וְהִנֵּה and it was, the sun had gone down, and behold, i.e. the sun having gone down. 2 K. 2:11; 8:5; 13:21; 19:37; 20:4, 1 S. 23:26; 25:20 (והיה = ויהי, so 2 S. 6:16), 1 K. 18:7; 20:39, 40. In ref. to fut. 1 K. 18:12.
The relation of the two events (concomitant and principal) to one another is still more vividly expressed when the clauses containing them are placed parallel to one another, with no introductory formula like and it was. Gen. 44:3 הַבֹּקֶר אוֹר וְהָֽאֲנָשִׁים שֻׁלְּחוּ the morning broke, and the men were let go, i.e. when the morning broke (had broken) the men, &c. 1 S. 9:27 הֵמָּה יֽׄרְדִים וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר as they were coming down S. said. Gen. 29:9 עוֹדֶנּוּ מְדַבֵּר וְרָחֵל בָּֽאָה as he was still speaking R. came. Particularly when the subj. of both clauses is the same. Jud. 18:3 הֵמָּה עִם־בֵּית מִיכָּה וְהֵמָּה הִכִּירוּ as they were at the house of Mic. they recognised. Gen. 38:25, 1 S. 9:11.
Rem. 1. In some cases the accentuation wrongly makes the following noun or pron. subj. to the introductory ויהי, e.g. 2 K. 20:4, 1 K. 20:40, Gen. 24:15, 1 S. 7:10, 1 K. 18:7; other passages show that ויהי is impersonal, 1 S. 25:20, 2 K. 13:20, 21, cf. 19:37; 2 S. 13:30.
Rem. 2. The construction is the same with or without the introductory formula. The second clause in the balanced sent. always begins with vav, the first most commonly without. It is the first cl. that to our modes of thought appears circumstantial. 1. When the first cl. has a perf. the two events were contemporaneous or the circumstance had just occurred when the main event happened. 2. When the first has a ptcp. or a nominal sent. equivalent, the main event occurred during the action expressed by the ptcp. 3. When both clauses have ptcp. the two actions, main and subordinate, were going on simultaneously. Some ex. of perf. in first cl.: Gen. 19:23, cf. 27:30 for a more precise way of stating that the circumstance had jusi happened (cf. Jud. 7:19). Gen. 24:15; 44:3, 4, Ex. 10:13, Jos.
