Biblical Hebrew tenses differ from Modern Hebrew in important ways. While Modern Hebrew uses past, present, and future tenses similar to many other languages, Biblical Hebrew primarily focuses on aspect rather than strict tense. This means verbs in Biblical Hebrew express more about the nature of the action (whether it’s completed or ongoing) than when it happened.
Here’s how the key verb forms in Biblical Hebrew function:
1. Perfect (Past or Completed Action)
The Perfect form (sometimes called the Qatal form) generally expresses completed actions, which can be translated as past tense or even present perfect, depending on the context.
Example: כתבתי (katávti) — I have written / I wrote (completed action)
כתב (katáv) — He wrote / has written
However, it’s not always tied to the past. In certain contexts, the perfect can also describe future events that are certain or prophetic (often called the “prophetic perfect”).
2. Imperfect (Future or Incomplete Action)
The Imperfect form (sometimes called Yiqtol) expresses actions that are incomplete, ongoing, or habitual. This is often translated as future tense in Modern Hebrew but can also represent repeated actions in the past or even ongoing actions.
Example: אכתוב (echtóv) — I will write / I am writing (incomplete or ongoing)
יכתוב (yichtóv) — He will write
In prophetic or poetic texts, the imperfect can be used to describe past actions in a way that emphasizes their ongoing effect.
3. The Waw Consecutive (ו’ ההיפוך)
In Biblical Hebrew, a special form called the Waw Consecutive (וַיְהִי, for example) allows verbs to reverse their aspect/timing. A Waw (ו) added to an Imperfect verb can turn it into a past tense (narrative sequence), while a Waw added to a Perfect verb can express future or ongoing actions.
וַיִּכְתֹּב (vayyíktov) — and he wrote (even though the verb is in the imperfect, the waw consecutive makes it a past narrative)
וְכָתַב (vekatáv) — and he will write (the perfect becomes future)
4. Participles and Infinitives
Biblical Hebrew also uses participles and infinitive constructs to express ongoing or habitual actions.
כותב (kotév) — Writing / One who writes (used similarly to the present tense in Modern Hebrew, but can also describe ongoing or characteristic actions)
לכתוב (lichtóv) — To write
Summary of Differences:
Biblical Hebrew focuses on aspect, whether an action is completed (perfect) or ongoing/incomplete (imperfect), rather than fixed past/present/future tenses.
Modern Hebrew is more like many modern languages, with clear past, present, and future distinctions.
The Waw Consecutive is a unique feature in Biblical Hebrew that allows for the shifting of verb aspects in narrative, which doesn’t exist in Modern Hebrew.
