Literary Forms/Techniques & Methods of Study

Abstract

Literary Forms/Techniques & Methods of Study Andrew W. Litke, Christopher T. Begg, Victor H. Matthews, Richard A. Taylor, Thomas Hieke, and Brian J. Meldrum Andrew W. Litke Catholic University of America Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Victor H. Matthews Missouri State University Richard A. Taylor Dallas Theological Seminary Thomas Hieke Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz Brian J. Meldrum Catholic University of America 168. ["May You Redeem the Nation That Completes the Book of Psalms"] Abraham Jacob Berkovitz, "'May You Redeem the Nation That Completes the Book of Psalms': An Aramaic Poem and Its Linguistic, Literary and Historical Contexts," AS 17 (2019) 145-73. This article examines in detail an Aramaic poem from M. Sokoloff and J. Yahalom's magisterial Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity (SYAP) (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1999). It begins by offering a translation of the entire poem along with an overview of some of the poem's key linguistic features. It then moves to an analysis of the poem's literary artistry. The study continues by examining [End Page 56] the poem's central motifs; namely, the portrait of David as the learned composer of the Psalter, the role of prophecy and kingship, and their relationship to eschatology. The study then attempts to place the poem's genesis and the practice of communal psalm recitation into a historical context. It concludes by showing how a careful analysis of a single piece of poetry can contribute to several debates about the nature and constitution of the poems collected in SYAP. See also ##169, 174, 180. [Published abstract—A.W.L.] Google Scholar 169. [cul T-S H14.64; Lamentations] Moshe J. Bernstein, "Reading an Aramaic Qina Framed by a Biblical One," AS 17 (2019) 174-97. The author of the first poem of a manuscript from the Cairo Geniza, cul T-S H14.64, used the verses of Lamentations 1 as a technical device to frame his poem, while he found a variety of ways to connect the stanzas of the poem with verses from Lamentations and other biblical verses. He linked the stanzas of the poem forward and backward through themes and language that are significant in the poem as a whole. This study also follows the trajectories of both the first- and third-person voices, reflecting on how their interchange might contribute to our understanding of the message of the poem. See also ##168, 174, 180. [Published abstract—A.W.L.] Google Scholar 170. [Vision Descriptions in the Prophets] Daniel E. Carver, "Vision Signals and the Language of Vision Descriptions in the Prophets," JSOT 45 (3, 2021) 371-87. In the prophetic literature, vision descriptions—which are not to be equated with "vision reports"—exhibit certain temporal and deictic orientations. Temporally, they are either past, with the vision itself being presented as past in relation to the speech time, or present, meaning that it is described as if it were occurring before the prophet's eyes at the speech time. Spatial orientation is also highlighted in vision descriptions, whose location is the world of the vision. Identifying a particular text as a vision description offers a much more coherent and meaningful interpretation of the text and fosters a deeper understanding of the text's significance in its literary context. To this end, my study identifies two linguistic expressions that function as vision signals, i.e., as indications that the text is describing a vision. My study fills gaps in the commentary literature on the relevant texts and existing scholarship on prophetic visions. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 171. [The Videogame Assassin's Creed Origins] Christian Casey, "Assassin's Creed Origins: Video Games as Time Machines," NEA 84 (1, 2021) 71-78. Assassin's Creed Origins provides gamers with a virtual visit to ancient Egypt during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. The game's designers' attention to historical detail results in a simulated world that is strikingly rich and accurate, while the experience of interacting with this world carries over into our understanding of ancient Egypt as a real place. With this enriched understanding, we are able...