The world's oldest literature : studies in Sumerian belles-lettres /
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Literature begins at Sumer, we may say. Given that this ancient crossroads of tin and copper produced not only bronze and the entire Bronze Age, but also by neccesity, the first system of record-keeping and the technique of writing. Scribal schools served to propogate the new technique and their curriculum grew to create, preserve and transmit all manner of creative poetry. In a lifetime of research, the author has studied multiple aspects of this most ancient literary oeuvre, including such questions as chronology and bilingualism, as well as contributing fundamental insights into specific genres such as proverbs, letter-prayers and lamentations. In addition, he has drawn conclusions for the comparative or contextual approach to biblical literature. His studies, widely scattered in diverse publications for nearly fifty years, are here assembled in convenient one-volume format, made more user-friendly by extensive cross-references and indices. \'Well-informed and sober, these essays offer rewarding reading for every area of biblical scholarship.\' A.R. Millard
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Collection of essays published elsewhere previously between 1962 and 2006. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047427278 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A concise lexicon of late biblical Hebrew : linguistic innovations in the writings of the Second Temple period /
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The Hebrew language may be divided into the Biblical, Mishnaic, Medieval, and Modern periods. Biblical Hebrew has its own distinct linguistic profile, exhibiting a diversity of styles and linguistic traditions extending over some one thousand years as well as tangible diachronic developments that may serve as chronological milestones in tracing the linguistic history of Biblical Hebrew. Unlike standard dictionaries, whose scope and extent are dictated by the contents of the Biblical concordance, this lexicon includes only 80 lexical entries, chosen specifically for a diachronic investigation of Late Biblical Hebrew. Selected primarily to illustrate the fifth-century 'watershed' separating Classical from post-Classical Biblical Hebrew, emphasis is placed on 'linguistic contrasts' illuminated by a rich collection of examples contrasting Classical Biblical Hebrew with Late Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew with Rabbinic Hebrew, and Hebrew with Aramaic.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004266438 :
0083-5889 ;
Media, modernity, and dynamic plants in early 20th century German culture /
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In Media, Modernity and Dynamic Plants , Janet Janzen traces the motif of the "dynamic plant" through film and literature in early 20th century German culture. Often discussed solely as symbols or metaphors of the human experience, plants become here the primary focus and their role in literature and film is extended beyond their symbolic function. Plants have been (and still are) seen as closer to static objects than to living, moving beings. Making use of examples from film and literature, Janet Janzen demonstrates a shift in the perception of plants-as-objects to plants-as-living-beings that can be attributed to new technology and also to the return of Romantic and Vitalistic discourses on nature.
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1 online resource (208 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-203) and index. :
9789004327177 :
2213-0659 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The class reunion : an annotated translation and commentary on the Sumerian dialogue, Two scribes /
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In The Class Reunion-An Annotated Translation and Commentary on the Sumerian Dialogue Two Scribes, J. Cale Johnson and Markham J. Geller present a critical edition, translation and commentary on the Sumerian scholastic dialogue otherwise known as Two Scribes, Streit zweier Schulabsolventen or Dialogue 1. The two protagonists, the Professor and the Bureaucrat, each ridicule their opponent in alternating speeches, while at the same time scoring points based on their detailed knowledge of Sumerian lexical and literary traditions. But they also represent the two social roles into which nearly all graduates of the Old Babylonian Tablet House typically gained entrance. So the dialogue also reflects on larger themes such as professional identity and the nature of scholastic activity in Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian period (ca. 1800-1600 BCE).
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1 online resource (xiii, 362 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references ([301]-314) and index. :
9789004302105 :
0929-0052 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The craft of a good scribe. History, narrative and meaning in the 'First tale of Setne Khaemwas' /
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In The Craft of a Good Scribe , Steve Vinson offers a comprehensive study of the Demotic Egyptian First Tale of Setne Khaemwas (Third Century BCE), the first to appear since 1900. \'First Setne\' is the most important extant Demotic literary text, and among the most important fictional compositions from any period of ancient Egypt. The tale, which is by turns lurid, tragic and ultimately comic, deals with Setne's theft of a magic book written by the god Thoth himself, and subsequently Setne's punishment through a hallucinatory encounter with the ghostly femme fatale Tabubue. Vinson provides a new textual edition and commentary, and explores the tale's cultural background, its modern reception, and approaches to its interpretation as a work of literature.
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1 online resource (xiv, 356 pages) :
9789004353107 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The medieval presence in the modernist aesthetic : unattended moments /
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In The Medieval Presence in the Modernist Aesthetic: Unattended Moments , editors Simone Celine Marshall and Carole M. Cusack have brought together essays on literary Modernism that uncover medieval themes and tropes that have previously been "unattended", that is, neglected or ignored. A historical span of a century is covered, from musical modernist Richard Wagner's final opera Parsifal (1882) to Russell Hoban's speculative fiction Riddley Walker (1980), and themes of Arthurian literature, scholastic philosophy, Irish legends, classical philology, dream theory, Orthodox theology and textual exegesis are brought into conversation with key Modernist writers, including T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Samuel Beckett, Marcel Proust, W. B. Yeats, Evelyn Waugh and Eugene Ionesco. These scholarly investigations are original, illuminating, and often delightful.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004357020 :
1877-3192 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Weapons of words: intertextual competition in Babylonian poetry : a study of Anzū, Enūma eliš, and Erra and Išum /
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In Weapons of Words: Intertextual Competition in Babylonian Poetry Selena Wisnom offers an in-depth literary study of three poems central to Babylonian culture: Anzû, Enūma eliš, and Erra and Išum . Fundamentally interconnected, each poem strives to out-do its predecessors and competes to establish its protagonist, its ideals, and its poetics as superior to those that came before them. The first of its kind in Assyriology, Weapons of Words explores the rich nuances of these poems by unravelling complex networks of allusion. Through a sophisticated analysis of literary techniques, Selena Wisnom traces developments in the Akkadian poetic tradition and demonstrates that intertextual readings are essential for a deeper understanding of Mesopotamian literature.
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Based on the author's dissertation (doctoral)--University of Oxford, 2014. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004412972
Political poetry across the centuries /
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The volume dedicates itself to the rather neglected field of political poetry and offers a broad perspective across the centuries from Plato until the post-war period. The first part describes the social function of poetry in Plato, his reception in Heidegger and in Ezra Pound's poetry. A contribution on Milton complements this with a great poet`s reflection on central political questions. The second part, pre 20th century, is rounded off by two rulers from the edges of Europe or Asia who left their mark both on history and on the literary history of their country: the Georgian king Teimuraz I and the Persian ruler Shah Ismail. This theme is continued in the last contribution dedicated to an outstanding combination of political and poetic talent from recent history, Mao Zedong. Two other contributions refer to the epoch of WWI, Europe`s big cultural caesura, and they dedicate themselves to two eminently influential figures, Stefan George and Vladimir Mayakowsky.
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Proceedings of an international conference held at the Accademia di studi italo-tedeschi in Merano, Italy. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004323537 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
In-Between Identities: Signs of Islam in Contemporary American Writing.
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For the writers and artists in In-Between Identities: Signs of Islam in Contemporary American Writing , contemporary Muslim American identity is neither singular nor fixed. Rather than dismiss the tradition in favor of more secular approaches, however, all of the figures here discover in Muhammad's revelation resources for affirming such uncertainty. For them, the Qur'anic notion of a divine "sign" validates creation, even that creativity born of contrasting if not competing assumptions about identity. To develop this claim, individual chapters in the book discuss Muslim faith in the work of poets Naomi Shihab Nye, Kazim Ali, Tyson Amir and Amir Sulaiman; novelists Mohja Kahf, Rabih Alameddine, and Willow Wilson; illustrator Sandow Birk; playwright Ayad Akhtar; and the online record of the 30 Mosques in 30 Days project.
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1 online resource. :
9789004382541
Orality and textuality in the Iranian world : patterns of interaction across the centuries /
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The volume demonstrates the cultural centrality of the oral tradition for Iranian studies. It contains contributions from scholars from various areas of Iranian and comparative studies, among which are the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian tradition with its wide network of influences in late antique Mesopotamia, notably among the Jewish milieu; classical Persian literature in its manifold genres; medieval Persian history; oral history; folklore and more. The essays in this collection embrace both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods, both verbal and visual media, as well as various language communities (Middle Persian, Persian, Tajik, Dari) and geographical spaces (Greater Iran in pre-Islamic and Islamic medieval periods; Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan of modern times). Taken as a whole, the essays reveal the unique blending of oral and literate poetics in the texts or visual artefacts each author focuses upon, conceptualizing their interrelationship and function.
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1 online resource (xx, 456 pages) : illustrations (some color) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004291973 :
1570-078X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The letter of Mara bar Sarapion in context : proceedings of the symposium held at Utrecht University, 10-12 December 2009 /
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The Letter of Mara bar Sarapion to his son - preserved in a single Syriac manuscript (7th. century CE) - still speaks to its readers, evocatively depicting the dramatic situation of a nobleman imprisoned after the Roman capture of Samosata, capital of Commagene. The letter is best known today for a passage on the "wise king of the Jews," which may be one of the earliest pagan testimonies concerning Jesus Christ. Ongoing controversy over the letter's date, nature, and purpose has, however, led to the widespread neglect of this intriguing document. In the present volume, Merz and Tieleman have brought together cutting-edge research from an interdisciplinary team of leading experts that significantly advances our appreciation of the letter and its historical context.
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1 online resource (xiv, 245 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004233010 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Babylonian disputation poems : with editions of the series of the poplar, palm and vine, the series. of the spider, and the story of the poor, forlorn.
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In The Babylonian Disputation Poems Enrique Jiménez studies a group of ancient Babylonian poems that feature discussions between animals and trees. Using intertextual parallels and comparison with similar works in other literatures, he espouses a new classification of the Babylonian disputation poems as parodies. After examining neighboring traditions of literary disputation, he argues that the Babylonian poems influenced them, and that some may have been translated from Akkadian to Aramaic, from Aramaic and Syriac to Arabic. In addition, The Babylonian Disputation Poems provides editions of several previously unpublished Babylonian disputations, such as Palm and Vine and the Series of the Spider . It also offers the first edition of the latest known Babylonian fable, The Story of the Poor, Forlorn Wren .
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1 online resource. :
9789004336261 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The buried foundation of the Gilgamesh epic : the Akkadian Huwawa narrative /
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The Akkadian Gilgamesh Epic, perhaps the most famous of Mesopotamian literature, has been considered the artistry of one author inspired by Sumerian tales. Specialists have assumed that all the earliest evidence (ca. 1800-1700 BCE) reflects this creative unity. Deep contrasts in characterization and narrative logic, however, distinguish the central adventure to defeat the monster Huwawa from what precedes and follows it. The Huwawa narrative stands on its own, so that the epic must have been composed from this prior Akkadian composition. Recognition of the tale embedded in the epic allows each block of material to be understood on its own terms. Such literary-historical investigation from contemporary texts is new to Assyriology and may produce important results when applied to other Mesopotamian writing. \'The book is well written and tightly argued...This makes it a first point of reference for anyone interested in the OB evidence for the Gilgamesh Epic.\' Scott C. Jones, Covenant College
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047440833 :
0929-0052 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Primeval histor y Babylonian, biblical, and Enochic : an intertextual reading /
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Most cultures have myths of origin. The Babylonians were the first to combine blocks of traditions about primeval time into primeval histories where humans had a central role. In the first millennium there were different versions that influenced the concepts of primeval history within Jewish religion, both in the Bible and in the parallel Enochic tradition. Atrahasis and the traditions of primeval dynasties had crucial impact on Genesis; the traditions of the primeval apkallus as cosmic guardians were lying behind the Enochic Watcher Story. The book offers a comprehensive analytic comparison between the images of primeval time in these three traditions. It presents new interpretations of each of these traditions and how they relate to each other.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004196124 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The debate between a man and his soul : a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian literature /
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This book is a new study of the ancient Egyptian poem known in English as The Man Who Was Tired of Life or The Dialogue of a Man and His Ba (or Soul ). The composition is universally regarded as one of the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian literature. It is also one of the most difficult and continually debated, as well as being the subject of more than one hundred books and articles. The present study offers new readings and translations, along with an analysis of the text's grammar and versification, and a complete philological apparatus.
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Includes a transliteration of the original text with English translation. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004193062 :
1566-2055 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Early Christian poetry : a collection of essays /
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This collection of essays deals with the rise and development of early Christian poetry, discussing its techniques and its theoretical foundation. The individual papers concern specimina of Hebrew, Syriac, Greek and Latin poetry and study the various and partly conflicting traditions from which it originated. The biblical examples, e.g. of the Psalms, held great authority, but on the other hand it was impossible to break away from the models of classical Greco-Roman poetry, although these were deemed dangerous because of the pagan content and excessive cult of literary art. The book shows how the problems involved were solved in different ways, which justified the use of pagan literary accomplishments for singing the praises of the Lord.
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1 online resource (xi, 318 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004312890 :
0902-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The organization of the pyramid texts : typology and disposition /
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The ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts form the oldest sizable body of religious texts in the world. Discovered in the late nineteenth century, they had been inscribed on the interior stone walls of the pyramid tombs of third-millennium kings and queens. From their content it is clear that they were concerned with the afterlife state of the tomb owner, but the historical meaning of their emergence has been poorly understood. This book weds traditional philological approaches to linguistic anthropology in order to associate them with two spheres of human action: mortuary cult and personal preparation for the afterlife. Monumentalized as hieroglyphs in the tomb, their function was now one step removed from the human events that had motivated their original production.
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1 online resource (2 volumes in 1 (xxxiv, 712 pages)) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004227491 :
0169-9601 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The challenge of the silver screen : an analysis of the cinematic portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad /
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In 1897 - only two years after the invention of film - the first feature film about Jesus appeared. This and other films about Jesus became examples for and an inspiration for films on other important religious figures like Rama, Buddha and Muhammad. Although religious leaders did not always approve of these films, they did find a ready audience among believers. This book explores these films and looks at how these films dealt with the fundamental question of portraying an individual thought to have either divine status or a very special and unique status among human beings. This book will thus benefit not only students of religious film but also those studying the portrayal of central religious figures in the contemporary world.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Includes filmography and videography. :
9789004194045 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Orality and literacy in the Demotic tales /
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In Orality and Literacy in the Demotic Tales , Jacqueline E. Jay extrapolates from the surviving ancient Egyptian written record hints of the oral tradition that must have run alongside it. The monograph's main focus is the intersection of orality and literacy in the extremely rich corpus of Demotic narrative literature surviving from the Greco-Roman Period. The many texts discussed include the tales of the Inaros and Setna Cycles, the Myth of the Sun's Eye , and the Dream of Nectanebo . Jacqueline Jay examines these Demotic tales not only in conjunction with earlier Egyptian literature, but also with the worldwide tradition of orally composed and performed discourse.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004323070 :
1566-2055 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.