The present study comprises a philological examination of the Biblical Hebrew term šninɔ. The contextual semantics, the ancient translations, and the re-identification of the verbal root ŠNN as a by-form of ŠNY ‘to recount’ demonstrate that šninɔ may be realigned as related to this root and translated as a ‘cautionary tale’.

The following study examines the history of the translation of a Biblical Hebrew phrase in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin—a phrase which shaped the English idiom “to take up a parable, proverb, or song.” As early as Greek and Aramaic Bible translations, the phrase NŚʾ mɔšɔl was translated word-for-word in the target language, even though the verb u…[Read more]

The study challenges the use of the book of Proverbs as a primary data set in the recovery of ancient Israelite and Judean educational values and practices. The study argues that an examination of the nature of the Book of Proverbs and its poetics must necessarily precede the use of this text in reconstructing the values and practices of ancient…[Read more]