Literary Forms/Techniques & Methods of Study

Abstract

Literary Forms/Techniques & Methods of Study Christopher T. Begg and Joseph E. Jensen 754. Uwe F. W. Bauer, "Über die Gematrie des Gottesnamen: JHWH in der hebräischen Bibel, im Midrasch und in der Mystik – eine Skizze," CV 58 (2016) 378-87. "Gematria," the interpretation of Hebrew words on the basis of the numerical value of their component letters is the 32nd interpretative rule of the Tannaitic Rabbi Eleazer. According to C. L. Labuschagne, the gematria of the divine name "Yhwh" functions as a principle in the shaping of OT texts. Gematria also plays a role in the rabbinic and kabbalistic traditions. B.'s article shows how the numerical values 26, 17, and 39 are calculated, gives examples of the use of these numbers and multiples of 26 and 17 in the shaping of OT texts, and calls attention to further associations to which gematria gives rise. B. then considers the number 72, which plays a role both in the shaping of OT texts and in the oral Torah, as well as the number 186, whose presence is limited to the oral Torah. For B., gematria is like a network of different arithmetics, on the basis of which various associations emerge and new meanings are generated. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] [End Page 232] 755. Jonathan Ben-Dov, "Binary Oppositions in Biblical Cosmological Poetry: Amos, Psalms, Job," Beit Mikra 61 (2016) 5-30 (Hebrew). In Biblical Hebrew poetry, the tension between the world order and the dangers to that order is regularly represented with pairs of opposites or complementary natural entities presented in parallel cola or strophes whose deliberately ambiguous or contrastive structure draws attention to the constant interchange of opposites. In biblical poems, this interchange can lead either to equilibrium or to chaos and loss of control, with a fragile border separating the two situations. B.-D. demonstrates these features at work in Psalm 85, the Amos doxologies, and the nature hymns in Job 5, 10, and 26. [Adapted from published abstract—J.E.J.] 756. [Genesis 1–2] Caroline Blyth (with Alex Farrell and Tony Brooking), "Exploring Visual Exegesis: A Conversation between Artist and Beholders," The Bible and Art, 143-61 [see #1173]. Focusing on the artist as creator and interpreter of religious traditions, B. and F. walk us through the process of visual exegesis, a methodological approach to reading the Bible that employs visual images and the creators of those images as sources of biblical interpretation. Through their conversation with Maori artist Tony Brooking, B. and F. seek to demonstrate the fruitfulness of visual exegesis, using Brooking's visual presentation of Genesis 1–2 in his painting titled Te Tīmatanga ("The Beginning") as a medium for shedding new light on the biblical text. What emerges from this conversation is a dialogue involving artist, art work, viewer, and text, in which all participants engage with each other to create a vibrant reading of the creation narrative that is profoundly embedded in Brooking's contemporary context of Aotearoa New Zealand. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 757. Brian Bompiani, "Style Switching in the Speech of Transjordanians," HS 57 (2016) 51-71. Following on his earlier identification of what Stephen Kaufman calls "style switching" in speech by Aramaic speakers in the Bible (HS 55 [2014] 43-57; cf. OTA 38 [2015] #2147), B. examines direct speech for evidence of a similar sensitivity in the case of Transjordanian characters. Although the Bible does not provide sufficient data for Ammonites, the vocabularies of the Edomite Esau and the Midianite Jethro differ from that of Israelite characters. Although this feature is not so clear in the case of the Moabite Ruth, both Boaz and Naomi do change their speech patterns when addressing her, thereby demonstrating that biblical authors took the presence of foreign speakers into account in formulating their discourses.—F.E.G. 758. Bat-Sheva Brosh, "The Transformed Character of the King," Beit Mikra 61 (2016) 31-73 (Hebrew). B. examines the biblical depictions of Saul in 1 Samuel 9–31, of Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33, and of Amaziah in 2...