Egypt,Israel, and the Ancient Mediterranean World: Studies in Honor of Ronald B. Redfordrld, 2004
Recently there has been vigorous debate among scholars surrounding the origins of the people of I... more Recently there has been vigorous debate among scholars surrounding the origins of the people of Israel. Some of the questions that have arisen in this regard are the following: Did all the Israelites originate in Canaan or did at least some of them come from Egypt? Or did they perhaps originate among the nomadic tribes of the Shasu or the #abiru? Finally, does the appearance of the name "Israel" on the Merneptah stela attest to the existence of the people of Israel in Canaan at the end of the 13th century bce? At the heart of the debate are archaeological findings, both material and epigraphic, that were discovered especially in Canaan and in ancient Egypt. However, some details, namely the Egyptian elements recurring throughout the Oppression and Exodus narratives (Exod 4: 1-15:21), which can also serve as tools in resolving the problem, have been neglected and have not received the attention they deserve. 1
One of the most prominent hallmarks of ancient wisdom literature-Egyptian and biblical alike-is i... more One of the most prominent hallmarks of ancient wisdom literature-Egyptian and biblical alike-is its use of metaphors and similes. This device was designed not only to adorn the text but also to elucidate and illustrate the topic at hand by comparing it with an object or situation well known to the audience. Metaphors and similes found in biblical wisdom literature have been studied quite extensively. Much less attention has been paid to their usage in Egyptian wisdom texts, however. Addressing this fallow field of research, the present paper was prompted, inter alia, by the recent publication of The Book of Thoth-an Egyptian sapiential work replete with metaphors and similes. I focus herein on metaphors associated with the field of learning and instruction-a central theme of wisdom literature. Comparison with the biblical material helps sharpen and clarify the use of this device in the two corpora and answer questions such as: do the two cultures draw metaphors from the same realms of life? Are the affinities typological-i.e., general-or do they attest to contact or the influence of one culture upon the other? Were the imageries taken from a common cultural reservoir? Following a review of the relevant Egyptian, biblical, and extrabiblical textual sources, I analyze the Egyptian imagery relating to learning and instruction, then comparing it with the biblical and extra-biblical literature. The findings evince that both cultures relate to the same general fields-educational motives, the attributes of wisdom, the way in which it is acquired, and the learning process. They also draw imagery from the same realms of lifenature, everyday life, customs and beliefs. The disparity derives from the differences between the two cultures in these areas of life. The parallel images-education as animal-training, marital relations as the plowing of fields, water as a symbol of female sexuality, the learning process as consumption, and wisdom/instruction personified as a woman-are universal typologies. While possibly growing and developing independently in each culture, they may also be drawn from a common Near Eastern reservoir.
In the absence of actual evidence on the existence of schools and relevant literature in ancient ... more In the absence of actual evidence on the existence of schools and relevant literature in ancient Israel, the present study attempts to reconstruct the learning methods and stages in light of the terminology applied to study and its accompanying images in the Bible (focused on wisdom literature). The analysis of these terminology and images indicates dierent teaching methods: listening, obedience, understanding, practice, learning lessons, and searching. These methods are complementary and reect various stages in the process of acquiring knowledge, from the first passive stage to the last more active and creative stage. In addition, it shows that the ancient Hebrew educators perceived knowledge first and foremost as traditional material, to be passed down from generation to generation.
A salient characteristic of the Egyptian wisdom literature is the division of mankind into opposi... more A salient characteristic of the Egyptian wisdom literature is the division of mankind into opposite categories juxtaposed for the sake of illuminating and delineating them. Hence the antithetical pairs: the hot-tempered and the silent man, the wise man and the fool, and the pious and the wicked man. This chapter focuses on the silent versus the hot-tempered man. The silent man, a central theme in Egyptian wisdom literature, is first mentioned in the Instruction to Kagemni at the end of the third millennium BCE. The silent man is a symbol and example not only in the social framework but also on the religious sphere. Two terms (smm, t?(w)) in Egyptian designate the hot-tempered man and both use an image of heat as illustration. The silent man is pious, his heart devoted to the god, while the heated man only makes a pretence of belief. Keywords: Egyptian wisdom literature; hot-tempered man; silent man; third millennium BCE
Egypt,Israel, and the Ancient Mediterranean World: Studies in Honor of Ronald B. Redfordrld, 2004
Recently there has been vigorous debate among scholars surrounding the origins of the people of I... more Recently there has been vigorous debate among scholars surrounding the origins of the people of Israel. Some of the questions that have arisen in this regard are the following: Did all the Israelites originate in Canaan or did at least some of them come from Egypt? Or did they perhaps originate among the nomadic tribes of the Shasu or the #abiru? Finally, does the appearance of the name "Israel" on the Merneptah stela attest to the existence of the people of Israel in Canaan at the end of the 13th century bce? At the heart of the debate are archaeological findings, both material and epigraphic, that were discovered especially in Canaan and in ancient Egypt. However, some details, namely the Egyptian elements recurring throughout the Oppression and Exodus narratives (Exod 4: 1-15:21), which can also serve as tools in resolving the problem, have been neglected and have not received the attention they deserve. 1
One of the most prominent hallmarks of ancient wisdom literature-Egyptian and biblical alike-is i... more One of the most prominent hallmarks of ancient wisdom literature-Egyptian and biblical alike-is its use of metaphors and similes. This device was designed not only to adorn the text but also to elucidate and illustrate the topic at hand by comparing it with an object or situation well known to the audience. Metaphors and similes found in biblical wisdom literature have been studied quite extensively. Much less attention has been paid to their usage in Egyptian wisdom texts, however. Addressing this fallow field of research, the present paper was prompted, inter alia, by the recent publication of The Book of Thoth-an Egyptian sapiential work replete with metaphors and similes. I focus herein on metaphors associated with the field of learning and instruction-a central theme of wisdom literature. Comparison with the biblical material helps sharpen and clarify the use of this device in the two corpora and answer questions such as: do the two cultures draw metaphors from the same realms of life? Are the affinities typological-i.e., general-or do they attest to contact or the influence of one culture upon the other? Were the imageries taken from a common cultural reservoir? Following a review of the relevant Egyptian, biblical, and extrabiblical textual sources, I analyze the Egyptian imagery relating to learning and instruction, then comparing it with the biblical and extra-biblical literature. The findings evince that both cultures relate to the same general fields-educational motives, the attributes of wisdom, the way in which it is acquired, and the learning process. They also draw imagery from the same realms of lifenature, everyday life, customs and beliefs. The disparity derives from the differences between the two cultures in these areas of life. The parallel images-education as animal-training, marital relations as the plowing of fields, water as a symbol of female sexuality, the learning process as consumption, and wisdom/instruction personified as a woman-are universal typologies. While possibly growing and developing independently in each culture, they may also be drawn from a common Near Eastern reservoir.
In the absence of actual evidence on the existence of schools and relevant literature in ancient ... more In the absence of actual evidence on the existence of schools and relevant literature in ancient Israel, the present study attempts to reconstruct the learning methods and stages in light of the terminology applied to study and its accompanying images in the Bible (focused on wisdom literature). The analysis of these terminology and images indicates dierent teaching methods: listening, obedience, understanding, practice, learning lessons, and searching. These methods are complementary and reect various stages in the process of acquiring knowledge, from the first passive stage to the last more active and creative stage. In addition, it shows that the ancient Hebrew educators perceived knowledge first and foremost as traditional material, to be passed down from generation to generation.
A salient characteristic of the Egyptian wisdom literature is the division of mankind into opposi... more A salient characteristic of the Egyptian wisdom literature is the division of mankind into opposite categories juxtaposed for the sake of illuminating and delineating them. Hence the antithetical pairs: the hot-tempered and the silent man, the wise man and the fool, and the pious and the wicked man. This chapter focuses on the silent versus the hot-tempered man. The silent man, a central theme in Egyptian wisdom literature, is first mentioned in the Instruction to Kagemni at the end of the third millennium BCE. The silent man is a symbol and example not only in the social framework but also on the religious sphere. Two terms (smm, t?(w)) in Egyptian designate the hot-tempered man and both use an image of heat as illustration. The silent man is pious, his heart devoted to the god, while the heated man only makes a pretence of belief. Keywords: Egyptian wisdom literature; hot-tempered man; silent man; third millennium BCE
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