Lachish "Letter" 2 (BM 125702): A Polite Letter, an Accreditation Pass, or a Text Used to Teach Letter Writing?
Lachish 2 is typically described as an enigmatic letter, one that consists mainly of the protocol language used in letter introductions. However, past studies have wrestled with Lines 5-6 of this letter, and noted the linguistic crux posed by the verb ybkr. The present study argues that while Lachis...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Bulletin of ASOR
Year: 2022, Volume: 388, Pages: 91-111 |
| Further subjects: | B
Scribalism
B Lachish B Northwest Semitic inscriptions B Hebrew Letters B Judah B scribal education |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Lachish 2 is typically described as an enigmatic letter, one that consists mainly of the protocol language used in letter introductions. However, past studies have wrestled with Lines 5-6 of this letter, and noted the linguistic crux posed by the verb ybkr. The present study argues that while Lachish 2 looks like a letter, it plays a different role than letters are traditionally conceived to do (as written communication media that articulate the words of a sender to a recipient). This text’s form, organization, and focus on formulae, and its lack of clear message suggest that Lachish 2 was used as an instructional tool that outlines a letter’s organization and sample epistolary formulae, serving perhaps as a template. This ostracon offers insight into both the practice of letter writing as seen from the internal perspective of a writer, and into education in the process of letter writing in the later days of the Judean monarchy. |
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| ISSN: | 2769-3589 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Bulletin of ASOR
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1086/720868 |