Alongside several related ancient languages Biblical Hebrew possesses two infinitive forms.
The rarer of the two is the infinitive absolute for which no analogous structure exists in
modern translation receptor languages such as English. In studying its use Hebrew grammarians
have long noted that the infinitive absolute often appears in modal contexts. However until
the present study this phenomenon has not received further scholarly attention.Employing
contemporary cross-linguistic research on modality Callaham's study presents a new and
comprehensive analysis of the function of the infi nitive absolute in Biblical Hebrew.
Collected data strongly imply that the combination of an infinitive absolute and a cognate verb
is a construction expressing verb focus which includes focus on any modality present in the
cognate verb. Infinitives absolute can also function as full substitutes for finite verbs.
Accordingly these independent uses are also highly modal. Through wide-ranging interaction
with previous research and exhaustive examination of textual data this study advances new
findings on the interplay of modality and infinitive absolute employment in the Hebrew Bible.
