Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-104).

Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions, Columbia, S.C., 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-102).

The primary intent of this thesis is to explore new avenues in semantic theory and how they might affect understanding of a selection of Biblical Hebrew vocabulary, namely that of cooking. As such, the method used here is equally important as the results discovered. The underlying theory for this method finds it source in Cognitive Grammar and its use of profile-base-domain relations. These relations are illustrative of how the human mind perceives word meanings. Every aspect of meaning is to be understood against the backdrop of a greater context. All of these layers, furthermore, are set against the largest backdrop – encyclopaedic knowledge. This is the entire set of knowledge that a language user has about his or her world, any part of which may be drawn upon for any utterance. This theory has been employed very little in biblical studies. Where it has been employed, it has been done in a way that is largely inaccessible for the non-linguist. It is the intention of this thesis to put this cognitive theory to work in a way that could be repeated faithfully by others. For the present, this is demonstrated by looking at cooking vocabulary in Biblical Hebrew. Cooking vocabulary provides two benefits for this kind of research. First, it is relatively straightforward to coordinate cooking words with lived reality, and therefore to encyclopaedic knowledge. Second, it grants access to the lives of ordinary people living in ancient Palestine, something that has often been overlooked by archaeology in the past, in favour of, for example, palace, cultic, and military life. To this end, this thesis explores the daily reality of ancient Hebrew speakers, particularly in the area of food preparation. This fills out what we can know of encyclopaedic knowledge. Following this is the exploration of cooking lexemes as found in the Hebrew Bible. They are analysed according to the profile-base-domain relations mentioned above, and are divided into their representative concepts. These concepts are then gathered up and grouped in meaningful ways, for example, according to their schematicity – which concepts are more generic or specific and may stand in for another. The concepts associated with אפה are schematically higher than עוג , for example, and therefore any instance of the latter can fill out the meaning of the former. עשׂה , for its part, is maximally schematic, and therefore the information from any other cooking lexeme may be applied to the possible meaning of .עשׂה Lastly, this knowledge is put to use in exegeting biblical texts where food is concerned. Here it is argued, among many other things, that the different descriptions of cooking the Passover in the Hebrew Bible are indeed at variance, which can be illustrated by the fact that בשׁל must relate to liquid cooking and is not simply a generic cooking verb. This and many other insights here serve to demonstrate the value for biblical studies of adopting a cognitive approach to word meaning.

This thesis addresses the question of how to interpret instances in Hebrew prophetic literature in which one speaker quotes another speaker. Speech quotations of this kind occur almost 300 times across the prophetic corpus and exhibit a wide range of quoting and quoted participants with modal and temporal variations. In order to examine this phenomenon and to formulate a method for its interpretation, the thesis conducts an exegetical case study of Jeremiah 2.1-­‐3.5 which is distinguished by its high number and density of quotations (twelve instances in forty-­‐two verses). With a few notable exceptions, the phenomenon of prophetic speech quotation has not received any attention in its own right but was subsumed under other research concerns, such as prophetic conUlict or the form-­‐critical genre of disputation speech. Across these and other studies, the interpretation of quoted speech is marked by two principal procedures: a) on the basis of their assumed authenticity, quotations are frequently employed as a way to gain direct access to expressions of Israelite religion; b) in most studies, the approach to quoted speech is deUined by extracting the quoted words from their literary environment and by assigning them to a Uixed number of categories. Prompted by the exegetical studies by Wolff (1937) and Overholt (1979), the thesis utilizes Sternberg’s publications on quotation theory in order to confront these two central domains of authenticity and categorization. Quoted speech is deUined as a dualistic structure in which the inset (quoted utterance) is subsumed under the frame (quoting context) in order to serve its perspective and rhetorical goals. The dynamics of the frame-­‐inset relationship renders appeals to authenticity and direct access misguided: every quotation is subject to the forces of contextual mediation, inUluence, and shaping. The inseparable bond between frame and inset also challenges the approach of extraction and categorization. As a corrective to previous approaches, the thesis thus constructs the argument that prophetic speech quotations must always be interpreted within their literary context. To demonstrate the accuracy and implications of this methodological discussion and argument, the remainder of the thesis analyzes the twelve quotations in Jeremiah 2.1-­‐3.5. Special attention is devoted to the contextual integration of the quoted words and to the ways in which they are utilized to serve their frames. In close interaction with previous studies on this passage, this exegesis demonstrates the beneUits of a reading that takes into account the contextually conditioned nature of prophetic speech quotations. At the end of the thesis, the results of this analysis are summarized and related to other quotations in the Book of Jeremiah and other prophetic texts. The contribution of the thesis relates to the exegesis and understanding of the speech quotations and text of Jeremiah 2.1.

In Chapter One, mention is made of certain features of Old Testament study which should be kept in view in any study such as this. e.g. The Old Testament is a book about God and His relation to man. It is essentially practical in its thought. The conception of Corporate Personality was very fully developed in Israel, and needs to be borne in mind, particularly for an understanding of pre-exilic Israel. Then, too, the Old Testament Is not homogenous in thought, but is virtually a library of books by different authors, written at different times, and in different circumstances. Chapter Two begins with a brlef survey of the relation of the Hebrew root [Hebrew characters] to other Semitic languages with basic connotations. ThIs is followed by a long and detailed analysis of the use of the root [Hebrew characters] in the Old Testament. In this section, the use of the various grammatical forms - the Verb (Qal, Pi'ēl and Riph'îl), Adjective and Noun, are examined with reference to men and animals, in their metaphorical use and in certain set phrases. Throughout an attempt is made, according the context, to differentiate between its use with the following connotations: being animated, purely physical existence, activity, revival from ill- health, revival from death, and general prosperIty and welfare. The section is concluded with a brief analysis of some words used as parallels to the root [Hebrew characters]. Bearing in mind that the main purpose of this thesis is to try to discover whether, as used in the Old Testament, the root has any deeper significance, an examination is made in Chapter Three of its use in the context of various relationships. After touching briefly on relationships of animals, a detailed study is made of relationships entered into by man; first in a general sense and then more specifically in the context of Election, Covenant, Cultus and Holy Places, as governed by the Torah and finally, as enjoined by Wisdom teachlng. Although relationships between men and other men, and between men and animals, are discussed, the main emphasis is always on the relationship between man and God. The conclusion drawn is that the root [Hebrew characters] is used to denote an intimate relationship between God and man - a relationship though, in which God is by far the more senior partner. Chapter Four is a brief study of the development of a belief in an After-Life in the Old Testament, emphasizing only those aspects which are relevant to the purpose of this Thesis. A brief description of early beliefs in an After-Life is followed by a discussion of tho Prophetic influence and the resistance to any such belief until after the Exile. Post-exilic developments, which took the Hebrews almost to the point of belief in a life after death, are discussed under the headings: "The Problem of Reward and Retribution" and "The Religious need for God". Finally a brief examination is made of the two late passages in the Old Testament where definite reference is made to a life after death. The Root, [Hebrew characters], it is concluded, is used to describe the deepest of all experiences of men - everlasting fellowship with God.

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Text in Hebrew with English Summary / This research describes nominal patterns with prefixes m and t as appearing in Parma A in comparison with other traditions viz. Kaufinan, Paris and Y emenite manuscripts. This research has 3 aims: 1. To describe all relevant evidence in Parma A 2. To compare evidence with data in other traditions, including the Bible and Mishnaic Hebrew and Aramaic sources 3. To elaborate on those unique forms in manuscripts which represent genuine Mishnaic Hebrew / Classics and Modern European Languages / D. Litt et Phil. (Semitic Languages)

This study examines the figures of theיקדִּ צַ and עשָׁ רָ in psalms. Drawing on both semantics and poetics, this study argues that the contrast between the figures represented by these terms is part of the conventions of Hebrew psalmody and, as such, can serve various discursive functions within an individual psalm. Using insights from the field of lexical semantics, the study clarifies the possible uses of the words Justand עשָׁ רָ, emphasizing a wider range of uses than is typically offered within a broad behavioral domain for these terms. The study summarizes ways that various books in the Hebrew Bible use the contrast of these figures to develop a description of the literary features related to their presentations. The analysis of 18 psalms that include both figures utilizes insights from narratological theories of character to explore the functions of the contrast between קידִּ צַ and עשָׁ רָ as literary figures within the overall discourse of the psalm. Focusing on the setting of an individual psalm and embracing the possibility of variation reveals that קידִּ צַ and עשָׁ רָ are not only, or even usually, employed to describe the “prototypically good” or “prototypically bad” person in psalms. Rather, the עשָׁ רָ is often a designation for an antagonist, and the קידִּ צַ is often understood as one who is innocently wronged. As such, the literary pattern of their contrast does not focus on the moral character of these figures but on the fairness or justice of God to eventually elevate the position of the קידִּ צַ and destroy the עשָׁ רָ.

The concept of [hebrew characters] (tsedeqah) is a cardinal feature of the prophetic teaching. A study of the prophetic literature in the Old Testament reveals that the Hebrew word [hebrew characters- tsedeqah] and cognates appear about one hundred and sixty times. This frequent usage emphasizes the significant place the concept of [hebrew characters- tsedeqah] had in the thinking and preaching of the prophets. The impact of the prophets delcarations is greatly dimished for many readers, however, by the wide range of diversity in the Greek and English translations of [hebrew characters- tsedeqah] and its cognate words.