21st Century Bible Hebrew -- oblique modality

The third type of modality is called oblique. I’m not sure why it’s called that, but how it works in BH might be a clue.

Oblique modality requires a main and a subordinate clause.

The main clause says something generally or specifically known; its truth is always assumed.

The subordinate clause is supposed to be accepted on the strength of the truth of the main clause. It’s not a direct truth, it’s sort of off to one side.

The syntax is main clause plus vav plus a perfect aspect verb plus the subject.

Note that this is a change from the imperfect aspect base of other modality.

The subject may be the personal information encoded in the perfect aspect suffix, or may be named in the main clause or the rest of the context.

Oblique modality may encode the existence of a condition or a purpose, result, cause or effect.

One of the best and earliest examples is Genesis 2:24:

כד עַל־כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזָב־אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־אִמּ֑וֹ וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד:

Yaazov is the man setting his parents on one side; that is the situation in which the result will be his clinging to his wife (v’davaq). From that point on (v’hayu) they become one flesh. The subject of the oblique modality v’davaq is understood to be ish, “man”, because the verb is 3^rd masculine singular.

If you have been taught that the three verbs in this sentence are three independent actions, now you know differently. Men can’t properly cling to their wives unless they decide to keep their parents from interfering with the marriage.

The result and purpose uses are the most common for oblique modality. Genesis 33:13 has an effect modality:

יג וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֗יו אֲדֹנִ֤י יֹדֵ֨עַ֙ כִּֽי־הַיְלָדִ֣ים רַכִּ֔ים וְהַצֹּ֥אן וְהַבָּקָ֖ר עָל֣וֹת עָלָ֑י וּדְפָקוּם֙ י֣וֹם אֶחָ֔ד וָמֵ֖תוּ כָּל־הַצֹּֽאן:

He said to him [Esav], “My lord knows about the children being weak, and the depending on me of the sheep and cattle; if one pressures them one day, [then] all the herd will die.”

Notice that Yaaqov uses progressive aspect as a description of Esav, yodea, and says what it is that Esav knows. Then drawing on their shared past as shepherds, Yaaqov tells Esav the effect of pressuring the young of man and beast to move too fast.

Exodus 12:11-12 has a rare oblique of cause:

יא וְכָ֘כָה֘ תֹּֽאכְל֣וּ אֹתוֹ֒ מָתְנֵיכֶ֣ם חֲגֻרִ֔ים נַֽעֲלֵיכֶם֙ בְּרַגְלֵיכֶ֔ם וּמַקֶּלְכֶ֖ם בְּיֶדְכֶ֑ם וַֽאֲכַלְתֶּ֤ם אֹתוֹ֙ בְּחִפָּז֔וֹן פֶּ֥סַח ה֖וּא לַיהוָֹֽה:

יב וְעָֽבַרְתִּ֣י בְאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַ֘יִם֘ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַזֶּה֒ וְהִכֵּיתִ֤י כָל־בְּכוֹר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם מֵֽאָדָ֖ם וְעַד־בְּהֵמָ֑ה וּבְכָל־אֱלֹהֵ֥י מִצְרַ֛יִם אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה שְׁפָטִ֖ים אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֹֽה:

Thus you eat it, your clothes girded, shoes on your feet, staves in your hands; eat it in chipazon, it is Pesach to ****

I pass in the land of Egypt this nght, I strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt fro an to beast; against all the gods of Egypt I shall do judgment, I am ****

This seems backward to us, because how could observing the commandments of Passover in verse 11 be supporting evidence for something that will be happening at the same time? In fact in Egypt the Israelites had to be collected into houses with each other. Only then did Gd do His thing. Picking “cause” is a process of elimination, since we know that the observance by the humans does not have the purpose or result or effect of what Gd did; He was already going to do it.

With the initial vav, an oblique modality is easily mistaken for a commandment like v’akhaltem. A commandment will not be in 1st person, and it does not need a main clause of fact to support it; it can be the main clause. But the possibility of confusion is why Torah has to be read carefully, with attention to the grammar, not as one runs.