him, and do him no harm, but (whatsoever thou doest unto him) do

כִּי־אִם כַּאֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר ".unto him even as he shall say unto thee אֵלֶיךָ כֵּן עֲשָׂה עִמּוֹ)

When followed by the Perfect, the reality of the supposition is implied:

e. g., 2 Kings xxiii. 9: "Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord at Jerusalem, but (if they had priestly privileges) they did eat of the unleavened bread among

כִּי אִם־אָכְלוּ) ".their brethren

So also Fer. vii. 23, cited above:

"But (if I commanded them anything) this thing commanded I them, saying," &c. (9)

Very frequently the verb in the second clause is omitted entirely, in which case the class of condition must be determined from the context: e. g., Jer. xxiii. 7, 8: Therefore, behold the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but () if

they say anything, they shall say (The Lord liveth," &c.)

In one passage we have a Participle in the second clause:

e. g., 2 Kings xvii. 40: "Howbeit they did not hearken, but according to their former manner they are doing (to this day.”)

הם עשים)

The Infinitive.

When the Infinitive stands in the Protasis after conditional particles, it is followed by the Imperfect when the supposition is probable (Class II.), but the construction is rare:

e. g., 2 Sam. iii. 13b: "Thou shalt not see my face unless thou bringest() Michal the daughter of Saul," &c.

So 2 Sam. v. 6.

It is also once followed by the Perfect in a sentence belonging to Class I. (Hypothesis in accordance with reality):

e. g., Job. ix. 27, 28: "If I say (CN) I will forget my complaints, &c. I am afraid of all my sorrows (j) I know (ny)

that thou wilt not hold me innocent."

Conditions introduced by being mainly continuative, are governed by the context. All that have been observed, however, belong to the class of probabte suppositions (Class II.).

Condition introduced by Waw.

Very frequently a condition introduced by or, is continued in a following sentence by. In this case, as with, the class of condi.

tion is determined from the context, and the use of the tenses is the same as if the particles had been used.·

Frequently, however, Conditional Sentences are introduced by Waw, without any preceding conditional particle or clause.

When this occurs, we usually find the Modified Perfect in the Protasis, followed in the Apodosis either by another Modified Perfect or, though rarely, by an Imperfect. Sentences of this form almost always imply probability:

e. g., Ex. xii. 13: (Modified Perfect in second clause.) "And the blood shall be to you for a sign upon the houses where ye are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you." (

יראִיתִי

e. g., Num. xxiii. 20b: (Imperfect in second clause.) "Since he blesseth, then I cannot reverse it." (:)

A probable condition may also be expressed by the Imperfect in the Protasis followed by a Modified Perfect, another Imperfect, or a Volun

tative:

e. g., Deut. xxx. 8, 9: (Modified Perfect in second clause.) "And if thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day, then the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand."

e. g., 1 Sam. ix. 7: (Imperfect in second clause.)

"Then said

Saul unto his servant, But behold if we go, what shall we bring the man?" (.

e. g., Ps. lxxvii. 4: (Cohortative in second clause.)

"When I am

when my (אֶזְכְּרָה) I will remember God וְאֶהֵמִיהָ) in heaviness אשִׂיחָה) ".I will complain יְתִתְעַסֵף רוּחִי) spirit is overwhelmed

The same kind of condition is very rarely expressed by a Modified Imperfect in the Protasis, followed by a Participle:

e. g., Ex. iv. 23: “And if thou refuse to let him go, behold I will slay thy son, () even thy firstborn."

The literal translation would be: "And thou hast refused to let him go, behold I am slaying," &c. (The action is viewed as completed and bringing with it its consequences.)

Another variation is in the use of the Voluntative in the Protasis:

e. g., Ps. cxxxix. 8: (With verb omitted in second clause.) "If I make Sheol my bed, behold Thee!" (

e. g., Job. xvi. 6: (With Imperfect in second clause.) "—and if I

וְאַחְדְּלָה מַה־פְּנִי יַהֲלֹךְ:) "?speak, what am I eased

It may, indeed, be questioned whether all the instances of the Imper

fect thus occurring after Waw should not be regarded as properly Jussive, according to the corresponding use in Arabic.

But besides these methods of expressing a condition regarded as probable when introduced by Waw, there are a number of instances where the verb in the first clause must be regarded not as a Modified but as a simple Perfect. I pass by many examples where (as in Gen. xxxiii. 13) it must be considered at least doubtful whether the verb is to be rendered as a Perfect or as a Modified Perfect, and in which there is no difference in accent by which the tense may be recognized; but in four instances at least-Job. x. 15, Ezek. iii. 18, xxxiii. 8, Nah. i. 2—the accent shows that the verb was regarded as Perfect by the Masoretes:

e. g., Job. x. 15: (Imperfect in second clause.) "If (N) I be wicked, woe unto me, and if I be righteous () yet will I not lift up my head."

e. g., Ezek. iii. 18: (Imperfect in second clause.) When I say (p) to the wicked, 'Thou shalt surely die,' if thou givest him

וְלֹא דְבַּרְתָּ) and if thou speakest not (וְלֹא הִזְהַרְתּוֹ) ,not warning

יָמוּת)

to turn the wicked from his evil way, &c.-he shall die
his iniquity, but his blood will I require (w) at thy hands.'"

in

When the Condition is in accordance with reality (Class I.), we may have the Perfect or the Modified Imperfect in the Protasis, with the corresponding tenses in the conclusion:

e. g., Ex. xvi. 21:
grew hot, it melted."

(Perfect in both clauses.)
(D) won co

"And when the sun

e. g., 1 Sam. ii. 16: (Modified Imperfect and Perfect.) "And if the man said () to him, &c., then he would say." (NY)

e. g., 2 Sam. xviii. 16: (Modified Imperfect in both clauses.) “And when Joab blew the horn (p) the people returned from following after Israel." (cyn dwa)

To express conditions in which the supposition is contrary to reality (Class IV.), we find sometimes the Perfect in the Protasis, with the Imperfect in the conclusion:

e. g., Num. xii. 14: "And Moses said, If her father had but spit in her face (pp..) should she not be unclean ()

days?"

Sometimes the Imperfect with the Imperfect in the conclusion:

seven

e. g., Ezek. xvi. 55: When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return() to their former estate, and when, &c., then thou and thy daughters shalt return () to your former estate.”

Once, at least, the Modified Perfect in Protasis, and no verb expressed in second clause:

e. g., Ezek. xvi. 53: "When I shall bring again () their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then (will I bring again) the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them."

Sentences without any Introductory Particle.

A sentence which contains an interrogative idea, i. e., either a direct or an indirect question, may stand as the Protasis of a conditional sentence, or, as we have seen, two clauses placed together, either without any connecting particle or with simple Waw, may bear to each other the relation of condition and conclusion.

When the supposition is a probable one, or simply indeterminate, the usual construction is with the Imperfect in the Protasis-usually with the Imperfect or the Modified Perfect in the second clause:

e. g., Is. xlvi. 7b: “Yea (if) one shall cry unto him (pv), yet can he not answer(), nor save him out of all his trouble."

It may also be followed by an Imperative, though when this is used the Perfect usually precedes:

e. g., Ps. xxvii. 7: (ps bip mine) "(When) I cry with my

voice, hear, O Lord."

Or the verb may be understood in the second clause:

e. g., 2 Sam. xxiii. 4: "And (he shall be) as (is) the light of the morning (when) the sun ariseth." (!?)

The Voluntative (Jussive or Imperative) may be found in the Protasis in place of the Imperfect.

In this case the verb in the second clause may be in the Imperfect: e. g., Prov. xix. 25: “Smite a scorner (h), and the simple will beware (y), and reprove () one that hath understanding, he will understand knowledge." (1)

Or it may be in the Perfect, with Future Perfect sense:

e. g., Is. xxvi. 10: Let favour be shown (?) to the wicked, yet will he not learn (have learned) (-) righteousness."

Or it may be another Jussive or Imperative:

e. g., Ps. lxviii. 2:

"Let God arise, and let his enemies be scat

(יפוצו and יָקוּם) ".tered

e. g., 2 Kings v. 13: "Wash and be clean." ()

The Perfect is sometimes found in a condition implying probability, but only when the verb in the second clause is of Jussive signification:

e. g., Prov. xxv. 16: (Imperative.) "Hast thou found honey, eat so much as is sufficient for thee." ( and 4)

e. g., Judg. vii. 3: (Jussive.) "Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return, and depart early from Mt. Gilead." (and) e. g., Prov. xxii. 29: (Fussive.) "Seest thou a man that is diligent in business; he shall stand before kings." ()

e. g., Is. xxvi. 11: (Imperfect with Jussive force.) "Lord, though thine arm is lifted up, they will not see."

(The two last are the only instances observed where there can be any question as to the Jussive character of the verb.)

Beside these forms of the finite verb, the Construct Infinitive with a Preposition ≥ or may stand in the Protasis of a conditional Sentence implying probability.

When the verb in the second clause is expressed, it is usually, if not always, in the Imperfect:

e. g., Ps. iv. 5: "The Lord will hear when I call unto him."

When the supposition is viewed as a fact, the most common construction is with the Perfect in the Protasis, and also in the Conclusion: e. g., Ps. cxix. 51: "Though the proud have had me greatly in derision, I have not declined from thy law." () So also Is. xlviii. 21: (wpy 85, ppbin) "And they thirsted not (though) He led them through the deserts." The verb in the second clause is sometimes understood, as in all classes of conditional sentences:

e. g., Prov. xxvi. 12, xxix. 20, xxiv. 10, Lev. xv. 3.

Though the Perfect is the usual tense in conditions of this description, we also, in poetry, find the Imperfect not infrequently, and always when the verb is expressed followed by another Imperfect:

e. g., Ex. xv. 7: (wn, b) "When thou sentest forth thy wrath, it devoured them like stubble."

e. g., Job. xii. 15: (1) "Behold, he shutteth up the waters, and they dry up.” "When or if he shutteth up the waters, they dry up."

"Thou givest them, they gather; thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good; Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust; Thou sendest forth thy word, they are created."

Another not unusual form of this condition is with the Participle in