Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu/495

 ; ,  .— For  cf. ,,.

2. Finally, instances of noun-clauses shortened in an unusual manner may perhaps occur in and , for , &c.; cf. verses 5 and 6, &c. Perhaps also, and   are to be regarded in the same way, but hardly  ; cf. above. II. Special Kinds of Sentences.

The originally interrogative is used to introduce exclamations of wonder or indignation = O how! or ridicule, ''why! how!'' sometimes strengthened by or  according to .—Astonishment or indignation at something which has happened is introduced by  (likewise originally interrogative) with the perfect; the indignant refusal of a demand by  (but also by  ) with the imperfect; an exclamation of lamentation by, less frequently ; in  by.

Examples:—

(or with a following Dagĕš, see § 37) expressing admiration (or astonishment) before verbal-clauses, e.g.  ; 38:29,  (how goodly are...!);, ; before the predicate of noun-clauses, e.g. , ; mockingly before the verb,  (how glorious was...!); ,  f.; indignantly,  ; 4:10, 20:9, 31:26 what hast thou done!

with the perfect, e.g., ; in scornful exclamation, , 12; in a lament (usually ), , 27; with the imperfect, in a reproachful question, , , , ; in a mocking imitation of lament,.

with the perfect,, ; with the imperfect, ,.

Rem. 1. The close relation between a question and an exclamation appears also in the interrogative personal pronoun in such cases as   and so in general in rhetorical questions as the expression of a forcible denial; similarly in the use of an interrogative sentence to express a wish, see, 151 a.

2. A weaker form of exclamation is sometimes produced by the insertion of a corroborative, before the predicate, ; cf. 33:11,, and the analogous cases in the apodoses of conditional sentences, § 159 ee.

The particle, in the sense of certainly not, and (rarely  ) in the sense of certainly, are used to introduce promises or threats confirmed by an oath (especially after such formulae as ,