Exploring the limits of ambiguity in biblical poetry : interpreting elliptical structures : Adrianus van Selms Memorial Lecture
The terse and compact language of biblical poetry often lends itself to structural ambiguity, instances in which more than one underlying structure can be assigned to a string of words. In this paper, I explore ambiguous structures in biblical poetry that involve ellipsis. By ellipsis I refer to cas...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2011
|
| In: |
Journal for semitics
Year: 2011, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 323-352 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The terse and compact language of biblical poetry often lends itself to structural ambiguity, instances in which more than one underlying structure can be assigned to a string of words. In this paper, I explore ambiguous structures in biblical poetry that involve ellipsis. By ellipsis I refer to cases in which words or phrases are missing from the surface structure but are understood in the deep structure. For example, in Job 30:20 the surface structure of the Hebrew can be translated as the NRSV does: "I cry to you and you do not answer me; I stand, and you merely look at me". However, some exegetes understand that the negative particle has been elided before the last verb and translate as the NJPS does: "I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I wait, but You do not consider me". There are three possible ways to understand the Hebrew of this verse: (1) the negative cannot be elided and the last clause is unambiguously positive; (2) the negative particle must be understood as elided and the last clause is unambiguously negative; or (3) the structure is genuinely ambiguous and may be understood as either positive or negative. In this paper I provide an overview of what is known about ellipsis in Biblical Hebrew, drawing upon previous research (especially Miller 2003, 2005, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c, 2008). I will seek first to provide the principles of ellipsis, in general, and ellipsis of the negative particles#01500;א and אל, in particular, so that it is possible to identify those cases of ellipsis that are truly ambiguous as opposed to those cases of ellipsis which must be interpreted as having only one structural interpretation. |
|---|---|
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for semitics
|
| Persistent identifiers: | HDL: 10520/EJC101193 |