This article demonstrates that a semantic analysis of the word beʾushim deepens and nuances our understanding of the Song of the Vineyard (Isa 5:1-7). The article discusses the literal meaning of the root bʾš, ‘to have a bad smell’, as well as the its array of derived meanings. Then it applies this network of meanings in an exegesis of the rhetoric and message of the song. Furthermore, this article argues that the attribution of bad smells in prophetic literature is part of a larger scheme of retribution. Bad smells serve as a metaphor for punishment while good smells signify restoration.
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Yee, “Form-Critical Study”, pp. 30-31; Irsigler, “Speech Acts and Intention”, pp. 49-53. Cf. the graphic analysis suggested by K. Schmid, Jesaja 1 23 (zbk 19/1; Zürich, 2011), p. 80, in which ויעש באושים is placed as the X of the chiasm.
Willis, “The Genre of Isaiah”, p. 360; Yee, “Form-Critical Study”, p. 37; G. Roye Williams, “Frustrated Expectations in Isaiah 5,1-7: A Literary Interpretation”, vt 35/4 (1985), pp. 459-465, here p. 463; Irsigler, “Speech Acts and Intention”, p. 55.
Kissane, The Book of Isaiah, p. 49; cf. Saadiah Gaon and Kimchi. S. Mandelkern, Veteris Testamenti Concordantiae3 (Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 1955), p. 161, briefly explains the shift from Hebrew to Aramaic etymology.
Mandelkern, Concordantiae, p. 161; haloti, P. 107; bdb, p. 93; Clines ii, p. 88-89.
Williams, “Frustrated Expectations”, 463. Cf. Watts, Isaiah 1-33, p. 82, and F. Landy, “The Parable of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7) or What is a Love Song Doing among the Prophets?”, Studies in Religion 34/2 (2005), pp. 147-164, here p. 149. Similarly the phrase is translated to German as “stinkende Fäulnis” by the Zürich Bible as well as by Schmid, Jesaja 1 23, p. 78. Cf. a comment on the matter by H. Wildberger, Isaiah 1-12: A Commentary (cc; tr. T.H. Trapp, Minnapolic, 1991), p. 182.
Synott, “A Sociology of Smell”, pp. 446-452. See also the expanded case study in “Physiology of the Social Order”, in Corbin, The Foul and the Fragrant, pp. 111-127.
Sasson, “The Blood of Grapes”, p. 408; see the fine examples in Isa 27:2-5; Ezek 17.
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This article demonstrates that a semantic analysis of the word beʾushim deepens and nuances our understanding of the Song of the Vineyard (Isa 5:1-7). The article discusses the literal meaning of the root bʾš, ‘to have a bad smell’, as well as the its array of derived meanings. Then it applies this network of meanings in an exegesis of the rhetoric and message of the song. Furthermore, this article argues that the attribution of bad smells in prophetic literature is part of a larger scheme of retribution. Bad smells serve as a metaphor for punishment while good smells signify restoration.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 346 | 35 | 4 |
Full Text Views | 292 | 1 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 173 | 6 | 0 |