‘Whoever Gives Me Thorns and Thistles’: Rhetorical Ambiguity and the Use of ןתי ימ in Isaiah 27.2-6
Isaiah 27.2-6, sometimes known as the ‘new song of the vineyard’, is a very difficult text. It has many textual oddities and it can be variously interpreted as a promise of salvation or a warning of judgment. This study proposes to alleviate some of the difficulties of Isa. 27.2-6 by reading them as...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2011
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2011, Volume: 36, Issue: 1, Pages: 105-126 |
| Further subjects: | B
the Lord’s vineyard
B Isaiah 27.2-6 B rhetorical ambiguity B idiom |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Isaiah 27.2-6, sometimes known as the ‘new song of the vineyard’, is a very difficult text. It has many textual oddities and it can be variously interpreted as a promise of salvation or a warning of judgment. This study proposes to alleviate some of the difficulties of Isa. 27.2-6 by reading them as an intentional device of rhetorical ambiguity which causes readers to reassess as they read. Specifically, it is suggested that the phrase יננתי־ימ, most frequently understood as an optative idiom, ‘O that I had’, should rather be understood in this context as a simple indefinite and translated: ‘whoever gives me’. It is argued that this interpretation of the phrase ןתי ימ is both grammatically plausible and makes the most sense of this new song of the vineyard. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0309089211419416 |