Is It Wordplay in the Bible, Or Sound-Play?

[Mr. M]

AI Overview

+6

Wordplay, or the use of words to create different meanings or effects, is a common feature in the Bible, particularly in Hebrew. Examples include the use of similar-sounding words, puns, and language play. This can enhance the impact of the text, convey multiple meanings, and create a richer reading experience. 

Here are some examples of wordplay in the Bible:

Genesis 3:7:

The Hebrew word for "naked" (אֲבָלִי, 'aval), also used to describe Adam and Eve's state after eating the forbidden fruit, can also be interpreted as a play on the word "shame" (חֵבֶל, hev), suggesting their awareness of their new state. 

Exodus 16:15:

The Hebrew word for "manna" (מַן, man), which evokes the question "What is this?" (מַן הוּא, man hu), is a play on the word "who" (מַן, man) in other Semitic languages, highlighting the mystery of the miraculous bread. 

Jonah 2:2:

In this verse, the Hebrew word for "reed" (שִׁדְעַן, shad'an) is used in a play on words with the word "Jonah" (יֹונָה, yonah), which means "dove" in Hebrew, creating a subtle reference to Jonah's experience of being swallowed by a fish. 

Proverbs 3:13:

The Hebrew word for "happiness" (שַׂפְתַי, shapta), can be a play on the word "lips" (שְׂפָתַי, s`pata) which is used to describe the source of happiness in this verse. 

These examples demonstrate how the Bible uses wordplay to add layers of meaning and complexity to the text. By understanding these linguistic techniques, readers can gain a deeper appreciation for the artistry and depth of the biblical narratives. 

*********************************************************

How translation obscured the music and wordplay of the Bible

Robert Alter is professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California at Berkeley.

https://aeon.co/ideas/how-translation-obscured-the-music-and-wordplay-of-the-bible

"A still greater display of virtuosity is evident in the last poetic line of 5:7. The literal sense is: ‘And He hoped for justice and, look, a blight, / for righteousness and, look, a scream.’ This might sound straightforward but blunts the sharp point of the crucial Hebrew nouns. The word for ‘justice’ is mishpat; for ‘blight’, mispah. In the second half of the line, ‘righteousness’ is tsedaqah, and ‘scream’ is tse‘aqah, a difference of a single consonant. I felt that some English equivalent of the sound play was imperative lest Isaiah’s moral castigation lose its bite. I rendered the whole line as follows: ‘And he hoped for justice, and, look, jaundice, / for righteousness, and, look, wretchedness.’ I was quite happy with the first half of the line because jaundice, after all, is a kind of blight. My solution for the second half of the line was a bit imperfect: the two nouns used had a few too many syllables for the rhythm of the line, and ‘wretchedness’ is not exactly the same thing as ‘a scream’ and loses the note of violence of the Hebrew term.

Nevertheless, translation, as I discovered again and again in the course of my work, entails a long series of compromises because full equivalence is rarely an option. Some of the compromises are happy ones, some a little painful for the translator. What you repeatedly have to do in this kind of labour is to sacrifice one particular effect in order to preserve another that seems to you more important. In this line from Isaiah, I permitted myself some licence in the second half (for righteousness, and, look, wretchedness), contrary to my general practice of hewing to the literal sense of the Hebrew. I also took on some rhythmic ungainliness in the two English nouns because the reversal of values inscribed in the two like-sounding antonyms was so essential to what some would call the prophet’s message. As far as I am aware, no previous translator has attempted to create an equivalent for the sound play here of the Hebrew."

*********************************************************

WORD PLAY IN BIBLICAL HEBREW: AN ECLECTIC COLLECTION

Gary A. Rendsburg Cornell University

"Word play in the Bible takes a variety of forms. The present article presents an eclectic collection of examples of the phenomenon; taken together they serve to illustrate the various types of word play that may be found in the biblical text. More standard surveys of word play in the Bible may be found conveniently in the standard reference works. 1 Most of my examples will deal with the use of a single word bearing two meanings in the same context. But I also include cases of alliteration, an important feature of biblical rhetorical style,Z and it is with such an example that I begin my presentation"

https://jewishstudies.rutgers.edu/images/documents/faculty/Rendsburg/Word Play - An Eclectic Collection.pdf

 

[Mr. M]

New Testament Example