AN I MADVE R S I O N E S The Function of bfyh in Jonah 4 and Its Translation (*) In Jonah 4,4 Yahweh asks Jonah a question: ˚l hrj bfyhh. This same question is repeated with the addition of a prepositional phrase in v. 9: l[ ˚l hrj bfyhh ˆwyqyqh. While there is no answer to the first question, Jonah answers the second in the affirmative: twm d[ yl hrj bfyh (v. 9) (1). In the discussion that follows, I will focus on the expression bfyh in v. 4 since its two other occurrences are in virtually the same environment. The question in v. 4 consists of three words. The last two (˚l hrj) constitute a well-attested idiom in Biblical Hebrew, which can roughly be rendered as “you became angry” or “you are angry” (2). bfyhh is the hiphil infinitive absolute of bfy prefixed by an interrogative particle h. The root bfy in the hiphil is often used in the sense of “do good”. The infinitive absolute has several uses, most often occurring with the finite verb of the same root (3). The infinitive absolute form bfyh is used in this way in Gen 32,13 and Jer 7,5. Yet in Jonah 4 it is used alone without the cognate finite verb. Therefore, theoretically the form could function as a noun, an adverb, or a verb (4). Such an independent use of bfyh occurs eleven times in the Hebrew Bible. Of the eight cases outside the book of Jonah, six (Deut 9,21; 13,15; 17,4; 19,18; 27,8; 2 Kgs 11,18) can be classified as adverbs and two (Isa 1,17 (5); Jer 10,5) as substantives (6). Notably, the form is never used as a predicate that substitutes a finite verb. (*) I would like to thank Prof. Theodore J. Lewis for his comments on an earlier version of this work. Yet I am solely responsible for its contents. — This work was supported by a special research grant from Seoul Women’s University (2009). (1) Since there is no word corresponding to “yes” in Biblical Hebrew, the affirmative answer to a yes-or-no question is often expressed with the repetition of the first word(s) of the question. See GKC, §150n; P. JOUÖN, Grammaire de l’hébreu biblique (1923; 2d repr., Rome 1996) §161l; E.L. GREENSTEIN, “The Syntax of Saying “Yes” in Biblical Hebrew”, JNES 19 (1989) 51-59. (2) HALOT, 351; TDOT V, 171. (3) For this function of the infinitive absolute, see Y. KIM, The Function of the Tautological Infinitive in Classical Biblical Hebrew (HSS 60; Winona Lake, IN 2009). (4) B.K. WALTKE – M. O’CONNOR, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, IN 1990) 591-597. (5) Without any context, we could render the clause in Isa 1,17 as “Learn to do good” by analyzing bfyh as a substantive, or “Learn well” by taking it as an adverb. The clause is preceded by four imperative clauses (Isa 1,16), in which Yahweh urges the people to remove evil deeds. Therefore, a command to learn “to do good” better fits the context, giving weight to the understanding of the infinitive absolute in question as a substantive rather than an adverb. (6) In the LXX, bfyh in Jer 10,5 is rendered as a substantivized adjective (ajgaqo;n), whereas in Isa 1,17 it is translated using a substantivized adjective and an infinitive (kalo;n poiein). '