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Author Heim, Knut Martin

Title Poetic imagination in Proverbs : variant repetitions and the nature of poetry / Knut Martin Heim
Published Winona Lake, Ind. : Eisenbrauns, 2012

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Description 1 online resource (678 pages)
Series Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement ; v. 4
Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement
Contents Chapter 16 Variant Sets 81-85Chapter 17 Variant Sets 86-92; Chapter 18 Variant Sets 93 to 96; Part 3; Chapter 19 Variant Repetitions and Editorial Strategies; Chapter 20 Conclusion; Index of Scripture; Index of Subjects
Preface; Abbreviations; Part 1; Part 1; Chapter 1 Introduction:Review of Recent Literatureand Methodology; Chapter 2 Introduction to the Structure ofProverbs 1-9; Part 2; Chapter 3 Variant Sets 1-5; Chapter 4 Variant Sets 6-12; Chapter 5 Variant Sets 13-17; Chapter 6 Variant Sets 18-22; Chapter 7 Variant Sets 23-25; Chapter 8 Variant Sets 26-33; Chapter 9 Variant Sets 34-41; Chapter 10 Variant Sets 42-47; Chapter 11 Variant Sets 48-52; Chapter 12 Variant Sets 53-59; Chapter 13 Variant Sets 60-66; Chapter 14 Variant Sets 67-74; Chapter 15 Variant Sets 75-80
Summary No fewer than 223 verses in Proverbs appear two times (79 sets), three times (15 sets), or even four times (5 sets) in identical or slightly altered form--more than 24% of the book. Heim analyzes all of these, presenting them in delineated Hebrew lines and in English translation. Where appropriate, the translations are followed by textual notes that discuss uncertainties regarding the textual witnesses (textual criticism) and explore lexical, grammatical, and syntactical problems. Heim also analyzes the way the parallelism in each verse of a variant set has been constructed, presenting diagrams and tables with columns that highlight the corresponding similarities and differences among repeated verses. Key to this investigation is the search for links between the variants and their surrounding verses, such as repetitions of sound and sense. Heim shows that most variant repetitions result from skillful poetic creativity. Reconstruction of the editorial and creative poetic process highlights what poets did, how they did it, and why they did it. He develops criteria for determining the direction of borrowing between the verses and demonstrates that the phenomenon of variant repetition is an editorial concern that operates on the level of the book as a whole. He develops and refines a range of interpretive techniques and skills, arrives at fresh interpretations, and shows that ancient proverbial wisdom is relevant to modern societies. This study sheds new light on the nature of biblical poetry and on the methods and virtues best suited for its study. While specific to the book of Proverbs in the first instance, the findings in this study apply to poetry elsewhere. Three fundamental insights should inform future work on poetry: the creative combination of repetition with variation is the very essence of poetry; what has been written with imagination should be read with imagination; imaginative interpretation values the normal features of poetic expression and celebrates the truly unusual
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Includes text of Proverbs in Hebrew with English translation
Print version record
SUBJECT Bible. Proverbs -- Criticism, Redaction
Bible. Proverbs -- Criticism, Textual
Bible. Proverbs fast
Subject RELIGION -- Biblical Studies -- Old Testament.
RELIGION -- Biblical Studies -- Wisdom Literature.
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 1575066963
9781575066967
OTHER TI Bible. Proverbs. Hebrew. 2012
Bible. Proverbs. English. 2012