This book explains and illustrates a variety of semiotic issues in the study of biblical law. Commencing with a review of relevant literature in linguistics, philosophy, semiotics and psychology, it examines biblical law in terms of its users, its medium and its message. It criticizes our use of the notion of 'literal meaning', at the level of both words and sentences, preferring to see meaning constructed by the narrative images that the language evokes. These images may come from either social experience or cultural narratives. Speech performance is important, both in the negotiation of the law and the narratives of its communication. Non-linguistic semiotic phenomena, utilizing other senses and involving such notions as space and time, also need to be taken into account. For the early biblical period, at least, conceptions of law based upon modern models need to be replaced by the notion of 'wisdom-laws'. Amongst the issues addressed in the course of the argument are the structure of the Decalogue, the role in the law of (Greenberg's) 'postulates', 'covenant renewal' and 'talionic punishment'.
By:
Bernard S. Jackson Imprint: Sheffield Academic Press Country of Publication: United Kingdom Volume: 314 Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 650g ISBN:9781841271507 ISBN 10: 1841271500 Series:The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Pages: 338 Publication Date:01 November 2000 Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format:Hardback Publisher's Status: Active
Bernard Jackson is Alliance Professor of Modern Jewish Studies, Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester.