Academic literature on the topic 'Hebrew Didactic poetry'

This paper begins in the year 1569, when a hefty commentary on the Lives of Cornelius Nepos was published in Paris by one of the Royal Professors, Denys Lambin (known to classicists as Lambinus). The event intrigued me for two reasons. Firstly because, in France at that time, history was not a proper subject for professors. A professor could deal in Greek and Latin poetry, in oratory, philosophy, maths or Hebrew, or of course in the degree subjects theology, medicine and law; but history, including ancient history, was mostly a popular interest among the cultured ruling class, who preferred to read it in elegant vernacular versions, like Amyot's Diodorus and Plutarch, not in the dusty didactic form of text and commentary. So why did a professor, famous for his work on poetry and philosophy, suddenly devote himself to Nepos? The second puzzle was that, within weeks of publishing this commentary, Lambinus was violently attacked for it, and came close to losing both his job and his life. How, I wondered, could commenting on Nepos so seriously endanger the health?

A popular interpretation of the Song of Solomon states that the love poetry in it is a description of the relationship between God and His people. The Jews interpreted it as the relationship between Yahweh and Israel (allegorical), while Christians interpreted it as the relationship between Christ and the church (Christological). However, if one considers the genre of the book, the use of the Hebrew word dod, and the close praise for Solomon and the Shulamite, it would be argued that the Song of Songs contains a celebration of eros love between man and woman as an offering God that can be enjoyed. Song of Songs also presents another dimension in all of its articles, namely the values about the love relationship between a man and a woman. This article is written to explore the didactic aspects of the love relationship between a man and a woman in the entire Song of Songs. The method to be used is thematic analysis, using a literal perspective that takes into account the rules of Hebrew poetry. Finally, it found the didactic aspects of love in it including the right timing, a binding marriage, a charming character, equality, strong loyalty, role as a friend, communication, and solving problems quickly.Penafsiran yang populer terhadap Kidung Agung menyatakan bahwa puisi cinta di dalamnya merupakan penggambaran dari hubungan antara Tuhan dengan umat-Nya. Orang Yahudi memaknainya sebagai hubungan antara Yahweh dengan umat Israel (alegoris), sedangkan orang Kristen memaknainya sebagai hubungan antara Kristus dengan gereja (Kristologis). Namun bila mempertimbangkan genre kitab, pemakaian kata Ibrani dod, dan adanya puji-pujian fisik yang begitu intim antara Salomo dengan gadis Sulam, maka akan dimengerti bahwa Kidung Agung berisi selebrasi tentang cinta eros antara lelaki dan wanita sebagai pemberian Tuhan yang perlu dinikmati. Tidak sekedar urusan seksualitas dan sensualitas, Kidung Agung juga menyajikan dimensi lain di dalam seluruh pasalnya, yakni nilai-nilai pengajaran tentang hubungan cinta antara seorang laki-laki dan seorang wanita. Artikel ini ditulis untuk mengupas aspek didaktis tentang hubungan cinta seorang laki-laki dan seorang wanita di dalam seluruh kitab Kidung Agung. Metode yang akan dipakai adalah analisis tematis, dengan memakai perspektif literal yang memperhatikan kaidah-kaidah puisi Ibrani. Akhirnya, ditemukanlah aspek didaktis tentang cinta di dalamnya meliputi waktu yang tepat, pernikahan yang mengikat, karakter yang memikat, persamaan derajat, kesetiaan yang kuat, peran sebagai sahabat, komunikasi yang hangat, dan penyelesaian masalah dengan cepat.

Proverbs 3:1-12 is a masterful example of Hebrew poetry. It is quite permissible to analyse and enjoy the poem for its own sake. However, it should be taken into account that the text was written from a wisdom perspective, implying that it had a didactic function in the social context in which it originated. In this aticle the text is investigated on three levels. It commences with an analysis of the text as a poem, then moves towards an analysis of the type of society where such a text might have originated in order to determine the ideology that served as motivating principle for that society. In the process the role of Israelite wisdom literature in the context of the Ancient Near Eastern wisdom corpus and the influence of wisdom teachers upon society will also be touched upon. This will lead to some conclusions about the relevance of studying this literature for our own society.

The problem of relationship between fiction and «axial» archetext of Christian culture and European literature, the Bible, is an important problem of contemporary literature. The Bible is not only a religious text, but also a literaty one. It includes outstanding examples of poetry and The Book of Psalms that is an anthology of ancient Hebrew religious and philosophical poetry clearly representing a dialogue between I and the Eternal Thou (in M. Buber’s terminology). The significance of the Bible has an especially high level for the development of German religious and philosophical poetry. In the article the author studies an archetextual role of The Book of Psalms in Martin Opitz’s (1597–1639) poetry using cultural and historical, comparative, hermeneutic methods and a method of textual holistic analysis. M. Opitz is the first of German poets, who turns to the genres of paraphrase of Psalm and spiritual song. M. Opitz starts with penitential Psalms for paraphrasing. He makes the concept of guilt and confession deeper and considers it a means of withdrawal from the spiritual crisis and prevention of a national tragedy. Following the logic and structure of Psalms, which also play the role of architexts, the German poet explains and complements them, correlates them with his time, going after the moral and didactical purpose above all. Futhermore, he is the first to use consistent accentualsyllabic verse introduced by him and song structures so that his paraphrases are remembered by people. Spiritual songs which contain numerous allusions on Psalms are characterized by shorter metre and simpler syntax. While the poetics of baroque prevails in the paraphrases of Psalms, the tendencies of classicism are more expressive in the spiritual songs. Paraphrases of Psalms and spiritual songs by M. Opitz connect personal and national ground, expression of suffering and hope for transformation of life during hard times for Germany viz. the epoch of Thirty Years’ Wars.

Abstract An assessment of the metrical quality of poetry is very much related to its ‘performative’ nature. Whether biblical poetry was composed and recited for didactic and reflective purposes, or whether it was composed and sung (perhaps antiphonally) for particular liturgical and musical occasions, it served the same purpose: biblical verse was heard as much as it was read.

This chapter focuses on Karaite languages and literatures. Over the years, Karaites have demonstrated a special affinity with the Hebrew language, making its knowledge a principle of faith. This is because they believed that their practice of Judaism was embedded in the biblical text and that, with the correct tools, it could be discovered therein, even in the absence of explicit statements. As a result, many Karaites, influenced by Muslim linguistic studies, turned to Hebrew grammar to help them understand the Bible better, even before Rabbanites expressed an interest in the subject. Karaite grammatical works are thus important for understanding the history of Jewish study of Hebrew. Karaite Hebrew creativity included the composition of poetry, usually not for its own sake but for didactic or liturgical purposes. Some of these poems have been incorporated into the Karaite prayer book. In addition, Hebrew rhymed prose at the beginning and end of Karaite compositions became standard.