Literary Strata Research Articles

Second Life of Narts and Daredzans: An Essay on Russian Verse Translations from Ossetian Folk Epos

The process of recording and publication of the texts of Ossetian folk epic literature has its own history, directly related to the evolution of Ossetian Enlightenment. Its most important landmarks have been registered and described in detail; first of all, the material has been divided into periods and classified in the ethnographic, cultural-historical and sociopolitical aspects. This article is devoted to elaboration on its purely philological characteristics and poetic features. Even an introductory survey lets us single out the main parameters of this vast literary stratum. First, the Ossetian folk epos has been recorded both in Ossetian and in Russian, which fact did reflect the bilingual nature of Ossetian literature. Secondly, the Ossetian folk epos has been represented by two epic cycles: the Nart and the Daredzan sagas. Thirdly, the Ossetian folk epos exists in written form in two literary genres: prosaic and poetic. It is evident that the recording of Ossetian folk epic literature means the fixation of the interior, immanent archetypes of ethnic artistic mentality, and of the peculiar rhythms of folk poetic breathing. In this respect, of special interest are the Russian verse translations and interpretations as texts that: declare this lore at the outside contour of the Ossetian culture and serve as a means of spiritual communications among Russia’s ethnic communities; intrinsically match the internal with the external, and the immanent with the borrowed; and represent a product with a vividly expressed author’s individual inception. These texts, viz. the translations and adaptations of Ossetian folk epos performed at various times by A.Z. Kubalov, S.M. Gorodetsky, G.G. Maliev, D.A. Gatuev, V.A. Dynnik, Rurik Ivnev, as well as the unpublished experiments of Ada Vladimirova and Mussa Khakim, became the subject of this study. In this article, we have put forward the challenge to: perform a general recording of the previously known texts in the chronological order, with the designation of their main peculiarities and most typical circumstances; put into general practice data on the newly found texts of the shown type; and generalize the material according to dynamic and properly poetic criteria.

Социально-речевой портрет татарских крестьян конца XIX - начала XX в.

This work is dedicated to examining the structure of social differentiation of the Tatar language of the late ХIХ - early ХХ century, namely, the stratification-situational parameters of the Tatar peasants’ social and speech portrait. The aim of the study is to find out the degree of correlation between the types of socially determined variability of the Tatar language in the communicative practice of these representatives of the Tatar society. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the structure of social differentiation of the Tatar language has not yet become an object of scientific research. As a result, it has been revealed that the communicative needs of the Tatar peasants were mainly served by the colloquial forms of the Tatar language, which later made a basis of its literary stratum.

Je Tsongkhapa’s Hagiographies as a Separate Field in Buddhist Historical Literature: the Early Period

This paper examines the early period of the historical genesis of the famous Namtars of one of the most iconic figures of Tibetan Buddhism: Je Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (1357-1419) — the founder of the Gelug school. Hagiographic Namtars hold a special niche in Tibetan literature as records of the spiritual life of the great Buddhist figures similar to Christian Vitas. If one is to examine the literary stratum of Tibetan biographies, Tsongkhapa’s biographies are notable for being especially prolific and varied. The purpose of this study is to provide proof that Je Tsongkhapa’s biographies can serve as a field of study unto themselves. This study’s objectives preliminary has to do with examining the primary early Namtars of Tsongkhapa, the origin behind the historical source, its contents, and its author. The subject of the study are Tsongkhapa’s biographies written in Tibetan language available in the archives of the Centre of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, as well as the archives of the TBRC. Early Tsongkhapa Namtars stand out as being particularly significant and being of great scientific interest. The novelty of this study is that it fills the various gaps that can be found in the field of Je Tsongkhapa’s biography in Russian Eastern Studies which could help with shedding light on the history of origin and proliferation of the Gelug which is particularly prevalent in Russia. The results of the study are to identify seven early namtars: two lifetime and five posthumous.

“Dans Venise la Rouge…” by A. de Musset – Ch. Gounod: the “Venetian text” in French chamber vocal music

“Dans Venise la Rouge…” by A. de Musset – Ch. Gounod: the “Venetian text” in French chamber vocal music

“After These Things” and its Composition in Genesis

Abstract As a formulaic phrase that appears in Genesis to connect sequential narratives, critics have attributed “after these things” to a single literary stratum or to redactional insertions into developing narrative blocks. Drawing upon the other attestations of “after these things” from the biblical corpus, this article explains that “after these things” in Genesis may be viewed as a stock phrase, one that a composer or a redactor may employ in the absence of quantifiable chronological data to express the passage of an indefinite amount of time between two consecutive events.

Der Sabbat in der Mannaerzählung Ex 16 und in den priesterlichen Partien des Pentateuch

AbstractThe analysis of Ex 16 and Gen 1:1–2:4a shows that the Sabbath played no part in the early literary strata of the priestly text (P 1). Both the seven-day-pattern of the creation account and the priestly portions of the Manna story belong to a late priestly editorial layer (P 2). In Ex 16, this priestly editor has reworked a late dtr

The Distinction between Zhi 支and Zhi 脂 / Zhi 之 and the Strata Analysis of Some Relevant Rhyme Groups in Hakka and Gan Dialects

This article probes into the reflexes of the Middle Chinese Zhi 支, Zhi 脂and Zhi 之rhymes of the Zhi 止 rhyme group in modern Hakka and Gan dialects. By using the method of strata analysis, two literary and three colloquial pronunciation strata of the unrounded Zhi 止 rhyme group are found in the Hakka and Gan dialects. The two literary pronunciation strata both show no contrast between Zhi 支 and Zhi 脂 / Zhi 之. They are the main pronunciations of Zhi 止 rhyme group in the Hakka and Gan dialects; the second literary stratum, which is quite similar to the pronunciation of Mandarin dialects, is more commonly found in the Gan dialects. Among the three colloquial strata, two of them have distinct pronunciations only for Zhi 支, and the other has no contrast between the three rhymes. Through observing and comparing the patterns of split and merger of the Zhi rhyme group in the Hakka and Gan dialects, this article analyzes the intricate and complex relationships between the pronunciations of Zhi 支 rhyme and the Guo 果, Yu 遇, Zhi 止, Xie 蟹, and other rhyme groups; furthermore, similarities and dissimilarities between the Hakka and Gan dialects are also discussed.

The Nature of Literary vs. Colloquial Readings in the Suzhou Dialect

This short paper first explores the complicated relationship of Old Style vs. New Style and Literary vs. Colloquial strata in the Suzhou dialect. It then discusses four related issues: 1. age groups and sound changes; 2. the usage of retroflex initials in distinguishing Literary vs. Colloquial strata; 3. characters in the first and second divisions of the Xie group 蟹攝 that have double readings; 4. hekou 合口 characters in the third division of the Zhi group 止攝 that have double readings. Finally, it is concluded that there were two colloquial strata in the Suzhou dialect, an earlier one and a later one, with the literary stratum sandwiched in the middle.

The Literary Strata and Narrative Sources of Psalm Xcix

AbstractThe current form of Ps. xcix reflects its position in a collection of texts spanning Pss. xciii-c that addresses the kingship of YHWH and the interests of a 5th century Zadokite establishment. Ps. xcix, however, possesses both lexical and ideological features that point to an earlier literary stratum underlying the current form of the text. An examination of these features suggests that the psalm was initially composed during the reign of David and relates to the transformation of Jerusalem from a Jebusite to an Israelite city, drawing heavily upon the Shiloh tradition and the significance of Mosaic intercession as a means of establishing the sacred parameters of history. A later Zadokite editor included this earlier text in the 5th century collection but augmented it with references to Jerusalem Priestly tradition, facilitating the transfer of religious authority from Mosaic to Zadokite circles.

"Until This Day" and the Preexilic Redaction of the Deuteronomistic History

(ProQuest Information and Learning: ... denotes formula omitted.) (ProQuest Information and Learning: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) Over a century ago Abraham Kuenen identified two distinct strata in book of Kings.1 one stratum, he observed that phrase until this day both confirms realities no longer true after exile and occurs in passages bound to very structure of book (2 Kgs 8:16-24; 14:1-7; 16:1-9)-a structure Kuenen attributed to a Deuteronomistic redactor (his Rd^sup 1^).2 His analysis of other occurrences of until this day in Kings led him to conclude that they all derived from Rd^sup 1^-a conclusion that was subsequently embraced by Julius Wellhausen, and, when combined with Martin Noth's landmark study a half century later, helped lay foundation for Frank Moore Cross's theory of a dual redaction of Deuteronomistic History (DH).3 Since Cross's original studies, theory of a dual redaction of DH had numerous defenders and now stands on firmer evidentiary ground.4 The purpose of this article is not to retread this ground but to pick up where Kuenen left off in identifying source of until this day not just for Kings but for whole of DH. Although only study devoted solely to this phrase argued that until this day derives from different redactors,5 there are compelling reasons to assign this phrase to one redactor: Deuteronomistic Historian (Dtr), who employed until this day as his own personal witness to geographical, political, and cultic realities mentioned in his sources that still existed at time of his historical enterprise. Moreover, evidence of until this day indicates that Dtr was active during reign of Josiah and that his preexilic history contained most of what we now have before us (as Cross originally argued). Finally, Dtr's use of until this day suggests that, when compiling DH, he sought to represent interests of both Judean monarchy and Levitical priesthood. I. The Redactional Nature of Until This Day in Deuteronomistic History his 1963 JBL article A Study of Formula 'Until This Day,' Brevard S. Childs demonstrates on linguistic grounds that until this day, in nearly all of its occurrences, has been secondarily added as a redactional commentary on existing traditions.6 light of its redactional nature, Childs argues that biblical historian employed until this day much as his Greek and Roman counterparts used similar formulae: to validate some aspect of tradition which can still be verified in his own time. Childs writes: In our opinion, use of formula in OT is closely paralleled to this latter usage, namely, to historian's personal witness. To answer question of who is responsible for this formula of personal testimony, Childs turns to source analysis, where he observes that until this day appears across a variety of literary strata. This variety is nowhere more obvious than in books of Kings, about which Childs writes: The formula appears in material most likely from source styled Book of Acts of Solomon (1 Kgs 11:41; cf. 8:8; 9:21), from material in Book of Chronicles of Kings of Judah (2 Kgs 8:23; cf. 2 Kgs 8:22; 10:27, etc.), from a collection of prophetic narratives (2 Kgs 2:2), and only infrequently from Deuteronomistic historian (2 Kgs 17:23, 34). Based on diversity of sources in which until this day appears, Childs concludes that the formula reflects age of many different redactors. Since Childs's study, redactional nature of until this day been widely accepted, and even further elucidated, by subsequent scholarship.7 However, Childs's determination that until this day derives from a variety of different redactors not received much attention, even though his reasons for this conclusion are problematic. …

Prophetenwort und Geschichte: Die Jesajauberlieferung in Jes 6-8 und 28-31

Prophetenwort und Geschichte: Die Jesajauberlieferung in Jes 68 und 28-31, by Jorg Barthel. FAT 19. Tibingen: Mohr-Siebeck. Pp. xiv + 522. DM 189.00. This is a historical-critical study of Isaiah 6-8 and 28-31, originally completed as a doctoral dissertation under Hans-Jurgen Hermisson. It defends the basic Isaianic composition of these chapters, distinguishes later supplementations, and attempts to reconcile diachronic and synchronic readings. It is a very traditional work of German scholarship, which, however, is very well-informed about currents in contemporary research and sets itself constantly in sometimes uneasy dialogue with them. It represents, moreover, the very best in traditional German historical-critical scholarship: warm, humane, careful, and sensitive in its reading of the text, and formidably erudite. It has occasional lapses into moralism, and betrays a certain Protestant sensibility; nonetheless, it is always acute in its discussion of poetry and in its reconstruction of the twists and turns of the prophetic message. As a very sympathetic representative of the historical-critical school, it is enlightening to those who belong to other camps and provides an opportunity for critical reflection. Most of the book consists of close readings of the relevant texts, excluding those parts the author regards as secondary (e.g., 7:18-25; 8:19-23). Each chapter is divided into text-critical, analytic, and interpretative sections; the analysis focuses on literary structure, demarcation, and stratification, while the interpretation concerns the polemical thrust and argumentation of the passages that have been thus delineated. Inevitably, there is both a certain circularity and repetitiveness in this arrangement, since the literary structure is determined in part by interpretative considerations and is the basis for them. Analytic and interpretative sections hence are closely integrated. Moreover, as the author forewarns us in his preface, the same exegeses recur throughout, ensuring a certain predictability. The book is a very clear example of how methodological presuppositions guide interpretation, as well as vice versa. Once we learn the formula, it can be applied to the most disparate material. The reading kept me interested, however, in part because of Barthel's sensitivity to detail, and in part because of his common sense and the care with which he constructs his argument. The critical pleasure is convoked perhaps by the ingenuity with which the formula appears to arise naturally from the most recalcitrant text. This is a consolatory process of rationalization and domestication; if the text of Isaiah can be rendered coherent, even at the price of splitting among different literary strata, it can serve to satisfy our own desire for reason and canonical continuity. It may, however, lose its strangeness and its irreducibility. The close readings are preceded by chapters that examine the structure of the sequences as a whole and their place within the wider literary contexts of the book of Isaiah. As Barthel suggests, these chapters may be of most interest to synchronic critics and are excellent in their treatment of the intricate macrostructures of the book. Barthel anticipates Erhard Blum in arguing that the so-called Denkschrift (Isaiah 6-8) forms the original nucleus of, rather than an insertion into, the concentric structure of Isaiah 1-12; likewise, he concurs with Marvin Sweeney that Isaiah 32 concludes the first part of the book, but proposes different, shifting endings, corresponding to different stages in composition (31:4, 32, 33, 34, 35). He has an exceedingly rich introduction on the current crisis in Isaiah research, and a no less thorough summation. There are five main conclusions: 1. The oral stage of composition is detectable, but irrecoverable, in the written text. …

The land which bled forth its bounty: An exile image of the land of Israel

The expression: “a land flowing with milk and honey” appears some 20 times in the MT version of the Hebrew Bible and is generally thought to express the overall productivity of the Land of Israel. It is one of the few expressions which is used in many literary strata of the text as a distinctive term to describe the Land of Israel and its produce, although its absence from poetic, proverbs and wisdom literature indicates that it was not seen as a universally useful expression. Appearing in writings attributed to J, E, Dtr1 and Dtr2, as well as the writings of the prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the expression is understood by medieval and modem commentators as a metaphor for abundant grazing land and date palm honey (i.e. abundant flora and fauna). It's presence in different literary strata of four of the five books of the Torah, in particular, seems to point to the antiquity and long term utility of the expression. Further investigation of this expression reveals that it may not be a realistic perspective on the ancient land of Israel, but rather a rather poignant, nostalgic, exilic, and purely metaphoric view of the land written at a period after the land had passed through a significant devastation. This article will investigate the language of this passage and attempt to locate it in its original historical context.

Israelite Political Theories in Joshua 9

Josh. 9 is composed of three literary strata, each of which derives from and corres ponds to the political ideals of a phase of Israel's history, so that the literary history of the passage illuminates the history of Israel's social and political structures. The earliest stratum, in which the 'men of Israel' are the negotiating party, shows the pre monarchic ideal of the free adult Israelite males exercising sovereignty. A second stratum, in which Joshua negotiates in consultation with the 'men of Israel', reflects the situation during the divided monarchy when the kings and assemblies occasion ally collaborated in political procedures. The 'princes of the congregation' act alone in the third and latest stratum, corresponding to the postexilic era when these nobles exercised sole political power in Judea.

Col. iii. 18 – iv. I and Eph. v. 21 – vi. 9: Evidences of a Late Literary Stratum?

Col. iii. 18 – iv. I and Eph. v. 21 – vi. 9: Evidences of a Late Literary Stratum?

Non-canonical Arabic Detective Fiction: The Beginnings of the Genre

The focus of this paper is Arabic detective fiction, which began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thanks to the broad-scope enterprise of translations, and the subsequent development of an authentic Arabic detective literature in the early 1960s. This paper traces diachronically the emergence of this popular genre at an entirely non-canonical level, in Egypt in particular, and examines its thematic characteristics. The paper also examines the causes of the lack of canonical detective literature until the early 1980s. It argues that Arabic detective literature, canonical and non-canonical alike, is a true reflection of the power relations and the social, political and cultural struggles in the Arab world. It further claims that Arabic detective literature is one of the most important literary strata in modern Arab literature, through which we can clearly discern changes in values and esthetics in modern Arab society, and examine the relations between money and ruling power in Egypt as a mirror of the entire Arab world and the connection between literature, preservation and the undermining of Arab law and social order.Key words: Non-canonical Arabic detective writing, Arabic popular literature, Detective fiction, Crime fiction.

The Sources of the Gospel of John: An Assessment of the Present State of the Problem

For more than one hundred years scholars have endeavoured to discover and separate the sources or literary strata believed to be embedded in the Gospel of John. Previous attempts to explain the origin of the Fourth Gospel by theories of aGrundschriftor literary sources and redaction, not to mention rearrangement, found their culmination and were probably superseded when, over twenty years ago, Rudolf Bultmann set forth a comprehensive literary theory in his magisterialDas Evangelium des Johannes. Bultmann's work has given a measure of unity to the subsequent discussion of the literary problem where it has been taken into account. Those who sharply disagree with Bultmann have found it a convenient bench-mark by which to gain a perspective on the problems of the gospel. His theory, worked out in most minute detail, involves the evangelist's use of sources, the presumably accidental disruption of the original textual order, and the (incorrect) restoration and editorial expansion of the text by an ecclesiastical redactor. Any discussion of recent developments in this area will naturally and appropriately begin with his work.