Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics [Paperback]

Robert D Bergen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Twenty-two papers selected from a 1993 Seminar in Dallas, attended by a combination of professional Bible translators, biblical scholars and discourse linguists, are divided into three parts: Grammatical, Syntactical and Accent Studies; Narrative Genre; and Topics Related to Nonnarratives Genres. There is an introductory essay by C.H.J. van der Merwe which will help non-specialists.

The authors are translation personnel and consultants from SIL International and the United Bible Societies, as well as scholars from Denmark, Sweden, Holland, South Africa, Israel, and the United States. Shares interaction of linguists and biblical scholars to provide exciting insights into the understanding of biblical texts.

Table of Contents

Foreward Francis I. Anderson
Preface Robert D. Bergen

Part I: Grammatical, Syntactical, and Accent Studies

1. Discourse Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew Grammar Christo H. J. van der Merwe
2. Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose Robert E. Longacre
3. Salience, Implicature, Ambiguity, and Redundancy in Clause-Clause Relationships in Biblical Hebrew Francis I. Andersen
4. On the Hebrew Verbal System Alviero Niccacci
5. Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis Randall Buth
6. A Discourse Perspective on the Significance of the Masoretic Accents Lars Lode

Part II: Narrative Genre

7. Analysis of Biblical Narrative Alviero Niccacci
8. Introducing Direct Discourse in Biblical Hebrew Narrative Cynthia L. Miller
9. Genealogical Prominence and the Structure of Genesis T. David Andersen
10.Some Literary and Grammatical Aspects of Genealogies in Genesis Nicholas Andrew Bailey
11. Is Genesis 27:46 P or J? And How the Answer Affects Translation Hanni Kuhn
12. The Miraculous Grammar of Joshua 3-4 Nicolai Winther-Nielsen
13. Evil Spirits and Eccentric Grammar Robert D. Bergen
14. A Textlinguistic Approach to the Biblical Hebrew Narrative of Jonah Robert E. Longacre and Shin Ja J. Hwang

Part III: Topics Relating to Nonnarrative Genres

15. Functions and Implications of Rhetorical Questions in the Book of Job Lénart J. de Regt
16. Genre Criticism and the Psalms Ernst R. Wendland
17. Genre and Form Criticism in Old Testament Exegesis Bo-Krister Ljungberg
18. Hebrew Proverbs and How to Translate Them Murray Salisbury
19. Units and Flow in the Song of Songs 1:1-2:6 John Callow
20. Some Discourse Functions of Prophetic Quotation Formulas in Jeremiah H. Van Dyke Parunak
21. The Poetic Properties of Prophetic Discourse in the Book of Micah Francis I. Andersen
22. Vision and Oracle in Zechariah 1-6 David J. Clark

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Summer Institute of Linguistics (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556710070
• ISBN-13: 978-1556710070
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #987,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Frederic C Putnam (Hatfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics (Paperback)

In this volume, Bergen edited some of the papers from the 1993 SIL conference on Discourse Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew [BH]. Divided into three sections ("Grammatical, Syntactical, & Accent Studies" (6 articles), "Narrative Genre" (8 articles), and "Non-narrative Genres" (8 articles), this provides a quick overview of the state of discourse studies of BH. After van der Merwe's introductory article, "Discourse Linguistics & Biblical Hebrew Grammar", articles address verbal function, clause structure and relations, as well as how to approach narrative and other genres. The essays reveal both the depth and breadth--as well as the lack of consensus regarding terminology and many basic issues (e.g., vastly different views of the verbal system)--but also the excitement of new insight, such as Cynthia Miller's article on quotation formulae. This volume can be most helpfully read in conjunction with, e.g., many of Robert Longacre's articles, but also stands on its own as a capsule of the future of the study of biblical language.