7 research outputs found

    'Good figs, bad figs': theologies of differentiation in Jeremiah 21-45

    Get PDF
    This thesis explores the concept of inner-Judean differentiation in the judgement and salvation oracles of Jer. 21—45. Specifically, it aims to identity the various 'polarities' of who will and will not be saved and to explore their underlying rationale. In order to show how these concepts interact, a synchronic approach is preferred, in which the relevant texts are analysed within their literary units.Chapter 1 places the differentiation texts of Jer. 21-45 against the background of indiscriminate judgement preaching in Jer. 1-20. The works of K.-F. Pohlmann, C.R. Seitz and N. Kilpp on Jeremiah are then reviewed and assessed. It is argued that Pohlmann and Seitz, in particular, overlook important modes of differentiation within Jer. 21-45.Chapters 2, 3 and 4 form the bulk ofthe thesis. Chapter 2 identifies three polarities in Jer. 21- 24: those who stay in Jerusalem v. those who surrender (21.1-10), Israel's leaders v. its people (23.1-8), and the exiles in Babylon v. the non-exiles in Jerusalem (24.1-10). The hermeneutical relationship between these passages is then discussed. Chapter 3 focuses on Jer. 27-29, which presents two intersecting polarities; that of the exiles v. non-exiles, and that ofprophets v. people. This configuration is complicated by the additional material in MT 29.16-20. Chapter 4 examines Jer. 37-45, where the mode of differentiation in the oracles to Ebed-Melech and Baruch reshape the mode of differentiation in Jeremiah's message to the people of Jerusalem and the remnant of Judah. Chapter 5 briefly describes the message of undifferentiated salvation in Jer. 30-31.In chapter 6, it is concluded that although inner-Judean differentiation forms a prominent motif in Jer. 21-45, no one expression of this has the final word. Rather, the juxtaposition of different or partly similar polarities results in a kaleidoscopic picture, consistent with the book as a whole and the period in which it was formed. It is also concluded that there is no single rationale for judgement or salvation; however, the actual experience ofjudgement seems to facilitate the promise of salvation. The thesis concludes by considering the relevance of the research to the works of Pohlmann and Seitz

    A study of Lucretius, De rerum natura i 635-920: Lucretius and his sources.

    Get PDF
    My thesis is a study of lines 635-920 of DRNI, Lucretius' refutation of the theories about the fundamental nature of matter elaborated by Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and other unnamed thinkers. My main concern is establishing what source Lucretius used in these lines and how he used it. In chapter 1 I give my reasons for believing that Lucretius, in DRN I635-920, was following an Epicurean source, which in turn derived its information from Theophrastean doxography. In chapter 21 argue that books XIV and XV of the IIO were not Lucretius' source-text for Lucretius' refutation of earlier thinkers. In chapter 31 discuss how lines 635-920 fit in the structure of the first book of Lucretius' poem, whether the critique was an addition from a later stage in composition, and whether the source is more likely to be Epicurus himself or a later Epicurean author. In chapter 41 focus on Lucretius' own additions to the material he found in his source and his poetical and rhetorical contributions. Lucretius contributed extensively himself to this section as a finished poetic product. It will appear that even if the philosophy comes from the source, Lucretius shows understanding of the points in the way he adapts his poetical devices to the philosophical arguments. It will also appear that Lucretius foreshadows philosophical points in what have often been thought the 'poetical sections' or 'purple passages' of his poem (e.g. the invocation of Venus in the proem, and the description of Sicily and Aetna in DRN I 716-733), so that he could take them up later on in his narrative and provide an adequate explanation of reality

    Truth and Terror: a Text-Oriented Analysis of Daniel 8:9-14

    Get PDF
    Daniel 8:9-14 constitutes the climax of the vision report in Dan 8, and is arguably one of the most difficult Danielic passages. This dissertation investigates the Masoretic Text of Dan 8:9-14 by means of a detailed and comprehensive text-oriented analysis that utilizes linguistic, literary, and intertextual procedures. In chapter 1, an overview of modern text-oriented approaches and the review of recent literature on Dan 8 pave the way for a description of this study\u27s methodology, which consists of a combination of linguistic (syntax, semantics, and text-grammar), literary (style and structure), and intertextual approaches (textual relations within the book of Daniel), using them as a threefold avenue to the understanding of the text, while at the same time demonstrating their interdependence. The linguistic analysis in chapter 2 analyzes the syntactic and semantic features of each clause, as well as significant terms and expressions in Dan 8:9-14. A text-grammatical analysis identifies the interclausal relations in the passage. The literary analysis in chapter 3 examines the rhetorical and stylistic devices and their function in Dan 8:9-14, and describes the literary structure and dynamics of the passage. Stylistic and structural devices include poetic-like language in vs. 11, verbal gender shifts in vss. 9-12, the use of the key word gadel in a hubris-fall pattern, and spatial imagery. The investigation of terminological fields and their distribution observes the interplay of military, royal, cultic, creation, and judgment terminology, showing how these themes characterize the role of the horn figure and convey the text\u27s theological message. The intertextual analysis in chapter 4 explores the lexical and thematic links of Dan 8:9-14 with other texts in the book of Daniel---particularly with 8:23-25 and chaps. 7, 9, and 10--12---and how these texts contribute to the interpretation of Dan 8:9-14. The summary and conclusions in chapter 5 highlight the results of each of the three avenues of the text-oriented approach to Dan 8:9-14. The climax of the vision report with its accompanying audition, against the general opinion, is linguistically well-composed and an extremely artistic literary piece that combines significant theological themes. The Day of Atonement serves as a macrotheme and typifies the divine reaction to the cosmic challenge created by the cultic war of the horn. By its complex textual relations, Dan 8:9-14 constitutes a central passage in the book of Daniel

    New Directions in Ancient Pantomime

    Get PDF
    Co-edited volume of essays on ancient balletic interpretations of playscript

    Social tensions within XVth century Hispano-Jewish communities

    Get PDF
    The purpose of this study is to explore the relations between certain social groups within the xvth century Hispano-Jewish communities. The main emphasis is on the analysis of the leadership strata, local and supralocal, as targets of criticism and, at the same time, as a centralizing force. The configurations of social tension are examined and attention is drawn to the recurrence of conflict between various groups on socio-economic issues. Some exponents of literary expressions of this tension, in the form of criticism of the leadership and its ideals are investigated and seen within both their literary and historical backgrounds. Part I deals with the expressions of social thought in the works of Jewish thinkers writing in Hebrew and voicing social grievances. Chapter 1 deals with social criticism in the 'Iggeret Musar' by Solomon Alami setting it against its historical and literary context. Chapter 2 is devoted to a study of ideas of social criticism to be found in a group of poems by the Saragossan poet Solomon Bonafed and to an analysis of the forms of social conflict in his community on the basis of archival records collected from the works of Serrano y Sanz and Fritz Baer et al (where they are published in different contexts). Part 2 is devoted to a study of conflict in the Hispano-Jewish communities of the xvth century and to the centralizing role of one of the social groups in these conflicts: the leadership stratum. Chapter 3 is devoted to a study of social tension within the Jewish communities of the Crown of Aragon and the existence of a trend towards centralization which is denied in modern historiography. Chapter 4 is concerned with the forms of social conflict amongst groups in the Castilian-Jewish communities of the xvth century. Chapter 5 deals with Abraham Seneor, Chief Rabbi of Castille, under the Catholic Monarchs, as a representative of central Jewish supralocal institutions and as a target of social criticism and conflict. The evidence adduced leads to the conclusion that fiscal, socio-economic and administrative issues, and not only religious ones, were at the root of much of xvth century Hispano-Jewish social tensions forming tae background to xvth century Hebrew authors who have been dismissed as exaggerated, isolated or embittered

    Proverbs I-IX : Septuagint, Peshitta and Targum

    Get PDF
    The thesis examines the translational style and characteristics of the Septuagint, Peshitta and Targum texts of Proverbs I - IX. It also investigates inter-relationships between the various texts. The Septuagint : For differences between the Greek and Hebrew texts, the traditional approach of scholarly emendation of the texts to produce exact equation between the two is contrasted with the attempt to gain understanding of such differences by considering the exegetical style and method of the Greek translator. A special class of differences between the texts, viewed as a problem in its own right, is the existence of Greek doublets. In considering translational style two major cultural factors emerge in the form of Hellenistic influence and Jewish influence. A background of Hellenism can be observed in the translator's use of Greek proverbs and allegory, as well as peculiarly Greek metaphors and concepts. A Jewish background can be observed in the extensive use of the literary device of parallelism, as well as numerous Biblical quotations and allusions. Other translational traits noted include problems of vocalisation of the consonantal text, the use of heightened emphasis in comparisons, basic mistranslations of various Hebrew words (including the technique known as homoeophony), and grammatical restructuring of the syntax of extended passages of text. The Peshitta and Targum : As well as the general question of the relationship of the Peshitta and Targum to the Masoretic text, the major problem of their interaction with each other is also investigated. It is clear that literary dependence exists on the part of one text or the other. The question which is examined is which text has priority. A significant part of this problem is centred on the extensive number of Syriacisms, and various corruptions, in the Targum text. In looking at the Syriac translation a further characteristic of its text is the large number of Greek readings to be found there. Attention is directed to determining how these readings have come into the Peshitta text. It is argued that only a small number of these readings take the form of later interpolations and that the majority can be shown to stem from the translator himself. Detailed examination of the Syriac, Greek and Hebrew texts is undertaken to determine these interconnections with reasonable certainty. Other traits of the Syriac translator which are scrutinized include abbreviated renderings of the Hebrew, repetitions of the same word where one would expect the use of synonyms, harmonisation of parallel or related texts, smoothing out of grammatical difficulties in the Hebrew, and textual rearrangement of various kinds. The Targum, considered on its own, is shown to lack the expansions and paraphrastic renderings characteristic of many other Targum texts. It is suggested that this feature of the Targum to Proverbs is bound up with the question of its relation to the Syriac version. The few additions which do occur in its text are very concise, often no more than one word. The question of anthropomorphism is considered but it is shown that there is no particular effort to avoid this kind of reference to the Deity. One possible example of the translator's style may be found in the use of word play, and some instances of this are considered. The main case which is presented, however, is that the Targum is a heavily edited version, derived from the Peshitta and that this accounts in the main for its lack of spontaneity and freedom of expression

    Comunicación ibero-americana: los desafíos de la internacionalización: libro de actas del II Congreso Mundial de la Comunicación iberoamericana

    Get PDF
    (Excerto da Nota Introdutória) Com uma tradição académica que remonta a meados do século XX, os estudos de comunicação têm acompanhado as principais transformações sociais e culturais operadas sob o signo dos média e por efeito de uma organização cada vez mais tecnológica da vida em sociedade. Ao analisarem as dinâmicas discursivas de um tempo marcado pelo convívio com meios de comunicação igualmente dinâmicos e mutantes, as ciências da comunicação prestam-se a uma compreensão mais vasta dos processos de socialização e manifestação cultural. É por isso que esta é uma área tão recetiva à interdisciplinaridade e, ao mesmo tempo, tão sensível à expressão nas diversas línguas que servem a comunicação. Dedicando-se a um objeto de estudo que nada tem de estável, as ciências da comunicação partilham com todas as outras áreas científicas o repto de internacionalização do conhecimento. À semelhança do que tem acontecido com outros grupos disciplinares, também as ciências da comunicação estão hoje organizadas numa lógica de globalização da ciência. A partir da década de 1950, começaram a ser criadas associações internacionais, como a International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), lançada em 1957, e a International Communication Association (ICA), criada em 1950 como National Society for the Study of Communication (NSSC), a que se sucederam muitas outras de âmbitos mais especializados ou regionalizados. Por iniciativa destas associações, passaram a realizar-se periodicamente congressos internacionais que depressa concorreram para instituir o Inglês como uma espécie de língua oficial.(Nota introdutória no completa) Con una tradición académica que se remonta a mediados del siglo XX, los estudios de comunicación han sido capaces de acompañar los principales cambios sociales y culturales en el marco de los medios de comunicación social, una consecuencia que resulta de una organización cada vez más tecnológica de la vida en sociedad. Mediante el análisis científico de las dinámicas discursivas de nuestro tiempo, caracterizado por la existencia de múltiples medios de comunicación igualmente dinámicos y cambiantes, las ciencias de la comunicación se proponen comprender los procesos de socialización y las diversas manifestaciones culturales. Es quizás por eso que dicha área científica es tan receptiva tanto a la interdisciplinariedad como a la muy sensible expresión en diversas lenguas que sirven de base a la comunicación. Aunque su objeto de estudio se caracterice por la inestabilidad, las ciencias de la comunicación comparten con todas las áreas científicas el gran reto de la internacionalización del conocimiento. Tal y como ha pasado con otros grupos disciplinares, también las ciencias de la comunicación se presentan hoy más organizadas en la lógica de globalización de la ciencia. En este sentido, a partir de la década de 1950 se han creado asociaciones internacionales como la AIECS (Asociación Internacional de Estudios de Comunicación Social), en 1957, y la ICA (Asociación de Comunicación Internacional), fundada en 1950 como Sociedad Nacional para el Estudio de la Comunicación (NSSC), a las cuáles les han seguido numerosas asociaciones más de ámbitos más especializados o más regionalizados. Como resultado de este proceso, se han organizado con gran frecuencia congresos internacionales que casi han convertido a la lengua inglesa en el idioma oficial de dichos encuentros científicos.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
    corecore