The Bible as Data.

Attempts to proceed from linguistic analysis to textual interpretation. The example of Exodus 16

Eep Talstra

1. Introduction

How do we read a biblical text? What kind of questions do we have about its language, its history of composition and transmission and about its interpretation? And how can computer databases or programs of linguistic analysis be of assistance when we are engaged in textual research and when we do teaching of Hebrew and of biblical interpretation?

Let me first present by way of example a number of selected lines from the text I have chosen for this presentation, Exodus 16. This presentation is according to one of the options we have in actual research. Listed are text lines (clauses with just one predication), parsing of clause constituents, marking of clause types and textual domains (narrative sections and direct speech sections) and a visual presentation of text grammatical structure.

The questions of interpretation that come up from the reading of this chapter may help us to clarify what the domain of our research looks like. Usually it is a mixture of linguistic analysis, literary interpretation and theological debate.

Plot: Verse 4. Words of Yhwh are located between the dialogue of the Israelites with Moses and Aaron in verses 2 and 3 and in verses 6 and 7. Moreover, in verse 4 God only speaks to Moses. That does not really fit the context. Later in the text, in verse 11 and 12 one can observe again that God speaks to Moses only. No new information. Wrong order of the text? Some exegetes have suggested that verse 11 should be translated in pluperfect as a back reference to vers 4: The Lord had spoken to Moses. CHoutman, 291, zie Calvijn: las vs 11 als plusquamperfectum. Idem Benno Jakob (Childs, 275)

But that would overrule syntax of the verb: the Lord spoke.

Grammar and Syntax: the function of WeQatal: then you will know: future, promise, effect? So that you will know? How to translate clauses in the narrative? Always with and? Is there a difference between clauses that introduce an explicit NP subject and clauses that do not?

Line 1 has no explicit subject noun phrase. Line 2 has. Error? (various translations)

Lexical semantics: the community of the children of Israel; the children of Israel, all of this congregation. Same reference; different meaning and viewpoint? Different authors?

Exodus 16. Selected lines

1 EXO 16,01 3plM Way0 [W-] [JSJLM ]

| And departed from Elim

2 EXO 16,01 3plM WayX | [W-] [JB>W ] [KL L ] [>L MDBR SJN ]

| | And came all of the congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness

| | of Sin

|

6 EXO 16,02 3plM WayX | [W-] [JLJNW ] [KL L ] [MRW ] [>LHM ] [BNJ JFR>L ]

| | And said to them the children of Israel

| | | -------------------------------------------------------

| | | | (we better had died in Egypt)

12 EXO 16,03 2plM xQtl | | | |[KJ ] [HWY>TM ] [>TNW ] [>L H-MDBR H-ZH ]

| | | | for you have brought us out into this desert

13 EXO 16,03 ---- InfC | | | |[L-HMJT ] [>T KL H-QHL H-ZH ] [B--RMR ] [JHWH ] [>L MCH ] | | | And said Yhwh to Moses | | ------------------------------------------------------15 EXO 16,04 -sgM PtcA | | |HNNJ ] [MMVJR ] [LKM ] [LXM ] | | | [MN H-CMJM ] | | | Watch me letting rain for you bread from the heaven | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------26 EXO 16,06 3sgM WayX | [W-] [J>MR ] [MCH W->HRN ] [>L KL BNJ JFR>L ] | | And said Moses and Aaron to all of the children of Israel | | ------------------------------------------------------------27 EXO 16,06 ---- NmCl | | | [TKM ] | | | [M->RY MYRJM ] | | |that Yhwh himself has brought you out of the land Egypt | | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | | | 56 EXO 16,11 3sgM WayX | [W-] [JDBR ] [JHWH ] [>L MCH ] | And spoke Yhwh to Moses | |--------------------------------------------------------------58 EXO 16,12 1sg- 0Qtl | | [CMT TLWNT BNJ JFR>L ] | | I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel59 EXO 16,12 2sgM Impv | | [DBR ] [>LHM ] | | Speak to them | | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | [W-] [B--BQR ] [TFBLHJKM ] | | | that I am Yhwh your GodObservations:1. Tasks for computer work. Looking at the questions listed above it means that sometimes we need to see more of the same or similar cases: to be done by searching and sorting. Sometimes we need to find out elements of the language system: to be done by analyzing and searching. Sometimes we need to understand how a text is being built before we could say anything about its plot. To be done by presentation or visualization of linguistic analysis of textual hierarchy.2. Literary and exegetical reading usually follows a different track: not so much from analyzing simple linguistic data to analyzing the complexities of textual compositions. Rather exegetical questions are derived from the processes of reading and interpretation. When and by whose interests may these texts have been composed? What do particular words mean in their context? How can we act as its addressees, even if we were not the ones the authors had in mind when writing? 3. The computer assisted methods always have been developed in an area located between changing methodologies. First in terms of technical possibilities, of course: rapidly growing capacities of hard ware and software allows for more complex analysis. But also, or even more so, in terms of the changing methodologies in the Humanities and in biblical scholarship itself: from the searching for authors by identifying their lexicon, to the analysis of texts and their analysis as a process of communication.(Computer linguists in the early years: you should first clean up those ambiguous texts, otherwise computer assisted analysis would be meaningless. Now: the ambiguity and complexities are regarded an interesting challenge)What kind of observations and arguments scholars use to address these questions? How much of those are a matter of linguistics? Can the collecting of data and arguments be imitated by the use of databases and programs for searching and analysis? Can the use of these techniques help us to expand the linguistic segment in textual research? That implies: how far can we get when trying to close the gap between computer assisted textual analysis and literary, exegetical interpretation?In the next paragraphs I will present the use of computers in biblical scholarship along the first track mentioned above: the development of analytical methods. I see a development from: sorting of lexical data, to searching of grammatical data, to visualization of text data.But in all cases we need to be aware of its interference with the change of methods in biblical scholarship itself: from texts and authors to text and communication.2.Computer-assisted analysis: the development of objectives and experiences.2.1. Sorting data. Surface text or restricted linguistic analysis. First objective of the use of computers has been to help us with the productions of the classical instruments: produce special concordances, special lexicons. The production of such instruments is a case of sorting data. This is also where the early computerwork in biblical studies started in the seventies of the last century. (The Computer Bible)This work is needed, since classical instruments used to be more of a handbook for translation than for linguistic research. Moreover it is now much easier to produce specialized concordances of words or phrases of a specific text. Concordance on Exodus 16 and now also concordance of phrases or clauses on Exodus 16. Where are the words that are characteristic of the chapter, where phrases? e.g. 1. various phrases referring to the people.In the book of Exodus, on finds the word Qahal (community) only here and in ch 12. What does this self reference in the words of Isral mean?The phrase community of the children of Israel is also used in ch.12 in the story of the first celebration of the Pesach.The word edah, congregation is used more often, i.e. also in chapter 12, then in the stories of y of chapter 16 and 17 after that in texts related to the construction of the tent.Sorting, concordance: compare with the rest of the book of Exodus. Helpful for translation and literary research.In Exodus: the use of the word QHL in QHL/ [ 2 ] gemeente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n LIP:N;J H@OHEL MOWET-H@>@ROn L@ET-HAK.AP.ORET EXO 40,05 W:N@TAT.@H >ET-MIZ:B.AX HAZ.@H@B LIQ:VORET LIP:N;J >:AROWn H@AT.@H W.B@NEJk@ >IT.@k: LIP:N;J >OHEL H@@R:XOWT J:HW@H XESED WE>:EMET L:NOY:R;J B:RIJTOW W: HIQ:CIJBW. >EL-MIY:WOTEJk@ W.L:;L L:>OHEL H@TW ] [L-?PNJ? JHWH ] [L-MCMRT / L-DRTJKM ] EXO 16,34 [W-] [JNJXHW ] [>HRN ] [L-?PNJ? H-MR ] [MCH ] [L-?PNJ? JHWH ] Prop, 261,273: spoke before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y HAZ.O>TRICHT04,14 H:ALO> J:HW@H J@Y@> L:P@NEJk@ IKON05,26 WAJHW@H N@TAn X@K:M@H LIC:LOMOH JES 50,04 >:ADON@J J:HOWIH N@TAn LIJ L:COWn LIM.W.DIJm JER 29,26 J:HW@H N:T@N:k@ KOH;n T.AXAT J:HOWJ@D@< HAK.OH;nEXO 12,51 [?HWYJ>? ] [JHWH ] [>T BNJ JFR>L ] [M->RY MYRJM ] [TM ]EXO 18,01 [KJ ] [?HWYJ>? ] [JHWH ] [>T JFR>L ] [M-MYRJM ]EXO 11,03 [W-] [JTN ] [?JHWH? ] [>T XN ] [H-