Promise, Protection, and Prosperity. Aspects of the "Shield" as a Religious Relational Metaphor in an Ancient Near Eastern Perspective. An Iconographical and Textual Analysis
(1999) In Lund Studies in History of Religions 9.- Abstract
- This thesis discusses the religious metaphorical use of different words for "shield" in the Hebrew Bible and Egyptian and Assyrian literature. The literary contexts in the analysis are delimited based on the observation that they share a similar view of divine intervention in war and an analogous view of the enemy. Using the defensive weapon that we today call the "shield" often meant the difference between life and death for soldiers in the ancient Near East. The primary use of the shield metaphor is primarily is as an effective "border" between "us" and "them." A god "being" his worshipper’s shield is a relational metaphor. Previous research on shields in the ancient Near East concentrated on cultural, philological, and archeological... (More)
- This thesis discusses the religious metaphorical use of different words for "shield" in the Hebrew Bible and Egyptian and Assyrian literature. The literary contexts in the analysis are delimited based on the observation that they share a similar view of divine intervention in war and an analogous view of the enemy. Using the defensive weapon that we today call the "shield" often meant the difference between life and death for soldiers in the ancient Near East. The primary use of the shield metaphor is primarily is as an effective "border" between "us" and "them." A god "being" his worshipper’s shield is a relational metaphor. Previous research on shields in the ancient Near East concentrated on cultural, philological, and archeological aspects. No researchers have performed a separate, monographical analysis of the shield metaphor. The purpose of this thesis is to broaden the modern reader’s perspective in understanding the original intent and understanding of the shield metaphor. The theoretical and methodological basis of this study is modern metaphor theory, particularly Eva F. Kittay’s perspectival theory, which is a further development of the interaction theory. The intratextual placement of the shield metaphor in the context is studied from a narrator-listener perspective to glean the narrator’s original intent. In particular, the study analyzes how a metaphor generates extratextual, or realitybased, and intertextual associations and connotations, and how a narrator’s awareness of these metaphorical effects control his choice of metaphor in a specific intratextual context. Another focus is the individual reader’s personal understanding, or implicit context, which always colors one’s understanding of a text. This study goes from practical shield use, to theoretical metaphor use, which means that we must first study the shield from a religious and cultural context. Then, the study examines perceptions of protection in general and military aspects of shield use. Both symbolic motifs on shields and iconographical depcitions of shields are analyzed. The text interpretations in this study center in particular on the practical use of shields as a "visual" example for the literary depiction of the interaction between god and man. The study concludes with an analysis of parallel metaphors and parallel metaphorical motifs in connection with the shield metaphor, highlighting central metaphorical concepts. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Denna avhandling behandlar en aspekt av religiös beskyddsmetaforik, nämligen den metaforiska användningen av olika ord för det defensiva vapen som vi idag kallar sköld, i den Hebreiska bibeln, den egyptiska och den assyriska litteraturen. Sköldmetaforen kan sägas vara en relationsmetafor ("relational metaphor") vilket avser en typ av metaforer som används för att uttrycka en relation ( "vår sköld" Ps 89:19). Avgränsningen av de litterära kontexterna i denna studie ( hämtade från den Hebreiska bibeln, Egypten och Assyrien) har gjorts utifrån iakttagelsen att de delar en likartad syn på gudomlig intervention i kriget samt uppfattning av fienden. Sin grundläggande teoretiska och metodologiska... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Denna avhandling behandlar en aspekt av religiös beskyddsmetaforik, nämligen den metaforiska användningen av olika ord för det defensiva vapen som vi idag kallar sköld, i den Hebreiska bibeln, den egyptiska och den assyriska litteraturen. Sköldmetaforen kan sägas vara en relationsmetafor ("relational metaphor") vilket avser en typ av metaforer som används för att uttrycka en relation ( "vår sköld" Ps 89:19). Avgränsningen av de litterära kontexterna i denna studie ( hämtade från den Hebreiska bibeln, Egypten och Assyrien) har gjorts utifrån iakttagelsen att de delar en likartad syn på gudomlig intervention i kriget samt uppfattning av fienden. Sin grundläggande teoretiska och metodologiska utgångspunkt tar denna studie i modern metaforteori, särskilt Eva F. Kittays perspectival theory, som kan sägas vara en vidareutveckling av interaktionsteorin. Sköldmetaforens inplacering i sin intratextuella kontext studeras utifrån ett berättar-lyssnar perspektiv vilket förutsätter att en berättare i olika hög grad är medveten om att en metafor hos lyssnaren ger upphov till såväl extratextuella-, alltså verklighetsrelaterade, som intertextuella associationer och konnotationer och därför medvetet, infogar metaforen i en bestämd intratextuell kontext i ett visst syfte. Denna studies syfte är därför att för en nutida läsare vidga perspektivet när det gäller förståelsen för de ursprunliga intentionerna med och uppfattningen av sköldmetaforen. Men studien har också som ett mera övergripande syfte att framhålla en metod som är tillämplig vid metaforanalyser i allmänhet. I modifierad form används Eva F. Kittays term implicit context i denna studie som en beteckning på den personliga uppsättning av förutfattade meningar som försvårar för en nutida läsare att erhålla ett med texten "samtida" perspektiv. I en strävan att i någon mån erhålla ett "samtida" perspektiv företas som underlag för textinterpretationerna en undersökning av sköldanvändning ur religiöst och kulturkontextuellt perspektiv. Aspekter på beskydd i allmänhet samt militärtekniska aspekter på sköldanvändning i den forna Främre Orienten studeras. Sköldars symboliska motiv analyseras samt ikonografiska framställningar av sköldanvändning. Sköldens som "social gräns" samt dess funktion som relationsmetafor granskas liksom sköldars praktiska användning som en "visuell" mall för den litterära skildringen av interaktionen mellan gud och människa. Genomgående studeras sköldmetaforen i relation till olika metaforiska koncept baserade på kulturella och religiösa föreställningar. Avhandlingens avslutande del behandlar parallellmetaforer och parallellmetaforiska motiv i anslutning till sköldmetaforen där bland annat möjliga kopplingar till koncept som livgivare, amma, moderlighet och fertilitet diskuteras. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/19141
- author
- Wiig, Arne LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Podemann Sørensen, Jørgen, Copenhagen
- organization
- publishing date
- 1999
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Theology, Assyria, Egypt, Hebrew Bible, Ancient Near East, relational metaphor, shield metaphor, Metaphor theory, shield, Teologi
- in
- Lund Studies in History of Religions
- volume
- 9
- pages
- 272 pages
- publisher
- Arne Wiig. Lagga Prästgård. 741 93 Knivsta. Sweden.,
- defense location
- Samarkand, Akademiska Föreningen, Lund
- defense date
- 1999-05-21 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LUREDN/RERH-1999/1011-SE+272
- ISSN
- 1103-4882
- ISBN
- 91-628-3554-8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: History and Anthropology of Religions (015017025)
- id
- e54e5c61-5d6b-4ae2-966c-60eb40641a35 (old id 19141)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 17:06:33
- date last changed
- 2019-05-21 19:35:56
@phdthesis{e54e5c61-5d6b-4ae2-966c-60eb40641a35,
abstract = {{This thesis discusses the religious metaphorical use of different words for "shield" in the Hebrew Bible and Egyptian and Assyrian literature. The literary contexts in the analysis are delimited based on the observation that they share a similar view of divine intervention in war and an analogous view of the enemy. Using the defensive weapon that we today call the "shield" often meant the difference between life and death for soldiers in the ancient Near East. The primary use of the shield metaphor is primarily is as an effective "border" between "us" and "them." A god "being" his worshipper’s shield is a relational metaphor. Previous research on shields in the ancient Near East concentrated on cultural, philological, and archeological aspects. No researchers have performed a separate, monographical analysis of the shield metaphor. The purpose of this thesis is to broaden the modern reader’s perspective in understanding the original intent and understanding of the shield metaphor. The theoretical and methodological basis of this study is modern metaphor theory, particularly Eva F. Kittay’s perspectival theory, which is a further development of the interaction theory. The intratextual placement of the shield metaphor in the context is studied from a narrator-listener perspective to glean the narrator’s original intent. In particular, the study analyzes how a metaphor generates extratextual, or realitybased, and intertextual associations and connotations, and how a narrator’s awareness of these metaphorical effects control his choice of metaphor in a specific intratextual context. Another focus is the individual reader’s personal understanding, or implicit context, which always colors one’s understanding of a text. This study goes from practical shield use, to theoretical metaphor use, which means that we must first study the shield from a religious and cultural context. Then, the study examines perceptions of protection in general and military aspects of shield use. Both symbolic motifs on shields and iconographical depcitions of shields are analyzed. The text interpretations in this study center in particular on the practical use of shields as a "visual" example for the literary depiction of the interaction between god and man. The study concludes with an analysis of parallel metaphors and parallel metaphorical motifs in connection with the shield metaphor, highlighting central metaphorical concepts.}},
author = {{Wiig, Arne}},
isbn = {{91-628-3554-8}},
issn = {{1103-4882}},
keywords = {{Theology; Assyria; Egypt; Hebrew Bible; Ancient Near East; relational metaphor; shield metaphor; Metaphor theory; shield; Teologi}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Arne Wiig. Lagga Prästgård. 741 93 Knivsta. Sweden.,}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Studies in History of Religions}},
title = {{Promise, Protection, and Prosperity. Aspects of the "Shield" as a Religious Relational Metaphor in an Ancient Near Eastern Perspective. An Iconographical and Textual Analysis}},
volume = {{9}},
year = {{1999}},
}