On the Biblical Hebrew verbal system

Abstract

"The monograph under review is the publication of the identical dissertation defended at the University of Oslo on May 24, 2005. As the title of the volume suggests, this work presents a new understanding of the verbal system of Classical Hebrew utilizing a linguistic methodology distinguishing between semantic and pragmatic factors. "New" is indeed an appropriate adjective to describe the work as Furuli has undertaken research which has never before been conducted: he has analyzed the 74,574 finite and infinite verbs of the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, Ben Sira, and the Hebrew Inscriptions (4,261 verbs from 2,106 passages are discussed and analyzed in the volume); he has used a linguistic methodology previously unused on Classical Hebrew; and he challenges almost every aspect of grammatical tradition regarding the verbal system of Biblical Hebrew (BH), including a substantial challenge to previous scholarship on the wider Semitic linguistic milieu."