TIP OF THE DAY 114: Speaking with style - figures of addition
I am adding these posts to the previous tip list L/V 10 Tip of the Day
TRIVA QUESTION: According to the Talmud what is the date of creation?
SOFTWARE: The all search fails miserably. I gave a thumbs down response.
ANSWER: from Perplexity:
According to the Talmud, there is a dispute regarding when the world was created. The Talmud in tractate Rosh Hashanah 10b presents two main opinions:
1. Rabbi Eliezer's view: The world was created in the month of Tishrei (the seventh month of the Jewish calendar).
2. Rabbi Yehoshua's view: The world was created in the month of Nisan (the first month of the Jewish calendar).
This disagreement between the sages reflects different perspectives on the nature of creation:
Tishrei Creation
Rabbi Eliezer's opinion aligns with Tishrei being associated with:
The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah)
A time when the earth produces ripe fruit
The rainy season beginning, which was necessary for plant growth
Nisan Creation
Rabbi Yehoshua's view connects the creation to Nisan because:
It's a time when grass is abundant
Trees begin to bring forth fruit
It marks the beginning of spring and new growth
Reconciliation Attempts
Later commentators have attempted to reconcile these seemingly contradictory views:
Rabbeinu Tam suggested that in Tishrei, God conceived the idea to create the world, but didn't actually create it until Nisan.
Some Hasidic thought proposes that the world was created in Nisan in thought, while in deed it was created in Tishrei.
It's worth noting that the Talmudic discussion is not necessarily meant to pinpoint an exact historical date, but rather to explore the spiritual significance of these months in relation to creation1.
QUESTION: Give some examples of the tagging of figures of addition in the Bible.
ANSWER: Drawn from the list of common Biblical figures and tropes shared earlier.
Parenthesis: Insertion of a word or phrase
Example: Genesis 13:13
figureofSpeech:name:Parenthesis
Exergasia a.k.a. epexegesis: Addition of words to further explain
Example: Jonah 2:2
figureofSpeech:(description:"Working Out" AND name:Exergasia)
Often displayed in parallel lines
Polysyndeton: Repeated use of conjunctions (a pair with asyndeton)
Example: 2 Kings 2:12
figureofSpeech:(description:Many-Ands AND name:Polysyndeton)
Note that translations often omit this feature which hides the intended attention for emphasis intended by the author.
Asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions (a pair with polysyndeton)
Example: Judges 5:27
figureofSpeech:(description:No-Ands AND name:Asyndeton)
Anacoluthon: Abrupt change in grammatical construction
Example Nehemiah 10:30
figureofSpeech:(description:Non-sequence AND name:Anacoluthon)
QUESTION: What are the three parts of exergasia a.k.a.epexegesis?
ANSWER: from Bullinger, Ethelbert William. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898.
The figure is so called because the repetition is for purposes of explanation.
It has several names. It is called EXEGESIS (ex´-e-gee´sis), an explanation.
ECPHRASIS (ec´-phra-sis), from ἐκ (ek), out, and φράζω (phrazo), to give to know, cause to understand, intimate, point out. Hence the figure is called Ecphrasis, which means an explaining, recounting.
It is also called EPLCHREMA (epi-chree´-ma), from ἐπί (epi), upon, and χρῆμα (chreema), a furnishing, from χράομαι (chra´-o-mai), to furnish what is needful. The figure is thus called because upon what has been said less clearly the needful information is added or furnished.
This figure Epexegesis may be divided into three parts: (1) where what is added is a working out and developing what has been previously said (Exergasia); (2) where what has been said is dwelt upon to deepen the impression (Epimone); and (3) where what is added is by way of interpretation (Hermeneia).[1]
[1] Ethelbert William Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898), 398.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."