| Popis: |
In this study, the use and meaning of nifʿal in Biblical Hebrew is investigated based on the representative corpus of nifʿal verbs in Genesis. First, a theoretical characterisation of the middle voice is presented as distinct from the passive voice. Then follows an examination of the 78 instances of nifʿal verbs in Genesis, with a focus on nifʿal verbs that express body actions. The conclusion is that these verb forms conceive of the event from a final, conclusive, or resultative point of view. Expressed in middle voice, the events are not construed as unfolding over time, but as having been achieved, that is, as achievements that affect or have an impact on the initiating subject, who is at the same time the affected patient. In these middle constructions, the verbal root takes on new shades of meaning. |
