{"id":57989,"date":"2019-06-21T07:59:37","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T04:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57989"},"modified":"2023-01-15T09:42:38","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T07:42:38","slug":"hearing-the-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hearing-the-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing The Words"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Join me as we travel back to ancient Israel, where the Bible was read not silently, but rather aloud. \u00a0In fact, such was the case with all of ancient literature, indeed, with medieval literature as well. A single individual held the written text and presented it or performed it before a group of listeners, who processed the text aurally. We have several proofs for this.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, as every student of Hebrew 101 learns, the common verb <\/span>qara\u02be <\/span><\/i>means both \u2018read\u2019 and \u2018call aloud\u2019. Its primary meaning is actually the latter, \u2018call aloud\u2019, and only by extension does it mean \u2018read\u2019. \u00a0Which is to say, contrary to popular English usage, the Bible is not Scripture, that is, the written text, but truly <\/span>Miqra\u02be<\/span><\/i>, the Reading (and of course ditto for the Qur\u02bean of Islam). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Secondly, I call your attention to Isaiah 29. In the topsy-turvy world envisioned by the prophet, when all of society would be improved, Lebanon will be arable farmland, the poor and the humble will rejoice, the tyrants and the scoffers shall cease, the blind shall see, and, most importantly, \u201cthe deaf shall hear the words of the book\u201d (v. 18). Which is to say, in our society today, it is the blind who require special assistance in reading, mainly through Braille or nowadays through audio books; whereas in ancient Israel the blind could \u2018read\u2019, simply by listening, while the deaf were excluded from the reading process.<\/span><\/p>\n

To enrich the oral-aural reading process described here, the ancient authors introduced alliteration as frequently as possible. We are able to witness this especially when we encounter an unusual lexical or grammatical form in the Bible. Today\u2019s chapter, 1 Samuel 15, provides several excellent examples.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, v. 9 includes the words <\/span>way-ya\u1e25mol<\/em> <\/span>\u2018had pity\u2019, <\/span>ha\u1e25arimam<\/em> <\/span>\u2018to proscribe them\u2019, <\/span>he\u1e25erimu<\/em> <\/span>\u2018they proscribed\u2019, and <\/span>karim<\/em> <\/span>\u2018lambs\u2019, treating the listener to an array of like-sounding words. <\/span><\/p>\n

Second, towards the end of v. 9, the author uses the unusual form <\/span>nemibza<\/span><\/em>, lit. \u2018despised\u2019, though in this case \u2018cheap, worthless\u2019 (as opposed to the standard form <\/span>nibza<\/span><\/em>), so that the word can alliterate with the following word <\/span>namess<\/span><\/em> \u2018cheap, worthless\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, in v. 33, we encounter the form <\/span>way-shasseph<\/em> <\/span>\u2018and he butchered\u2019, a <\/span>hapax legomenon<\/em> <\/span>(that is, a unique usage) in the Bible. \u00a0The sounds of this word are rehearsed at the beginning of v. 35, <\/span>we-lo\u02be yasaph shemu\u02beel<\/span><\/em> \u2018<\/em>and Samuel did not again\u2019. \u00a0Note how the three root letters of the verb in v. 33, <\/span>sh-s-p<\/span><\/em>, occur in anagrammatic fashion in the bridge between the two words in v. 35, <\/span>s-p-sh<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In antiquity, people <\/span>listened<\/em> <\/span>to a text, and thus the authors of the ancient texts introduced these auditory attractions to enhance the listening pleasure of their \u2018readers.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57990,"id":57990,"title":"isam15-sound","filename":"isam15-sound.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam15-sound.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hearing-the-words\/isam15-sound\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam15-sound","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57989,"date":"2019-06-21 04:59:24","modified":"2019-06-21 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The Words","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"When we sit and read the text, we forget its oral-aural qualities","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":57990,"id":57990,"title":"isam15-sound","filename":"isam15-sound.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam15-sound.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hearing-the-words\/isam15-sound\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam15-sound","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57989,"date":"2019-06-21 04:59:24","modified":"2019-06-21 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