Karolinum Press, Charles University
The Torah/Law Is a Journey
Using Cognitive and Culturally Oriented Linguistics to Interpret and Translate Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible
9788024648422
9788024648774
9788024648781
Distributed for Karolinum Press, Charles University
The Torah/Law Is a Journey
Using Cognitive and Culturally Oriented Linguistics to Interpret and Translate Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible
An analysis of metaphor in the legal texts of the Old Testament using the tools of cognitive and cultural linguistics.
The Old Testament is rich in metaphor. Metaphorical expressions appear not only in places where you might expect them, like the poetic verses, but also in the legal texts. They appear in the preambles to collections of laws, in their final summaries, in general considerations on compliance with and violation of the law, in texts concerning the meaning of the law, and those dealing with topics now reserved for legal theory and legal philosophy. These metaphorical expressions reveal how the authors of the relevant Torah/Law texts understood their function in society and what the society of the time preferred in the law.
Anchored in cognitive and cultural linguistics, The Torah/Law Is a Journey investigates Hebrew metaphorical expressions concerning the key Old Testament concept of Torah/Law. Ivana Procházková identifies Hebrew conceptual metaphors and explicates the metaphorical expressions. She also uses cognitive linguistic analysis to look at modern translations of selected metaphorical expressions into Czech and English. Procházková closes with an analysis of the metaphors used in the Council of Europe publication Compass: Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People to conceptualize human rights.
The Old Testament is rich in metaphor. Metaphorical expressions appear not only in places where you might expect them, like the poetic verses, but also in the legal texts. They appear in the preambles to collections of laws, in their final summaries, in general considerations on compliance with and violation of the law, in texts concerning the meaning of the law, and those dealing with topics now reserved for legal theory and legal philosophy. These metaphorical expressions reveal how the authors of the relevant Torah/Law texts understood their function in society and what the society of the time preferred in the law.
Anchored in cognitive and cultural linguistics, The Torah/Law Is a Journey investigates Hebrew metaphorical expressions concerning the key Old Testament concept of Torah/Law. Ivana Procházková identifies Hebrew conceptual metaphors and explicates the metaphorical expressions. She also uses cognitive linguistic analysis to look at modern translations of selected metaphorical expressions into Czech and English. Procházková closes with an analysis of the metaphors used in the Council of Europe publication Compass: Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People to conceptualize human rights.
219 pages | 3 line drawings, 44 tables | 6 1/2 x 9 | © 2022
Cognitive Science: Language
Language and Linguistics: Pragmatics and Sociolinguistics
Religion: Judaism
Reviews
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. The identification, analysis and interpretation of metaphorical expressions in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament: Starting points and methods.
1.1 Methods used in the analysis and interpretation of Hebrew metaphorical expressions relating to the term ???? the Torah/Law, and in the explanation of meaning.
Embodiment theory
The mental spaces theory
The conceptual blending theory
A holistic understanding of meaning: Understanding connotations
1.2 The metaphorical conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law and related Hebrew terms: Basic characteristics of the semantic area and the terminology and etymology of the central Hebrew expression.
Chapter 2. Metaphorical conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law and related terms
2.1 The central conceptual metaphor: THE TORAH / LAW IS A JOURNEY
2.1.1 The generic narrative structure TO WALK ALONG THE PATH
2.1.2 The generic narrative structure TO RUN ALONG THE PATH
2.1.3 The generic narrative structure TO LEAVE THE PATH / TO TURN FROM THE PATH
2.1.4 The generic narrative structure TO GO ASTRAY
2.1.5 The generic narrative structure TO RETURN
2.1.6 The generic narrative structure TO SEARCH FOR THE PATH / TO SEARCH ON THE PATH
2.1.7 The generic narrative structure TO TAKE ON / SHOW THE PATH
2.1.8 The generic narrative structure TO FALL DOWN ON THE PATH
2.2 Summary of the metaphorical conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law and related terms through the journey metaphor
2.3 Other conceptual metaphors
2.3.1 Other metaphors involved in the conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law in the Old Testament
2.3.2 Summary of other metaphors involved in the conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law in the Old Testament
Chapter 3. Using cognitive and cultural-linguistic analysis to interpret and translate metaphorical expressions in the Old Testament
3.1 Using cognitive-linguistic approaches in interpretation: The journey metaphor and spatial image schemas in the book of Jeremiah
3.2 Using cognitive and culturally oriented linguistic analysis and interpretation in translation studies
3.2.1 Modern translations of the Bible into English and Czech
3.2.2 Analysis, interpretation and translation of the metaphorical expression in Deuteronomy 8:6
3.2.3 Analysis, interpretation and translation of the metaphorical expression in Proverbs 29:18
3.2.4 Analysis, interpretation and translation of the metaphorical expression in Zephaniah 3:4
3.3 Summary
Chapter 4. Case Study. What metaphors say about human rights. A cognitive-semantic analysis and interpretation of biblical metaphors in the teaching material Compass: Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People
4.1 Conceptual metaphors and their roots in biblical language
4.2 The quasi-religion of human rights
Conclusion
Sources
Bibliography
Chapter 1. The identification, analysis and interpretation of metaphorical expressions in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament: Starting points and methods.
1.1 Methods used in the analysis and interpretation of Hebrew metaphorical expressions relating to the term ???? the Torah/Law, and in the explanation of meaning.
Embodiment theory
The mental spaces theory
The conceptual blending theory
A holistic understanding of meaning: Understanding connotations
1.2 The metaphorical conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law and related Hebrew terms: Basic characteristics of the semantic area and the terminology and etymology of the central Hebrew expression.
Chapter 2. Metaphorical conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law and related terms
2.1 The central conceptual metaphor: THE TORAH / LAW IS A JOURNEY
2.1.1 The generic narrative structure TO WALK ALONG THE PATH
2.1.2 The generic narrative structure TO RUN ALONG THE PATH
2.1.3 The generic narrative structure TO LEAVE THE PATH / TO TURN FROM THE PATH
2.1.4 The generic narrative structure TO GO ASTRAY
2.1.5 The generic narrative structure TO RETURN
2.1.6 The generic narrative structure TO SEARCH FOR THE PATH / TO SEARCH ON THE PATH
2.1.7 The generic narrative structure TO TAKE ON / SHOW THE PATH
2.1.8 The generic narrative structure TO FALL DOWN ON THE PATH
2.2 Summary of the metaphorical conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law and related terms through the journey metaphor
2.3 Other conceptual metaphors
2.3.1 Other metaphors involved in the conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law in the Old Testament
2.3.2 Summary of other metaphors involved in the conceptualisation of ???? the Torah/Law in the Old Testament
Chapter 3. Using cognitive and cultural-linguistic analysis to interpret and translate metaphorical expressions in the Old Testament
3.1 Using cognitive-linguistic approaches in interpretation: The journey metaphor and spatial image schemas in the book of Jeremiah
3.2 Using cognitive and culturally oriented linguistic analysis and interpretation in translation studies
3.2.1 Modern translations of the Bible into English and Czech
3.2.2 Analysis, interpretation and translation of the metaphorical expression in Deuteronomy 8:6
3.2.3 Analysis, interpretation and translation of the metaphorical expression in Proverbs 29:18
3.2.4 Analysis, interpretation and translation of the metaphorical expression in Zephaniah 3:4
3.3 Summary
Chapter 4. Case Study. What metaphors say about human rights. A cognitive-semantic analysis and interpretation of biblical metaphors in the teaching material Compass: Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People
4.1 Conceptual metaphors and their roots in biblical language
4.2 The quasi-religion of human rights
Conclusion
Sources
Bibliography