TIP OF THE DAY 158: Multi-part lexical unit part 3: Phrasemes, collocations, clichés

MJ. Smith

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POST ISSUE: Phrasemes, collocations, clichés

Phrasemes (set phrase, fixed expression) are by definition constrained in some manner by linguistic convention e.g. it is Merry Christmas not Happy Christmas. They are divided into two types based on whether or not their meaning can be derived from the individual words e.g. “by heart” is not composable while “barbed wire” is. Non-compositional phrasemes are idioms which for the obsessive classifier can be subdivided into full idioms, semi-idioms, quasi-idiom (a.k.a. weak idiom). Compositional phrasemes are further divided into collocations, clichés, and pragmatemes. Some linguists even include metaphors in this category. This post considers collations and clichés. In the next post we will look at using the data yourself for more than understanding commentaries and monographs.

QUESTION: Define “collocation”; give examples in English, Biblical Hebrew, and Biblical Koine Greek

SOFTWARE: A smart search on “collocation” will find a number of entries in grammars and dictionaries along with the related Bible references.

ANSWER: Definition: collocation is a conventional pairing of words that functions as a single semantic or grammatical unit. These collocations are statistically significant co-occurrences of words that, while retaining some flexibility, are treated as cohesive units in language use. Unlike free combinations, they exhibit a degree of fixedness and predictability in their structure and meaning. Example: “make a decision” is statistically more prevalent than “reach a decision.”

From Clark, Gordon R. The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible. Vol. 157. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993.

B. Types of Collocation

The term ‘collocation’ has been applied to those sets of words which occur together in the neighbourhood, whether those words are elements or additional lexemes; but passages that repeat the same item have not been included unless another element or lexeme accompanies it. Three different relationships can be distinguished between words that collocate with each other. Sometimes the words occur in a parallel construction; sometimes they occur in a series (a group of two or more lexical items frequently joined by the conjunction וְ but sometimes appearing asyndetically); or they may occur in neither of these special relationships, in which case the items are simply contiguous with each other. Collocations have been assigned to these various types and they are so recorded in the matrices displayed in the next section, using C for contiguous, P for parallel and S for series. Passages in which חֶסֶד occurs in parallel with some of the lexical items are discussed in Chapter 6, and the series expression חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת is investigated in Chapter 10.[1]

From Lundbom, Jack R. Deuteronomy: A Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013.

Repetitions in Strategic Collocations

Also appearing in significant collocations within the Song are repeated words and particles. Muilenburg (1969, 16–17) said with reference to literary compositions of ancient Israel: “Repeated words or lines do not appear haphazardly or fortuitously, but rather in rhetorically significant collocations.” He noted as particularly striking threefold repetitions in a single stanza, citing the thrice-repeated “come” (לְכוּ) in Isa 55:1 and the thrice-repeated “shame” (בוֹשׁ) in Ps 25:1–3. Both occur at the beginning of stanzas. Sometimes threefold repetitions come at midpoint in the stanza, e.g., the repeated “again” (עוֹד) in Jer 31:4–5, which functions also as anaphora (Lundbom 2004a, 412).[2]

From Notes on Translation, no. 119 (1987).

Different collocations of “Kingdom of God” (“God’s Rule”) in the New Testament

In the New Testament, there are many different collocations of “Kingdom of God” or “God’s Rule.” These can be grouped into several categories:

•The relationship between a person and God through God’s Rule in his life

•The coming of God’s Rule

•Proclaiming and hearing the message about God’s Rule

•The character of God’s Rule

In addition to these four categories, the word “kingdom” sometimes occurs on its own, not in the phrase “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven.”[3]

From Porter, Stanley E. The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments. McMaster New Testament Studies. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.

The Occurrence of Χριστός

The collocation of “Christ” with “Jesus” in New Testament and extra-biblical literature is undeniable. One issue is whether χριστός has semantic value as an honorific title or whether it became virtually automatic as a designation for Jesus by the time Hebrews and the General Epistles were written. The collocation of χριστός with other lexical items is important. If χριστός occurs with messianic scenarios that include terminology, symbols, and images, then it is likely that it has more semantic value than merely designation. In addition, if the orientation of any of the corpus is Jewish in background, any name could carry significant semantic weight. When D. A. Hagner describes the naming of Jesus in the nativity narratives, he states, “Names held far more importance in that culture than in ours, being thought of as linked with or pointing to the actual character and destiny of the individual.” Furthermore, there was a rabbinic view that the Messiah was named before the creation of the world. According to H. Bietenhard, the demonstrations and teachings of the power of the name of Jesus throughout the New Testament “show that the OT manner of speaking of the name of Yahweh has been transferred to Jesus and his name.” Therefore, for a first-century Jewish Christian, the collocation of the name of Jesus with the designation “Christ” could still amount to a direct proclamation of God’s salvation through the Messiah.[4]

QUESTION: Define “cliché”; give examples in English, Biblical Hebrew, and Biblical Koine Greek

SOFTWARE: A smart search on “cliché” will find a number of entries in grammars and dictionaries along with the related Bible references.

ANSWER: Definition: A cliché is a multi-word lexical unit (MWLU) that has become overused to the point of losing its original impact or novelty. Clichés typically function as formulaic expressions.

From Macchi, Jean-Daniel. Esther. Translated by Carmen Palmer. 1. Edition. International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer, 2018.

One of the primary indications that place Esther’s editorial process in a period strongly influenced by Hellenistic culture is the fact that this book presupposes a whole series of Greek “clichés” and motifs about Achaemenid Persia. The book also knows several narratives about events in the Persian world, attested in Greek literature. The authors of Esther thus knew Greek literature or at least its clichés.[5]

From Carpenter, Eugene. Exodus. Evangelical Exegetical Commentary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.

The arrogant response and question of Pharaoh in 5:2 “Who is Yahweh?” מִי (יהוה) is again answered (6:2, 6–7), this time more forcefully than before. The final response will yet be demonstrated in powers, wonders, and momentous judgments by Yahweh. The cliché “I am Yahweh” that begins and ends Yahweh’s words to Moses shows that everything the author lists between will define who Yahweh is. What he does in this historical and theological confrontation with Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt defines Yahweh. He will create such disarray in Egypt that neither Pharaoh nor his gods will be able to thwart the devastations. The Egyptians—especially Pharaoh—will know who Yahweh is.[6]

From O’Mahony, Kieran J. Pauline Persuasion: A Sounding in 2 Corinthians 8–9. Vol. 199. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.

Similitudo. Similitude is a figure of semantic dilation, which brings together things which do not belong together, in order to use some characteristics of one to illuminate the other. An image is established in 9:6, taken up again in 9:9, which is then developed in vv. 10–12. The commonplace of agricultural phenomena, a cultural cliché convincing in itself, is used to remind the Corinthians that God who inspires generosity will not leave them without reward. The metaphor may have been familiar from the teaching of Jesus (cf. Mark 4) and would thus have enjoyed a particular resonance.[7]

[1] Gordon R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible, vol. 157, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993), 79.

[2] Jack R. Lundbom, Deuteronomy: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013), 862.

[3]Notes on Translation, no. 119 (1987): Je 23:5.

[4] Cynthia Long Westfall, “Messianic Themes of Temple, Enthronement, and Victory in Hebrews and the General Epistles,” in The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments, McMaster New Testament Studies (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007), 214.

[5] Jean-Daniel Macchi, Esther, trans. Carmen Palmer, 1. Edition, International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament (Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer, 2018), 41.

[6] Eugene Carpenter, Exodus, vol. 1, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 356.

[7] Kieran J. O’Mahony, Pauline Persuasion: A Sounding in 2 Corinthians 8–9, vol. 199, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 123.