The Significance of Linguistic Diversity in the Hebrew Bible: Language and Boundaries of Self and Other

by Cian J. Power

Cian J. Power explores how the biblical authors viewed and presented a fundamental human the existence of the world's many languages. By examining explicit references to this diversity - such as the ambivalent account of its origins in the Tower of Babel episode - and implicit acknowledgements that included the use of strange-sounding speech to portray alien peoples, he illuminates ideas about Aramaic, Egyptian, Akkadian, and other ancient languages. Drawing on sociolinguistics, Power detects a consistent link between language and - ethnic, political, religious, and divine/human boundaries, and argues that changing historical circumstances are key to the Bible's varying attitudes. Furthermore, the study's findings regarding the biblical authors' ideas about their own language and its importance challenge our very notion of Hebrew.

345 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2023

Reviews

[John Antony · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important critique of some fuzzy theories that abound in the historical linguistics of Hebrew - particularly those scholars which detect dialect differences within the Biblical Hebrew corpus. A deft balance between philology and hermeneutics.