or resuming a previous
story or reintroducing a prior character.
153

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 128.

154

Niccacci, Syntax, 96–102; Alviero Niccacci, "Finite Verb in the Second Position of the Sentence
Coherence of the Hebrew Verbal System.," Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 108, no. 3 (1996): 439.
155

Niccacci's chapter "The Two-Element Syntactic Construction" in Syntax, 125-162, discusses clause
pairings (protasis/apodasis) and tense shifts between the two. Discussion of paragraph initial clauses in direct speech
does not seem to factor into any his discussion. Rocine and Heller likewise do not discuss paragraph structuring or
paragraph initial clause structures in this manner. While these elements are here confined to the speeches of Exodus

85
Of thirty-three (we)-X-yiqtol clauses in Exodus 1:22-4:31, only seven begin a speech segment.
w%hkuyli#$;t@a hrF)oy:ha dwOl@y,Iha Nb@'h-a lk@f |--Nw%y,xat@; tb@ah-a lkfw: |---

1:22b
c

"Every son that is born, you are to cast into the Nile
but every daughter you are to preserve."

2:13b

"Why are you striking your neighbour?"

K1(r
e " hk@eta hm@flf |---

"Do not draw closer."

Mlohj brAq;t@i-l)a |---

3:5b
3:14d

"Thus you are to say to the sons of Israel,"

l)'rF#&;yI yn'b;li rma)to-hko@ |---

3:15b

"Thus you are to say to the sons of Israel,"

l)'rF#&;yI yn'b-;@ l)e rma)to-hko@ |---

4:1c

"But behold! They will not believe me."

yli w%nymi)jyA-)lo Nh'w: |---

In 1:22, the preverbal elements are noun phrases and serve to highlight the distinction
that the people of Egypt are to make between the sons and daughters. The placement of the noun
phrase serves to emphasize the distinction, and points to the irony that will become evident in
Exodus 2:1-11 as a "son" is saved through the actions and words of "daughters." The narrative
introduction to Pharaoh's speech (wOm@(-a lkfl: h(or:p% wcay:wA Then Pharaoh commanded all his people)
indicates that this is to be understood as a command, or a hortatory speech. Niccacci suggests
that X-yiqtol is only volitional when preceded by a clear volitional form.156 However, the present
instance reveals that this is not always the case. Though the statements do not follow an
imperative, they must be considered volitional due to the narrator's comment.
The interrogative and negative particles (2:13b; 3:5b; 4:1c) are necessarily clause initial,
and in these cases begin the direct speech as well. The interrogative statement (2:13b) with the
yiqtol form serves the narrative purpose of indicating that the conflict between the two Hebrew
workers and Moses' question occur at the same time. Moses is addressing an immediate and
present action. The yiqtol in this case serves to give a present tense sense to the scene and
2-4, further study of direct speech in the Pentateuch is needed to form a more solid conclusion.
156

Niccacci, Syntax, 94.

86
statement. In addition, the response of the Hebrew slave to Moses' question suggests that an
authoritative stance is being taken by Moses. Thus although there is no command involved, a
hortatory address seems to be understood.
The embedded speeches in 3:14d and 15b are the only clauses that could possibly be
reworked and mean essentially the same thing. Removing the hk@o and beginning the sentence
with the yiqtol alone would retain the hortatory nature of the speech. The inclusion of the particle
places the emphasis on the content of the speech rather than on the action that Moses is to take in
speaking. Of the 577 occurrences of hk@o, 500 are connected with the verb rma).f 157 A survey of
these occurrences reveals that the function of this construction is to pass on to the addressee (a
messenger or prophet) the exact wording he/she is to communicate to the audience.
All things considered, the preceding evidence indicates that speech initial X-yiqtol
clauses are hortatory. This suggests that Niccacci's claim that the X-yiqtol clause is a secondary
form that is dependent on a preceding clause is too restrictive.158 Rocine places this construction
as an "off-the-line" form in both discourse profiles.159 Heller's omission of the preverbal slot
may, therefore, be a more accurate reflection of the situation inasmuch as he also includes l)a +
yiqtol as a primary clause form in hortatory discourse, while both Niccacci and Rocine consider
it secondary. It seems more likely that negative clauses, due to the fact that they cannot be
expressed without the X-verb construction, belong on the mainline of communication as primary
clause forms in both direct speech and narrative.

157

Search results from Bible Word Study hk@o showing Grammatical Relationships (Logos Bible Software
4.5 SR-3 (4.50.0.1881), 2012).
158
159

Niccacci, "On the Hebrew Verbal System," 122.

Rocine's discourse profiles (see 65-66 above) lists the X-yiqtol as either 1) off-the-line topicalization in
predictive and instructional discourse, or 2) as off-the-line prohibitive commands or consequence/purpose
statements in hortatory discourse.

87
Since the speech initial position of this clause type is rare, the phenomenon may suggest a
linguistic flagging of a key moment in the narrative. Bergen's contour analysis suggests that this
is so, though he does not discuss or analyze direct speech in his articles. Coupling Bergen's
concept with Alter's claim that direct speech is the primary vehicle for communication, one
concludes that these seven occurrences of this clause form at the beginning of a speech seem
significant. Pharaoh's command to his people sets up the narrative of Exodus 2, as was noted
earlier. The next clause considered above (2:13b) introduces the conflict that forces Moses to
flee Egypt. The prohibition in 3:5b is the first recorded directive of God since the book of
Genesis, and establishes a boundary around sacred space that Moses and the nation will
encounter in the later Exodus narrative (Exodus 19 et passim). The specification of what Moses
is to say to the Israelites in Exodus 3:14 and 15 is highly significant as this concerns the
revelation of the divine covenant name. Finally, Moses' statement that the people will not believe
him not only changes the direction of the dialogue between Moses and God (who now questions
Moses), but also anticipates the relationship that Moses will have with Israel both personally and
through Israel's history as they reject the instruction of God revealed through Moses. This
suggests that the (we)-X-yiqtol of direct speech, when speech initial, might be a marked structure
providing key information for the present text as well as a potential linkage to the larger biblical
context.
2. (we)-X-qatal clauses
As with the (we)-X-yiqtol clauses, the majority of the (we)-X-qatal clauses are not speech
initial (21/28 [75%]). Only seven of the clauses are found to be speech initial (2:14b, 14f, 18c,
19b, 22c; 3:7b; 4:11b). The X elements are similar to those associated with (we)-X-yiqtol clauses
(interrogatives, nouns, pronouns, negative particle). One particular clause form occurs three

88
times – the infinitive absolute in the X position with the qatal of the same verbal root following
(2:19b; 3:7b, 16g) – and it is speech initial only once (3:7b).
Ten of the non-speech-initial (we)-X-qatal clauses have a conjunctive particle as the X
element. These particles make the clauses in question dependent on the preceding clause(s).
Niccacci regards this clause form to be communicating recovered information, or a
recounting/retrieval of information from a past event or speech.160 A few examples will suffice to
demonstrate this function:
2:14d

...like you killed the Egyptian?

yrIc;mi@h-a t)e t@fg:rAhf r#$e)jk@a |--wybf)ok;ma-t)e yt@i(;dayF yk@i |---

3:7d

…for I know their sorrows…

3:9b

…and also I have seen the oppression…

Cxal@ah-a t)e ytiy)irF-MgAw: |---

4:1f

…YHWH did not appear to you.

hwFhy: K1yle)' h)fr:ni-)lo |---

4:19d

…For they have died, all those seeking your life

4:21d

...which I have placed in your hand…

My#$inf)jhf-lk@f w%tm'-yk@i |--K1#$ep;na-t)e My#$iq;bam;ha |--K1deyFb; yti@m;#&a-r#$e)j |---

In each of these cases, the information communicated in the (we)-X-qatal clause is reflecting a
previous situation or making a statement of fact. Even in the predictive speech of Moses in 4:1,
the imagined statement of the people is reflecting a past event. Niccacci's contention that the
only function of this clause in direct speech "is to express a circumstance prior to the principal
action or the background" seems to be confirmed.161
However, there are some formulations of this clause type that seem to be specific to a
particular mode of speech. One such example is the use of the particle hko@ in Exodus 4:22b, in the
phrase hwFhy: rma)f hko@ "Thus says YHWH." This is a specialized quotation formula standing apart
160

Niccacci, Syntax, 121.

161

Ibid., 189.

89
from usages of the X-qatal construction noted above. This construction is a quotative frame
within a speech act. Within the Pentatuech, this specific clause only occurs in Exodus, with
4:22b being the first occurrence.162 With the exception of Exodus 32:27, each occurrence
involves a declaration concerning what Moses is to say or what he does say to Pharaoh on behalf
of YHWH. With the addition of 32:27, it is notable that each occurrence has to do with
impending judgment from YHWH against those who rebel against YHWH.
The second largest grouping of X elements consists of nouns, noun phrases, or personal
pronouns. The following seven occurrences are concentrated in Exodus 3, and perhaps their
function is related to the genre of speech in which they occur.
3:7c

…and I have heard their cry from their oppressors…

wy#&fg:nO yn'p%;mi yt@i(;ma#$f Mtfqf(jc-a t)ew: |--Mkeyl')j ynixalf#$; Mkeyt'wOb)j yh'lo)v |---

3:13d

The God of your fathers has sent me to you.

3:14e

I Am

3:15f

…and the God of Jacob

3:16d

YHWH the God of your fathers appeared to me.

yla)' h)fr:ni Mkeyt'bo)j yh'lo)v hwFhy: |---

3:18d

YHWH the God of the Hebrews has met with us.

w%nyl'(f hrFq;ni MyyI,rIb;(ihf yh'lo)v hwFhy: |---

3:19a

But I, I know…

163

Mkeyl')j ynixalf#$; hyEh)e |---

has sent me to you.
164

sent me to you.

Mkeyl')j ynixalf#$a bqo(jyA yh'lo)w" |---

yt@i(;dAyF yni)jwA |---

The majority of the examples occur in the midst of predictive discourse – i.e., the initial and
dominant verbs are yiqtol and pertain to what Moses is called to do once he is back in Egypt. The
information presented in these (we)-X-qatal clauses refers back to this experience of meeting
162

Exodus 4:22; 5:1; 7:17; 8:1 [7:26 BHS]; 8:16; 9:1, 13; 10:3; 11:4; 32:27.

163

As has been suggested previously in this study, the verbal aspect of the initial yiqtol seems to be
replaced as the nominal sense of hwhy takes over. It has also been pointed out that hyh) functions as the subject of
the verb (see pp. 77-78).
164

The complete X element of this statement runs from 3:15c to this phrase. This is a rare example of an
elongated X element, "YHWH, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob has sent me to
you."

90
God at the burning bush. Moses' future actions and words are anchored in his previous encounter
with God.
It appears that (we)-X-qatal statements that are speech-initial tend to be found in short
speeches, whereas longer speeches begin with other clause forms. Five of the speeches that begin
with this clause type occur in Exodus 2, and consist of short one or two clause utterances. The
content of these short speeches is either in the form of a direct question regarding a current
situation, or of a statement regarding a past event that has some implications for the present.
2:14b

Who placed you as prince and judge over us?

2:14f

Surely the matter has become known.

2:18c

Why have you returned early today?

2:19b

An Egyptian man delivered us from the shepherds.

2:22c

I have become a sojourner in a foreign land.

w%nyl'(f +p'#$w: r#&a #$y)il; K1m;#&f ymi |--rbfdf@ha (dawOn Nk')f |--MwOy,ha )b@o Nt@er:hami (aw%d@ma |--My(irohf dy,ami w%nlfyci=hi yrIc;mi #$y)i |--hy,FrIk;nf CrE)eb@; ytiyyIhf rg"% |---

The remaining two speech-initial examples stand at the beginning of significant pronouncements.
3:7b
4:11b

I have indeed seen the affliction of my people in Egypt
Who gave man his mouth?

MyIrFc;mib@; r#$e)j ymi@(a yni(/-t)e ytiy)irF h)orF |MdF)flf hp%e M#&f ymi |---

The statement in 3:7b begins the first long speech of God to Moses, announcing his
awareness of the Israelites' suffering and his plan to redeem them. It should also be noted that
this is the first speech act of YHWH in Exodus. Here in the episode of the burning bush, it is
initially Elohim who speaks to Moses (3:4). The switch to YHWH in v. 7 is significant as the
speech itself shows YHWH's close (immanent) awareness of Israel's plight and his readiness to
act directly.165
The X element of 3:7b is the infinitive absolute of the same verbal root. This serves to
165

Steven Runge and Joshua Westbury, eds., The Lexham Discourse Hebrew Bible: Glossary (Bellingham:
Logos Bible Software, 2012), 2.6.

91
alert the reader to YHWH's perception of the plight of Israel. There can be no question as to what
he has seen and what he plans to do about it.166 The other two examples of this clause form
(2:19c; 3:16g), occurring within a speech rather than at the beginning of a speech, confirm the
intensification of the verbal idea.
In 4:11b, the reader encounters one of the final speeches of God to Moses to be found in
Exodus 3-4. Interestingly, the interrogative particle (ymi) and the verb (My#i&) also appear in the first
occurrence of this clause type within the passage boundaries of this investigation (2:14b). Is this
the answer to the initial question, "Who placed you as prince and judge over us"? God's call of
Moses to be the agent of the Exodus and his spokesman to both Israel and Pharaoh in effect puts
Moses in the position of "prince and judge" over the people. In addition, it may be suggested that
Moses will continue in this capacity throughout his lifetime and beyond through the Law issued
at Sinai.
One final (we)-X-qatal clause requires some consideration.
3:9a

And now, behold! The cry of the sons of Israel has
come up to me

ylf)' h)fb@f l)'rF#&;yI-yn'b;@ tqa(jca hn%'hi ht@f(aw: |---

The X element of note here is the combination hn%'hi ht@f(aw,: which occurs only thirteen times in the
Hebrew Bible.167 The significance seems to be that this introduction to the clause draws the
reader's attention to the following material as pivotal for all that has preceded and for what will
follow. In most of the other uses, the clause occurs near the end of the speech unit or narrative
episode. In Exodus, however, it occurs at the beginning of the conversation between Moses and
God, and yet close to the end of God's initial speech that culminates in the command for Moses

166
167

Merwe, Naude, and Kroeze, BHRG, 158.

Genesis 12:19; Deuteronomy 26:10; 1 Samuel 12:2, 13; 24:21[20 Eng]; 1 Kings 1:18; 22:23; 2
Chronicles 18:22; 20:10; Jeremiah 40:4.

92
to go as his sent one to deliver the people. For the reader, then, the surprise is not so much due to
the clause itself, but to the fact that the discussion takes a turn as Moses begins questioning this
call and command. If the other uses of this clause type are indicative of a "normal" text, the
reader would expect Moses' obedience to follow and a return to a narrative report at this juncture
in the text. However, the extension of the text – the narrative time – at this point suggests that
what is being presented is of high importance. The dialogue between Moses and YHWH is
highlighted as crucial to the message of the text.168
Again the (we)-X-qatal communicates "a circumstance prior to the principal action or
background" in this marked sentence.169 The follow-up to this is the reuse of ht@f(aw: at the start
3:10 and the employment of imperative verbs. The information presented in the hn%'hi ht@f(aw: clauses
provides the necessary background for the commands that follow.
It may be suggested, therefore, that when (we)-X-qatal is found in the speech-initial
position, or when it is preceded by a strong narrative marker (hn%'hi ht@f(aw): , it serves as a marker of
importance. The examples found in Exodus 2-4 indicate that these come in the form of questions,
or statements of circumstances or facts upon which the following narrative is based. In contrast,
occurrences of (we)-X-qatal that are not speech initial make the clause dependent on a preceding
clause/sentence.
3. (we)-X-participle clauses
Only three examples of this clause type are attested in Exodus 2-4:
3:13b

Behold! I am going to the sons of Israel…

3:17d

…to a land flowing with milk and honey.
168

Amit, Reading Biblical Narratives, 108–109.

169

Niccacci, Syntax, 189.

l)'rF#&;yI yn'b-;@ l)e )bf ykinO)f hn'%hi |--#$bfd:w% blfxf tbazF CrE)-e l)e |---

93

4:23d

Behold! I will kill your firstborn son.

K1rEkob@; K1n:b-i@ t)e gr"ho ykinO)f hn%'hi |---

In 3:17d, the reader encounters a fairly standard adjectival participle that does not stand out as a
marked construction. The other two examples, however, warrant investigation. Both begin with
the phrase "Behold! I…" (ykinO)f hn%'h)i . On the function of hn%'h,i van der Merwe states, "Attention is
focused on events that are surprising or unexpected for the person addressed or the characters
in a story. It often introduces an important change of perspective in a story."170 This, coupled
with the fronting of the independent personal pronoun, which occurs only thirteen other times in
the Pentateuch,171 suggests that something significant about the identity or role of the speaker is
being put forward. Of the fifteen occurrences in the Pentateuch, only two are followed by
something other than a participle. Thus the default construction seems to be ykinO)f hn%'hi followed
by a participle. In that sense, it is not the participial form that is significant, but the clause
construction in which the participle is found.
In 3:13b, ykinO)f hn%'hi is speech initial, and the speech in question has been identified above
as a predictive speech. Moses describes an imagined interchange with the Israelites that leads up
to his key question at v. 13g. The question pertains to the name of the god who is sending Moses.
This is, of course, answered with the revelation of the divine name, and so begins the central
scene in the dialogue.
Exodus 4:23d contains the conclusion of a separate speech of YHWH to Moses that is
placed outside of the long conversation that runs from 3:7 to 4:19. Moses has gone back to Jethro
and is preparing to depart for Egypt when YHWH again commands him to return to Egypt and
instructs him what to do and say when he comes to Pharaoh. The central aspect of the message is

22:32.

170

Merwe, Naude, and Kroeze, BHRG, 330. (Italics in original).

171

Genesis 24:13, 43; 25:32; 28:15; 48:21; 50:5; Exodus 7:17, 27; 8:25; 19:9; 23:20; 34:10; Numbers

94
twofold: 1. Israel is YHWH's firstborn, and 2. YHWH will be the killer of Pharaoh's firstborn in
response to Pharaoh's refusal to release Israel.
The two examples of second position participial clauses (3:13b, 4:23d), fronted by ykinO)a
hn%'h,i

occur in clauses that communicate or lead up to significant moments in the story.

4. (we)-X-imperative clauses
Two occurrences of a second position imperative verb occur in Exodus 2-4. In both
instances the imperative verb is preceded by ht@f(aw:. This clause form is found twenty-one
additional times in the Pentateuch, and 110 times in the Hebrew Bible.172 Therefore, this specific
construction may signal a key moment in the text. An additional observation, upon surveying the
occurrences in the Pentateuch, is that these occur in narrative sections rather than in legal
sections, so it is a narrative speech device.
3:10a

And now, Go!

hkfl; ht@f(aw: |---

4:12a

And now, Go!

K7l' ht@f(aw: |---

The repetition of the command at the end of YHWH's first speech to Moses in Exodus 34, and close to the end of the discussion with Moses, serves to bracket the entire exchange. The
placement of this imperative clause at the end of the speeches is connected with the function of
ht@f(.a

"It is an important particle which introduces the result arising or the conclusion to be drawn

concerning the present action from an event or topic dealt with beforehand."173 God has
commanded Moses to go, based on who he is (3:6) and what he knows of the situation (3:7, 9)
and what he intends for Israel (3:8). Despite Moses' reluctance (3:11-4:10), the command stays

172

Occurrences in the Pentateuch: Genesis 20:7; 21:23; 27:3; 31:13, 44; 37:20; 50:17; Exodus 5:18; 9:19;
10:17; 18:19; 32:10, 24; 33:5; Numbers 22:6, 11, 19; 24:11; 31:37; Deuteronomy 2:13; 31:19.
173

Niccacci, Syntax, 101.

95
the same.
A clause with the verb in second position in direct speech is often not a marked structure.
In most cases, this clause type is syntactically connected to the preceding verb initial clause.
However, the speech initial use of this clause type communicates important information. The
nature of the preverbal (X) element needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis, as there are
many particles in biblical Hebrew that are necessarily clause initial. In each case, therefore, it
must be determined whether or not these clauses are secondary or off-the-line.
The presence of the waw does not seem to be related to the placement of the clause
within the speech. Speech initial X-verb clauses often do not have the waw, but then neither do
many of the speech medial clauses.
Verbless Clauses
The remaining direct speech clauses in Exodus 2-4 are verbless, or nominal, clauses. It
was noted in the previous chapter that, in narrative, verbless clauses are rare and that only one
example is found in Exodus 2-4 (2:16). Within dialogue, however, the frequency of verbless
clauses increases dramatically. Scholars differ in their explanations regarding how these clauses
function within a given text. "Although much progress has been made in describing and
understanding verbless clauses, uncertainty remains about their internal structure, their
integration along with verbal clauses into an account of Biblical Hebrew syntax, and their
distribution and rhetorical function on a text-linguistic level."174 A quick review of the
approaches taken by Niccacci, Rocine, and Heller reveals the variety of views on this common
element in direct speech.
174

Cynthia L. Miller, "Pivotal Issues in Analyzing the Verbless Clause," in The Verbless Clause in Biblical
Hebrew: Linguistic Approaches, vol. 1, Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns,
1999), 6. The various essays in this volume approach verbless clauses from various angles, utilizing different
terminology, and coming to very different conclusions. A consensus approach seems rather elusive.

96
Niccacci prefers the designation "simple noun clause" over and against "verbless clause."
The function of the simple noun clause, for Niccacci, depends on placement within the speech
and the presence or absence of the waw conjunction. If the clause/sentence is independent, then it
belongs in the foreground. However, if the clause is preceded by waw and embedded within a
speech, then it is background. Rocine places the verbless clause low in his hierarchy of clause
types in both discourse profile schemes, and describes its function in terms of "scene-setting."
Heller assigns verbless clauses to secondary "off-line status" in narrative and predictive
discourse, but to primary "present status" in expository discourse.
For the purposes of this study, the term "verbless clause" will be defined according to the
following criteria: first, the clause contains no finite or infinitive verb form, and second, it is not
syntactically dependent on a preceding verbal clause. Within Exodus 2-4, verbless clauses are
found only at the beginning of a speech. Two basic categories emerge in this regard: 1. speech
initial and complete, and 2. speech initial.
Verbless phrases, as opposed to clauses, are dependent on a verbal clause and occur in
the speech medial position. Since they are connected to a preceding verbal clause, speech medial
verbless phrases function to provide additional information regarding the verbal clauses.
Therefore, they do not constitute significant breaks in the verbal chains. They expand upon or
add information to the verbal clause upon which they depend. Therefore, these verbless phrases
will not be considered as separate entities in the discussion below.
An additional consideration discussed in the literature is whether the verb hyfhf is assumed
or unnecessary, thereby making the clause in question implicitly verbal. "Verbless clauses have
sometimes been understood as having an underlying form of the verb hyfhf that has been

97
deleted."175 This suggestion will be evaluated as the various clauses are examined. The issue may
be more translational than linguistic in significance. What may be awkward syntax and grammar
in English or Greek may not be in Biblical Hebrew.
1. Speech Initial and Complete
Speeches that consist entirely of one or more verbless clauses are rare, but significant. In
Exodus 2-4 these are found in the following places:
2:6f

"This [is] from the children of the Hebrews."

3:4d
f

"Moses! Moses!"
"Here I [am]."

3:6b
c
d
e

"I [am] the God of your father
the God of Abraham
the God of Isaac
the God of Jacob."

4:2b
d

"What [is] in your hand?"
"A staff."

4:10b
c
d
e
f
g

"Please, Lord,
I [am] not a man of words
neither from yesterday
neither from three days ago
neither from the time you spoke to your servant
for heavy of mouth and heavy of lips I [am]."

4:25e

"For a bridegroom of blood you [are] to me."

hze MyrIb;(ihf yd'l;ya,mi |--h#e$mo h#$emo |--ynin'%hi |--K1ybi)f yh'lo)v ykinO)f
Mhfrfb;)a yh'lo)v
qxfc;yI yh'lo)v
bqo(jyA yh'lo)v

|--|--|--|---

K1deyFb; hze@ma |--h+%ema |--ynfdo)j ybi@
ykinO)f MyrIbfd@: #$y)i )lo
lwOmt@;mi Mg%A
M#$&l;#$i%mi MgA%
K1d@eb;(-a l)e K1r:b@ed@a z)fm' Mg%A
ykinO)f NwO#$lf dbak;w% hpe%-dbak; yk@i

|--|--|--|--|--|---

yli ht@f)a Mymid-@f Ntaxj yki@ |---

The first observation to be made is that these are relatively short speeches, and are
declarative in nature. Heller places these types of speeches in the category of "Expository
Discourse," whose purpose "is to explain a state or activity that is occurring at the time of the

175

Miller, "Pivotal Issues in Analyzing the Verbless Clause," 9.

98
speech or that is perpetually true."176 He further states that the tense of the clause, when the
speech is entirely verbless, is always present.177 In most cases, this necessitates including some
form of the verb "to be" in English translation, as well as in the Septuagint. In fact, it is this
present tense understanding of the verbless clause that Jesus utilizes in Matthew 22:32, citing
Exodus 3:6, to argue the reality of the resurrection.
A second observation is that these speeches happen at key moments in the narrative. The
first (2:6) involves the identification of the Hebrew baby boy by Pharaoh's daughter in the very
spot where the command to kill male Hebrew infants could be carried out. The second and third
(3:4, 6) can be considered together as they occur in the first speeches of God since Genesis. This
significant moment of the calling of Moses and the identification of YHWH as the God of the
patriarchs renews the narrative plot-line begun at Genesis 12. The transition from Moses'
questions to his resistance at Exodus 4:1 is met with a terse question in 4:2, "What [is] in your
hand?" The short rhetorical question introduces the giving of three miraculous signs that suggest
that Moses is not to trust his perception of reality when God/YHWH is involved. What appears
to be a staff can become a snake; what appears to be healthy can become leprous; what appears
to be water can become blood.
Despite the miraculous signs given to Moses, his longest speech in Exodus 2-4 (at 4:10)
increases the tension between himself and God. The final verbless speech in this category is the
declaration of Zipporah following God's attack on Moses and the carrying out of the
circumcision rite (4:24-26), again a moment of high tension in the narrative. It would seem that
in each case Moses' life hangs in the balance.

176

Heller, Narrative Structure, 464.

177

Ibid., 465.

99
The question regarding the implicit presence of hyFhf emerges in these speeches that are
completely verbless. Again, this may be more an issue for English than for Hebrew. Translation
of these clauses necessitates supplying some form of "to be" in English. Yet, there is a
declarative sense that is somewhat lost in translation by the addition.
2. Speech Initial
Only one speech begins with a non-verbal clause and continues with verbal clauses.
4:14c

"What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite?"

ywIl@'ha K1yxi)f Nrohj)a )lohj |---

If this is indeed a rare occurrence of a speech initial verbless clause, what might the significance
be? This is the first mention of a brother to Moses, and the third time "Levite" has been
mentioned, the first two occurring in 2:1. While Moses and the unnamed sister (2:4-8) may be
considered Levites due to their parental lineage, this is not emphasized. Aaron is identified as
"The Levite" – note the definite article. The identity of Aaron is not only expressed in terms of
him being a relative of Moses (his brother), but also with regard to his role as a Levitical priest.
This one speech initial verbless clause foreshadows the significance that Aaron will come to
have in the coming narratives.
From Dialogue Syntax to Narrative Purpose
Dialogue is the primary means by which the biblical text communicates. The narrative
framework establishes the scene and characters involved. The syntax is limited and generally
simple. But in and through direct speech, important information is transferred to the reader
and/or listener. The complexity and variety of syntactic options available support this function of
dialogue. It is within the speeches of Exodus 2-4 that the reader discovers the identity of God,
the God who hears and acts on behalf of Israel, and learns the divine name, YHWH. It is within
the speeches that the conflicts between Moses and Israel, and Moses and God are anticipated.

100
The actions that YHWH will take to free Israel, the struggle with Pharaoh, and Israel's eventual
escape from Egypt are communicated in direct speech, which will then be retold in the ensuing
narrative. This pattern of spoken instruction/prediction and then narrative account repeats, most
notably, in Exodus 25-31 (speech) and Exodus 35-40 (narrative).
The speeches of Exodus 2-4 also tie these opening chapters of Exodus back to the
narratives of Genesis. Repeatedly God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
(3:6, 15, 16; 4:5). The narrative function of this repetition is not only to identify who YHWH
God is, but also to connect back to the narratives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob found in Genesis,
specifically those dealing with the covenant relationship and promises. The author deliberately
repeats this identification formula in relation to the Patriarchs within dialogue to emphasize the
importance of these scenes and "the significance of the subject"178 at hand, namely the
deliverance of Israel by the same God who had entered into covenant relationship with Abraham.
The speech of God in Exodus 3:6-10 is the first extended divine speech since the one
directed to Jacob in Genesis 35:12: "The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you,
and I will give this land to your descendants after you." The narrative note following this is also
important in relation to the dialogue: "Then God went up from him at the place where he had
talked with him" (Genesis 35:13 NIV). From that point on God is silent, even absent, in the
narrative until we hear the call, "Moses, Moses!" and are reintroduced to God as an active and
speaking character who will now bring the promise of Genesis 35:12 to fruition.
The dialogue between Moses and God also foreshadows much of the coming narrative.
The destination of the Israelites following their emancipation from Egypt is the "mountain of
God," the same "holy ground" (Exodus 19:12-13, 20-21) where God reveals himself to Moses in

178

Amit, Reading Biblical Narratives, 109.

101
Exodus 3-4 (see especially 3:1-5). As noted above, the struggle between God and Pharaoh is also
clearly anticipated. Though the details and the idea of the "plagues" is absent, the conclusion of
the killing of the firstborn of Egypt is specified as the final act that will lead to the freeing of
Israel from bondage to Pharaoh.
The tense relationship that Moses will have with the people of Israel is also intimated in
Moses' increased resistance to YHWH's call but his eventual capitulation as described in chapter
four. The appointment of Aaron as the spokesperson for Moses is outlined, and the priestly
function of Aaron, and by extension the priesthood, is anticipated. In later generations it will be
the role of the priesthood to declare the word of Moses via the Torah to the people of Israel.
Conclusion
The syntax of dialogue is complex and involves a wide variety of clause types. The verb
initial clauses tend to be the mainline of communication. As in narrative, the mainline verb forms
are not often used to mark central ideas. X-verb clauses with the verb in second position and that
are speech initial are rare and seem to be used to communicate important information to the
reader, especially when the X element is a strong marker such as hn%'hi or ht@f(.a Verbless clauses,
likewise, communicate salient information when they are speech initial, and especially when the
speech is completely verbless.
Determining the genre of a speech is helpful in analysis as one can determine the relative
importance of clause forms in relation to the speech as a whole. However, it seems that, as
Niccacci argues, verb position in the sentence is a more reliable indicator of the organization and
emphasis of the text, regardless of genre.

102
Conclusion
This investigation has involved the merging of two text-centered exegetical tools:
discourse linguistics and narrative criticism. Exodus 1:22-4:31 is the text on which this study has
been focused. Merging a linguistic analysis of the text with that of the story being told by the text
allows one to see both the internal structuring of the language employed and the trajectory of the
story within the larger context of the Pentateuch.
These text-centered approaches are crucial for interpretation because the text is given
centre stage. Discussions on textual prehistory, editorial additions or accretions during
transmission history, hypothetical redaction layers, and even the events recounted by the text are
secondary to the actual communicative intent of the text. By bracketing out these various
concerns, one is able to explore the question of why the text exists rather than how it came into
being. That a text is intended to be read and to affect the reader becomes central to the
interpretive exploration.
From this combination of approaches one can also reevaluate traditional reading
boundaries (chapter, verse, paragraph, etc.). It appears as though the longstanding division
between Exodus 1 and 2 has been misplaced by at least one verse, if any division from chapter
one should be made at all. The tendency to separate Moses' early life from his encounter with
God at the burning bush has also potentially distorted the overall thrust of these episodes in the
light of the possibility that Exodus 1:22-2:25 is integral to the call narrative. Overall, when the
linguistic structures and narrative context are considered, there seems to be no reason to isolate
part of the story from the whole. The interconnectedness of the text and the larger story make it
advisable to keep the relationship between a pericope and its larger literary context constantly in
view.

103
A fresh look at the text as a whole, rather than as a series of sentences or clauses, has
facilitated the examination of the contours of the text with its natural break-points, often marked
by grammatical and syntactical rarities. Such an approach aids the interpretive task by
identifying the structure of the text from within the language. This kind of investigation involves
a comparative analysis of linguistic structures with a view to determining whether or not a
specific function can be assigned to a particular structure. The study of the we-X-qatal
construction in Exodus 3:1 and 5:1 undertaken for this thesis has led to the conclusion that a no
single function may be associated with it. The fact that for various types of clauses—though not
all—the we-X-qatal construction is a necessary component makes a "one function fits all"
approach untenable. It is clear, therefore, that the syntax of a clause by itself is not necessarily
determinative; each occurrence must be assessed individually.
In adopting an approach that entails the synthesis of discourse linguistics and narrative
criticism, it was suggested that the strengths of each would offset the stated weaknesses. It has
become evident to this author that, while this does occur to some extent, the kind of investigation
that is necessary for a thorough discourse linguistic approach often overshadows the narrative
itself. It has proven to be difficult to wrestle the linguistic minutiae back into the larger narrative
context. The extended chapter on direct speech has been the most challenging in this regard.
The secondary purpose of employing the above-mentioned approaches has been in order
to determine how the text of Exodus 2-4 was structured and what sort of a response was it
designed to elicit from the reader. The narrative analysis of this passage has shown that Moses is
introduced and presented as God's chosen servant to lead Israel out of Egypt, and to be the
intermediary between God and his people. He accepts this vocation only reluctantly, to say the
least, inasmuch as he does not willingly take up the call, nor does he consider himself to be

104
qualified for it. Aaron is also introduced, quite clearly as "the Levite," an indication of his fuller
role as the high priest later in the story. At this point the reader is only told of the familial
relationship between Moses and Aaron, but the distinct roles of messenger and spokesman are
suggested in the present text.
Based on this overview of the narrative, it seems that the reader is expected to respond
with deference to Moses and the messages that he received from God to pass along to Aaron and
the people of God. This would accord with the expected response of any Jewish reader
throughout the reception history of the text. In time "Moses" becomes a synonym for the Law or
the Pentateuch. Moses' personal reticence to accept the call of God is an indication that
pentateuchal injunctions are not to be construed as manifestations of Moses' own will or as a set
of his commands to the people, nor is he making a play for power over them. The text expects
the reader to respond with obedience and humility to the way of living mediated through Moses
because ultimately that blueprint for covenant life comes from God himself.
It may also be suggested that later readers would find here an indication of their constant
struggle and resistance to God's instruction through Moses. "They won't believe me! They won't
do what I tell them" (Exodus 4:1 NLT). When one considers the concluding comments of Moses
in Deuteronomy 31:24-29, it seems that, on the whole, the disbelief of the people regarding the
call and words of Moses was anticipated. The reader is reminded, from the call of Moses
onward, that Israel has trouble believing and obeying God and his chosen messengers and
leaders. In the larger complex of the literary traditions of ancient Israel, perhaps this text also
points the readers to their past and/or present struggles to live out their calling as the people of
God (Exodus 19:3-5).

105
Moses is presented as a thoroughly human agent, chosen by God for the task to which he
has been called. Moses is not a divine figure come down to rescue his people. He himself is in
need of rescue numerous times. Moses is not a person unaffected by injustice and wrong, and can
in fact commit murder and flee for his life. He can be completely self-absorbed and selfprotective; his flight to Midian and his resistance to God's call communicate a completely human
agent who is nonetheless called to God's purposes. Perhaps in this readers are to see themselves
as members of the resistant people of God, who have nevertheless been called to fulfill God's
purposes.
Limitations of the Study
As was noted in the introduction, the present study has been restricted primarily to
Exodus 2-4, though periodic reference has been made as well to the linguistic phenomena and
narrative flow of Genesis and Exodus. This limitation was necessary in order to locate specific
linguistic structures within defined parameters and relative proximity to Exodus 2-4. From a
narrative perspective, this limitation also strengthened the view that these chapters, while
introducing a new and central character, do so through already established narrative motifs. The
limitations, therefore, allowed the questions of narrative structure and linguistic patterning to be
examined in a focused manner. However, within such limitations, conclusions as to what may be
considered normal or unusual grammatical and linguistic phenomena must be tempered by the
need to test these observations much more broadly.
Areas for Further Research
Further research is required in the analysis of direct speech from a discourse linguistic
perspective. The variety of views presented in chapter three of this study point up the need to
attempt to achieve both clarity and consensus in coming to a comprehensive understanding of the

106
structures of direct speech. It was also noted in chapter three that further investigation of rare
clause structures at the beginning of speeches needs to be explored in relation to the narrative
context. The extended speeches of the Pentateuch provide fertile ground for such investigations.
A complete linguistic analysis of Leviticus or Deuteronomy would advance these discussions
considerably as they consist almost entirely of direct speech. Since the biblical text primarily
communicates through direct speech elements, ongoing analysis and exploration of the linguistic
structures employed is an exegetical imperative.
Linguistic and narrative exegesis offers the reader an avenue for investigating how a text
communicates meaning. The textual act of communication assumes that readers will pick up on
clues and codes that lead the reader through the story to its implications. By examining carefully
a text's linguistic structures and broader narrative context, one comes to a fuller understanding of
how a text means so that the intended why and what of the text are experienced and understood.

107
Bibliography
Ackerman, James S. "The Literary Context of the Moses Birth Story (Exodus 1-2)." In Literary
Interpretation of Biblical Narrative. Vol. 1. Edited by Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis, James
S. Ackerman, and Thayer S. Warshaw, 74–119. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1974.
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1981.
Amit, Yairah. Reading Biblical Narratives: Literary Criticism and the Hebrew Bible. Translated
by Yael Lotan. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001.
Ashby, G. W. Go Out and Meet God: A Commentary on the Book of Exodus. Grand Rapids;
Edinburgh: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Handsel Press, 1998.
Bergen, Robert D. "Evil Spirits and Eccentric Grammar: A Study in the Relationship between
Text and Meaning in Hebrew Narrative." In Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics,
320–335. Winona Lake: SIL, Eisenbrauns, 1994.
———. "Text as a Guide to Authorial Intention: An Introduction to Discourse Criticism."
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society September (1987): 327–336.
———. "The Role of Genesis 22:1-19 in the Abraham Cycle: A Computer Assisted Textual
Interpretation." Criswell Theological Review 4 (1990): 313–326.
Berlin, Adele. Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns,
1983.
Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible First Edition Notes. Biblical Studies Press, 2006. Logos
Bible Software.
Blomberg, Craig, William W. Klein, and Robert L. Hubbard. Introduction to Biblical
Interpretation. 2nd Edition. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003.
Bodine, Walter Ray, ed. Discourse Analysis of Biblical Literature: What It Is and What It Offers.
Semeia Studies 27. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995.
Bruckner, James K. Exodus. New International Biblical Commentary: Old Testament Series 2.
Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008.
Bushell, Michael S., Michael D. Tan, and Glenn L. Weaver, BibleWorks 8.0.020u. Norfolk:
BibleWorks, LLC., 2008.
Buth, Randall. "Functional Grammar, Hebrew and Aramaic: An Integrated Textlinguistic
Approach to Syntax." In Discourse Analysis of Biblical Literature, edited by Walter Ray
Bodine, 77–102. Semeia Studies 27. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature; Scholars
Press, 1995.

108
Cassuto, Umberto. A Commentary on the Book of Exodus. Translated by Israel Abrahams.
Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1967.
Coats, George W. Exodus 1-18. Vol. IIa. The Forms of Old Testament Literature. Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1999.
Cotterell, Peter, and Max Turner. Linguistics and Biblical Interpretation. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity, 1989.
Durham, John I. Exodus. Vol. 3. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco: Word Books, 1987.
Bar-Efrat, Shimeon. Narrative Art in the Bible. Vol. 70. JSOT Sup. Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press, 2000.
Exum, J. Cheryl. "You Shall Let Every Daughter Live: A Study of Exodus 1:8–2:10." Semeia 28
(1983): 63–82.
Fokkelman, J. P. Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide. Translated by Ineke Smit.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999.
Frei, Hans W. The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative: A Study in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century
Hermeneutics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.
Fretheim, Terence E. Exodus. Interpretation: a Commentary for Preaching and Teaching.
Louisville: John Knox Press, 1991.
———. The Pentateuch. Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.
Friedman, Richard Elliott. Commentary on the Torah: With a New English Translation. San
Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.
———. The Bible with Sources Revealed: A New View into the Five Books of Moses. San
Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.
Gee, James Paul. How to Do Discourse Analysis. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2011.
Groves, Alan and Wheeler. Groves-Wheeler Westminster Morphology and Lemma Database
(WTM), Release 4.10 2008. BibleWorks 8.0.020u BibleWorks, 2008.
Hamilton, Victor P. Handbook on the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
Heimerdinger, Jean-Marc. Topic, Focus and Foreground in Ancient Hebrew Narratives. JSOT
Sup 295. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.
Heller, Roy L. Narrative Structure and Discourse Constellations: An Analysis of Clause
Function in Biblical Hebrew Prose. Harvard Semitic Series 55. Winona Lake:
Eisenbrauns, 2004.

109
Josephus, Flavius. The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged. Translated by Willaim
Whiston. Rev. ed. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1990.
Keil, Carl Friedrich, and Franz Delitzsch. Commentary on the Old Testament. Logos electronic
edition. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996.
Kelly, Page H. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1992.
Leder, Arie C. "The Coherence of Exodus: Narrative Unity and Meaning." Calvin Theological
Review 36 (2001): 251–269.
Leech, Geoffrey, Margaret Deuchar, and Robert Hoogenraad. English Grammar for Today: A
New Introduction. 2nd ed. New York: Palgrave MacMIllan, 2006.
Lode, Lars. "A Discourse Perspective on the Significance of the Masoretic Accents." In Biblical
Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, edited by Robert D. Bergen, 155–172. Winona Lake:
Eisenbrauns, 1994.
Longacre, Robert E. "Discourse Perspectives on the Hebrew Verb: Affirmation and
Restatement." In Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew, edited by Walter Ray Bodine, 176–
189. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1992.
———. Joseph: A Story of Divine Providence: A Text Theoretical and Textlinguistic Analysis of
Genesis 37 and 39-48. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1989.
———. "Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-Modular Approach." In Biblical
Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, edited by Robert D. Bergen, 50–98. Winona Lake:
SIL, Eisenbrauns, 1994.
Lowery, Kirk E. "The Theoretical Foundations of a Hebrew Discourse Grammar." In Discourse
Analysis of Biblical Literature, edited by Walter Ray Bodine, 103–130. Semia Studies.
Atlanta: Scholar Press, 1995.
Merwe, C. H. J. van der. "A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective on ‫ ִהנֵּה‬in the Pentateuch, Joshua,
Judges, and Ruth." Hebrew Studies 48 (2007): 101–140.
Merwe, C. H. J. van der. "Discourse Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew Grammar." In Biblical
Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, edited by Robert D. Bergen, 13–49. Winona Lake:
SIL, Eisenbrauns, 1994.
Merwe, C. H. J. van der, Jackie A. Naude, and Jan H. Kroeze. A Biblical Hebrew Reference
Grammar. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.
Meyers, Carol L. Exodus. The New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2005.

110
Miller, Cynthia L., and M. O'Connor, eds. The Verbless Clause in Biblical Hebrew: Linguistic
Approaches. Vol. 1. Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic. Winona Lake:
Eisenbrauns, 1999.
"Modals - Shall versus Will." Last modified February 22, 2012. Accessed February 22, 2012.
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-modals_shall-will.htm
Niccacci, Alviero. "Analysis of Biblical Narrative." In Biblical Hebrew and Discourse
Linguistics, edited by Robert D. Bergen, 175–198. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1994.
———. "Basic Facts and Theory of the Biblical Hebrew Verb System in Prose." In Narrative
Syntax and the Hebrew Bible, edited by E. J. van Wolde, 167–202. Biblical Interpretation
Series 29. Leiden: Brill, 1997.
———. "Finite Verb in the Second Position of the Sentence Coherence of the Hebrew Verbal
System." Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 108, no. 3 (1996): 434–440.
———. "On the Hebrew Verbal System." In Discourse Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew, edited
by Robert D. Bergen, 117–137. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1994.
———. "Review of Dawson, D. A., Text-Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew." Libre Annuus 45
(1995): 543–580.
———. "Syntactic Analysis of Jonah." Libre Annuus 46 (1996): 9–32.
———. "Syntactic Analysis of Ruth." Libre Annuus 45 (1995): 69–106.
———. The Syntax of the Verb in Classical Hebrew Prose. Translated by W. G. E. Watson.
JSOTSupp 86. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990.
———. "Types and Functions of the Nominal Sentence." In The Verbless Clause in Biblical
Hebrew: Linguistic Approaches, 1:214–248. Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic.
Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1999.
Osborn, Noel D. and Howard Hatton. A Handbook on Exodus. UBS Handbook Series; Helps for
Translators. New York: United Bible Societies, 1999.
Osborne, Grant R. The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical
Interpretation. Vol. Rev. and expand, 2nd. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2007.
Propp, William Henry. Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.
The Anchor Bible 2. New York: Doubleday, 1999.
De Regt, L. J. Participants in Old Testament Texts and the Translator: Reference Devices and
Their Rhetorical Impact. Studia Semitica Neerlandica 39. Assen: Van Gorcum, 1999.

111
Reis, Pamela Tamarkin. Reading the Lines: A Fresh Look at the Hebrew Bible. Peabody:
Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.
Rocine, Bryan M. Learning Biblical Hebrew: A New Approach Using Discourse Analysis.
Macon: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 2000.
Runge, Steven, and Joshua Westbury, eds. The Lexham Discourse Hebrew Bible. Bellingham:
Lexham Press, 2012.
———, eds. The Lexham Discourse Hebrew Bible: Glossary. Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2012.
Sailhamer, John. The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary. Library of
Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Sicker, Martin. The Exodus and the Reluctant Prophet. New York: iUniverse, Inc., 2007.
Ska, Jean Louis. Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2006.
Sternberg, Meir. The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of
Reading. Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1987.
Stuart, Douglas K. Exodus. New American Commentary 2. Nashville: Broadman & Hiolman
Publishers, 2006.
Van Seters, John. "The Patriarchs and the Exodus: Bridging the Gap Between Two Origin
Traditions." In The Interpretation of Exodus: Studies in Honour of Cornelius Houtman,
ed. Riemer Roukema, Contributions to Biblical Exegesis & Theology 44. Leuven:
Peeters, 2006.
Vogt, Peter T. Interpreting the Pentateuch: An Exegetical Guide. Grand Rapids: Kregal
Publications, 2009.
Waller, Gary F., Kathleen McCormick, and Lois Josephs Fowler. The Lexington Introduction to
Literature: Reading and Responding to Texts. Lexington: D.C. Heath, 1987.
Walsh, Jerome T. Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative. Collegeville: The Liturgical
Press, 2001.
Waltke, Bruce K., and Cathi J. Fredricks. Genesis: A Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2001.
Waltke, Bruce K., and Michael Patrick O'Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax.
Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1990.
Wendland, Ernst R. "Discourse Analysis of Hebrew Poetry: A Procedural Outline." edited by
Ernst R. Wendland, 1–27. USB Monograph Series 7. Reading: United Bible Societies,
1994.

112

Curriculum Vitae
Douglas James Dunbar (b. July 6, 1971)
Douglas's post-secondary education began at Briercrest Bible College in 1989. Biblical
studies were, at this point, secondary to musical studies. In 1991, he began studies at Grant
MacEwan Community College, earning a Diploma in Music Performance in 1993. In 1995,
Douglas enrolled at Northwest Baptist Theological College to continue in biblical and pastoral
studies. Douglas then returned to Briercrest Bible College in Fall 1997, and eventually
completed the Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies in 2004. In Fall 2003, Douglas began
studying at ACTS. Over the course of his studies at ACTS he was awarded various scholarships:
the A.A. Nieuwenhuis (2004), the Long Family (2004), the John Hoo Kee Lam Memorial (2005,
2006), and the Broadway West (2005, 2006).
Douglas has been teaching courses on the Pentateuch, Synoptic Gospels, Gospels, and
Old Testament Poetical Books at Pacific Life Bible College since 2007. He presented a paper,
"In You I Take Refuge: The Translation of Metaphor in the Septuagint Psalms," at the inaugural
Septuagint Institute Symposium, September 2006.
Douglas has had the privilege of serving three churches in various capacities: Grace
International Baptist Church in Vancouver, BC as Associate Pastor of Youth and Worship
(August 1996 to July 1997); First Edmonton Evangelical Missionary Church in Edmonton, AB
as Ministries Director (January 1998 to August 2003); North Valley Baptist Church, Mission BC
as Worship Coordinator (May 2008 to September 2012) and Lead Pastor (October 2012 to
present).
Douglas is also an active musician with QuintEssential Jazz. Together they have
performed for more than 300 public and private functions, and produced three CDs.