The Semantics of Blessing and Cursing in Ancient Hebrew

The Semantics of Blessing and Cursing in Ancient Hebrew PDF Author: James K. Aitken
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book Here

Book Description
Blessings and curses represent complex social and theological phenomena, and challenge our linguistic and conceptual understandings of the society in which they are used. This volume gathers together the semantic information for the words used in ancient Hebrew (including inscriptions, Ben Sira and Qumran) for the field of 'blessing and cursing'. Since semantics must take into account the context in which the words are used, Part 1 surveys different approaches to the understanding of blessing and cursing in Israelite religion and society, and the anthropological and linguistic approaches taken in interpreting them. The relevance of these approaches to a semantic study is noted, and a summary of the second part of the volume is given. Part 2 is a detailed presentation of the data for each word, including discussion of the root, morphology, translations in the ancient versions, position within the semantic field and scholarly literature. The aim is to provide as full a treatment as possible for a semantic interpretation of the field. The volume has been produced as part of the international project, the Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database.

The Semantics of Blessing and Cursing in Ancient Hebrew

The Semantics of Blessing and Cursing in Ancient Hebrew PDF Author: James K. Aitken
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book Here

Book Description
Blessings and curses represent complex social and theological phenomena, and challenge our linguistic and conceptual understandings of the society in which they are used. This volume gathers together the semantic information for the words used in ancient Hebrew (including inscriptions, Ben Sira and Qumran) for the field of 'blessing and cursing'. Since semantics must take into account the context in which the words are used, Part 1 surveys different approaches to the understanding of blessing and cursing in Israelite religion and society, and the anthropological and linguistic approaches taken in interpreting them. The relevance of these approaches to a semantic study is noted, and a summary of the second part of the volume is given. Part 2 is a detailed presentation of the data for each word, including discussion of the root, morphology, translations in the ancient versions, position within the semantic field and scholarly literature. The aim is to provide as full a treatment as possible for a semantic interpretation of the field. The volume has been produced as part of the international project, the Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database.

Cursed Are You!

Cursed Are You! PDF Author: Anne Marie Kitz
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1575068745
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 541

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a book about curses. It is not about curses as insults or offensive language but curses as petitions to the divine world to render judgment and execute harm on identified, hostile forces. In the ancient world, curses functioned in a way markedly different from our own, and it is into the world of the ancient Near East that we must go in order to appreciate the scope of their influence. For the ancient Near Easterners, curses had authentic meaning. Curses were part of their life and religion. They were not inherently magic or features of superstitions, nor were they mere curiosities or trifling antidotes. They were real and effective. They were employed proactively and reactively to manage life’s many vicissitudes and maintain social harmony. They were principally protective, but they were also the cause of misfortune, illness, depression, and anything else that undermined a comfortable, well-balanced life. Every member of society used them, from slave to king, from young to old, from men and women to the deities themselves. They crossed cultural lines and required little or no explanation, for curses were the source of great evil. In other words, curses were universal. Because curses were woven into the very fabric of every known ancient Near Eastern society, they emerge frequently and in a wide variety of venues. They appear on public and private display objects, on tomb stelae, tomb lintels, and sarcophagi, on ancient kudurrus and narûs. They are used in political, administrative, social, religious, and familial contexts. They are the subject of incantations. They are tools that exorcise demons and dispel disease; they ban, protect, and heal. This is the phenomenology of cursing in the ancient Near East, and this is what the present work explores.

A Linguistic-Theological Exegesis of Ezekiel as Môphēt

A Linguistic-Theological Exegesis of Ezekiel as Môphēt PDF Author: Stefano Salemi
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004691227
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 263

Get Book Here

Book Description
Delve into Ezekiel’s tumultuous world, discovering his role as YHWH’s מוֹפֵת, a unique ‘sign’, among many others, and a divine communicator. Does the Exile’s trauma find an ‘ameliorating’ perspective through Ezekiel’s symbolic actions and identity? From temple absence to YHWH’s ‘glory’ departure, from loss and prohibited grief to intermittent mutism, is Ezekiel a response to a communication crisis between YHWH and Israel? Uncover how מוֹפֵת’s elusive meaning sheds light on Ezekiel’s role as an ‘embodiment’ of YHWH’s presence, a bridge in YHWH’s intricate relationship with Israel. Through meticulous exegesis and linguistic-theological analysis, you will experience afresh Ezekiel’s narrative and theology.

A Theocentric Interpretation of הדעת טוב ורע

A Theocentric Interpretation of הדעת טוב ורע PDF Author: Nathan S. French
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN: 3647564990
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
On a primary level, the author seeks to answer the question, what is the best interpretation of הדעת טוב ורע. "The Knowledge of Good and Evil," in Gen 2:9, 17; 3:5, and 3:22? In Gen 3:5 and 3:22, this knowledge is said to be possessed by YHWH and the divine beings. This study analyzes the permutations of ) טוב"good") and רעע ("evil/bad") in the Hebrew Bible, with a majority focus in Genesis and the Deuteronomistic History and with a focus upon those textual instances in which YHWH has influence over 'good' and 'bad/evil.' Due to the results of the data, the author brings in a second level of discussion that focuses upon the hermeneutical principle of divine retribution as a structuring element for ancient Near Eastern historiography. On a third level, the author turns to divine blessing and cursing, and its association with good and evil in ancient Near Eastern texts and in the Hebrew Bible. Due to this specific theocentric analysis of the lexemes juxtaposed with the author's wider study of ancient Near Eastern history and culture, the answer to the guiding question of this study is therefore proposed by the author as, 'The Divine Knowledge for Administering Reward and Punishment.' Ergo, the Eden Narrative tells a story of how humans partly attain divinity becoming like YHWH and the divine beings (Gen 3:5; 3:22; Ps 82) in having acquired the forbidden divine knowledge for wielding ultimate power.

The Lexical Field of the Substantives of “Gift” in Ancient Hebrew

The Lexical Field of the Substantives of “Gift” in Ancient Hebrew PDF Author: Francesco Zanella
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004178732
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 495

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book provides an exhaustive analysis of the semantic domain of ‘gift’ in Ancient Hebrew. The investigation focuses on the single lexemes and provides an overall picture of the developments of the lexical field across the linguistic layers of Ancient Hebrew.

The Priestly Blessing in Inscription and Scripture

The Priestly Blessing in Inscription and Scripture PDF Author: Jeremy Daniel Smoak
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199399972
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Get Book Here

Book Description
Jeremy Smoak presents a synthesis of recent discoveries bearing upon the early history and function of the biblical priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. The book gives special focus to the importance of the discovery of the blessing on two silver amulets from Jerusalem dating to the late Iron Age and several other Iron Age inscriptions containing parallels to the blessing. The analysis of the inscriptions provides a new way to approach the meaning and significance of the instructions for the blessing in the biblical book of Numbers.

Jewish Aramaic Curse Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia

Jewish Aramaic Curse Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia PDF Author: Dan Levene
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004257268
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Get Book Here

Book Description
The corpus of Aramaic incantation bowls from Sasanian Mesopotamia is perhaps the most important source we have for studying the everyday beliefs and practices of the Jewish, Christian, Mandaean, Manichaean, Zoroastrian and Pagan communities on the eve of the Islamic conquests. In Jewish Aramaic Curse Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia, Dan Levene collects and analyses a selection of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowls. While such texts are usually apotropaic or healing in purpose, those collected here are distinctive in that their purpose was to curse or return curses against human adversaries. This book presents new editions of thirty texts, of which fourteen are edited here for the first time, with an introduction, commentary, analysis and glossaries, as well as photographs. “In this valuable addition to the literature on the role of bowls with aggressive texts in magic practices in this period, Levene (Jewish history and culture, U. of Southampton, UK) presents a summary of newly edited and already published bowls with Aramaic transcription; English translation; its type (e.g., invocation of demons to attack a named person, counter-charm); publication source; formulaic parallels in other texts; and notes." Reference & Research Book News, 2013.

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament, 3.1

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament, 3.1 PDF Author: Stephen J. Andrews
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498203493
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 153

Get Book Here

Book Description
Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament (JESOT) is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the academic and evangelical study of the Old Testament. The journal seeks to fill a need in academia by providing a venue for high-level scholarship on the Old Testament from an evangelical standpoint. The journal is not affiliated with any particular academic institution, and with an international editorial board, open access format, and multi-language submissions, JESOT cultivates and promotes Old Testament scholarship in the evangelical global community. The journal differs from many evangelical journals in that it seeks to publish current academic research in the areas of ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinics, Linguistics, Septuagint, Research Methodology, Literary Analysis, Exegesis, Text Criticism, and Theology as they pertain only to the Old Testament. JESOT also includes up-to-date book reviews on various academic studies of the Old Testament. EDITORIAL STAFF Stephen J. Andrews, executive editor (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) Russell L. Meek, editor (Ohio Theological Institute) Andrew King, book reviews editor (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) Ron Haydon, assistant editor (Wheaton College) EDITORIAL BOARD T. Desmond Alexander (Union Theological College, Queens University, Ireland) George Athas (Moore Theological College, Australia) Ellis R. Brotzman (Emeritus, Tyndale Theological Seminary, The Netherlands) Helene Dallaire (Denver Seminary, USA) Kyle Greenwood (Denver Seminary, USA) John F. Evans (Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, Kenya) John F. Hobbins (University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, USA) Kenneth A. Mathews (Beeson Divinty School, Samford University, USA) William R. Osborne (College of the Ozarks, USA) Sung Jin Park (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, USA) Max Rogland (Rose Hill Presbyterian Church, USA) Daniel C. Timmer (Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, USA) Matthew Y. Emerson (Oklahoma Baptist University, USA) Christopher J. Fresch (Bible College of South Australia, Australia) Colin Toffelmire (Ambrose University, Canada) Ryan Hanley (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, USA) Michele E. Knight (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA)

International Review of Biblical Studies, Volume 54 (2007-2008)

International Review of Biblical Studies, Volume 54 (2007-2008) PDF Author: Bernhard Lang
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047426010
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 568

Get Book Here

Book Description
Formerly known by its subtitle “Internationale Zeitschriftenschau für Bibelwissenschaft und Grenzgebiete”, the International Review of Biblical Studies has served the scholarly community ever since its inception in the early 1950’s. Each annual volume includes approximately 2,000 abstracts and summaries of articles and books that deal with the Bible and related literature, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, Non-canonical gospels, and ancient Near Eastern writings. The abstracts – which may be in English, German, or French - are arranged thematically under headings such as e.g. “Genesis”, “Matthew”, “Greek language”, “text and textual criticism”, “exegetical methods and approaches”, “biblical theology”, “social and religious institutions”, “biblical personalities”, “history of Israel and early Judaism”, and so on. The articles and books that are abstracted and reviewed are collected annually by an international team of collaborators from over 300 of the most important periodicals and book series in the fields covered.

Beyond Orality

Beyond Orality PDF Author: Jacqueline Vayntrub
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315304171
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 458

Get Book Here

Book Description
Central to understanding the prophecy and prayer of the Hebrew Bible are the unspoken assumptions that shaped them—their genres. Modern scholars describe these works as “poetry,” but there was no corresponding ancient Hebrew term or concept. Scholars also typically assume it began as “oral literature,” a concept based more in evolutionist assumptions than evidence. Is biblical poetry a purely modern fiction, or is there a more fundamental reason why its definition escapes us? Beyond Orality: Biblical Poetry on its Own Terms changes the debate by showing how biblical poetry has worked as a mirror, reflecting each era’s own self-image of verbal art. Yet Vayntrub also shows that this problem is rooted in a crucial pattern within the Bible itself: the texts we recognize as “poetry” are framed as powerful and ancient verbal performances, dramatic speeches from the past. The Bible’s creators presented what we call poetry in terms of their own image of the ancient and the oral, and understanding their native theories of Hebrew verbal art gives us a new basis to rethink our own.