Verbal Hendiadys Revisited: Grammaticalization and Auxiliation in Biblical Hebrew Verbs

Verbal hendiadys is described in Biblical Hebrew textbooks and grammars as a verbal construction consisting of two verbs whereby one qualifies the other. Such constructions occur as a sequence of two finite verbs or in a construction in which a finite verb is complemented by an infinitive. It is usually assumed that the first verb expresses an adverbial idea whereas the second verb contributes a lexical meaning. A historical survey reveals that the rhetorical term hendiadys was used without restrictions for various, sometimes linguistically unrelated, categories. This dissertation argues that the traditional term hendiadys is inadequate for such verbal constructions and proposes to call them auxiliary verb constructions and the verbs that are assumed to express an adverbial idea as auxiliary verbs. It provides a linguistic framework of grammaticalization and auxiliation and offers a comprehensive analysis of Hebrew auxiliary verbs on the basis of this framework. Grammaticalization is explained as a complex diachronic change whereby a lexical item gradually becomes a grammatical marker. The analysis explains how the verb hālak ‘go’ became an auxiliary of gradual progression, the verb šāb ‘return’—an auxiliary of repetition, the verb yāsap¯/hôsîp¯ ‘add’—an auxiliary of addition and continuation, the verb qām ‘get up’—an auxiliary of ingressiveness, the verb mihar ‘hurry’—an auxiliary of speed and urgency.