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Browsing Hebrew by Author "Nel, Philip J."

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    God is sage: human cognition and metaphorical conceptualisation in Biblical Hebrew wisdom
    (University of the Free State, 2016-01) Schmidt, Nicolaas Fryer; Nel, Philip J.
    English: The theme focuses on how sages pictured THE DIVINE in the Biblical Hebrew text of Proverbs. The research problem questions the way in which Israelite-Jewish sages conceptualised God metaphorically by means of religious and cognitive experiences in the BIBLICAL HEBREW WISDOM of PROVERBS. The textual subsections of Proverbs are subjected to a paradigmatic cognitive-scientific research methodology, and studied according to a cognitive-linguistic approach as stipulated by the CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR THEORY of Lakoff and Johnson – God is inferentially derived as a primordial and providential Sage in the proverbial wisdom tradition. The central research statement and hypothesis states that ISRAELITE AND JEWISH SAGES conceptualised God metaphorically as a Sage by means of cognitive and religious experiences peculiar to the PROVERBIAL WISDOM TRADITION and distinctive of the priestly and prophetic theologies of the Hebrew Bible. The introduction is followed by an exposé on the research and reception history of the Divine according to Kuhn‟s paradigm theory. As a consequence of the second chapter, the third and fourth chapters focus on the paradigmatic cognitive-scientific methodology and Lakoff and Johnson‟s Conceptual Metaphor theory, to explain how the Divine is metaphorically delimited, analysed and portrayed. The conceptual analysis of metaphorical categories and linguistic extensions of the Biblical Hebrew concepts for “heart” (√לבב ), “wisdom” (√חכם ) and “God-fearing” (√ירא ) are discussed as expressions which schematically structure God in terms of mental and prototypical-experiential, -educational and -ethical domains. These phrases provide more abstract projections and gestalt experiences of the Divine personification in Proverbs. The fourth chapter distinguishes the cognitive and mental character of Conceptual Metaphor Theory from other linguistic theories that are more strongly focused on the grammatical, syntactical and pragmatic aspects of metaphors. Reasons are provided for why the Divine should instead be conceptualised metaphorically. A five-fold CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR MODEL is proposed, which introduces, investigates and conceptually identifies metaphors for the God YHWH in Proverbs‟ proverbial wisdom tradition, as well as implicates necessary consequences. In chapter five this conceptual metaphor model is comprehensively applied to the Biblical Hebrew text of Proverbs and the underlying textual subsections of the proverbial wisdom tradition: YHWH is conceptualised by sages and editors as a patriarchal Father and King prior to the Babylonian Exile (Proverbs 10-29), as a Teacher and especially as Lady Wisdom during the Exile (chapter 1-9), as a Mysterious Sage and Sceptical Scribe in the Persian times and Diaspora (Proverbs 30), and eventually as a feminine Teacher and Lady Virtue during the Hellenistic times (Proverbs 31). The cognitive-ideological interpretation of Proverbs indicates that the ancient Israelite and early Jewish YHWH served as the Main Deity in the Israelite Assembly, with LADY WISDOM as his Daughter and Wife – Wisdom was venerated as a Hebrew Goddess by students, in contrast to Lady Folly and the prominent cultic-priestly and charismatic-prophetic traditions, which drastically edited and canonically portrayed YHWH in absolute, monotheistic fashions by the end of the Exile in absolute monotheistic fashions. The inherent nature of Biblical Hebrew proverbial wisdom boils down to natural theology, as expressed by the theological phrase of fides quaerens intellectum, or “FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING”. The conclusion questions the reliability and validity of the research design. A discussion of the investigative theme is followed by critical remarks pertaining to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Model, an evaluation of research paradigms, the ideological nature of human understandings of Scripture, as well as the Divine importance for the SOUTH AFRICAN academic, ecclesiastic and theological societies. Four possible research proposals are followed with a discussion of our human incapability of thinking and reasoning about “God” in ways that are not conceptual and not metaphorical. In conclusion, reference is made to the University of the Free State‟s recent brand changes, as well as the possible future consequences of this for both the public institution and the majority of believing South Africans.