Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Spinti <jspinti AT eisenbrauns.com>]

Karl,

Don't waste your precious time--or ours--by reading Blau. He believes that 
the cognate languages and linguistics have a place in describing Biblical 
Hebrew. He also has spent a lifetime reading Hebrew, but don't expose 
yourself to him--he might be dangerous to your preconceptions.

Personally, I think the fact that you won't look at his work is the best 
advertisement for the book I could possibly buy…thanks for marketing it for 
me :)

James
________________________________
James Spinti
Marketing Director, Book Sales Division
Eisenbrauns, Good books for more than 35 years
Specializing in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies
jspinti at eisenbrauns dot com
Web: http://www.eisenbrauns.com
Phone: 574-269-2011 ext 226
Fax: 574-269-6788

On Jan 5, 2012, at 12:37 AM, K Randolph wrote:

> Dear George:
> 
> On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 4:37 PM, George Athas 
> <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>wrote:
> 
>> Karl,
>> 
>> Rather than assume that scholars are all naturalist Nazis,
> 
> 
> I lived in Germany. I talked with survivors who had lived under Nazism.
> When I found out that the Nazis would have wanted me dead, I looked into
> their ideology. They were socialists (who we Americans would call “left
> wing”), members of the Socialist International. They were followers of Karl
> Marx, who had written one of the most anti-Semitic books of the 19th
> century. They thought that by their take over of Germany, they were
> fulfilling the proletariat revolution for Germany. The more I looked into
> it, the more I learned to detest that ideology and its related ideologies.
> 
> I have no evidence on a single scholar that he is a “naturalist Nazi”.
> 
> 
>> it may just be worth engaging with the ideas they put forward.
> 
> 
> OK, let’s start with the basics: is this a scientific study or not? Since
> in this area I start and limit myself to a scientific study, and what has
> been told about Blau so far is that he is not scientific, what more is
> there to say? Are we speaking two different languages?
> 
> 
>> Scholarship is a conversation. The academy is an Areopagus —a marketplace
>> where ideas are traded, evaluated, synthesised, and occasionally
>> 'purchased' for integration. Sure, there are peddlers hawking wares down
>> blind alleys, but no matter how loud they shout, they won't be taken
>> seriously until they come into the square and conduct a conversation.
>> 
> 
> OK, I am in the square. A peddler has come to me with a toy asking me to
> purchase it, and I am asking why should I? The peddler is telling me that
> this toy can fly, swim underwater, speak to me and be a cyber companion.
> But when I look at it, I see a scratched surface and broken gears and the
> peddler has not shown me that it works at all. When I demur, saying that I
> am not so sure about that “fantastic” toy, the peddler accuses me of being
> an old fuddy-duddy, not interested in engaging with the latest technology
> because I am not sure that I should buy what looks to me to be a broken toy
> fit only for the trash.
> 
>> 
>> Of course, some peddlers couldn't care less. They're happy playing with
>> the toys they've made for themselves.
>> 
>> Right now, I’m not a peddler, but a purchaser. I see no reason to “buy”
> this “toy”. But beyond here this analogy falls apart.
> 
>> 
>> GEORGE ATHAS
>> Director of Postgraduate Studies,
>> Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)
>> Sydney, Australia
>> 
>> 
> When discussing Biblical Hebrew language on this forum, I have tried to
> limit myself to the scientific method. I have admitted to certain beliefs
> concerning Tanakh that are philosophic and not scientific, but I have also
> listed them as philosophic and not scientific. I may disagree with him, but
> don’t hold it against anyone who espouses a different philosophic position
> than what I believe. The only time I object is when he claims that his
> philosophical pronouncements are scientific, in spite of the fact that they
> do not follow the scientific method, and that they are the only valid way
> to view Tanakh, its language and ideas.
> 
> I first learned the scientific method from a man who was a naturalist
> (which is a religion, by the way) who believed in evolution.
> 
> What has been said about Blau so far is that he does not follow the
> scientific method. Does he even discuss the scientific method? Or does he
> merely make a set of assumptions, and assume that his readers share his
> assumptions? If the latter, then I am bringing into question his
> assumptions.
> 
> Karl W. Randolph.
> _______________________________________________
> b-hebrew mailing list
> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew