The First Rock Song: Contributions of Divine Metaphors to the Theology of the Song of Moses (Deut 32:1-43)
[Thesis]
Dora, Ismael
McGinniss, Mark
Clarks Summit University and Baptist Bible Seminary
2020
201 p.
Ph.D.
Clarks Summit University and Baptist Bible Seminary
2020
The topic of metaphor has stimulated production of scholarly works since the 1970s when several philosophers began to formulate various theories regarding this difficult subject. In the field of biblical studies, some scholars and exegetes have investigated metaphors in the Hebrew Bible, but much remains to be done since the majority of these works only focus on the poetic books, especially the book of Psalms. This dissertation examines three divine metaphors in the Song of Moses: God is a rock, God is a father, and God is an avenging warrior. This study's approach looks at the literal meaning of the vehicle to see how it was used in ancient Israel and/or in the ancient Near Eastern neighboring nations. This paves the way for the literary and theological examination of the metaphor, which is conducted in three steps: a) identification and interpretation of the metaphor; (b) function of the metaphor; and c) theological observations regarding the use of the metaphor. This project utilizes a linguistic approach to figurative language, meaning that the metaphors in the Song of Moses are studied and examined through the biblical text. This method helps the exegete to understand the metaphorical statements and the rhetorical effects they produced. It also helps to understand the intention of the original author of the Song as he communicated this message to his audience.
Biblical studies
Divinity
Linguistics
Philosophy
Religion
Rhetoric
Theology
Dora, Ismael
McGinniss, Mark
Clarks Summit University and Baptist Bible Seminary