Innovation and Convention: An Analysis of Parallelism in Stichographic, Hymnic and Sapiential Poetry in the Dead Sea Scrolls

• Other Authors: Miller, Shem, 1974- (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Religion
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-5042

This dissertation is a close reading of representative examples of stichographic, hymnic and sapiential poetry from the corpus of the texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Chapter 1, "The Language of Hebrew Poetry," introduces and defines the specific devices, levels of structure, and various characteristics that are discussed in the following chapters. The devices considered are lists, ellipsis and repetition. The levels of structure are hemistich, colon, line and strophe. Lastly, the characteristics are terseness, morphemic frequency and ampleur of expression. Chapter 2, "The Poetics of Parallelism," is a review of select scholarship concerning parallelism and biblical poetry. The focus of the chapter is on the role of parallelism in the definition, meter, devices and structure of biblical poetry. It sets forth a description of poetry and a taxonomy of parallelism that serves as the methodological basis for the poetic analysis of this dissertation. Chapter 2, furthermore, provides the basis for understanding how the poetry of the Dead Sea Scrolls appropriates, and differs from, biblical poetry. Chapter 3, "Stichographically Arranged Poetry," offers a systematic reconstruction and analysis of the poetic structure of select stichographic texts from Qumran. It is limited to an examination of Exodus 15 (4Q365), Deuteronomy 32 (4Q44), Psalm 104 (4Q86 and 4Q93) and 4QMessianicApocalypse (4Q521). The poetic analysis argues that the variegated forms of stichographic division were ultimately based on semantic, syntactic and grammatical parallelisms. Stichography is not only a scribal practice but is also a poetic device that visually represents the poetic structure of a text according to the basic building blocks of Hebrew poetry. Chapter 4, "Hymnic Poetry," focuses its analysis on one Hodayah (11.20-37) from the anthology of hymns in the Hodayot and compares its devices, structure and characteristics with ten other Hodayot in an effort to arrive at some conclusions regarding the style of the collection as a whole. Following a brief survey of previous scholarship on the poetry of the Hodayot, this chapter gives a transcription, translation and poetic analysis of 1QHa 11.20-37. Overall, this chapter argues that the poetry of the Hodayot is both traditional and innovative--a style epitomized by terseness juxtaposed with verbosity. Chapter 5, "Sapiential Poetry," offers a poetic analysis of 4Q184 1 and 4Q525 2+3 2.1-6. Following a survey and critique of scholarship on Wiles of the Wicked Woman (4Q184) and Beatitudes (4Q525), it offers a transcription, translation and poetic analysis of each work. The analysis of 4Q184 proposes that parallelism structures the extant portions of 4Q184 as a poem with eleven strophes and three stanzas organized thematically. The section on 4Q525 2+2 2.1-6 maintains that it is a sequence of three strophes structured according to parallelism and three different Semitic forms of beatitudes. Overall, the style of 4Q184 and 4Q525 is simultaneously conservative and innovative: terse, balanced forms of parallelism found together with ampleur of expression. Although the poetry of 4Q184 and 4Q525 is modeled on biblical conventions of poetry in Proverbs, it nonetheless exhibits later forms of poetic expression. Chapter 6, "Pedagogy and Performance," begins by offering some suggestions concerning the purpose and function of stichographic poetry, and then it proceeds to a comparison of the poetic devices, structure and characteristics of 4Q184, 4Q525 2+3 2.1-6 and 1QHa 11.20-37. This comparison serves as a synopsis of their poetic styles as well as the basis for some tentative suggestions concerning the characteristics of sapiential and hymnic poetry in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are formal guidelines governing the composition of all of these texts; however, they are not precise prescriptions. The conclusion also investigates how the parallelism and poetic expression of sapiential and hymnic poetry reflect their usage. On the one hand, the primary use of sapiential poetry is instruction. This pedagogical impulse affects its content and form. Sapiential poetry is primarily characterized by terseness and it is dominated by "pedagogical parallelism." On the other hand, the essential use of hymnic poetry is liturgical, which likewise affects its formal characteristics. Hymnic poetry is chiefly characterized by ampleur and "performative parallelism" monopolizes its discourse. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Summer Semester, 2012. === June 22, 2012. === Includes bibliographical references. === Matthew Goff, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Eibert Tigchelaar, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; John Marincola, University Representative; Nicole Kelley, Committee Member; David Levenson, Committee Member.