negative connotations

Christian Alexander

I am looking at how words can carry negative connotations in the biblical and extrabiblical texts.

"In some cases, particularly in later Greek and Roman texts, "Ioudaios" could carry negative connotations, associated with stereotypes and prejudices against the Jewish people. This negativity is especially observed in certain literary works and historical accounts."

Where can I find these works that are being referred to? Is there a way to search for this in Logos?

Mike Binks

I am looking at how words can carry negative connotations in the biblical and extrabiblical texts.

Yeah! Right!

eg?

MJ. Smith

how words can carry negative connotations

Connotation/Denotation is primarily a topic of semantics with threads wandering into pragmatics, cognitive linguistics, sociolinguistics, and discourse analysis

Negative/Positive is studied primarily as polarity in syntax and pragmatics, as sentiment in computational linguistics, as evaluation in semantics and discourse analysis, and as appraisement in cognitive linguistics.

Chose the approach you have the most background in so you can learn the skill of correct classification quickly. My lists are probably not comprehensive but I think I have most of the major approaches covered.

works that are being referred to

I have never seen works that try to collect and explicate this information over a range of works except in the context of computational linguistics discussing the automatic assignment of sentiment in a text. This is one of many topics where one needs to read, read, and read paying attention to connotations, stereotypes, and polarity so that one can draw on one's own knowledge from extensive readings examples of books that could serve as examples.  Protocols of the Elders of Zion is probably the best known of an extreme example of this literature; Justin Martyr is a more subtle case. Voltaire is a more disturbing example - IIRC pretty much everything he wrote portrays Jews negatively more often than positive. One can even add composers such as Wagner to the wall of anti-semitic shame.

hc

I don't have any helpful suggestions on how to search this except by working through someone else's list in the work that deals with this question, but I recently listened to an interview on OnScript with a scholar named Jason Staples who recently published a book in which he argues against this notion.

According to Staples, the idea that Ioudaios in the Second Temple period carries some sort of negative connotation is an often-mentioned "factoid" in scholarly circles, yet nowhere is the idea justified. His long search for the origin of the idea led him to the TDNT (Theologcial Dictionary of the New Testament), where he again finds that the texts cited do not justify the conclusion. Instead, According to Staples, the relevant argument in the TDNT, which was authored by 20th Century German scholars who were also early members of the Nazi party, reflects the the linguistic milieu of mid-20th century Germany, rather than the primary texts of early Greek and Roman authors.

With that said, you might find the interview or his book helpful. I'm sure he gives some account of the Greek and Roman sources that he is dealing with. Or you might trying going yourself to the TDNT article on Ioudaios. 

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1287955#Comment_1287955

I am looking at how words can carry negative connotations in the biblical and extrabiblical texts.

Yeah! Right!

eg?

I don't understand this.

Positive/negative connotation is a key feature of both testaments ... so much so, you wonder why it hasn't received its gold-star by FL tagging.

There's so many examples, where translators are flummoxed as to their moral (but not ethical) duty. The most famous, of course (eg) is good old 'satan' ... is he Perry Mason or the ruler of evil (oops, there's another). Demons are particularly troublesome .. in greek they can be positive, or negative, but who ever read of a good demon in the Bible?  Even Jesus was flummoxed by their inherent (?) sneakiness. Then, there's Paul's 'powers' ... are these negative? Or maybe not. And let's not forget 'the sinners' who translators choke on ... maybe gentiles?

One, I never resolved is translated 'wilderness' ... was the word culturally bound to demons? A place for battle?

Mike Binks

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1287969#Comment_1287969

Yeah! Right!

eg?

I don't understand this.

I was simply seeing if ostensibly positive words that conveyed a negative connotation was actually what was being looked for.

You correct in that I have no Biblical Example to call on – but I don't use words the way that those over two millennia ago did (and perhaps those, from that time, in the dimension of heaven still do).