Verbum 9 Tip 9aa: Guide section: Figurative language

MJ. Smith · July 2021

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Figurative Language

Traditional Figures of Speech

Rant: Figurative Language is one of the guide sections with which I have a dysfunctional relationship. First, I believe that the classical figures of speech which were known by the Greek authors and have classic application to Hebrew in the Medieval period (The Book of the Honeycomb’s Flow by Judah Messer Leon) are more fundamental to the interpretation of scripture than contemporary linguistics which is lacks cohesiveness in adopting a theory of figurative/metaphorical language. Second, I firmly believe reducing figurative language to an A=B destroys its power which lies in forcing the reader to consider characteristics of A and B that are shared versus unique to A or B (think the ideal example for a compare-contrast chart).

Fortunately, my rant can be short as I can point you to resources to master before using this guide.

Bullinger, Ethelbert William. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898.
“Figure of Speech index” in Smith, Jerome H. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word. Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson, 1992.
“§ 82. Arrangement of Words; Figures of Speech” in Blass, Friedrich. Translated by Henry St. John Thackeray. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1911.
“Tropes and Figurative Terms” in Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1981.
Silva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric (byu.edu) a short cut on the tool bar
Gage, Warren Austin. Return from Emmaus: The Resurrection Theme in Scripture. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Warren A. Gage, 2011.
Goppelt, Leonhard. Typos: The Typological Interpretation of the Old Testament in the New. Translated by Donald H. Madvig. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
Keach, Benjamin. Tropologia: A Key to Open Scripture Metaphors. London: William Hill Collingridge, 1856.
Aristotle. Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Or, The True Grounds and Principles of Oratory Shewing the Right Art of Pleading and Speaking in Full Assemblies and Courts of Judicature / Made English by the Translators of The Art of Thinking. Early English Books Online. London: T.B. for Randal Taylor .., 1686.
Ramus, Petrus. A Compendium of the Art of Logick and Rhetorick in the English Tongue Containing All That Peter Ramus, Aristotle, and Others Have Writ Thereon: With Plaine Directions for the More Easie Understanding and Practice of the Same. Early English Books Online. London: printed by Thomas Maxey, 1651.
Barton, John. The Art of Rhetorick Concisely and Compleatly Handled Exemplified out of Holy Writ, and with a Compendious and Perspicuous Comment, Fitted to the Capacities of such as Have Had a Smatch of Learning, or Are Otherwise Ingenious. By J.B. Master of the Free-School of Kinfare in Staffordshire. Early English Books Online. London: Printed for Nicolas Alsop, and are to be sold at the Angel in Popes-head-alley, 1634.
Blount, Thomas. The Academie of Eloquence Containing a Compleat English Rhetorique, Exemplified with Common-Places and Formes Digested into an Easie and Methodical Way to Speak and Write Fluently according to the Mode of the Present Times: Together with Letters Both Amorous and Moral upon Emergent Occasions / by Tho. Blount, Gent. Early English Books Online. London: T.N. for Humphrey Moseley .., 1654.

From Verbum Help:[quote]

Bullinger’s Figures of Speech

This dataset ships a bundle of Figure of Speech labels that mirror information found in Figures of Speech Used in the Bible by E. W. Bullinger. If (and only if) a verse is mentioned in Bullinger’s discussion of a figure of speech, that verse is labeled with that figure of speech. Each label supports:

• Name ~ "..." — Where the title name of the figure appears. (E.g. “Zeugma” or “Aposiopesis”)

• Description ~ "..." — Is the short gloss for the figure. (E.g. “Unequal Yoke” or “Sudden-Silence”)

For example:

• {Label Figure of Speech WHERE Name ~ "Ellipsis"}^{^[1]}

Once you truly understand figures of speech as understood by the original audience and authors, one can usefully explore the application of contemporary cognitive linguistic concepts applied to the Biblical text.

In full disclosure, my personal contemporary linguistic leanings are more towards:

Group mu (1970/1981) reasserts that all words are polysemous, thus producing overlap or redundancy between the semantics of two or more given words. Metaphors, they propose, work through the intersection of synecdochical terms, the intersection being those mutually shared (redundant) aspects. If word meanings were discrete and separate, attempts at metaphor would fall flat as "absurdities". Group mu claims that "metaphor is not, properly speaking, a substitution of meaning, but a modification of the semantic content of a term" (Group mu 1970/1981).[2]

Contemporary figures of speech linguistics

From Verbum Help:[quote]

Figurative Language Section

This section lists examples of figurative language used in the passage being studied. Results can be sorted by Type, Target, Source, and Category. Links to search for other examples of this type of figurative language, and to access the Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary (in Type and Category displays only) appear at the end of each result entry.^{^[3]}

Prerequisite reading: Westbury, Joshua R., Jeremy Thompson, Kristopher A. Lyle, and Jimmy Parks, eds. Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.

Resources included: New Testament only

• The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

• The Harper Colllins Bible Dictionary

• The Lexham Bible Dictionary

• The Dictionary of Bible Themes

• The Anchor Bible Dictionary

• The Lexham Theological Wordbook

• A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG)

• Zondervan Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

• Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon (LSJ)

• Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament^{^[4]}

The goal:

In short, the FLD provides Logos users with easy access to figurative expressions in the New Testament by accomplishing the following goals:

1. Providing rich annotation for important uses of figurative language in the New Testament.

2. Providing a way for users to find instances of figurative Language throughout the New Testament.

3. Linking figurative expressions to related concepts in the Bible, and other reference works.^{^[5]}

Section heading bar

The Figurative language guide has no settings nor versified references for lists or filter. Therefore, the section heading bar and its menu have the minimum standard functions.

Interactions on data

Visual cue	Data element	Action	Response
Blue text	Sort sequence options	Click	Displays results in requested sequence and places an orange line under the selected sequence option.
Heading line	Expand/contract triangle; heading text	Click	Toggles display section between expanded and contracted.
Blue text	Bible reference	Mouse over	Open a standard popup of the text of the reference in the highest priority Bible.
		Click	Opens the highest priority Bible containing the text to the specified reference.
		Right click	Opens a Context Menu
		Drag and drop	Opens the highest priority Bible containing the text to the specified reference in a location of the user’s choice.
Orange highlight	In Bible text	Mouse over	Open a standard popup of the text of the reference in context in the highest priority Bible.(1)
		Click	Opens the highest priority Bible containing the text to the specified reference.
		Right click	Opens a Context Menu
		Drag and drop	Opens the highest priority Bible containing the text to the specified reference in a location of the user’s choice.
Blue text	More	Click	Displays the next block of data.
Blue text	Glossary	Mouse over	Opens a standard preview popup of the glossary text
		Click	Opens Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary to the appropriate entry.(2)
		Right click	Opens Context Menu.
		Drag and drop	Opens Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary to the appropriate entry in the location of the user’s choice.(2)
Icon and blue text	Search	Mouse over	Opens a standard preview popup of the search including the full search argument.
		Click	Opens a search of all Bible for figurative language labels matching the single attribute displayed for the sequence (3).
		Right click	Open Context Menu.
		Drag and drop	Opens a search in the location chosen by the user of all Bible for figurative language labels matching the single attribute displayed for the sequence (3).

(1) Broader context Bible preview

(2) Glossary entry

Note the links to Factbook and selected reference works.

(3) Autogenerated search

Search

A search of a Bible for {Label Figurative Language} will find the same data as the guide but the search does not provide the sort sequences.

The following steps provide the search for other occurrences of the figurative language matching all attributes:

Click on the highlighted (orange) text of the figurative language you wish to match. This will open the Bible.
Right click on the text in the Bible – the same text you used in step 1. This will open the Context Menu.
On the left hand side of the Context Menu, click on the triangle preceding the label entry to expand to see all labels.
Select the appropriate figurative language label.
On the right side of the Context Menu, in Search select Bibles. This will run the search in a new panel

In the example the full search argument is: {Label Figurative Language WHERE Category ~ <FigurativeLanguageCategory Metaphor, Structural> AND Source ~ <FigurativeLanguageTerm To Make a Pathway> AND Target ~ <FigurativeLanguageTerm To Prepare for Salvation> AND Type ~ <FigurativeLanguageType To Make a Pathway as To Prepare for Salvation>}. This selects seven verses containing the same figurative language.

Supplemental materials

From Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary there are usually at least three links worth following:

Factbook for the source
Factbook for the target
One or more reference works

Sample Factbook

Sample Reference Work

^{^[1]} Verbum Help (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2018).

[2] Synesthesia and Synesthetic Metaphors (daysyn.com) accessed 7/8/2021 12:14 AM

Group mu (Dubois, J., Edeline, F., Klinkenberg, J-M., Minguet, P., Pire, F., & Trinon, H.). (1981). A general rhetoric (P. B. Burrell, & E. M. Slotkin, Trans.). Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press. (Translation of Rhitorique ginirale; original work published 1970.)

^{^[3]} Verbum Help (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2018).

^{^[4]} “The Lexham Figurative Language of the New Testament Dataset,” in Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary, ed. Joshua R. Westbury et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

^{^[5]} “The Lexham Figurative Language of the New Testament Dataset,” in Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary, ed. Joshua R. Westbury et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Verbum 9 Tip 9aa: Guide section: Figurative language

Figurative Language

Traditional Figures of Speech

Contemporary figures of speech linguistics

Section heading bar

Contents

Type sequence

Target sequence

Source sequence

Category sequence

Interactions on data

Search

Supplemental materials

Categories