Moab, Moabite

2012

Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 2009

Studia mythologica Slavica

In this article, the function of aphorisms in folk song, which also contains lyrical and dramatic elements, is analysed and defined through cultural (mostly folklore) literature, and linguistic methods. The main purpose of this paper is to show the role of the gnomic words generated by folk creators in an epic poem’s plot, their main functions in the development of conflict and the aesthetic expression of the work. Therefore, the meaning of symbols has been interpreted in close connection with the actions, archetypes and metaphors inserted in the structure of the song. Using as an example the song “Kyz Zhybek”, which is a prominent creation in Kazakh folklore, and reviewing research papers on the subject, the present article follows the contrastive analysis in researching the echoes of archetypal traditions in a Muslim cultural frame. Ethnos in culture remains in an attempt to recover the identity of a group using what seems specific in folklore, history, and linguistics and to trac...

Linguistic and Stylistic Aspects of Epic Formulae in Ancient Semitic Poetry and Biblical Narrative, 2006

This paper seeks to apply some of the concepts of Discourse Analysis to the study of such stereotyped phrases as the Ugaritic wyšu gh wyṣḥ and the Hebrew וישא קלו ויקרא/ויבך. It is shown that the syntactic structure of these formulae consists of preclause, with predicate and instrumentalis/comitative, and core clause with objective or, e.g., addressee; this analysis applies to Ugaritic, Akkadian, Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew, and is related to the characteristics of the Lean Brisk style of classical BHeb prose narrative..

Journal of American Folklore, 2003

ABSTRACT Journal of American Folklore 116.461 (2003) 365-366 Eli Yassif's work streaks like a comet through the black night of folktale babble penned by countless anthology writers, none of whom are folklore specialists. By contrast, Yassif takes us on a magic carpet ride from ancient, priestly Israel to the modern Israeli present, and over the course of these twenty-nine centuries we come to see what is actually meant by the term folklore scholarship. The Hebrew Folktale traces evolutionary relationships between successive bodies of traditional Hebrew literature and gains access to their cultural meaning by examining each corpus in its own historical and societal context. Noting that transitions from orality to literature serve the political interests of the transformers and that literacy varies with respect to period, locale, gender, and class, Yassif approaches these transitions, as well as translations and innovations, with the same critical eye. All are thoroughly examined as dynamic social forces with significant expressive consequences. In his acknowledgments (p. xviii) Yassif explains that he has divided the book in two, directing his notes at scholars and students, his text at the general public. The notes comprise a book within a book, filled with condensed monographs on sources of the tales and their variants, relevant scholarship on controversy, methodology, and interpretation, and ample bibliography. But in the body of the text, terms like oicotype, motif, and tale type go unexplained for lay readers. Time and again, it is hard to account for the author's (or perhaps the translator's) choice of esoteric terms, left unexplained for a general audience. Literary genres like myth and legend are defined, but even these definitions can be problematic because of the inclusion of technical terms that are not explained. For example, readers are told that "the fable in folk literature is a story that takes place in the world of animals, plants, or inanimate objects, told in the past tense but applied to the present day by virtue of the epimythium" (p. 23). It is difficult to do justice to a major work of this proportion. Both text and notes seem best suited to trained folklorists or others with access to definitions of folkloristic terms. Had Yassif avoided words like "epimythium," and defined folkloristic terms as they arose in the text, his general audience would be better served. Nevertheless, from the biblical and Second Temple periods, through rabbinic and later generations, with special attention to the Hasidim, and to tales of faith in modern secular Israel, Yassif's knowledge is encyclopedic. His contribution is unrivaled, illuminating historical periods while adding deep and meaningful insight into the spirit and mentality of the many different peoples who have maintained, modified, and transformed the Hebrew folktale. Judith S. NeulanderKent State University

Comparative Literature Studies, 2005

2021

A robust analysis of T. Witton Davies' article on Hebrew Poetry. This article review/analysis identifies strong and weak points of Davies' article as well as a favorite Quote.

Interfaces: A Journal of Medieval European Literatures, 2018

During the medieval and early modern periods, lions served as a common motif in Ashkenazic Jewish culture, bearing diverse symbolism. Also in literature written in Yiddish, the vernacular language of Ashkenazic Jews, lions were often mentioned. In this article, three songs about a man fighting a lion – Samson, David, and Benaiah – found within early modern Yiddish epics, are presented. An analysis of these songs' similar content and form suggests that they are short epic songs which have been initially orally transmitted, and later incorporated into the written long epics in Yiddish which have come down to us. In two of the songs the hero holds the lion's mouth with both hands, shortly before subduing him, an image common in Jewish art but lacking any basis in Jewish texts. This study identifies a Christian background to this image, namely that Samson's battle with the lion foreshadows the Harrowing of Hell and Jesus' releasing mankind’s souls from eternal damnation. The study points to the close cultural ties between Jews and Christians in the medieval and early modern eras, which were possible in the sphere of vernacular Yiddish literature. This closeness brought about influences which do not seem to exist in Hebrew literature.

2008