Paragogic nun

In Hebrew morphology, the paragogic nun (from paragoge 'addition at the end of a word'[1]) is a nun letter (נ‎) added at the end of certain verb forms, without changing the general meaning of the conjugation. Its function is debated and may involve a modal change to the meaning of the verb.[2]

Occurrences

It occurs most commonly in the plural 2nd and 3rd persons of imperfect forms. Examples include: 'you shall live' as תִּחְיוּן‎ instead of תִּחְיוּ‎, 'you shall inherit' as תִּירָשׁוּן‎ instead תִּירָשׁוּ‎ (Deuteronomy 5:33).

It is a common phenomenon, appearing 106 times in the Pentateuch, but has unequal distribution: 58 occurrences in Deuteronomy, none in Leviticus.[3]

Explanation

The general meaning of the verb form is not altered by the added nun, and grammarians have proposed various explanations for the phenomenon:[2] an archaism preserved as a matter of style, a syntactic or phonological rule that is not consistently applied because of hypercorrection, etc.[2][4]

Recent inquiries[5] suggest that the paragogic nun conveys the dependent quality of a subordinate statement, whether the subordinate has a modal function (purposive, obligation/permission,[2] temporal), as in the following sentence where the nun conjugation does not appear in the first verb, and does appear in the next verbs conjugated in the same tense and persons:

« בְּכָל הַדֶּרֶךְ ... תֵּלֵכוּ ... לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן ... בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר תִּירָשׁוּן‎ » (Deut 5:33) « In this way ... you shall walk main clause: regular conjugation 'go' without nun תֵּלֵכוּ‎, so that you may live subordinate clause: 'live' and 'possess' with nun תִּחְיוּן, תִּירָשׁוּן‎ ... in the land which you shall possess »

or:

« וְלֹ֥א תִגְּע֖וּ בּ֑וֹ פֶּן־תְּמֻתֽוּן‎ » (Gen 3:3) « nor shall you touchregular conjugation it, lest you dieconjugation with final nun »

or, in a simple temporal clause, as in the following sentence where the same verb in the same tense and person receives the nun inside the clause, and does not outside the clause:

« וְהָיָה כִּי תֵלֵכוּן לֹא תֵלְכוּ רֵיקָם‎ » (Ex 3:21) « and when you go subordinate clause: 'go' with nun תֵלֵכוּן‎, you shall not go empty main clause: regular conjugation 'go' without nun תֵלְכוּ‎ »

However, some instances are difficult to explain, which is why some researchers mention the randomness or stylistic quality of the phenomenon:[2][4] it does not appear in Ex. 4:8 וְהָיָה אִם לֹא יַאֲמִינוּ לָךְ וְלֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ‎ but does appear in the next verse (יִשְׁמְעוּן‎), which has almost identical meaning and structure: Ex. 4:9 וְהָיָה אִם לֹא יַאֲמִינוּ גַּם לִשְׁנֵי הָאֹתוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וְלֹא יִשְׁמְעוּן‎.

Other languages

In Phoenician[6] and Aramaic,[7] contrary to Hebrew, the imperfect forms in plural 2nd and 3rd persons always display the final nun. Removing this final nun creates the jussive modal forms, both in Phoenician[8] and in Aramaic,[9] so that a similar modal shift between the forms with and without final nun may explain the phenomenon in Hebrew.

References
  1. "Definition of PARAGOGE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  2. Robar, Elizabeth. "'Nunation'. In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, ed. Geoffrey Khan. Leiden: Brill. 2013. (pre-pub offprint)". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. see Leningrand Codex with Morphology, where the paragogic nun is represented by "/Sn". Genesis: 12 occurrences, Exodus: 28, Leviticus: 0, Numbers: 8, Deuteronomy: 58.
  4. Kaufman, Stephen A. 194X- (1995). "Paragogic nun in Biblical Hebrew: Hypercorrection as a Clue to a Lost Scribal Practice". Solving Riddles and Untying Knots: 95. Lay summary.
  5. W. Randall Carr (2006). Steven Ellis Fassberg, Avi Hurvitz (ed.). The Paragogic nun in Rhetorical Perspective, in Biblical Hebrew in Its Northwest Semitic Setting: Typological and Historical Perspectives. Eisenbrauns. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-57506-116-0.
  6. Krahmalkov, Charles R. (2000-11-28). A Phoenician-Punic Grammar. BRILL. p. 183. ISBN 978-90-04-29420-2.
  7. Greenspahn, Frederick E. (2003). An Introduction to Aramaic. Society of Biblical Lit. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-58983-059-2.
  8. Harris, Zellig Sabbettai (1990). A Grammar of the Phoenician Language. American Oriental Society. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-940490-08-6.
  9. Greenspahn, Frederick E. (2003). An Introduction to Aramaic. Society of Biblical Lit. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-58983-059-2.
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