Distribution Agreement In presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Emory University, I hereby grant to Emory University and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive, make accessible, and display my dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, including display on the world wide web. I understand that I may select some access restrictions as part of the online submission of this dissertation. I retain all ownership rights to the copyright of the dissertation. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. Signature: _________________________ _______________ Travis J. Bott Date Praise and Metonymy in the Psalms: A Cognitive-Semantic Study By Travis J. Bott Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion Hebrew Bible ______________________________ Brent A. Strawn, Ph.D. Advisor ______________________________ William P. Brown, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________ Joel M. LeMon, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________ Carol A. Newsom, Ph.D. Committee Member Accepted: ______________________________ Lisa A. Tedesco, Ph.D. Dean of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies _______________ Date Praise and Metonymy in the Psalms: A Cognitive-Semantic Study By Travis J. Bott B.A., Multnomah University, 1999 M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2003 M.T.S., Duke University Divinity School, 2006 Advisor: Brent A. Strawn, Ph.D. An abstract of A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion Hebrew Bible 2014 Abstract Praise and Metonymy in the Psalms: A Cognitive-Semantic Study By Travis J. Bott This study makes a fresh contribution to the understanding of Hebrew praise language in the Psalms. In addition, it devotes sustained attention to the neglected topic of metonymy in the Hebrew Bible. The theoretical framework for investigating both of these topics and exploring their interaction is cognitive semantics, a major branch of the cognitive movement in contemporary linguistics. This study defines metonymy as a cognitive process in which one entity (the vehicle) provides mental access to another perceptually contiguous entity (the target). It also draws on three recent theoretical developments: metonymy as a prototypical category, metonymy in lexical polysemy, and the interaction of metaphor and metonymy in expressions (metaphtonymy). A cognitive-semantic approach to the Psalms reveals that metonymy profoundly shapes the language and concepts of Hebrew praise. Praise and Metonymy in the Psalms: A Cognitive-Semantic Study By Travis J. Bott B.A., Multnomah University, 1999 M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2003 M.T.S., Duke University Divinity School, 2006 Advisor: Brent A. Strawn, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion Hebrew Bible 2014 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................1 Cognitive Linguistics 2 Cognitive Approaches to Grammar 6 Cognitive Semantics 8 Summary 20 Cognitive Semantics and the Hebrew Bible 21 Encyclopedic Semantics 22 Prototypical Categories 24 Conceptual Mappings 25 Mental Spaces and Blends 29 Summary 31 New Developments in Metonymy Theory 34 Metonymyas a Prototypical Category 35 Polysemy and Metonymy 45 Metaphtonymy 51 Summary 54 The Present Study 55 Praise 56 Psalter 59 Plan 63 66............................................................................... תהלה CHAPTER 2: THE NOUN Overview 66 Meanings 71 ‘Praise’ 71 ‘Praiseworthiness’ 83 ‘Praiseworthy Deeds’ 93 ‘Object of Praise’ 98 ‘Psalm’ 102 Conclusions 106 Hebrew Dictionaries 106 Semantic Structure 109 Conceptual Metonymies 111 113............................................................................. תודה CHAPTER 3: THE NOUN Overview 113 The Thanksgiving Script 116 in the Psalms 121 תודה Meanings 123 ‘Thanksgiving’ 124 ‘Thank Offering’ 129 ‘Thank Vow’ 134 ‘Thank Bread’ 136 ‘Thanksgiving Choir’ 139 Conclusions 145 Hebrew Dictionaries 145 Semantic Structure 148 Conceptual Metonymies 150 CHAPTER 4: THE OBJECT OF PRAISE ................................................................153 Overview 154 Verbs of Praise 154 Objects of Praise 161 Contextual Metonymies 167 POSSESSED FOR POSSESSOR 168 168 שׁם The Noun 184 זכר The Noun PRODUCT FOR PRODUCER 188 CHARACTERISTIC FOR ENTITY 192 Conclusions 195 CHAPTER 5: THE SUBJECTS OF PRAISE ............................................................205 Overview 205 Contextual Metonymies 213 SPATIAL PART FOR WHOLE 214 LOCATION FOR LOCATED 225 ACTION/STATE FOR PARTICIPANT 235 CHARACTERISTIC FOR ENTITY 239 Conclusions 256 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ...................................................................................261 Summary 261 Metonymy 265 Conceptual Metonymy 267 Metaphtonymy 270 Metonymic Chaining 271 Lexicography 272 Exegesis 274 Praise 277 Praise and Thanksgiving 277 Praise and Sacrifice 279 Praise and the Name 282 Praise and Anthropology 284 Praise and Cosmology 286 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................288 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................290 TABLES in the Psalms 70 תהלה Table 1. Usage and Meaning of Table 2. Parallels in Ps 22:23–24a and 22:26 72 as Content of Speech and Parallel to Divine Attributes 85 תהלה .Table 3 Table 4. MT and LXX of Ps 22:4 98 Table 5. Parallels in Ps 22:4 and 22:7 100 in the Hebrew Dictionaries 107 תהלה .Table 6 Table 7. The Thanksgiving Script of Jonah 2 119 in the Psalms, Amos 4, and Nehemiah 12 122 תודה Table 8. Usage and Meaning of Table 9. Refrains of Psalm 116 132 Table 10. Comparison of Ps 56:13 with Ps 66:13 135 in the Hebrew Dictionaries 146 תודה .Table 11 Table 12. Verbs of Praise 161 Table 13. Distribution of Objects used with Verbs of Praise 170 Table 14. Descriptions Shared by YHWH and the Divine Name 174 Table 15. Comparison of Psalm 56:5 and 11–12 189 Table 16. Comparison of Psalm 57:8–9 with Psalm 108:2–3 223 Table 17. Conceptual Metonymies in this Study 267 FIGURES 1.1 Metonymy as a prototypical category 40 1.2 Strength of contact and boundedness 42 1.3 Three types of part-whole relations 43 1.4 Radial network of fruit 47 1.5 Radial network of glass 50 in the Psalms 110 תהלה Radial network of 2.1 in the Psalms 111 תהלה Conceptual metonymies of 2.2 in the Psalms, Amos 4, and Nehemiah 12 148 תודה Radial network of 3.1 in the Psalms, Amos 4, and Nehemiah 12 151 תודה Conceptual metonymies of 3.2 160 ברך Subjects and objects of 4.1 197 זכר Conceptual metonymies for 4.2 198 דבר Conceptual metonymies for 4.3 199 גבורה Conceptual metonymy for 4.4 201 שׁם Conceptual metonymy for 4.5 5.1 Conceptual metonymies in the spatial realm 257 5.2 Conceptual metonymies in the spatiotemporal realm 258 5.3 Conceptual metonymies in the categorial realm 259 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The present study has two interrelated interests. Most basically, it will make a fresh contribution to the understanding of Hebrew praise language in the Psalms. In addition, it will devote sustained attention to the neglected topic of metonymy1 in the Hebrew Bible. The theoretical framework for investigating both of these topics and showing their interaction will be cognitive semantics, a branch of cognitive linguistics. A cognitive- semantic approach will show how metonymy shapes the language and concepts of praise in the Psalter. That is the goal of the present study. This overarching agenda raises four preliminary questions. First, what are cognitive linguistics and cognitive semantics? Second, how have biblical scholars applied cognitive-semantic theory to the Hebrew Bible in recent research? Third, what is the 1 In contemporary English, some authors distinguish between metonymy, meaning ‘the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant’ (NOAD 1102), and a metonym, meaning ‘a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated’ (NOAD 1101–2). In other words, metonymy is a semantic operation, and a metonym is a specific instance of this operation. For the sake of simplicity and in keeping with common usage in cognitive semantics (see, e.g., GCL 141–43), this study uses the word metonymy for both operation and instance. As NOAD notes (1102), this is the older usage. Metonymy entered English in the mid 16th century, but metonym appeared in the mid 19th century as a back-formation from metonymy. In contrast to the definition given by NOAD, cognitive semantics does not regard metonymy as a “substitution.” This issue is addressed below. 2 current understanding of metonymy in cognitive semantics? Fourth, how will the present study use a cognitive-semantic view of metonymy to investigate praise language in the Psalms? This first chapter seeks to answer these four questions. 1. Cognitive Linguistics Cognitive linguistics is a recent movement within the field of general linguistics that is interested in the interrelation of human language, mental processes, and bodily experience.2 On the one hand, it developed as a reaction against