The interrogative sequence אִם‎ . . . הֲ‎ in Biblical Hebrew can be employed in two forms of disjunctive question. The first offers mutually exclusive questions and the second comprises a rhetorical pair. Close examination of the extant examples reveals no difficulty in distinguishing between these two forms and, further, that, when employed to express a rhetorical question, the double rhetorical sequence אִם‎ . . . הֲ‎ anticipates the answer ‘No’. Careful study of a debated example, Jer. 31.20, confirms that a negative answer is implied here, hence the evidence strongly favours this reading in the other contentious passage, Hab. 3.8. Here, triple rhetorical questions introduced by the interrogative particles אִם‎ . . . אִם‎ . . . הֲ‎ are employed in a motivated interrogative sentence, suggesting that a negative answer is therefore expected.

中文翻译：

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אִם . . . הֲ : 一个期待否定答案的反问

疑问序列 אִם 。. . 圣经希伯来语中的הֲ 可以用于两种形式的分离问题。第一个提供相互排斥的问题，第二个包括修辞对。仔细检查现存的例子会发现区分这两种形式并不困难，此外，当用于表达一个修辞问题时，双重修辞序列 אִם 。. . הֲ 预计答案是否定的。仔细研究一个有争议的例子，Jer。31.20，证实这里暗示了否定的答案，因此证据强烈支持另一个有争议的段落 Hab 中的这种阅读。3.8. 这里是由疑问词 אִם 引入的三重反问句。. . אִם . . . הֲ 用在一个有动机的疑问句中，暗示因此期望得到否定的答案。