Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 17/08/2004 21:13, C. Stirling Bartholomew wrote:

> On 8/17/04 12:09 PM, "Peter Kirk" <peterkirk AT qaya.org> wrote:
>
>  
>
> > Some texts like Ecclesiastes, and parts of Proverbs, may be made up of a
> > separate short discourses thrown together with no real cohesion. But at
> > least we can assume that each such discourse is intended to make sense.
> >    
>
> Peter,
>
> Discourse segments at every level can have general cohesion but lack
> cohesion in some details. I was recently working on a crux in Luke 4:22
> (off-topic) where cohesion breaks down in the last clause of the verse.
> Trying to force cohesion onto this last clause causes more problems than it
> solves. I can't grab an OT example from memory.
>  

If your interpretation of a passage requires you to assume that cohesion 
breaks down (unless you are postulating something like a copyist's 
mistaken interpolation), your interpretation is wrong. Authors do not 
write texts which lack cohesion in this way, although with ancient texts 
we may lack the background knowledge to understand that cohesion. And I 
could easily explain how this clause fits into its context, but not here.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/