Biblical Hebrew: yiqtol with a past habitual meaning

[Aleppan]

Hello,

1 Samuel 1:7 has yiqtol with past habitual meaning. Are there other examples of this in the Bible?

וכן יעשה שנה בשנה מדי עלתה בבית יהוה
"And thus he would do year by year as often as she went up into the house of the Lord"

Thanks!

 

[Ali Smith]

I don't know how widespread this phenomenon is but here's another example:

וַיְהִ֡י כִּ֣י הִקִּ֩יפוּ֩ יְמֵ֨י הַמִּשְׁתֶּ֜ה וַיִּשְׁלַ֧ח אִיּ֣וֹב וַֽיְקַדְּשֵׁ֗ם וְהִשְׁכִּ֣ים בַּבֹּ֘קֶר֮ וְהֶעֱלָ֣ה עֹלוֹת֮ מִסְפַּ֣ר כֻּלָּם֒ כִּ֚י אָמַ֣ר אִיּ֔וֹב אוּלַי֙ חָטְא֣וּ בָנַ֔י וּבֵרְכ֥וּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים בִּלְבָבָ֑ם כָּ֛כָה יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה אִיּ֖וֹב כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃
(איוב א ה)

When the days of the banquet came round in turn, Job sent and sanctified them and would bring up burnt offerings early in the morning according to the number of all of them because Job said, "Perhaps my sons committed a sin and cursed God in their heart." Thus would Job do all the days.

 

[JAN SHAR]

Actually, yiqtol can have the habitual meaning in any tense because it basically has an imperfective meaning. This meaning includes habits.

 

[Drink]

It's unwise to make such statements without evidence to back it up. The aspectual system of understanding Hebrew verbs usually comes from scholars who are not actually familiar enough with Biblical Hebrew.