Poetic Imagination in Proverbs: Variant Repetitions and the Nature of Poetry

Knut Martin Heim

Published by Penn State University Press 2013

Poetic Imagination in Proverbs

Variant Repetitions and the Nature of Poetry

Knut Martin Heim

Volume 4 in the series Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781575066967

Overview
Contents

About this book

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.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
Part I
1. Introduction: Review of Recent Literature and Methodology Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2. Introduction to the Structure of Proverbs 1–9 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
Part 2
3. Variant Sets 1–5 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
4. Variant Sets 6–12 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	78
5. Variant Sets 13 to 17 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
6. Variant Sets 18–22 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
7. Variant Sets 23 to 25 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	186
8. Variant Sets 26 to 33 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
9. Variant Sets 34 to 41 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	252
10. Variant Sets 42 to 47 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	288
11. Variant Sets 48 to 52 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	329
12. Variant Sets 53 to 59 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	363
13. Variant Sets 60 to 66 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	399
14. Variant Sets 67 to 74 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	438
15. Variant Sets 75 to 80 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	477
16. Variant Sets 81 to 85 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	504
17. Variant Sets 86 to 92 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	528
18. Variant Sets 93 to 96 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	573
Part 3
Chapter 19 Variant Repetitions and Editorial Strategies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	610
20. Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	634
Indexes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	647

Language: English
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Pages
- Main content: 552

eBook

Published: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 9781575066967