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<p>The following will not shed much light, but I did feel it was worthwhile mentioning:</p>
<p>Various languages have different ways of expressing modalities. For instance in Enlgish, a contrary to fact statement would use the two helping verbs "would have." An example is "if I would have (or had) brought my book with me, we would have been able
to finish the homework."</p>
<p>In Spanish, you would use the imperfect subjunctive.</p>
<p>In Aramaic, normally Onqelos uses the enclitic particle <span dir="RTL" style="font-size:11.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"David","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language:
EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:HE" lang="HE">
.פּוֹן</span> <br>
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<p>The Hebrew of the T'NaKh is very interesting. It appears to usually use the perfect. For example, in yesterday's parsha, 31:27, Lavan claims that had Yaaqov only told him (King James transaltion):
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<p>"Wherefore didst thou flie away secretly, and steale away from me, and didst not tell mee? that I might haue sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harpe."</p>
<p>In Modern English we would say "that I would have sent you away with..."</p>
<p>Onqelos translates as expected: "וְשַׁלַּחְתָּךְ פּוֹן בְּחֶדְוָא וּבְתֻשְׁבְּחָן בְּתֻפִּין וּבְכִנָּרִין</p>
<p>The Hebrew uses the perfect: "וָאֲשַׁלֵּחֲךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְשִׁרִים בְּתֹף וּבְכִנּוֹר<br>
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<div class="PlainText"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(note the qomatz under the vav, showing that it is perfect).<br>
Another example is in Isaiah, 66:9: <br>
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a name="9"></a><strong>ט</strong> הַֽאֲנִ֥י אַשְׁבִּ֛יר וְלֹ֥א אוֹלִ֖יד יֹאמַ֣ר יְי אִם־אֲנִ֧י הַמּוֹלִ֛יד וְעָצַ֖רְתִּי אָמַ֥ר אֱלֹקיִךְ<br>
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">King James has it as "</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Shall I bring to the birth, & not cause to bring forth, saith the Lord? shall I cause to bring foorth, and shut the wombe, sayth thy God?"<br>
I think that an more exact translation into Modern English would be "if I am the One giving birth, would I shut Myself up?"<br>
Note that the trop shows that the accent </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><font size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">וְעָצַ֖רְתִּי
</span></span></font>is penultimate. If it were ultimate, it would be vav hahippukh, and would convert it to future. As penultimate, it is the perfect, but not the normal perfect modality.<br>
<br>
</span>Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel<br>
Rabbinic Coordinator<br>
The Orthodox Union<br>
<br>
Voice (212) 613-8330 Fax (212) 613-0718 e-mail mandels@ou.org</div>
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