Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Norman Cohn <normanncohn AT yahoo.com.br>]

Hi, George!

 

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I agree with you, and your reply made me think about whether there are many other instances in which the biblical writers try to get at a certain literary effect but ultimately fail to accomplish it. Usually, and I think for good reasons, scholars focus on the successul uses of literary devices by the biblical writers, as Robert Alter does in his wonderful book. However, failed attemps at producing a given effect may also turn out to be interesting, if for no other reason because they reveal something about the writer's mindset. 

 

This is, however, admittedly subjective, cause being sucessful or not in this regard also depends on which audience is being addressed. In the case of Ezekiel, though I think that despite the euphemisms those passages are quite rude, maybe even gross, one could argue his target audience would have thought otherwise.

 

Best regards,

 

Norman Cohn

São Paulo - Brazil. 

 

 

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