H. J. Polotsky - The Coptic Conjugation System

COM M EN TA R11 PERIODICI PONT IFICII I N S T IT U T I BIBLICI

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INSTITUTUM BIBLICUM PIAZZA PILOTTA 35

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The Coptic Conjugation System H . J . P oi,otsky - Jerusalem

I.

Conjugation.

Conjugations.

Conjugation Pattems

1. F o r tlie purpose of tliis outline (*) C o n j u g a t i o n m eans th e various w ays in w hich a Coptic verb can en ter in to gram m atieal co n stru ctio n w itli acto r expressions in such a w ay as to function either as a mai.il sentence or as a d ep en d en t clause. A ny such construction is a c o n j u g a t i o n .

W e th u s h ave S e n t e n c e Conju­ g a t i o n s and C l a u s e C o n j u g a t i o n s .

T he form er comp rise seven. T e n s e s (properly so called) — th ree pairs of affirm ative a n d n egative form s a n d one lone negative form — an d th e I m p e r ­ a t i v e s (only th e C ausative Im p e ra tiv e is properly spealdng a conjugation). T he live Clause C onjugations cornprise 1° th ree subord in ate clause equivalents (two of th em com pounded w ith prepositions), w hich occur in Company w ith a Sentence C onjugation, an d 2° tw o " C onjunctives ” , w hich norm ally continue either a Sentence or a Clause C onjugation; an exception to th is rule is th e in d ep en d en t (probably elliptic) use of th e I s t sg. of th e C onjunctive a n d of th e ls tp l. of th e F u tu re C onjunctive, S tern §§ 446, 450. All Clause Conjugations a re form ally se t a p a r t from th e Sentence C onjugations b y a m ode of negation of th e ir own (§ 27).

2. Coptic has tw o d istin ct C o n j u g a t i o n P a t t e r n s , l ° T r i p a r t i t e an d 2° B i p a r t i t e . W ith in each p a tte rn th e function of g ram m atieal d istinctiveness is v ested in a different c o n stitu en t elem ent. (*) This paper was w ritten and tried out in dass while I was Visiting Professor of Egyptology at Brown University (Providence, Rliode Island) in 1959-60 (aotpia yQa/Äßarems iv etixcugCtf a%olrjq Sir. XXXViii.24).

I owe a special debt of gratitude to m y friend and academic host a t Brown, Professor R ichard A. Parker, for going over m y successive drafts a n d .saving m e from m any a loose S t a t e m e n t .

II.

The Tripartite Conjugation Pattem

3.

T he distinctive elem ent of a n y P a tte rn is th e c o n j u g a t i o n b a s e , P o s i t i o n in th e p a tte rn .

I t is followed b y (noun or pronom inal s u f f i x ) and (3) th e V e r b in Coptic is a w o r d w hich is capable in th e T rip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn : 1

conjugation of th e T rip a rtite w hich occupies th e first (2) th e actor expression verb in th e Infinitive. A of filling the la st position

2

3

npODAAG q

cu m *

N om inal an d suffixal acto r expressions differ in regard to th e ir ju n c tu re w ith th e verb: p articles requiring th e second place in th e senten.ce (v*.p , 2v.e , o v » , <Te , g to cu q ) come after th e nom inal actor, b u t after th e whole cornplex if th e second position is filled by a suffix.

4.

T he following are th e conjugations of th e T rip a rtite P a tte rn : A. S e n t e n c e C o n j u g a t i o n s Affirmative

Negative

a. Basic Tenses P erfect “ not yet ” A orist T h ird F u tu re

A.CJCODT A X ;

(i)

JnnqCCJUTJUt Iin Ä ’T‘qcaJ’l.äJ

« J Ä . q c a ) 'r ii

j m e q c u J T Ü i (ju .A ,q - )

GqectOTJUt (2)

fTffGqCCUTSI

b.

Im p erativ es

[S i m p l e

CCOTÜ

ju.npccu’TAj.J (V

Ca u s a t iv e

juÄ peqccuxju

jü n p T p e q c c o x ü

(x) The affirmative counterpart of jun.s.TqccU’r.u. m ay originally have been gÄ.qctU’TÄI, which in m ost dialects was levelled under ÄqccUTÜ • (2) In Bohairic this form is pointed either EqecaJTEju or e q e - .

The syllabication e/fe- is also well attested by early Sahidic MSS. (3) The Simple Im perative does not belong to any conjugation p a t­ tern, b u t it behaves sjartactically like th e conjugations of the T ripartite

B.

C i ,a u s e C o n j u g a t i o n s

C onjunctive F u tu re Conjunctive T em poral “ u n til ” Conditional

rrqccjü’TJu. TApeqcurrjut r t T e p e q c a j ’T i l

ujÄrfTqccJUTJÜi Eq^AftciOTJU

Obs. 1. In two of these conjugations, e-q-£-ca>TJÜt and e-q-<i)Ä.ITCCjutü , there is an additional morpheme between the suffix and the verl), I t has not beeil thought necessary to take these additional morpliem.es into account, because with nominal actor txj&rf precedes the latter, i. e. is treated as p a rt of the conjugation base: eptgA.1T npcuuE c iu tm .

As regards -g~, it disappears altogether with nominal actor (l) : Epe n p u m e CU)TM, superflcially eoinciding with the Circum stantial and the Second Present (cf. § 23, Obs. 4); since it is unlikely th a t so distinctive a morpheme should have beeil, really om itted, the analogy of tyAi? would seeni to encourage the belief th a t th e -e - likewise preceded the nominal actor, b u t coalesced w ith the final -e of E p e ; cf. (Sethe ap.) Gardiner J E A 16 (1930) 226. However, the epe itself presents an unsolved problem, cf. Gardiner J E A 32 (1946) 101.

A. further reason for disregarding the morpheme ujaw in setting up th e T ripartite P a tte rn is th e fact th a t it can be om itted before the negative T Ü (§ 27, Obs. 3).

Obs. 2. The e q - of eqectOTJU. coincides superflcially w ith the Circum stantial Present in Sahidic, Bohairic, Fayyum ic and Subakh— mimic, b u t in Aklimimic th e *.q - of &q&C(i)'T«.6 coincides superflcially w ith the Second Present; the e q - of EqtyAffCCJüTÜ coincides superflcially w ith th e Second Present in those dialects which distinguish the Second Present from th e C ircum stantial Present (§ 14).

III.

The Bipartite Conjugation Pattern

5.

T he B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn is represented by orilv one (basic) conjugation, th e so-called “ F irst P resen t I t has no conju g atio n base a t all. T he first position is filled by th e actor exP a tte rn in th e sense th a t it is not subject to the restrictions of the Bipartite Pattern. (§ 23). I t is here listed mainly in order to provide the necessary frame for th e N egative Causative Im perative. The bare Causative Infin­ itive is n o t a conjugation. (x) The only example kuown to nie of the e~ appearing before tlie Infinitive is Sir. xxviii.24 (I,agarde) epe ftETKUJ itccooT ü n x o e fc eei ETOOTq “ those who abandon the I,ord will fall into his hand ” , Por El Err()OT‘s üfininreiv see Crum Dict. 70 b. In Sir. xxxviii.14 the same idiom occurs in the same tense and the same construction without e- •

pression, eith er b y a noun or b y a special set of pronom inal p r e f o r m , a t i v e s (some of w hich, nam ely k-, q -, c-, resem ble — or, historically speaking, h av e come to resem ble — th e pronom inal suffixes). So far as th e B ip a rtite P a tte rn as such is concerned, th e second (predicate) position is by no nieans restricted to th e verb: it can be filled n o t only b y th e In fin itiv e as well as the Q ualitative (whose only fu n ctio n is to fill th e second position in th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn ), b u t also b y a n y adverbial expression, i.e . e ith er a real adverb like T& i “ here ” or Utju&.'v' “ th ere ” , or a prepositional phrase like nü»AHTff “ w ith y ou or gjt Tno2\tc “ in the city ” : 1

2 CÜ U TÜ

rrp u m e ÄHK TAI

6. The B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte r n is w h a t G ardiner (Eg. Gr. § 319) calls th e “ P seudo-verbal co n struction ” , i .e . a special v a rie ty of th e sentence w ith ad v erb ial p redicate, in w hich th e adverb shares its privilege of position w ith certain. verb-form s. H istorical g ram m ar is able to explain th e presence of th e In finitive in th is sen­ tence ty p e, an d to offer a so rt of excuse for th e presence of th e Q ual­ ita tiv e . F o r a synchronic description of Coptic, how ever, th is h isto r­ ical explanation. is irrelev an t. W ith in th e frameworlc of Coptic th ere is noth in g “ adverbial ” a b o u t th e predicative Infinitive an d th e Q u alitativ e (1). On th e o th er h a n d th is sentence ty p e can, of course, be spoken of as a " conjugation p a tte rn ” only if its second position is filled b y a verb-form .

T he distin ctiv e elem ent of th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn is th e verb-form .

IV.

Infinitive and Qualitative

7, T he only verb-form capable of filling th e th ird position of th e T rip a rtite C onjugation P a tte r n is th e Infinitive. Now th e Infin­ itiv e is n o t a ty p ically v erb al form . A lthough it often possesses m orphological features of its own, b y w hich it is set a p a rt from ordi(J) Vergote Chr. d'Eg. 31 (1956) 218; Polotsky OLZ 1957, 227.

n a ry nouns, especially its prenom inal an d presuffixal form s, it is ra th e r su b sta n tiv a l in c h aracter a n d th erefore shares several sy n ta c tic properties w ith th e noun su b stan tiv e. Cf. S tern §§ 451, 453, 467, 468, 473. I n C rum ’s Dictionary th ere is u n der p ractically every " vb ” a special e n try headed " im m ” , In its cap acity as " n n m ” an In finitive can even fill th e second position: of th e T rip a rtite C onjuga­ tio n P a tte rn , i. e-, it can fu n ctio n as th e acto r of an o th er Infinitive, e. g. Sir. x x ix .2 0 A ujnTiope t t a k e m hhuie EYCOYTuurt " guaranteeiug h as ruined m an y u p rig h t m en ” .

8. T he following p a rad o x should be noted: th e Infinitive, not a ty p ically v erb al form , is th e only verb-form allowed in th e ty pically v erb al T rip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn , whereas th e Q ualitative, a ty p ically verb al form , occurs only in th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a t­ tern , in w hich th e privilege of position belongs properly to th e adverb, 9. I n so fa r as th e In fin itiv e an d th e Q u alitativ e of th e sam e verb can b o th be used in th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn , th ey form a c o n tra st: th e In finitive expresses an action in progress, while th e Q u alitativ e expresses a state. Cf. A cts v. 12 iteYujcone “ th ey were hap p en in g (eylvero, fiebant) ” alongside of rteYujoorr “ th e y were (rfaav, erant) T he possibility of having th e sam e actor for th e In finitive as well as for th e Q u alitative is lim ited to in tran sitiv e verbs, b u t th e nu m b er of such verbs actually a d m ittin g b o th form s in th e B ip a rtite P a tte rn is none too great. E. g., th e Infinitive « o y " to die ” is used in th e B ip a rtite P a tte rn , w hen th e a c t of “ dying ” is spoken of in a general way, as in ICor. xv.31 “ I die (i~juqY) daily ICor. xv.2 2 “ ju s t as all m en die (rr&E v a p e to y ju lo y ) in A dam Ps. xlviii.10 “ if he sees th e wise men dying (eyjlioy) a n a c tu a l a n d p a rtic u la r occurrence öf " dying ” is expressed b y th e “ I^uture ” rtA-MOY “ going to die ” , while the Q u alitativ e jao o y t m eans “ being dead W ith m any in tran sitiv e verbs, like g,KO “ to h u n g e r " an d ei ß.e “ to be th irsty ” th e Infin itiv e is h a rd ly found in th e B ip a rtite P a tte rn (1). This is espe-

(J) Outside conjugation the contrast of Q ualitative vs. Infinitive does not exist. The state predicated by the Q ualitative is named by the Infinitive. Cf. Jo. xix.28 'foßG as against. Ps. lxviii.22 nA eiße ; Deut, xxviii.56 T E T ^H rt. . . e*TC£\E<T2\(JU(r " she who is soft and smooth as against neßrfort U riecc 2\ 0 (T2\e 6" " t h e softness of her smooth ness ” .

cially tru e of verbs of m otion.

As a general rule th e y require th e Q u alitative, w hile th e Infin itiv e is m ainly used in certain phraseological construction (Obs. 1).

On th e other hand, w ith tra n sitiv e verbs th e c o n trast of Infinitive vs. Q ualitative w ith in th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn is accompan ied b y a sh ift betw een acto r an d undergoer. T he su b ject of th e s ta te expressed. b y th e Q u alitativ e w ould be th e undergoer of th e action expressed b y th e In finitive in an y conjugation: th e actions A icoT nq " I chose him ” or ^fcujTrt juüuoq “ I choose him ” result in th e s ta te q ccrrn “ he is chosen ” , Cf. Zoega 308 (A fo p h t h .)

AffOK gtu -tKCjü 7xuM)rr n giRo2\ a to > t g t H k h gjfio2\ “ I too am exeom m unicäting you, an d you are ex co m m u n icated ” ; lS am . x x x .l, 3 A-TpoKgc. . . < vm egp<\J exno2\ic &tüü eicgHHTe cpoxg “ (the A m alekites) b u rn t it . . . (David, a n d his men) cam e up to th e city and behold, it was b u rn t D eut, v i . l l gerrtynet gtöhx: rt&i' exe jSnKÄoxov “ dug wells w hich you did n o t d i g ” ; Mt. xiii.44 oT&.go eq g n n n&i errr<\ OYpcujue ge epoq & qg o nq " a hidden treasure w hich a m an found an d hid In o th e r words, th e Q u alitativ e of tra n sitiv e verbs has th e m eaning of a s ta ta l passive (1).

Obs. 7. So far as th e Sahidic Bible is concerned, the constructions in question, all involving tlie Circum stantial of 6J “ to coine ” , are (1) eqei eqff*.- “ when he was about to . . . ” Mt. vi.5, Jo. xvi.21, Rom. x v .24, 2Cor. iii.16; note especially ape n ex p o c ei eqffHY ‘ when P. was about to come ” Acts v. 15; (2) Ä.qo'Y'U) EqeJ “ he has already conie ” Mt. xvii. 12; (3) ecei £xpe~ “ should it becotne necessary th a t . . . ” Mk. xiv.31.

V.

Basic Tenses and Satellites

10.

Dike o th e r sentence types, th e Basic Tenses, affirm ative as well as negative, can be preceded b y one — in certain cases (§ 17, cf. also § 11 Obs.) b y tw o — of th ree S e n t e n c e C o n v e r t e r s : (1) fte converts th e tense in to th e corresponding p rete rit; it does n o t affect its sta tu s as a m ain sentence, b u t produces a “ relative ten se ” in th e sense in which, c. g., th e D atin Im perfect an d P luperfect are “ relative tenses ” (“ N eben tem p o ra ” of th e P resen t an d th e P erfect respectively) (2). T he o th er tw o convert th e tense from a (-1) Tlie terni “ sta ta l passive ” is borrowed from Currne Grcmmar of the German Language (1922) § 194.4.

(3) Cf. W. Gardner H aie The cum.—Constructions (1887) 18-20, 21 n. 1.

rnain sentence in to a su b o rd in ate c la u s e : (2) - C ircum stantial (3) R elative e x -, e t e , e -, e h t - (cf. § 18).

e-,

Obs. 7. The Tliird F uture does not take m-:, and it is only a m atter of inference th a t its affirmative form can take the Circumstantial e (coalesciug w ith th e initial e-).

Obs. 2. The P reterit Converter rfe is often, apparently optionally, followed by n e .

11. “ S e c o n d T e n s e s ” are form ed by m orphem es which ofler a certain resem blance to th e Sentence C onverters, especiallv to th e R elative. Ä lthough th is resem blance, so far as it goes, is probably n o t accidental (cf. § 31), th e Second Tenses are on sy n tactic grounds (§§ 21, 28 Obs.) b e tte r k e p t a p a rt from th e converted. tenses.

H ow ever, th e Second Tenses a n d th e converted tenses can be grouped to g eth er as S a t e 11 i t, e s of th e basic tenses.

The sy n ta c tic fu n ctio n of th e Second Tenses is, as a rule, to tu rn th e tense in to a noun-equivalent, capable of filling th e first (actor) position of th e B ip a rtite P a tte rn , an d th ere b y to th ro w em phasis on th e ad verbial p red icate (§ 30). E nglish achieves th e sam e effect in a sim ilar w ay b y th e use of th e Cleft Sentence (“ it was . . . th a t . . . ” ).

Obs. The Second Perfect which, in Sahidic a t least, is the only Second Tense th e characteristic morpheme of which is other th au e-, is capable of being preceded by th e Circum stantial Converter e - . The resulting form eflTÄ qccuTÜ coincides superflcially with the Relative Perfect, b u t differs from it syntactically: (1) it can be used as “ virtual re la tiv e ” after an indefinite noun, e. g. Mt. xix.12 ovft gerrctovp v & p e rtT ^ T x n o o v eüo2\ g j t g,HTC rrrEYAAÄ.a.Y rrre i'& e " there are eunuchs who were born like th a t from the womb of tlieir m other (2) it is negatived by (H -)........Aff (§§ 28, 30, 31), e. g. Mt. xx,28 it-e-e ü n ty n p e ünpcojme errr<s.qe; Äff expeYXjAKorfei rtAq ä'A2sä e X ia KOltei “ ju st as th e Son of Man came not in order to be served b u t to serve . . . ” (for th e construction it-&e ff- definite noun plus Circumstantia l cf., e. g., ICor. xi.12); Sir. xix.15 oYff ne«)Ä.qc?\&ÄTe eftT Äff g ,ü neqgH T " there is he who stum bles (cf. § 33) w ithout having done so in his h eart ” , O ther examples in OLZ 1957, 232.

12. W hen th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn is preceded by th e Sentence C onverters, th e pronom inal preform atives are replaced b y th e pronom inal suffixes. W ith th e R elative, however, this is tru e only w hen th e pronom inal acto r of th e relative clause is distin c t from th e an teced en t; w hen th e an tecedent is th e actor of

th e relativ e clause, tlie g atio n P a tte rn .

e t

--

steps in to th e first position of th e Conju-

Obs. T he correetness of analysing, e. g., th e rela tiv e I s t pl. ETftin to ET™ plus suffix - j t , ra th e r th a n in to e t - plus p refo rm ativ e 'i rr— (I,. 33g. nty tw.n) is b orne o u t by tlie 3rd pl. form b t o t - (co n trast .1,. Eg. nty st); cf. D em otic nty iw.n, nty iw.w.

13. Before nom inal su b ject th e »Sentence C onverters assum e the leugthened form s fiEpe (Im perfect, § 16) epe, GTEpe. This lengthening does not, liowever, ta k e place in all dialects to th e sam e extent.

Cf. §§ 52-55.

14. epE (prenom inal), e q - are also th e form s of th e S e c o n d P r e s e n t in Sahidic an d Subakhm im ic; in th e o ther dialects the form s are ^ p e (Akhm im ic also a ), &q~.

15. In. these dialects th e form s of th e Im perfect are sim ilarly itApG, f i ^ q - . S yntactically, how ever, th e Im p erfect goes w ith tlie C ircu m stan tial an d th e R elative, th is entire group being in certain respects tre a te d differently from th e Second P resent. Cf. § 21.

16. T he converted form s of th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn th u s resem ble superficially th e basic form s of th e T rip a rtite P a tte rn .

S tru c tu ra lly an d fuiictionally th e th ree m orphem es of / l ffE Aqcu)TjS, ffE jS n q I _ _

ffEqciDTJÜt I 3, ^ _ f correspond to E q C U rT A .

ET q C C JÜ T JU |

th e

fo u J

m o rp h e m e s

o{

e * q C U > T « ,6 « n q - _

I

E n T A qC C JU X JW , E T E j u n q - , e t c .

rre q c a jT li is th e P re te rit P resen t (" praesens in p rae te rito ” ) = Im perfect, ju s t as rre AqcouTÜ is th e P re te rit P erfect (“ p erfectum in p raeterito ” ) = P luperfect, etc. However, rreqccuTÜt som etim es seems to exhibit. certain properties of a basic, ra th e r th a n of a converted, tense, cf. § 28; its p rim itiv e converted ch aracter is ev id en t in ite(o)Yft § 35.

17. The Im p erfect cau be fu rth e r preceded by th e R elative Con­ v erters e - an d ( n ) e T e . I t is noteworthy th at Thompson’s Subakhmimic St. J o h n uses ite te fteqo n&2\2\E “ he who was form erly .(non-sim ultaneously) b l i n d ” ix. 13, b u t co nsistently avoids th e form s

w ith e -, replacing th e m m ostly b y th e R elative P resent, cf. ii.22, 23, vi.62, vii.42, x.40, xi.6, 32 x ii.l, xvii.5, x v iii.l.

T he ab ility to be fu rth e r preceded by th e R elativ e C onverter e- belongs to th e P re te rit C onverter rte as such, n o t to th e P re te rit P resen t (Im perfect) specifically, cf. ertE Y rtx ^ § 33. I t provides therefore no arg u m en t for regarding th e Im perfect as a Basic tense.

The Im p erfect can also be fu rth e r preceded by th e C ircum stantial C onverter e - to express th e protasis of an unfulfilled condition (“ supposition c o n tra ry to fact ") (1).

18.

The following ta b le shows th e Basic Tenses w ith th eir Satel-

lites: Basic

P re te rit

C ircum stantial

q - (ce-) A qünqlin A X q -

rreq (rtev-) rte a^qrre ü n q rre n n ^ x q -

e q - (er-) exqeiu n q - (2) E jun-vrq-

<ÖÄq-

rte u)Ä.q-

eyj^q-

jueqeqerrrreq-

rre jmeq-

ejmeq(eqe-) b) errrreq- d)

. ------

-

R elative

EXq- ICTOY-) EltT&qexe ü n q cxe ü n ^ x q - a) e u j^ q | exe u js.q exe jmeqc) exe (rt)neq- e)

" Second e q - (ev-) rtx& qexe « n q

e<x)Ä.q-

----------■------

S atellites in th e second degree: ÄTAq-

-------

EnT&q-

rtE q -

---------

eneq-

— i eff6Cf~ E T e rteq-

)

---/ V| .n ( e r r e q - r)

a) Crum Papyruscodex 18, 17; Shenoute (?) ap. Brit. M us. Cal. No. 212 (p. 93 b 3). b) In ferred 011 th e analogy of e r t r r e q - as used a fter x e k a a c (1O LZ 1957, 233). c) P ro b ab ly non-ex isten t in Sahidic. F o r Bohairic see .Stern § 419, M allon § 382. (x) Stern § 630. However, eombinations of Basic Tenses witli erte will 110t be listed as “ Satellites in the second degree (2) e j u n q - w i t h o u t (a s t r o k e

o v e r x s .: i n t h e s u p e r l i n e a t i o n

sy ste n i

li e r e a c c e p t e d

a s S t a n d a r d , w o r d - i n i t i a l s y l l a b i c s o n o r a n t s b e c o m e 110 11-

s y lla b ic

p reced ed

w lie n

by

o n e -v o w e l m o rp h em es.

d) R eferences in OLZ 1957, 232; add Mk. ix.3 (H orner’s 73). e) Rom. xi.33. F o r Bohairic cf. Ps. x x .1 2 an d references in A ndersson Ausgewählte Bemerkungen 62. f) A likely instance is A cts xxii.24.

VI.

Syntactic Peculiarities of the Bipartite Conjugation Pattem

19. T he con stru ctio n of th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn is p rofoundly altered by th e indefiniteness of th e acto r expression. An indefinite acto r expression m u st in all dialects be preceded by ovrt “ th e re is ” , th e n egation being effected b y juit “ th ere is n o t ” , Especially th e negation differs entirely from th e ch aracteristic negation of th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn (§ 28). The B ip artite C onjuga­ tio n P a tte r n w ith indefinite acto r expression m u st therefore be tre a te d u n d er th e B x isten tial S entence (§ 33).

20. A fter th e Sentence C onverters th e special sta tu s of th e indef­ inite acto r expression is rnaintained b y different dialects w ith different degrees of strictness, A khm im ic (w ith B ohairic as a, close second) being th e s tric te st an d Sahidic th e laxest. F o r details see § 35.

21. N eith er in A khm im ic nor in Sahidic does th e rule apply to th e Second P resen t; cf., for b o th dialects, Prov. x.i,17, xii.2, x iii.l, xviii.19. This is one of th e reasons for suspecting th a t th e association of th e Second P resen t w ith th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn is secondary (§ 52 Obs.).

N o B ohairic exatnple of * &pe o r - (g*.rf-) is know n to m.e; th e usual constru ctio n is o v - . . . & q-.

22. N either in Bohairic nor in Sahidic does th e rule ap p ly to th e T hird F u tu re : b o th dialects use in v ariab ly epe before an indefinite a c to r expression. Cf. for Bohairic, Ps. cxxvii.2, Prov. iii.8, 22a, Mt. x.21, x x iv .5 , 7, 10, 21, Mk xiii.12, L k. i.14, ii.35, xiv.10; for Sahidic, I,ev. x x v .5 , D eut. x x ix . 19(18), Jdg. ix .20, Prov. xxi.i.19, J o b v. 15, 16, x v iii.ll, 14, 19, xx.1 5 , 16, 24, 26, Jo . xi.50, 2Cor. viii.13, 14.

2 3 . A severe restrictio n is im posed upoti th e direct com plem ent expressions b y w hich th e Infin itiv e can be followed im m ediately in th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn . O nly bare nouns, i. e. nouns w itli zero article (Stern § 332 sub fin.), num erals, and indefinite expres­

sions like 2\<\ay “ som ething ” , gAg, “ m any ” , oy “ w hat? ” are allowed in th is position. O bject suffixes, being by n atu re definite, are excluded. N ouns w ith an article, even th e indefinite article, as well as personal pronouns (suffixes) m u st be connected b y th e preposition H -, äjüuo« (Stern § 494). The rule and th e exceptions therefrom (especially oY ety-, oy&u}« “ to wish, love ” ) have been w orked o u t b y J e rn s te d t Doklady Akadem ii Na.uk S S S R 1927, 69-74.

Obs. 1. Verbs coinpounded w ith nouns denoting parts of the body and taking possessive suffixes are niostly subjeet to the rule, cf. x i-g p & s : XI ftgpÄ.« “ be occupied ” Ps. cxviii.23; KA.-gTH®: koo Hg TH« “ tru st ” Ps. ii. 12, Prov. xxi.22, Sir. xxxvi.ii.40; KA.-pU)*: KO) rfpo)=* " be s ile n t” Sir. x x x v .8, Mt. xxvi.63, IYk. i.20; k a - t o o t « e ü o ? \: kuj rrrocrr® eiio?\ “ despair ” I<k. xxi.,26. Exceptions: p-gTH* “ repent ” Prov. x iii.12; Jöfi'gTH « “ conimiserate ” Prov. xxi.26; b u t "f- itgTH* “ pay a tte n tio n ” Prov. xii. 13.

Obs. 2. “ to please ” is used in all conjugations: First Pres ent, Acts xii.3, Rom. xiv.18; Im perfect, Ps. xxxiv.14; Circum stantial, 2 Cor. v .9, Heb. x ii.28; Relative Present, Deut. vi. 18, Heb. xiii. 16, and often.

Obs. 3. On the other hand pgrtÄ» (with reflexive suffix) “ t<j be willing, consent ” is only used in the conjugations of the T ripartite P a t­ te rn and in tlie Im perative (Ps. xxxiv.14 ApigftÄK) Obs. 4. As Je rn ste d t p. 72 has pointed out, this rule often allows to distinguish th e prenom inal base and the 2nd fern. sg. (Jernstedt Dok­ lady 1925, 25-6) of th e Third F utu re from those of the Circumstantial and the Second Present. A dditional criteria are provided by the rule concerning verbs of m otion (§ 9); for Bohairic, by the use of ip t (as against 60Y0It) before indefinite noun (§ 22); and by the fact th a t the Conjunctive continues neither the C ircum stantial Present nor the (Second Present. E. g., Ps. xxxvi.15 epe TeYCHqe ß.a)K egOYit eneYgHT äyüo ffT6 W6YCOT6 OYtJOtyq “ m ay their sword enter their heart and tlieir arrows b r e a k ” can be identified as T hird Future (1) by the Infinitive äcjuk and (2) by the u»se of th e Conjunctive.

24. The term s “ dauerzeiten ” and “ ereigniszeiten ” (Stern) are, on th e sem antic level, coextensive w ith " B ip artite ” and " T rip ar­ tite C onjugation P a tte rn ” respectivety. The term “ dauerzeiten ” (" d u rativ e tenses ” ) is adequate, b u t “ ereigniszeiten ” (“ point tenses ” , “ lim itativ e tenses ” , “ n o n -durative tenses ” ) has th e d isad v an tag e of including th e Clause Conjugations, w hich are not " tenses ” a t all.

25. In a survey of th e Coptic conjugation system th e " F u tu res ” w ith im - require no sep arate m ention, since thej? are m erely expansions of th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn . The fact th a t rf&- can only

be followed b y an In finitive, n o t b y a Q u alitative, a n d th a t such an Infin itiv e can be freely followed b y nouns an d suffixes denoting th e undergoer of th e actio n c o n stitu tes no violation of th e S tern -Je rn ste d t rule an d does not ju stify th e conclusion th a t th e " F u tu re s ” w ith ft<v- are n o t d u rativ e tenses (1). I n ch aracteristic c o n trast w ith th e post-suffixal ad d itio n al m orphem es in e q - e - c o r r ü and eq-ujA ftc a r r l l (§ 4 Obs. 1) th e rtÄ- belongs to th e second p a rt of th e B i­ p a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn . The g ram m atically operative elernent of th e predicate, th e one to w hich th e rules concerning th e d u rativ e tenses apply, is th e auxiliary, n o t th e “ m ain verb T he d u rativ e ch aracter of th e “ fu tu re ” au x iliary im - is borne o u t b y th e fac t th a t as soon as a " F u tu re ” is form ed from a conjugation of th e T rip a rtite P a tte rn , rt&~ is replaced b y its n o n -d u rativ e (Infinitive) a lte rn a n t iioy (Bohai­ ric m m ) Cf. exam ples w here Bohairic rtoYi e~ corresponds to Sahidic rt&- (Bk- x x i.7 &pe<üAff ff<\i itoyi eujcuni: epe tt&i imujoune " w hen these things are a b o u t to h ap p en ” ), or Sahidic rtoY e- cor­ responds to Bohairic rf&~ (Acts xx v iii.1 0 rtTeprmoY gkco e&o5N: oYog eY im errrerr efto2\ jÜjuiä.y " w hen we were a b o u t to tak e off ” ), or Sahidic ffOT e™ an d it*.- occur alongside of one an o th er (Bev. x.9 e're'TftujÄ.ftrrov eiiojK egoYrt e - . . . h e T e T im i- rreTftoYoi’ egOYit e'rjvlxa äv sicrnoQeih^ade ... fj TtgocmoQsvo/isvcov vju&v).

T he tru e n a tu re of th e relatio n sh ip betw een ff*.- and rtoY e- was first recognized b y J e rn s te d t Doklady Akademii N a u k S S S R 1927, 35; iyoy e- occurs n o t only w ith ep<x)Aft and rtTepe, b u t also w ith HnA.Te (Mk. xiii.7, Jo . vii.8) an d w ith gU riTpe (Ez. iii.27), and outside th e Bible w ith th e affirm ative P erfect (Crum Dict. 219 a-b).

Obs. 1. The fact th a t the only function of itoy 6- is th a t of a " F u tu re ” auxiliary w ith non-durative conjugations, while (ta is also a full verb “ to go ” (cf. OLZ 1959, 458), raises grave doubts as to whether ffOY is really an old Infinitive form; it m ay very well be a late back-form ation from h a - .

Obs. 2. There is no satisfactory explanation for the absence of the expected preposition e- after ftA .-; cf., however, Spiegelberg Rec. tr. 14 (1893) 39-40.

V II.

Negations

T he various groups of conjugations are correlated to specific m odes of negation. (x) I m ust fornially re tra c t tlie statem ent contained in the last sen­ tence of OLZ 1959, 458 n. 3.

26. The basic tenses of th e T rip a rtite Pattern, have ready-m ade n egative c o u n te rp a rts w ith b u ilt-in negative elem ents, § 4.

27. The Clause C onjugations are negatived b y th e m orphem e « (Bohairic an d F ay y u m ic ujTejut); outside conjugation th e func­ tio n of t m is to n egative th e Infinitive. I t is placed after th e p ro ­ nom inal suffix: t

C onjunctive üqT Ü cooT Ü .

F u tu re C onjunctive: only one exam ple (in in d ependent use, § 1) is on record (IYefort Le M useon 60, 1947, 12) Mk. xii. 14 TÄ.prt't' seit T A p f m ü r t “ shall we give or shall we n o t give? ” (x) T em poral HTepEqTjüctoTÄl (Mk. ii.4, I,k. ii.45, Acts xvii.6, xxi.14). “ u n til ” ujÄ.ffTC|TjütcouTü (Num. xxi.35, Josh. viii.22, B ohai­ ric Gen. x ii.49).

C onditional GqujÄ.nTÜccjü’TSI (Sir. xxvii.3, Mt. xviii.16).

W ith nom inal actor, so far as th e evidence goes, t ü is norm ally placed after th e conjugation base: C onjunctive Ht e t ju nptojue codtm . E x ceptionally t ü is found a fte r th e nom inal acto r before th e In finitive: Prov. ii.5 — iii.6.

F u tu re C onjunctive: no exam ple.

T em poral rtTepeTH n p u m e ccjutää (Crum Papyruscodex 30, 7). “ u n til ” : no Sahidic exam ple is know n to me; a Bohairic exam ple is quoted b y S tern § 449: cyA Teurreju nrt& cu>2tn nä>HTq. C onditional e p ^ Ä f r r ll n p u m e ccjutäI (2 Thess. ii.3).

Obs. The of th e Conditional can be om itted before t ü . In Bohairic. and Fayyum ic this omission is the rule. In Sahidic eqtö& ftTÜ CCJUTÜ and eqTÜCCJOTÜ, epuj& ltTÜ and epeTJUt n p u m e c w t Äx are equally common.

28. T he B ip a rtite P a tte rn containing a and. all “ Second Tenses ” are n egatived by As regards th e converted form s of th e is a ch aracteristic difference betw een th e R elativ e on th e one h and, and th e P re te rit

definite acto r expression (rt—) . . . äit, cf. §§ 31-32, B ip a rtite P a tte rn , there C ircum stantial and the on th e other (§ 16).

(x) This exceptional case runs counter to the old rule, still fully valid in Coptic, th a t in com binations of th e verb “ to give ” w ith a sdm.f (Iry.f sdm -peqccoTÄi) it is only th e forrner which can be negatived.

The Coptic Conjugation System

405

In th e ty p e of Sahidic here described (1) i t is ra th e r uncom m on for C ircum stantial an d R elative constructions of th e B ip a rtite P a t­ te rn to be negatived, w hich can be done b y a h alone. The norm al m ethod, w hich is th e rule in o th er sentence-types, is th e conversion of n egative constructions in to C ircum stantial an d R elative eonstructions, e. g.

T rip a rtite P a tte rn

N om inal Sentence

Basic A qcuoxII ü n q c c u T ji nouq ne ü n c u q Aff ne Circumst. e A q c to x Ii ejm nqctoxju encoq ne ejunioq Aff ne R elative ertXAqccuxIjt exe H nqccüxiÄ exe n to q ne 6Te Im to q Aff ne a n d correspondingly in th e B ip a rtite P a tte rn Basic

Circumst

(3rd pl.) ceccoxju npojjLie c o i x ü

r r c e c c o x ju A r t

e rc c o x H

e rtc e c a jx ü a h (rarely evccjuxll Alt) ejutnpcmxe ccjutü Aff

epe npoujue ccoxH Relative

e x o y c c ü x luL * eTCOUTM

exepe n p u m e c c o x li *

jü n p u m e c c u x ü a i t

6T6 rtcectJuxSS Art * exe ftceccoxü Art (rarely exccoxüi Alt) (*) exe jünpajjue c c o x li Aff * (rarely exepe npuojtxe ccoxjS Aft *) (J)

The constructions marked. b y * require, as a rule, a resum ptive pronoun (x) But not, e. g., in Slienoute.

(2) In Akhmimic th e construction exccuxjwe erf is the norm, e. g.

Prov. ix .13, x.12, xi.29, xv.22, xviii.9, xix.23(20), xxiv.22. The Sahidic in all these plac.es has exe itqctüXJu A rt.

P) In Rom. ii.29 n&'i exepe n eqxA eio «joort &.it eüo2\ git Spcojue • a ?\2\a eßo'A g i x ü nrtOYxe “ wliose lionour is not from men, b u t from God ” it would be tem pting to see a Relative Second Present; in Prov. xxvii.19 rree exepe ffgo eilte Alt eitevepHY " even as the faces do not resemble cacli o th e r ” tliis would seem less likely, tliougli not impossible.

Orientalia ... 27

B u t w ith th e P re te rite ne we have neYCouTÜ (ne) rtepe n p u m e c ü j t ü (ne)

nevccuTÄI &n (ne) rtepe n p u m e cu> tju Art (ne)

T he co n stru ctio n ne H n p u r n e . . . &n, w hich we m ight expect on th e analogy of th e o th e r C onverters an d w hich actu ally occurs in D em otic (Spiegelberg Dem. Gr. § 175 under 11), is preserved in th e protasis of an unfulhlled. condition: Jo . xviii.30, wliere th e tru e reading (already quoted, p resu m ab ly from W oide’s A ppendix (*■), by S tern p. 413) is erre IIn<3U p neeooY am " if this one were n o t doing evil (et fitj rjv ovtoq xaxdv jzoiwv) ”.

Obs. The C ircum stantial Converter <••:-• preced.es the negative f t - , enqccoTÜ &rt, but th e negative ft- (prevocalically often rtit-) precedes th e morpheme e~ of th e Second Present and the Second Aorist: (tt)fteqcco-rH &ff , (ftJrtety&qcauTÜ &it («■ g-, Isa. xxviii.27; I^efort Peres apost. 35, 9).

29.

(Jsing th e negations as principle of classification, we o b tain th e following schem atic rep resen tatio n of th e conjugations: Basic Tenses

“ Second Tenses ”

N egatived b y

(rt~). . . Art eq -

q-

A ffirm ative & q-

N egative H nq«.n& 'f'q« .e q ftneq-

u)& qeqe-

rfTA.qe ty ^ q -......-

Im peratives ----jm&peq-

ju n p junp^rpeqClause C onjugations N egatived b y t ü

Ä q - , T « 3c p e q - , r r r e p e q - , « } . S . m r q - , e q u j A t f .

(x) W oide’s te x t is confirmed by the Chester B eatty Ms. A (coll.

Thompson), Delaporte (whose V — H o m er’s 20), Morgan IV (kindly collated b y Mr A. P. Shore). The Chester B eatty Ms. B omits the jm-, and H orner’s 14 (coll. Shore) does th e same and spells rtne instead of efte, b u t neither has ju n e .

VIII.

The Syntactic Status of the

“

Second Tenses ”

30.

T he identical tre a tn ie n t, in respect of negation, of th e B ipar­ tite C onjugation P a tte rn an d th e “ Second Tenses ” arises from, th e stru c tu re of sentences containing a “ Second Tense such a sentence is a tru e sentence w ith adverb ial p redicate, in w hich th e “ Second.

Tense ” fills th e first position (§ 5). S tru ctu rally , therefore, such a sentence is n o t a “ con ju g atio n p a tte m ” a t all (§ 6 end).

The Second P resen t need h av e no verb a t all, i. e. th e Second Tense m orphem e plus th e acto r expression is b y itself sufficient to füll th e first position; if it has a verb (Infinitive or Q ualitative), th e la tte r is included in th e first position. All o th er Second Tenses m u st necessarily be followed b y an In finitive w ith in th e first position. Cf. 2

1 (a) Second P resen t

eq

H jw.&.v

(b) Second P erfect

itTA Tge

JUJUÄ.Y

(c) Second P resen t

epe T nH ’TH juincortg

gÄ-THK

(d) Second F u tu re

ei'ff&p nn<\cx<*-

g&TH K

as against (e) Second P resen t

l

epe rreppcoov o rtppo

2 eß.o2\ gixooT

(f) do. (negatived)

itei'xi eoov Art

eßu02\ giTff p(juxte

(g) Second P erfect (h) Second A orist

Ht a . nTH pq ujcune

eüo?\ giTOOTq

euja.pe gerne &.2fe gcuTn

eÄ02\ gJTOOTOY

(a) Ps. lxvii.28 “ ibi est (b) Ps. x x x v .1 3 “ ibi ceciderunt ” ; (c) Ps. x x x v .1 0 " ap u d te est fons v i t a e ” ; (d) Mt. xx v i.1 8 “ a p u d te faciam P asch a (e) P ro v . viii.15 " p er me reg n an t re g e s” ; (f) Jo. v.41 " non ab hom ine accipio gloriam (g) Jo . i.3 ' ‘ per ipsuni om nia fa c ta s u n t ” ; (h) Prov. xv.28 " p e r ipsas reconciliantur inim ici 31.

T he function of (H-) . . . &rr is to negate th e nexus betw een su b ject an d non-verbal predicate. W ith " Second Tenses ” , accordingly, it negates th e nexus betw een th e n o u n-equivalent “ Second Tense ” an d th e adv erb ial p redicate, n o t th e “ Second Tense ” itself: “ it is n o t . . . th a t . . . ” . If th e " Second Tense ” itself, n o t its nexus w ith

th e a d v e rb ia l p re d ic a te , is to be n e g a te d (“ it is . . . t h a t , . . n o t . . . ” ), th is is d o n e b y c o n v e rtin g th e n e g a tiv e B asic T en se in to th e R e la tiv e (§ 28), th e R e la tiv e C o n v e rter fu n c tio n in g as “ S eco n d T en se ” m o rp h em e; cf. Etudes de synlaxe cofite 88-9.

Obs. I t should be noted th a t in Sahidic the position of Aff cloes n o t indicate th e predicate. I t does so often, b u t far from regularly, in Bohairic, e. g., Mt. x.34, I,k. iv.4, Jo. v.34.

32.

(H-) . . . Aft is o fte n u sed to

n e g a tiv e

a

n o n -v e rb a l p a r t

of th e se n te n c e h a v in g p re d ic a tiv e force, esp ecially all k in d s of a d v e r­ bia l a d ju n c ts ,

This co n stru ctio n is likewise used w ith “ Second T e n s e s ” , if th e y follow, in stead of preceding, th e adverbial predicate. I n this case &rt follows th e p red icate (con trast § 31 Obs.), while th e “ Second Tense ” is affirm ative. Cf. D eut. ix .6, IJc. x ii .15, quoted. Etudes 39; D eut, vii.7 o r x o t i xe G TeTnouj Art eaaate nA pA rtgE ^ftoc t h p o y ffTA IT2C06JC OYEU) THOYTft Ä.YO) ACJCETTT THOYTfT . . . A2\2\A . . . " i t w as n o t b ec au se y o u are m o re n u m e ro u s th a n all n a tio n s t h a t th e D ord p re fe rre d y o u a n d chose y o u . . . b u t . . .

Le M useon 42

(1929) 222 eäo2\ v& p Aff x e cpgoY o rt(fi T u n e ü n ty e o c e u ju m e E qg 00Y, w ell tr a n s la te d b y I^efort (p. 250) " ce n ’e st p as, en effet, p a rc e q u e c e n t e s t p lu s g ra n d , q u e c in q u a n te [leg. so ix a n te ] n e v a u t r i e n ” ; S h e n o u te ed. C h a ssin a t 38, 35 epujAft T Ä A tyop a u j k a k eü o 2 \ Aft (th e a ll- im p o r ta n t Aff (:l) is m issing in Iv eip o ld t’s t e x t I I I 7 9 ,4 ) . . . Epe rm o Y i T p p e a fra id

“ i t is n o t if th e fo x b a rk s . . . t h a t th e lio n is

Obs. T h at the basic and essential function of tlie " Second Tenses ’’ is to nominalize Basic Tenses and to render them capable of becoming subjects of adverbial predicates, could. be inferred from the negatiou (ft-) . .. Aff alone, even if it were not amply dem onstrated by actual Coptic usage. A t th e same tim e it is tru e th a t “ there are m any exaniples in which I I Tenses are used, where no Adverbial extension is present ’' (Plumley Introd. Coptic Gr. p. 81). Such “ exceptions ” , which are relatively not at all numerous, can be brought under a lim ited num ber of heads and understood as extensions of the basic function; ci.Etudes 51-3.

Inasm uch as such uses deviate from the structure of the “ Second Tenses ” they are secondary (" emplois abusifs ” ), b u t it is not in the least suggested th a t they should " be dismissed as im proper uses ” , They can be " dismissed ” only in the sense th a t they do not invalidate the defmition of the basic function. (x) Foxes flee before lions: Shenoute ed. I^eipoldt H I 87, 23.

I t is notew orthy th a t “ exceptions ” are especially uncomnion with the negation, and it may be mentioned, for th e record, th a t the specific meaning of th e negatived Second Perfect was correctly defined before this definition was found to be valid for the “ Second Tenses ’’ in general (GGA 1934, 60).

I t is furtlier notew orthy th a t not all " emplois abusifs ” occur in all dialects. Sahidic, e. g., uses the “ Second Tenses ” not only " properly ” w ith interrogative adverbs (including prepositions w ith interro­ gative pronouns) b u t also w ith interrogative pronouns as direct complem ents (following the prenom inal Infinitive) and as actors (following the conjugation base). In Bohairic, as was first pointed out by Cliaine Elements § 802, this “ im proper ” extension is unknown (with the exception of the idiom ApeTenep o t " how are you? ” Gen. xliii.27, cf.

Ann. Serv. 40, 245).

IX .

E x is te n tia l S en te n c e

33.

K xistence an d non-existence are p redicated b y ovrt (*) " th ere is ” and (H)jtAff “ th e re is n o t ” respectively, followed b y th e subject. The su b ject is n ever a personal pronoun. As a rule it is one of th e following: nouns w ith indefinite or zero article; o y ä , o y o h , goeine ; nm nerals; q a q “ m an y ” , “ anybody, anyth in g ” , 6e " an o th er ” , o v u p " how m uch? ” T he definite article is ad m itte d in tw o cases: (1) in su b stan tiv ized relative expressions (Spiegelberg Dem. Gr. § 441 Anm .), an d (2) in th e phrases oYft rt(Sir. xxvii.21), « i t -ee H- (ISam . xxv.17, Isa. i.6, xl.28, W isd. v. 10) “ th e re is a w ay ” , “ th e re is no w ay ” (of doirig) (2).

The com bination w ith th e p reposition H te - , Ht a = “ w ith yields tlie expressions o v rtT e- , o rrtT Ä * ; juiitTE- , “ have ” , see Till Kopt. Gr, §§ 289-94.

The predicates of existence and non-existence have all th e Satellites: Basic

P re te rit

C ircu m stan tial

R elative

" Second ”

ovn

iT£(o)Yir

e(o)vft

GTe(o)Yrt

e(o)rnTA& a)

JU.fl

fteiAft

exirt

ETE JULST

ET6 JUft

b)

S atellite in th e second degree: ffe(o)Tft

..... — c)

efte(o)Yrf d.)

(’) The best MSS. are inconsistent as regards the superlineation of the rt in o v i t ; the earlier MSS. ten d to om it th e stroke.

(2) In Ps. lx x i.1 2 jurt n e ß iim g te juitT q Ä oiieoc (Till Kopt.

Gr. § 480) jutrr means " and

a) Etudes 50. A dd Shenoute ed. E eipoldt I I I 85, 14 etyxe OYffxq ortfox*. v a p oft ‘ eoYrfT&.qc girr rteTKA. jula. it&q n g H T o r " if he still has power, i t is in those who allow him place in th e m th a t he has it p erh ap s also Rom . i . 14 e t S t ä t epo'i “ it is I who owe a d e b t to th e m ” , b) Etudes 50; O L Z 1957, 233. c) O nly erfe(o)Yff(T<v») in th e p rotasis of an unfulfilled condition. d) J o b x x x i.3 5 , M t. xviii.28, Jo . xvii.5, Rom . vi.21, l j o . ii.7.

I n th e Cleft Sentence, A cts xiv.12 rrro q neftevrt «To«. IL u o q ne g ü n u j& x e " it was he who was pow erful in speech ” ; Mt. xxi.28, L k. x v . 11 o v p u m e nerteYrfT&q ü x h a t rtjaupe c ttA x " it was a m an who liad tw o sons ” , w hich is th e Coptic w ay of expressing " t h e r e was a m an who h a d tw o sons ” (x); var. neT e(o)T ftT& q; a n d th u s Shenoute ed. C hassinat 103, 11.

34. T he n egative form ju ft, w ith its b u ilt-in negative elem ent, is rem iniscent of th e n egative conjugation bases of th e T rip a rtite P a t­ te rn . In fact, oTrr a n d jurt p ro b ab ly are, like m ost conjugation bases, rem n an ts of th e old sdm.f conjugation. T h a t o v tt an d jurt can n o t ta k e personal suffixes, results from . th e definiteness of the la tte r. T h a t ovrt an d jurr can be self-sufficient predicates, results from th e ir being in tra n sitiv e , w hile th e conjugation bases of th e P er­ fect an d th e A orist go b ack to tra n sitiv e auxiliary verbs, requiring a n Infin itiv e as th e ir necessary com plem ent.

Obs. 1.

b- Bg.

is a phonetie writing of nn wn: vSetlie __a I I I Verbum 1 § 203; Spiegelberg Rec. tr. 21 (1899) 41-2. Oil the existential sentence in M. Eg. (iw wn, neg. nn wn) cf. Gardiner Eg. Gr. §§ 107-8.

Obs. 2. The fact th a t wn was a verb-form, does not make “ verbs ” of oYff and ju.fr. From th e point of view of Coptic they can only be described as predicative expressions of existence and non-existence.

35. “ A bsolute existence is b u t rarely asserted; usually th ere is som e qualification in th e form of [. . .] an adverbial phrase [ .. .].

W hen such a qualification occurs, th e re is a ten d en cy for it, ra th e r th a n th e n o tio n of existence, to becom e th e real predicate ” (Gardiner).

T he im p o rtan ce of th e E x iste n tia l Sentence for th e conjugation system (x) Cf. th e Cleft Sentence w ith th e R elative Perfect (oYpcujue neffT&.CJ- and sim.) in th e opening sentence of other parables, Mt. xxi.33, Mk. x ii.l, I,k. x.30, x ii.16, xiv.16, xviii.10, xx.9.

lies in th e fa c t t h a t it is likewise used w ith th e verb al p a rtn e rs of th e ad v erb ial pred icate, i. e. th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn (§ 19).

A fter th e Sentence C onverters th e rule requiring th e use of the E x iste n tia l Sentence for th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte m w ith indef­ inite acto r expression is fully valid in A khm im ic an d predom inantly in B ohairic (see Obs. 1) an d p ro b ab ly in F ayyum ic. In Sahidic, so fa r as th e affirm ative sentence is concerned, th e rule has no absolute v alid ity : we find b o th th e C onverters plus oYrt an d th e ordinary p renom inal form s of th e C onverters, nepe, epe, eTepe (§ 13); g te oyH seems to be lim ited to th e case w here th e acto r has zero article and th e p red icate is a prepositional phrase; Shenoute, how ever, uses it also in th e A khm im ic m an n er with, v erb al p red icate (Obs. 2). Before zero article acto r and v erb al p red icate B ohairic uses r r e (w ithout o v o « ) a n d Sahidic eTepe (Obs. 3).

A khm im ic

B ohairic

F ayyum ic

Sahidic

rte OYft

fte OYOft/ffApe

rte oyäh

fteYtt/ftepe

e(o)Y«

EOYOff/epe

e(o)Yft/epe

6T6 OYOff

eTepe

ETE

OYff

O bs. 1.

Bohairic epe g A f t - Pk. xxi.5, 20, Mk. vi.9; r f & p e o y Mk. x.22, xiv.4, 56, Jo. x ii.ll; n A p e g A r t - Mk. i.6, iii.10, iv.36, xiv.4, O bs. 2 .

Sahidic £T6(o)yS, e. g . Ps. xxiii.8, Pk. i.49, Eph. iii.20 n e T e O Y ff 6oxx jütsioq, Jer. v .5, Acts xxv.5, Rom. x v .l n e t e O Y ft 6 c m . i u « 0 0 Y “ who has (have) p o w e r” ; Ex. xxxiv.7 n e T e O Y ft ftO Ä E epoq “ who has a sin to his charge Lev. xxi.17 neTe O Y ft xRirr giujcuq " in whom there is a bleniish Prov. xiv.4 njuiÄ. G T E O Y ft g A g ftgH Tq itV E ttilA A A . “ where there is much produce Rev. viii.9 e t e y H \IaY5(;h f f g H T O Y “ in whom there is a s o u l" ; Mk. vii.16 n e T e O Y ff (Te jüüaoq “ who has an ear ” (cf. Mt. xiii.43 == Mk. iv.9 jlE T E Y ftT q

JU .A A X 6

JU JU A Y )•

Shenoute ed. Chassinat 85, 41 ngcuß GTE OYff gA g ffOYXG Hjuioq enAgOY JÜJU.OOY 6T&6 g0.u.T “ tlie thing which m any neglect för the sake of money i b i d . 159, 30 niAA e t c OYrt OYJUHHtye C00Yg epoq “ the place w hither a m ultitude is g a th ered ” (cf. and cxmtrast A ctsxii.12).

O b s . 3 . .Bohairic, Ps. lv.5 o y neTe CApg rf&Aiq rtifi “ w hat is it tlia t flesh will do to me?

Ps. lv.12, cxvii.O ( Heb. xiii.6) o y h e te pa>JUI ffAAiq fiHJ “ w hat is it th a t m an will do to m e? ” ; Sahidic, Pev. XV.32 neTepe cnepjuA ffAet e&0$\ ü su o q “ from w hom sperm w illissue” .

O bs. 4 .

Sahidic examples for efte OYff O Y - in tlie protasis of an unfulfilled condition (§ 17): Mk. ix .42, Lk. xvii.2 (var. errepe), Heb. v ii.ll.

Negative, Shenoute ap. Zoega 461 efte juif OYKepAYftOC nHT ftccoq . . . ffeYffAXOOC A f f ne x e . . . " if a thunderbolt were not pursuing him . . . th ey would not say: . . . ” .

X.

Adjective Verbs

36. The so-called A djective V erbs belong to tlie conjugation system inasm uch as th e y m ay be said to replace th e Q ualitative of th e verbs to w hich th e y are related . W ith niost of those verbs the Q u alitativ e is eith er ex trem ely rare or altogetlier non-existent. Of Ofi), however, th is is n o t tru e , an d ouj and ffAtyio= seem to be practically equivalent.

T he stru c tu re of th e A djective Verbs is still problem atic. In all likelihood th e stein is th e Infinitive, followed by a possessor expression; cf. Sethe Ä Z 64 (1929) 63-4; how ever, th e n a tu re of th e preüx ne-, w hich seems to tu rn th is nom inal expression in to a predicative one, is quite obscure.

37. T he A djective V erbs h av e all th e Satellites. n egatived b y ( it- ) . . . & r f .

Basic

P re te rit

C ircu m stan tial

rf& rfo v q

rte f f A f t o Y q

e rtA ffo Y q

R elative 0 ) e T ffA fto Y q

T hey

are

“ S eco n d ” gf f A f t o Y q

b)

(2) 6T6 f f A f t O Y q a) a) b t~ is used w hen th e su b ject of th e A djective V erb is ;= the antecedent, a n d g te w hen th e su b ject is d istin ct from th e antecedent.

Cf., for th e la tte r case, S henoute ap. Rossi Pap. copti I I iii 13 H-ee g t c rfAujouoY ftöi iteTqftAp2£OGfc epooY " ju s t as those over whom he w ill rule are num erous w ith th e negation, Brit. M us. Cat. No. 981 (p. 480 b) (-)-e-e enre (ff)ffAffOYc Äff e-rpe- “ th e w ay it is n o t good for . . . to . . . ” , A nom inal su b ject (Till Koftt. Gr. § 462) is necessarily d istin ct from th e antecedent. b) Etudes 51. A dd »Shenoute ed. C hassinat 135,44-5 gi-rff o y 6 IT A & & Y G ffG Y e p H Y “ w hereby are th e y greater th a n one another? ” , Obs. The subject m ay be definite as well as indefinite (pace Till Kopt. Gr. § 284). Cf. rwutOY OY- Ps. lx x x iii.ll, Prov. xi.2ä, xii.9, x v ,16, 17, xvi.19, 32, x v ii.l, xix.22, xx.23, xxii. 1, xxiv.5, Wisd. iv.l.

X I. Form al Analysis of the Conjugation Bases 38. A classification of th e conjugation bases b y purely form al criteria m u st leave o u t of account n o t only th e preform atives of the F irs t P resent, b u t, so far as Sahidic is concerned, also th e Conjunctive, which has become closely assim ilated to th e F irst P re sen t (for Bohairic

see § 51). O n th e other hand, i t is useful to include th e S atellites of th e F irs t P resen t and, for c.ertain form s (§ 59), of th e F irst F u tu re.

Although. th e R elative P re se n t does n o t quite fit into any of th e groups to be se t u p (§§ 42, 44), its v ery recalcitrance will prove illum inating.

A. S a h i d i c 39. W e have to distinguish th e prenom inal an d th e presuffixal form s of th e conjugation bases.

Prenom inally all bases end in a vowel, either a . or e .

Presuffixally th e bases end either in or in stable e , or in un~ stab le e (altern atin g w ith zero).

U nstable e behaves differently, according as it is preceded either by one of th e stops n or t (§ 44), or b y th e so n o ran t p (§ 45).

40.

T he p ronom inal acto r suffixes fall in to four groups:

(1) Single S urds: (2nd m. sg.) ~k (3rd m. sg.) ~q (3rd f. sg.) - c (2) Single S onorants, appearing in tw o a lte rn a n t shapes: non-syllabic (postvocalic) (Ist sg.)

(-ei), th a t is [i] (Ist pl.) -rt (3rd. pl.) ~ r, th a t is |ii]

syllabic (postconsonantal) -i , th a t is [i] - n . th a t is [n] - oy ; th a t is [u]

(3) The suflix 2nd f. sg. has th ree alternauts: zero, -e, -p(e) T he d istrib u tio n of zero an d e is analogous to th a t of th e non-syllabic an d syllabic a lte rn a u ts described u nder (2) (1). I n one case th e altern a n ts zero an d -p(e) ap p ear as variants (§ 41).

(4) The suffix 2nd pl. has tw o a lte rn an ts: sh o rt - r i t , long -TeTf? • In certain cases these a lte rn a n ts appear as v aria n ts (§§ 43 Obs., 45 Obs. 1, 56 Obs.). T he sh o rt form is perhaps best regarded as added to th e prenom inal base.

By applying th e criteria listed in §§ 39 and 40 we o b tain five groups. See th e synoptic ta b le on p. 416.

(*) 2ud f. sg. forms ending in -e are considered as having zero wlxen. the base has stable e , and as having ~e when the base has unstable e .

41. F i r s t G r o u p .

The base eo'nsists prenominally and presufixally of the single vowel Perfect a - .

Ist sg., Ist pl., 3rd pl.: non-syllabic; 2nd f. sg.: zero, var. -p(e); 2nd pl.: long.

Obs. The zero form of th e 2nd f. sg., first explicitly pointed out by Spiegelberg Rec. tr. 30 (1908) 141-2, is the one found in tlie best MSS. 42. S e c o n d G r o u p .

The base consists presuffixally either of a single vowel (e) or a vowel (a , stable e) preceded by a single consonant: C ircum stantial Present, Second Present, Third Future, Conditional e - ; Im perfect r te -; Aorist cy A -; Neg. Aorist ixe- (aia -) .

Is t sg., Ist pl., 3rd pl.: non-syllabic; 2nd f. sg.: - p e ; thus also, as variant, in th e R elative Present (§ 59); 2nd p l.: long.

Prenom inally; lengthened b y -p e ; thus also the Relative Present (§ 53).

Obs. In th e Conditional th e ptenom inal and th e 2nd f. sg. (e. g.

R uth ii.9, Jo. xi.40) is norrnally epujAJT-; epetyAff- is archaic. The 2nd f. sg. of th e Third F u tu re is e p e - (Gen. iii. 16 ap. Brit. Mus. Cat. No. 932; Jdg. iv.20, R u th ii.9).

43. T h i r d G r o u p .

The base ends prenom inally and presufixally in stable t:, preceded either by stop plus sonorant or by double sonorant: Causative Infinitive x p e - , Neg. Third F uture H fte-.

Ist sg., Ist pl., 3rd pl.: non-syllabic, b u t Ist sg. -ei' is normally replaced by - a : T p A -, rtltA -; 2nd f. sg.: zero; 2nd p l.: short.

Obs. In Sahidic th e 2nd pl. v ariant xpexeTJY- is non-standard, though old; cf. § 56 Obs. 44. F o u r t l i G r o u p .

The base ends in a stop (n, t ) plus unstable e : Neg. Perfect. H n(e)-, “ not yet ” H nA x(e)- " until ” ujAffx(e)-, [Relative P resent ex (e)-, except for the prenominal form exepe and th e 2nd f. sg. v arian t exepe-].

The e appears prenom inally and before the suffix 2nd pl.; it disappears before all other suffixes.

Ist sg., Is t pl., 3rd pl.: syllabic; 2nd f. sg.: - e ; 2nd pl.: short.

Obs. The disppearance of e before the single-consonant suffixes is the norm in th e classical orthography (Rahlfs Die Berliner Hs. des sahid.

Psalters 28 n. 4). Exceptions occur, however, even in old and otlierwise careful MSS. 45. F i f t h G r o u p .

Tlie base ends in a vowel plus p plus unstable e : Causative Im perative jutAp(e)-, F uture Conjunctive xA p (e)-, Tem ­ poral ffxep(e)--

The e appears prenominaljy, before the single surd suffixes and before th e suffix 2nd p l.; it disappears before tlie sonorant suffixes.

Ist sg., Ist pl., 3rd pl.: syllabic; 2nd f. sg.: - e ; 2ncl pl.: short.

Obs. 1. Alongside of TApET/r- there exists a non-standard variant T& pexETrf-. Cf. § 56 Obs. Obs. 2. The spellings rtTEpff- etc. are those of the classical orthography; itTeperf- is, however, found in otherwise reliable MSS. B.

O th er

dialects

4-6. (Cf. § 41). I n th e Perfect th e 2nd f. sg. form a - is also fo u n d in Aldim.im.ic (.Prov. xx x i.2 9 ) alongside of &p- (Mic. iv.9, N ah. iii. 16; relativ e GT<\p~ Zeph. i ii .l l , Clem. ed. S chm idt p. 16,12) a n d in. Subakhm im ic (Jo. i.v.18 relativ e Ut a - ) , b u t neither in Bohairic (<kpe-) nor in F ay y u m ic (a 7\~) .

In. th e 2nd pl. B ohairic has very freq uently &peT ert™ (as in the Second P resen t, § 48) alongside of a t e t e s t - ; an d thris regularly in th e R elative (and Second) P erfect ETApETEft-47. (Cf. § 42). I n A khm im ic th e A orist belongs to th e F ifth G roup (§ 58). F o r th e o th er bases of th e Second Group A khm im ic uses prenom inally b o th th e enlarged and th e unenlarged form s, ap~ p a re n tly w ith o u t d istin ctio n (§ 55): C ircum stantial e alongside of EpE, Second P resen t a alongside of ApE , Neg. A orist m alongside of juApE . W h eth er th e Im p erfect has tt&. alongside of rtApe (the la tte r e.g. Jo n . i.i.1) m u st be left open for th e m om ent; in. books of reference th e Second P erfect (cf. O L Z 1960, 25 n. 1) (J) is often m istak en for th e Im perfect. [Im p erfetc rtA Jo . x ii.2 (Rösch)].

48. (Cf. § 42). F o r th e 2nd pl. of th e Second G roup Bohairic adds th e sh o rt suffix -T e n to th e enlarged prenom inal base: C ircum stantial

epETen- an d T h ird F u tu re epeTErrE--

Second P resen t ApeTrenIm p erfect

ftApETeft-

A orist

ujApeTEn-

Neg. A orist

jutnApETen-

(;l) Add Mt. x.i.26 ap. Amundsen Symbolae Os'loenses 24 (1945) 123.

4D CU 1

'tu CU

cn J2

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<D CO o3 &

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f. s g .

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><

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f

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cö

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p.<

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2 cö £3

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B ases

t/y-j

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L i s

^ ä

?

1 | at dj ?r s h IC

^ ^

J , ,L 'uT "uT -L. Ä e

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Second P resen t epeTrt- ancl Im p erfect n e p e x n - occur as varian ts also in Subakhm im ic; an isolated instance of Second F u tu re epennftA- even in classical Sahidic: Sir. ii. 15 I,agarde.

49.

(Cf. § 43). In all o th e r dialects th e 3rd pl. form s of 'the T h ird G roup have ~ o t as again st Sahidic - e x : Bohairic

e-pov-

ftrtOT-

F ay y u m ic T p o v -

nnoT ” Mk. viii.30, Jo. iii.20, b u t rtrtEY- E p. Je r. 66 bis

A khm im ic t o y -

(It)ffOY-

S ubakhm . TpoY-

ftOT-

P o r th e Is t sg. th e p ictu re is m ore diversified: Bohairic

-&pr

rmA-

F ay y u m ic Tpt A khm im ic t a S ubakhm . T pi-

rmAT pA -l rti-

T he Subakhm im ic form s T p i- an d -rp o v - are m atched by Ist pl. Tprf- (Jo. vi.52, w ith a long stro k e over all th ree letters), as ag ain st Sahidic Tpeit--50.

The anom alous Is t sg. suffix. - a (§ 49), n o t being correlated to stab le e in th e re st of th e paradigm , as it is in Sahidic (§43),hardly justifies th e setting up of a special group. If we disregard it, th e A khm im ic and Subakhm im ic form s of the Neg. T hird F u tu re and th e Subakhmimic form s of th e C ausative Infinitive would join the P ifth Group, while th e A khm im ic form s of th e Causative Infinitive, th e base of which is t e - prenom inally an d before th e suffix 2nd pl., and t - before all other suffixes, w ould join th e F o u rth Group.

Obs. Note th a t in Akhmimic the paradigm of the Causative Infinitive coincides with th a t of the fern. sg. Possessive Article, and the paradigm of the Negative Third Future, so far as it is known (I have no reference for the Ist pl.), coincides with th a t of th e pl. Possessive Article.

In the Sahidic Possessive Article goes together with stable e in the rest f. sg.): is t pl. rrert-3rd pl. nGY-

th e anomalous Ist sg. suffix of the paradigm (except the 2nd Terttgy-

rtertftEY-

In Akhmimic an g appears norm ally only in the pl. Possessive Article, and only before surcl suffixes (contrast Ist pl. irrf— ): it is obviously called forth by the plionetic properties of the sonorant n - with special reference to its position in the syllable.

51. I n B ohairic syllabic jt occurs only in w ord-initial position.

P'or th e conjugations of Groups III-V th e num ber of so n o ran t suffixes is tlierefore reduced from th re e to tw o, viz. tlie tw o vocalic. suffixes - i an d - o y , wliile -ff joins th e consonant suffixes. So far as th e conjugations of G roups I I I - I V are concerned, th e dist.incti.on betw een stab le and u n stab le e is irrelev an t to Bohairic, stab le e occurring only in th e C ircum stantial P resen t an d th e T hird F u tu re : on th e one liand e appears before all consonantal suffixes in a l l these conjugations,, on th e other h a n d it disappears in all these conjugations before th e vocalic suffixes -i an d -o y . T he anom alous I s t sg. suffix -& of th e Neg. T h ird F u tu re can no longer be related to stable e in th e re st of th e paradigm , b u t h a rd ly requires th e se ttin g up of a special group. All conjugations of G-roups III-V can therefore be lum ped to g eth er in one single group, I I I . The non-occurrence of rnrepe an d Ta.pe (the tw o lone instances of 2nd pl. irrA peT erf- , Stern § 450, notw ith stan d in g ) in B ohairic can be m ade up for by including th e Conjunctive, w hich shares w ith th e Neg. Third. F u tu re th e anom ­ alous I s t sg. suffix — b ut otherw ise behaves exactly like th e con­ jugations of th e Bohairic G roup I I I (however, a p eculiarity of th e C onjunctive is th e C.

3rd pl. by-form

rtce-

alongside

of

ftTOY-).

T he prenom inal an d 2nd f. sg. ending - p e

52. The elem ent -pe w hich distinguishes certain prenom inal bases from th e ir presuffixal form s does n o t posseSs th e sam e sta tu s in all dialects. T he bases in question are th e four Satellites of the B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn (§§ 13, 14), th e A orist an d th e Neg. Aorist. As th e evidence of A khm im ic suggests (§ 58), th e A orist does n o t originally belong to th is group, and m ay therefore be disregarded. W itliin th e fram ew ork of Coptic sy n ta x th e N egative A orist has noth in g in com m on w ith th e bases w ith w hich it shares

th e prenom inal -pe.

Y e t a p a rt from its initial xx- (Bohairic A n-) i t closely resem bles th e Second P resent, an d in th e light of historical g ram m ar th e re can be little d o u b t th a t it is in fa ct com pounded w ith th e Second P resen t; cf. G ardiner J E A 16 (1930) 227; E d g erto n J A O S 55 (1935) 262, 265.

Obs. The Second Present is durative, wliile tlie Neg. Aorist is nondurative. In all likelihood th e Second Present has acquired its durative character secondarily through th e association of iir.f with the Bipartite Conjugation P attem .

53. Of all th e form s enlarged b y -pe th e R elative Present e-repe has th e sm allest d istrib u tio n in term s of dialects. T he only dialect in w hich it is firm ly established is Sahidic.

Obs. Occasionally enre occurs in classical Sahidic, e. g. Sir. xlv.2 Lagarde (collated).

54. The o th er form s (disregarding th e A orist, on which see §§ 56, 58) are firm ly established in Sahidic, B ohairic and F ayyum ic: Sahidic

B ohairic

F ayyum ic

C ircum stantial Im p erfect Second P resen t

epe rtepe epe

epe rtApe

e2\e (jt)rtA?\e

Ape

A2\6

Neg. A orist

jutepe (jmApe)

u u m pe

jue2\e

55. tio n (§ 47).

A khm im ic, on th e o th er band, shows considerable fluctuaA co u n t for th e P ro verbs gives th e following results:

C ircum stantial

e

13

[epe nil]

Second P resen t Second F u tu re Neg. A orist

juia

4

juApe

12

The prenom inal Im p erfect does n o t occnr a t all in th e Proverbs.

The large num ber of Second P resen ts is ch aracteristic of sapiential style.

56.

In sharp c o n tra st w ith th is fluctuation th e -pe appears consistently th ro u g h o u t th e paradigm , presuffixally as well as prenom inally, in th e group juApe- (C ausative Im perative), TA pe- (F uture

C onjunctive), (rt)TApE- (Tem poral), gA pe- (Aorist). The consistency of -pe in th e last-n am ed conjugation is especially notew orthy, since A khm im ic stan d s alone in th is respect (§ 58).

Obs. In this group (except jmApe-, which has no 2nd persons) the long suffix 2nd pl. seems to be norm al in Akhmimic: F uture Conjunctive Tem poral Aorist

TA peT6Tftx A p e T e x itgApeTETff-

Till Osterbrief A 2 Gespr. 33, 7 Hagg. ii. 16.

In the Minor Prophets the Causative Infinitive has likewise TpeTETfralongside of TETETfr- (Till’s note on Mal. i.7); contrast Prov. xxiv.23 T ETft-.

57.

H istorical g ram m ar shows th a t th e -pE is secondary in th e R elative P resen t (D em otic nty iw) and in th e C ircum stantial (iw), b u t it looks to Coptic for an in d icatio n as to w hether th e Second P resen t (lir) really co ntained a spoken r and m ight therefore have been th e source of -p e in th e o th e r forms. I n itself th is is n o t unlikely, b u t th e evidence of A khm im ic hard ly suggests th a t th e -pe is m ore legitim ate in th e Second P resen t th a n elsewhere.

58» On th e o th e r h a n d th e te stim o n y of A khm im ic for gA peqis su p p o rted b y a piece of historical evidence. I n D em otic th e nonrelativ e sdm.f of th e verb “ to come ” , iw.f (R ylands I X i.iw .f, cf.

G riffith I I I p. 223 n. 21; 326) occurs, a p a rt from its “ prospective ” use after an Im p e ra tiv e (thus R ylands I X 12, 16), only after “ to give ” ( ii a n d my), after m -d rt " w hen ” (Dexa Gr. dem. V 3 p. 824 ex. 6) an d after hr, i. e. precisely in th e p ro to ty p es of our F ifth Group, juApe, TApE, rfTEpE and A khm im ic gApE. This would seeni to suggest th a t gA peq- is genuine, being com pounded of gA - (hr) and, like th e o th e r bases of th is group, th e prospective sdm.f ~p e q . The u jA q - of th e other dialects m ay well be due to th e analogy of the negative c o u n te rp a rt ju.Aq-/AJieq-.

59.

A sim ilar elem ent occurs as 2nd f. sg. suffix in th e four S atellites of th e B ip a rtite C onjugation P a tte rn (in th e R elative ETEpe- alongside of e t e - , see below), in th e A orist and th e N egative A orist — i. e. th e sam e conjugations as have prenom inal -pe ; and in th e P erfect Ap(e)~ as v a ria n t of a - (§ 41). Cf. S ottas Rev. eg.

N. S. 3 [ = 2, fase. 3-4] (1.924) 14-5; E d g erto n J A O S 55 (1935) 266-7.

W e m ay disregard th e A orist (§ 58), th e N egative A orist (§ 52) and

th e P erfect (where S o ttas hacl alread y recognized th e ~p(e) as second­ ary) , a n d lim it ourselves to th e Satellites, to w hich we ad d th e form s w ith th e P'uture au x iliary h a - : Im p erfect

nepe-

nepA -

C ircum stantial

epe-

R elative

eT e- var. ETepe-

eTepA - var. GTertA-, eTep(e)rtA-

Second

epe-

ep&~

*epA-

var. ftep(e)nAvar. *ep(e)itAvar. ep(e)rtA-

T he F u tu re form s in. (-)epA- have th e testim o n y of our best MSS. in th e ir favour, while th e fuller ones in (-)ep(e)ita- are ra th e r ch aracteristic of la te MSS. The b est evidence is av ailable for th e R elative eTepA -, which. occurs, e. g., th ro u g h o u t th e excellent M ichigan MS. of R uth, i. 16 (bis), 17 iii.4, 5, 11. F o r th e c o n tra st R elative P resen t eT e- vs.

R elativ e F u tu re eTepA- cf. especially Mk. vi.22-3 according to H o rn e r’s 8 (collated) a n d 74 an d W essely No. 119 b: neTeovA tyq “ wh a t you w an t ” . . . neTepAAtTei Hxnoi JuuAoq “ w hat you will ask m e ” (H o rn er’s 114 has neT ep- and n e T e p rtA -, W essely No. 120 a neT e- an d neTepertA-). I n M t. xv.28 eT e- is su p ported b y W essely No. 100 [d. I n spite of th e strong evidence for eTe- th e testim o n y of T hom pson’s MS. for eTepe- ICor. vii,16 can n o t be rejected: while eT e- is p resu m ab ly th e p rim itiv e form , eTepe- (e. g.

Le Museon 42, 237 u; Rossi Pap. copti I iii 59a; common, in la te r Sa­ hidic) is easily u n d ersto o d as due to th e analogy of th e o th er Satellites.

T he F u tu re Im p erfect rtepA- is attested. in Jo. i v . l Ob y H o rn er’s 91 (== D elap o rte’s F ) an d P. Soph. 368, 17, as well as by T hom pson’s S ubakhm im ic (the la te M organ MS. has iteprfA-).

F o r Second F u tu re epA- I have only non-B iblical references, e. g. Shenoute ed. F eip o ld t I I I 201, 9; Cairo Cat. (Munier) No. 9292 recto, 46.

U n fo rtu tiately these form s, h a rd enough to come by in classical Sahidic, are even ra re r in A khm im ic. H ow ever, Second F u tu re A pA- Clem ent ed. S chm idt x x .7 ( = Jo b x x x v iii.ll, where Ciasca’s la te Sahidic has eprtA-) agrees w ith th e classical Sahidic form..

Because of th e d e a rth of A khm im ic evidence i t is im possible to say w hether in th is d ialect th e -p(e) of th e 2nd f. sg. was tre a te d sim ilarly to th e p renom inal -pe (§ 45). S o tta s’s and F d g e rto n ’s conclusion th a t it orig in ated in th e Second P resen t is plausible b u t receives no su p p o rt from Coptic.

Orientalin -... 28

Obs. 1. In post-classical Sahidic an occasional 2nd f. sg. -p can be inet w ith in praeti.cal.ly all conjugations, e. g. F irst Present Tp~ (Sethe Ä Z 58, 55 n. 1; W orrell Coptic M S S . in the Freer Collection 122), F irst P'uture TeprtA- (Pielil Sphinx 4, 33; Sethe /. c.; cf. Fayyum ic Te2\ftA~ 1 Cor. xii.16 ap. Zoega 151); Neg. Perfect ü n p - and Tem poral frre p ep (Wessely XV No. 198 d), etc.

Obs. 2. In Bohairic th e 2nd f. sg. of the First F uture is T epa.- (first recognized to belong to this paradigm by Stern), which is the more rem arkable as th e Satellites, w ith the p artial exception of the Relative, have no fonns in -p&.-. In Sahidic T epa.- occurs in the P. Soph. (ScholtzWoide Gr. aeg. 97; Sethe l. c.) and occasionally elsewhere, e.g. Jdg. xiii.5, 7 (Thompson; b u t in verse 3 -reff ä.~) .

Obs. 3. The Sahidic forms in (~)ep&.- have probably nothing to d.o w ith th e paradigm. eq& - discussed by Kahle Bala’izah p. 157.

D.

Conclusion

60.

T he form al analysis confirms th a t th e S atellites of th e B ip ar­ tite C onjugation P a tte rn rnake u p a m orpliological group by them selves. W hile th e Neg. A orist joins th is group from historical causes, A khm im ic helps us to recognize th a t th e affirm ative A orist originally belonged to an en tirely different group.

P u rely form al criteria lead to different groupings for different dialects (§§ 50-51) and. alford no p ractical a ltern a tiv e to th e classiiication. set fo rth in. §§ 4, 18, 29.

X II.

Bibliography

W. Till, " Die S a tz a rte n im K optischen ” , Mitteilungen des Instituts jür Orientforschung 2 (1954) 378-402. Review b y V ergote, Chronique d ’Egypte 31 (1956) 218-9. id., Koptische Grammatik (Feipzig 1955). Reviews b y V ergote, Chronique d ’Egypte 31 (1956) 403-9; Polotsky, O L Z 1957, 219-34 (esp. 225-8).

N U N T I I PE RSONARUM ET RERUM

Ist die B-L Schrift im w esentlichen entziffert ?

H . Th. B o s s e r t - Ista n b u l

N ach der leiste von Fr. Steinherr (BO V III 1951 S. 134 ff) entfallen von 2306 Zeichen der B-I, Bleibriefe aus Assur 450 auf den W orttrenner.

E s bleiben dem nach 1856 zu lesende Silbenzeichen einschliesslich der Ideogram m e und D eterm inative übrig. Sechs Silbenzeichen (210 ira, 155 ä, 146 a und ä, 118 ha, 113 i u nd i) nehm en hinsichtlich ihrer Häufigkeit (zusammen 742) die ersten Stellen ein. Nehmen wir an, die beiden i-Zeichen seien bisher zum grössten Teil falsch gelesen worden, so errech­ n et sich etwa sechs Prozent irriger Desungen. Der prozentuale Anteil der Falschlesungen erhöht sich noch, da Ideogramme und D eterm inative h ä tte n abgesetzt, die nicht wenigen Zeichen aber, die ebenfalls “ i ” oder “ i ” gelesen wurden, h ä tte n hinzugefügt werden müssen.

Schopenhauer h a t Recht, wenn er sagt: “ Jede falsche Entzifferung wird, wenn sie auch zu einigen Erscheinungen passt, den übrigen desto greller widersprechen” . W iderspruchsvolleI^esungen ergaben sich für jeden, der die bisherige Entzifferung nicht ungeprüft übernehm en wollte, etwa beim B-I, D em onstrativpronom en. E s wurde bis jetz t " i ” gelesen, wird aber in Z ukunft “ za ” zu lesen sein. Auch der lioin. und acc. T a rhuls, T arhuin (auch Tarhuis, Tarhuin) m usste befremden, weil er w irk­ lichkeitsfern war. Wer allerdings von der von m ir immer bekäm pften Theorie ausging, jedes B-D Silbenzeichen habe nur einen einzigen Desewert, fand seine i - oder i-I^esung im B-l, Verb aia-- “ machen ” schon in der Grossreichszeit b estätigt (vgl. Abb. 1). F ü r die Desung “ i ” wurde dagegen kein überzeugendes A rgum ent beigebracht. F ü r “ ia ” h ätte m au sich auf den Nam en der G öttin Aia (x) in F iraktin berufen müssen (vgl. Abb. 1), in dem zum ersten Male das zweigestrichene “ i ” fassbar l1) Auf dem Felsrelief von F irak tin (M X X X sowie Bossert, Alfanatolien, Abb. 550-552) opfert links H atusili III. dem Saruma, in der M itte Putuliepa der H epat. In der Beischrift rechts wird als Dandesgöttin die DÄ-ia genannt, zu der vorläufig E. Daroche, R ‘ echerches sur les noms des dieux hittites (RHA V II [1946-47]) S. 43 f u. 119 zu vergleichen ist. N ach KUB X 92 I 14 h a tte n H epat und Aia einen gemeinsamen Tempel.