Description
Book SynopsisIn The Semantics of Silence in Biblical Hebrew, Sonja Noll explores the many words in biblical Hebrew that refer to being silent, investigating how they are used in biblical texts, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Ben Sira. She also examines the tradition of interpretation for these words in the early versions (Septuagint, Vulgate, Targum, Peshitta), modern translations, and standard dictionaries, revealing that meanings are not always straightforward and that additional work is needed in biblical semantics and lexicography. The traditional approach to comparative Semitics, with its over-simplistic assumption of semantic equivalence in cognates, is also challenged. The surprising conclusion of the work is that there is no single concept of silence in the biblical world; rather, it spans multiple semantic fields.
Table of ContentsPreface List of Figures Abbreviations Introduction 1 What is Silence? 2 Silence in Modern Literature 3 Why Study Silence? 4 Silence in Biblical Hebrew Part 1 Restraint 1 חרשׁ 1 Distribution 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Biblical References: Grammatical and Semantic Analysis 4 Extrabiblical References 5 Cognate Evidence 6 Conclusion 2 אלם 1 Distribution 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Biblical References: Grammatical and Semantic Analysis 4 Translations and Versions 5 Extrabiblical References 6 Cognate Evidence 7 Semantic Field 8 Conclusion 3 חשׁה 1 Distribution 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Biblical References: Grammatical and Semantic Analysis 4 Translations and Versions 5 Extrabiblical References 6 Cognate Evidence 7 Conclusion Part 2 Cessation 4 דמם/דום/דמה 1 Distribution 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Grammatical Analysis 4 Semantic Analysis 5 Extrabiblical References 6 Cognate Evidence and Post-biblical Hebrew 7 Conclusion 5 הס 1 Distribution 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Grammatical Analysis 4 Semantic Analysis of Biblical References 5 Extrabiblical References 6 Cognate Evidence 7 Onomatopoeia 8 Conclusion 6 שׁתק 1 Distribution 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Grammatical and Semantic Analysis (Qal: Cease) 4 Versions 5 Extrabiblical References 6 Cognate Evidence 7 Conclusion 7 סכת 1 Introduction 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Grammatical and Semantic Analysis 4 Translations and Versions 5 Extrabiblical References 6 Cognate Evidence 7 Relation to Other Hebrew Roots 8 Conclusion Part 3 Related Meanings 8 Semantic Periphery of Silence 9 שׁקט 1 Distribution 2 Lexicographical Survey 3 Grammatical and Semantic Analysis 4 Versions and Translations 5 Extrabiblical References 6 Cognate Evidence 7 Conclusion and Semantic Field Conclusion 1 Distribution 2 Representation of the Semantic Field 3 Further Research Bibliography Index of Hebrew Words Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Literature Index of Subjects
