The Perfect

The Perfect
§ 39. The simple perf. is used to express an action completed either in reality or in the thought of the speaker.
The perf. is used to express completed actions where Eng. also uses past tenses.—(a) Like the Eng. past tense, to denote an action completed at a time indicated by the narrative, as Genesis 4:26 ‏אָז הוּחַל‎ then it was begun (began men); or completed in the indefinite past, Job 1:1 ‏אִישׁ הָיָה‎ there was a man. Genesis 3:1; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 22:1; Genesis 29:9; Genesis 31:20. Even if the finished action may have extended over a period of time, unless it is desired to mark this specially, the simple perf. is employed; Genesis 14:4, twelve years ‏עָֽבְדוּ‎ they served, 1 Kings 14:21, and often.
(b) Like the Eng. perf. with have, to denote an action finished in the past but continuing in its effects into pres.; Genesis 4:6 ‏לָמָּה נָֽפְלוּ פָנֶיךָ‎ why has (is) thy face fallen? Isaiah 1:4 ‏עָֽזְבוּ אֶת־י׳‎ they have forsaken the Lord. In this case the pres. must sometimes be used in Eng., Psalms 2:1 ‏לָמָּה רָֽגְשׁוּ גוֹיִם‎ why do the nations rage? Psalms 1:1. Or to denote an action just finished, or finished within an understood period; Genesis 4:10 ‏מֶה עָשִׂיתָ‎ what hast thou done? 1 Samuel 12:3 ‏אֶת־שׁוֹר מִי לָקַחְתִּי‎ whose ox have I taken? Genesis 3:22; Genesis 12:18; Genesis 22:12; Genesis 26:22; Genesis 46:31, Exodus 5:14, Numbers 22:34, Judges 10:10; Judges 11:7, 1 Samuel 14:29.
(c) Like the Eng. pluperf. to indicate that one of two actions was completed before the other. This use is most common in dependent (relative or conjunctive) clauses. Genesis 2:8, he put there ‏אֶת־הָֽאָדָם אֲשֶׁר יָצַר‎ the man whom he had made; Genesis 6:6 ‏וַיִּנָּחֶם י׳ כִּי עָשָׂה את־הָֽאָדָם‎ repented that he had made man. Genesis 2:5, Genesis 2:22; Genesis 3:23; Genesis 18:8, Genesis 18:33; Genesis 19:27; Genesis 26:15, Genesis 26:18; Genesis 28:11, Numbers 22:2, 1 Samuel 6:19; 1 Samuel 7:14; 1 Samuel 28:20, 1 Kings 5:1; 1 Kings 11:9. With modal force, Genesis 40:15 should have put, 1 Samuel 17:26 should have defied. After ‏הנה‎, Genesis 19:28 the smoke was gone up, Deuteronomy 9:16, Judges 6:28.
When the dependent clause is introduced by and the subj. usually precedes the verb; Genesis 20:4 ‏ואב׳ לאֹ קָרַב אֵלֶיהָ‎ and Abimelek had not approached. Genesis 31:19, Genesis 31:34, Judges 6:21, 1 Samuel 9:15; 1 Samuel 25:21; 1 Samuel 28:3, 2 Samuel 18:18, 1 Kings 1:41, 2 Kings 9:16.
(d) In hypothetical sentences the perf. is employed both in protasis and apodosis where Lat. subj. would be used.
Judges 13:23 ‏לוּ חָפֵץ לַֽהֲמִיתֵנוּ לאֹ לָקַח עֹלָה‎ if he had wanted to kill us he would not have taken a burnt-offering. Genesis 43:10, Numbers 22:33, Judges 8:19; Judges 14:18, Isaiah 1:9. So in other supposed cases; Genesis 26:10 one of the people ‏כִּמְעַט שָׁכַב‎ might readily have lain, 2 Kings 13:19. Also in Opt. sent. in ref. to past, Numbers 14:2, and fut., Isaiah 48:18; Isaiah 63:19. Cf. Cond. and Opt. Sent. § § 130, 134.
Rem. 1. Though it may be doubtful whether the shades of meaning expressed by our tenses were present to the eastern mind, it is of great consequence to observe them in translation. The direct sent. 1 Kings 21:14 ‏סֻקַּל נָבוֹת וַיָּמֹת‎ N. has been stoned and is dead, when made dependent by ‏כִּי‎1 Kings 21:15, must be rendered, that N. had been stoned and was dead. In Isaiah 53:5-6 the perf. must be translated in three ways: all we were (had) gone astray; the Lord caused to fall on him; by his stripes we have been healed. Job 1:21, the Lord gave... hath taken. In Psalms 30:1-12. perf. has all its various uses: Psalms 30:4 hast brought up; Psalms 30:7 I said; Psalms 30:8 hadst made to stand... didst hide; Psalms 30:12 hast turned (or possibly didst turn). Ezra 1:7. So inchoative perf., Psalms 97:1 ‏י׳ מָלָךְ‎ is become king; 2 Kings 15:1 became king, and often.
§ 40. The perf. expresses actions regarded as completed, where Eng. rather uses the present.—(a) In the case of stative verbs, i.e. verbs expressing mainly a mental or physical condition, as to know, remember, refuse, trust, rejoice, hate, love, desire, be just, &c.; to be, be high, great, small, deep, clean, full, be old, many, &c. Eng. by its pres. expresses the condition, Heb. rather the act which has resulted in it. Genesis 27:2 ‏זָקַנְתִּי לַֹא יָדַעְתִּי יוֹם מוֹתִי‎ I am old, I know not, &c.; Judges 14:16 ‏רַק שְׂנֵאתַנִי וְלֹא אְַהַבְתַּנִי‎ thou only hatest me, and lovest me not; Genesis 42:31 ‏לֹא הָיִינוּ מְרַגְּלִים‎ we are not spies. Stative verbs, however, often occur in such a way that their perf. must be rendered by a past tense; Genesis 28:16 I knew, Genesis 34:19 he delighted, Genesis 37:3 loved, Judges 8:34 remembered. The connexion shows to what time the completed act belongs.
(b) In a class of actions which are completed just in the act of giving them expression. This usage appears chiefly with verbs denoting to speak, as verbs of swearing, declaring, advising, and the like, or their equivalents in gesture. Deuteronomy 26:3 ‏הִגַּדְתִּי הַיּוֹם‎ I profess this day; 2 Samuel 17:11 ‏כִּי יָעַצְתִּי‎ I advise; 2 Samuel 19:7 ‏בַּֽיהוָֹה נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי‎ I swear by the Lord. Genesis 22:16, Numbers 14:20, Deuteronomy 4:26; Deuteronomy 26:17; Deuteronomy 30:15, Deuteronomy 30:18-19, 1 Samuel 17:10, 2 Samuel 16:4 I worship, 2 Samuel 19:30, 1 Kings 2:42 I hear (obey), 2 Kings 9:3 I anoint, Jeremiah 22:5; Jeremiah 42:19, Ezekiel 36:7, Psalms 129:8; Psalms 130:1, Proverbs 17:5. Son_2:7 I adjure. So the frequent ‏אָמַר י׳‎ saith Je., or ‏כֹּה א׳ י׳‎ thus saith. In some cases impf. ‏יֹאמַר‎ is used, hardly as a frequent, but as a present. This occurs in the midst of a speech, Isaiah 1:11, Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 33:10; Isaiah 40:1, Isaiah 40:25; Isaiah 41:21, Psalms 12:5. Both forms Isaiah 66:9.
(c) In a class of actions which, being of frequent occurrence, have been proved by experience (perf. of experience). Jeremiah 8:7 the turtle and swallow ‏שָֽׁמְרוּ אֶת־עֵת בֹּאָנָה‎ observe the time of their coming; Job 7:9 ‏כָּלָה עָנָן וַיֵּלַךְ‎ the cloud dissolves and vanishes. Isaiah 40:7-8, Amos 5:8, Psalms 84:3 findeth, layeth, Proverbs 1:7 despise, Proverbs 14:19 bow; Proverbs 22:12, Proverbs 22:13.
Rem. 1. Exx. of stative verbs. ‏זכר‎ remember, Numbers 11:5, Jeremiah 2:2; ‏מֵאֵן‎ refuse, Exodus 7:14, Numbers 22:1-41, Numbers 13:1-33, Deuteronomy 25:7; ‏בטח‎ trust, 2 Kings 18:19-20; ‏שׂמח‎ rejoice, 1 Samuel 2:1, Isaiah 9:3; ‏חפץ‎ to wish, Deuteronomy 25:8, Isaiah 1:11; ‏צדק‎ be just, Genesis 38:26, Psalms 19:9; ‏גבהּ‎ be high, Isaiah 3:16; Isaiah 55:9; ‏גדל‎ be great, Genesis 19:13; ‏קטֹן‎ be small, Genesis 32:10; ‏עמק‎ be deep, Psalms 92:5; ‏מהר‎ be clean, Proverbs 20:9; ‏מלא‎ be full, Isaiah 2:6, Micah 3:8; ‏אבל‎ to mourn, Isaiah 33:9, Joel 1:9; ‏אבה‎ be willing, Deuteronomy 25:7; ‏מאס‎ loathe, Amos 5:21, Job 7:16; ‏שׂבע‎ be sated, Isaiah 1:11; ‏רבב‎ be many, Psalms 3:1 (‏רבה‎ = become many); ‏קוּה‎ hope, Psalms 130:5, &c.
§ 41. The perf. is used to express actions which a lively imagination conceives as completed, but for which the fut. is more usual in Eng.—(a) The perf. of certainty. Actions depending on a resolution of the will of the speaker (or of others whose mind is known), or which appear inevitable from circumstances, or which are. confidently expected, are conceived and described as having taken place. This use is common in promises, threats, bargaining, and the like. Isaiah 42:1 ‏הֵן עַבְדִּי נָתַתִּי רוּחִי עָלָיו‎ behold my servant, I will put my spirit upon him; Isaiah 6:5 ‏אוֹי־לִי כִי־נִדְמֵיתִי‎ woe is me for I am undone; Rth_4:3 ‏חֶלְקַת הַשָּׂדֶה מָֽכְרָה נְָֽעָמִי‎ Naomi is selling the field-portion. Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:20; Genesis 30:13, Judges 15:3, 1 Samuel 2:16; 1 Samuel 14:10; 1 Samuel 15:2, 2 Samuel 24:23, 1 Kings 3:13, 2 Kings 5:20, Isaiah 30:19, Jeremiah 4:13; Jeremiah 31:5-6, Psalms 6:8; Psalms 6:10; Psalms 20:7; Psalms 37:38. In these last exx. and many others the tense may be called the perf. of confidence.
(b) It often happens, esp. in the higher style, that in the midst of descriptions of the fut. the imagination suddenly conceives the act as accomplished, and interjects a perf. amidst a number of imperfs. Job 5:20, Job 5:23 hath redeemed (Job 4:10); Hosea 5:5 Judah is fallen. This usage receives an extension among the prophets, whose imagination so vividly projects before them the event or scene which they predict that it appears realised. Isaiah 5:13 ‏גָּלָה עַמִּי מִבְּלִי־דַעַת‎ my people is gone into captivity; Isaiah 9:5 ‏כִּי יֶלֶד יֻלַּד־לָנוּ‎ for a child has been born to us; Isaiah 9:1 ‏הַהֹֽלְכִים בַּחשֶׁךְ רָאוּ אוֹר גָּדוֹל‎ they who walked in darkness have seen great light. Isaiah 5:14; Isaiah 9:2 seq., Isaiah 10:28; Isaiah 11:8-9; Isaiah 28:2, Hosea 4:6; Hosea 10:7, Hosea 10:15, Jeremiah 4:29, Amos 5:2. The prophetic perf. is sometimes scarcely to be distinguished from perf. of confidence, Psalms 22:21, Psalms 22:30.
(c) The perf. is used in the sense of the future perf. to indicate that an action though fut. is finished in relation to another fut. action. Genesis 24:19 ‏עַד אִם־כִּלּוּ לִשְׁתֹּת‎ until they (shall) have done drinking; 2 Samuel 5:24 ‏כִּי אָז יָצָא י׳ לְפָנֶיךָ‎ for then Je. will have gone forth. Genesis 28:15; Genesis 43:9; Genesis 48:6, 1 Samuel 1:28, 2 Kings 7:3; 2 Kings 20:9, Isaiah 4:4; Isaiah 6:11; Isaiah 16:12, Jeremiah 8:3, Micah 5:3, Rth_2:21.
Rem. 1. The prophetic perf. may be distinguished from the ordinary perf. by the fact that it is not maintained consistently, but interchanges with impfs. or vav conv. perfs., the prophet abandoning his ideal position and returning to the actual, and so falling into the ordinary fut. tenses, e.g. Isaiah 5:14-17. The prophetic passage may begin with perf, Isaiah 5:13, which is frequently introduced by ‏כִּי‎ for, ‏לָכֵן‎ therefore, or other particles, Isaiah 3:8; Isaiah 9:5; or it may begin with vav impf., Isaiah 2:9. When further clauses with and are added, if the ideal position be sustained, the natural secution, vav impf., may be used, Isaiah 9:6, Psalms 22:29, or simple perf. if verb be disconnected with and, Isaiah 5:16. But frequently the ideal position is deserted and the ordinary fut. tenses, the impf. or vav perf, are employed, Isaiah 5:14, cf. Isaiah 5:17, Psalms 85:1-13, Psalms 11:1-7, Psalms 12:1-8. Cf. Isaiah 13:9-10; Isaiah 14:24; Isaiah 35:1-10, Isaiah 2:1-22, Isaiah 6:1-13; Isaiah 46:13; Isaiah 47:9; Isaiah 52:15; Isaiah 60:4.
Rem. 2. It seems but a variety of (c) when the perf. is used in questions expressing any lively feeling, as astonishment, indignation, incredulity, or the like. The speaker imagines the act done, and expresses it in a tone conveying his feeling regarding it. Genesis 18:12 shall I have (had) pleasure! Genesis 21:7 who would have said? Exodus 10:3; Exodus 16:28, Judges 9:9 shall I have abandoned! Numbers 23:10, Numbers 23:23, 1 Samuel 26:9, 2 Kings 20:9, Jeremiah 30:21, Ezekiel 18:19, Habakkuk 2:18, Psalms 10:13; Psalms 11:3; Psalms 39:8; Psalms 80:5, Job 12:9. Cf. interchange of perf. and impf. Habakkuk 1:2-3, Psalms 60:9.
Rem. 3. Owing to the want of participles expressing past time, the perf. has to be used in attributive or circumstantial clauses referring to past. Genesis 44:4 ‏לא הִרְחִיקוּ‎ not having gone far; Genesis 44:12 ‏הֵחֵל‎ beginning at the eldest; Genesis 48:14 guiding his hands, Genesis 21:14; Numbers 30:11 without checking, Deuteronomy 21:1, Judges 6:19; Judges 20:31, 1 Samuel 30:2, 1 Kings 13:18, Job 11:16 waters passed away; Isaiah 3:9 without concealment. And so to express an action prior to the main action spoken of, Psalms 11:2. Very compressed is the language, Judges 9:48 ‏מה רְאִיתֶם עָשִׂיתִי‎ what ye have seen me do. If me had been expressed the consn. would have been an ordinary Ar. one. Lamentations 1:10, Nehemiah 13:23; cf. impf. 2 Samuel 21:4, Isaiah 3:15.
Rem. 4. Another verb following on perf. is usually appended with vav impf., but in animated speech asyndetous perfs. are often accumulated. Deuteronomy 32:1-52, Deuteronomy 15:1-23, Judges 5:27, Isaiah 18:5; Isaiah 25:12; Isaiah 30:33, Lamentations 2:16.
Rem. 5. In some instances perf. appears to express a wish (precative perf.). Job 21:16 the counsel ‏רָֽחְַקָה‎ be far! Job 22:18. Lamentations 1:21 ‏הֵבֵאתָ‎ bring thou, where structure of verse requires ref. to fut.; Lamentations 3:56 seq., where Lamentations 3:55 continues 54; Psalms 18:46. Isaiah 43:9 ‏נִקְבְּצוּ‎ may be form of imper., and Psalms 7:6 ‏צִוִּיתָ‎ a circumst. clause. It would be strange if Heb. altogether wanted this usage, which is common to all the Shem. languages in some shape. Wright, ii. 3, Dillm. p. 406 foot, Noeldeke, p. 181, Del. Assyr. Gr. § 93. The position of the verb is freer in Heb., as is usual in comparison of Ar. The usage may be allied to perf. of confidence (Psalms 10:16; Psalms 22:22; Psalms 31:6; Psalms 57:7; Psalms 116:16), the strong wish causing the act to be conceived as accomplished.