Literary Structure and Rhetorical Strategies in The Hebrew Bible

Literary Structure and Rhetorical Strategies in The Hebrew Bible
Author: L.J. de Regt
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2023-08-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 900466324X

Analysis of text structures has been a dominant feature in Biblical studies for quite some time. More recently, scholars have focused on rhetorical strategies that have been employed in Biblical texts. In this volume, rhetorical as well as structural approaches to the Hebrew Bible have been brought together. It contains studies on a range of topics and on a good many texts and textual corpuses. Interpretation culminates in translation. The contributors to this volume have discussed the implications of their findings for Bible translators. Many of these translational implications have been put together in an epilogue. The volume thus not only intends to show the present state of our knowledge of literary and rhetorical techniques employed in the Bible; on these points it aims to be a selective guide to translators as well. The volume has been edited by Lenart de Regt, Jan de Waard (both of the Free University of Amsterdam), and Jan Fokkelman (Leiden University).

Literary Artistry in Leviticus

Literary Artistry in Leviticus
Author: Wilfried Warning
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2021-10-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004497153

This study explores the vocabulary employed in the extant text of Leviticus. The chosen methodology of rhetorical analysis (with particular emphasis upon terminological patterns) shows a carefully composed text. The basic working hypothesis that Leviticus has been artistically structured around 37 divine speeches 'and the Lord spoke/said to Moses (and Aaron)' . With chapter 16 as its possible structural and theological center has been substantiated both on the microstructural and macrostructural levels. The plethora of significant micro- and macrostructural terminological patterns, suggests original literary cohesiveness and hence single-handed authorship. These findings are of special significance regarding so-called "P" and "H" passages, a "layer of priestly reworking", and, even more, the exegesis and theology of Leviticus.

Literary Studies in the Hebrew Bible

Literary Studies in the Hebrew Bible
Author: Shemaryahu Talmon
Publisher: Brill
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1993
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

"In the studies collected in this volume, the author aims at highlighting salient literary modes which can be identified in the books of the Hebrew Bible. The application of such modes is illustrated by analysing the biblical writers' technique of underscoring the concurrency of events by splitting a narrative account, intersplicing it with a second account, and then resuming the first. Thus they steer clear of conveying the impression of a chronological succession of the events in question which would be unavoidable in a one-line sequential presentation." "A reinvestigation of the question whether biblical literature ever knew a 'national epic' culminates in the conclusion that ancient Israel rejected this Gattung because of its intrinsic affiliation with pagan cults. In its stead it developed the genre of the 'historiographical psalm'. In a group of studies, identifiable literary traits are brought to bear on the investigation of principles and problems relating to the 'comparative approach' in biblical exegesis. Initial methodological considerations are illustrated by their application to the analysis of aspects pertaining to the spheres of religion and myth, such as 'divine kingship', 'navel of the earth', and 'repha'im/rpu(i)m', and to social and political phenomena, such as 'nomadism', 'desert ideal', and 'democratic' institutions." "In a concluding analysis, the book of Esther, is shown to be woven around a literary core which narratively illuminates the applicability of proverbial wisdom teachings to the handling of actual life situations." "These essays will be of interest to scholars and students of the Bible, theology, sociology of religion, and comparative literature."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Writing with Clarity and Style

Writing with Clarity and Style
Author: Robert A. Harris
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2017-12-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1351361856

Writing with Clarity and Style, 2nd Edition, will help you to improve your writing dramatically. The book shows you how to use dozens of classical rhetorical devices to bring power, clarity, and effectiveness to your writing. You will also learn about writing styles, authorial personas, and sentence syntax as tools to make your writing interesting and persuasive. If you want to improve the appeal and persuasion of your speeches, this is also the book for you. From strategic techniques for keeping your readers engaged as you change focus, down to the choice of just the right words and phrases for maximum impact, this book will help you develop a flexible, adaptable style for all the audiences you need to address. Each chapter now includes these sections: Style Check, discussing many elements of style, including some enhanced and revised sections Define Your Terms, asking students to use their own words and examples in their definitions. It’s in the Cloud, directing students to the Web to locate and respond to various rhetorically focused items, including biographies and speeches. Salt and Pepper, spicing up the study of rhetoric by stretching students’ thinking about how their writing can be improved, sometimes by attending to details such as punctuation, and sometimes by exploring the use of unusual techniques such as stylistic fragments. Review Questions, providing an end-of-chapter quiz to help cement the chapter ideas in long-term memory. Questions for Thought and Discussion, a set of questions designed for either in-class discussion or personal response. New to the Second Edition Additional examples of each device, including from world personalities and the captains of industry More and longer exercises, with a range of difficulty Advice from classical rhetoricians including Aristotle, Horace, Longinus, Cicero, and Quintilian.

Literary Motifs and Patterns in the Hebrew Bible

Literary Motifs and Patterns in the Hebrew Bible
Author: Shemaryahu Talmon
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2013-06-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1575068540

This collection gathers together Professor Shemaryahu Talmon’s contributions to the literary study of the Bible, and complements his acclaimed Literary Studies in the Hebrew Bible: Form and Content: Collected Studies (Jerusalem: Magnes / Leiden: Brill, 1993). The articles included herein span a broad range of topics, closely and comprehensively assessing fundamental themes and stylistic conceits present in biblical literature. Each study picks up one of these motifs or patterns, and traces its meaning and usage throughout the entire Bible. In Talmon’s estimation, these literary markers transcend all strata of the Bible, and despite diachronic developments, they retain their basic meanings and connotations throughout, even when employed by different authors over a span of hundreds of years. He demonstrates this convincingly by marshaling dozens of examples, each of which is valuable in its own right, and when taken all together, these building-blocks form a solid edifice that validate his approach. He judiciously employs this synchronic method throughout, frequently invoking an exegetical principle according to which one biblical verse can be employed to interpret the other, if they are found in similar contexts and with overlapping formulation. To use an expression that he coined elsewhere, his hermeneutical method can be described first and foremost as “The World of the Bible from Within.” Throughout the articles that appear in this volume, one is repeatedly struck by his sensitivity to the language and style of the biblical authors. He was blessed with a rich literary intuition, and shares with his readers his ability to see, hear, and understand the rhythms and poetics of biblical literature. In this volume, many of Talmon’s contributions are made accessible in fresh form to the benefit of both those who already know his work and to a newer generation of scholars for whom his work continues to prove important.

Interpreting Hebrew Poetry

Interpreting Hebrew Poetry
Author: David L. Petersen
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2009-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781451412529

Here is a convenient introduction to the unique aspects of interpreting the one-third of the Hebrew Bible that is in poetic form. Numerous are the occasions when a failure to distinguish poetry from prose in the Old Testament has resulted in flawed interpretation. Robert Lowth's Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews (1753, 1787), marked a turning point of major proportions by focusing on the importance of parallelism of lines. But new studies of the past decade now require significant adjustments to Lowth's analyses. Interpreting Hebrew Poetry offers an authoritative introduction to this discussion of parallelism, meter and rhythm, and poetic style. It also provides by way of example a poetic analysis of Deuteronomy 32, Isaiah 5:1-7, and Psalm 1.

Treatise on Biblical Rhetoric

Treatise on Biblical Rhetoric
Author: Roland Meynet
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 476
Release: 2012-01-20
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 900422422X

The specific laws of composition of biblical texts, which were first discovered from the mid-eighteenth century, are becoming increasingly well-known. This Treaty represents the sum of Biblical and Semitic rhetoric, in an abridged translation of the French original. The first chapter traces the history of the discovery of biblical rhetoric, the last chapter opens future prospects. The main text of the book is organized into three sections covering the three major fields of research: 1. Composition: The Levels of Composition, The Figures of Composition, Rewriting. 2. Context: Intratext, Intertext, The Center of concentric constructions. 3. Interpretation: Editing and translating, Composition and Interpretation, Intertext and Interpretation, The gift of interpretation. Numerous examples illustrate this methodical and rigorous exposition.

Genesis 12-50

Genesis 12-50
Author: James Chukwuma Okoye
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2020-06-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532673973

Genesis 12–50: A Narrative-Theological Commentary uses narrative criticism to bring out the theological aspects of the biblical story. While basing itself on the Christian belief that Christ is the goal of all Scripture, it nevertheless allows the Hebrew Bible to speak for itself and to show how its inner message may receive completion in Christ. Hence, it adopts what the author calls a “two-stage” hermeneutics. A particular contribution of this commentary is the comparison and confrontation of patristic and early rabbinic exegesis as Christians and Jews struggled over the same texts, using them to support their diverse beliefs. The discussion is geared towards the average educated reader.

Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah, Volume 1

Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah, Volume 1
Author: Craig C. Broyles
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2014-09-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004275940

This first part of a 2-volume work, this study combines recent approaches that treat the formation and early interpretation of the final form of the book of Isaiah with the more conventional historical-critical methods that treat the use of traditions by Isaiah's authors and editors. Studies investigate Isaiah's use of early sacred tradition, the editing and contextualization of oracles within the Isaianic tradition itself, and the interpretation of the book of Isaiah in later traditions (as seen in the various versions of the text and various communities). Contributors of this volume include virtually all of the major scholars of Isaiah and the leading scholars of biblical interpretation in the intertestamental, New Testament, and early Jewish periods.