Review article
https://doi.org/10.31192/np.16.1.4
Dance, Play, Fight or Run for a Faith. Sport Language as the Old Testament biblical Metaphor
Anđelo Maly
orcid.org/0000-0001-6681-7230
Abstract
Every page of the Scripture is amazing and surprising. Sometimes one can understand what the sacred author intended, sometimes not. This principle is easier to apply within the pages of the New Testament, something that does not happen with texts from the Old Testament. A main reason seems to be a large distance from the culture, grammar and concepts of the OT. In other words, the language of the OT is more difficult than the language of the NT. In this article, author tries to illuminate some particularities of the Old Testament language, presenting in first instance few elements of the common language. Later, the author underlines functions of the language, particularly one of its important element, a metaphor. According to the author, a metaphor is something that fills the missing gaps in the language and it has to be contextualized in social and religious ambient. Since a Semitic way of thought and salvifichistorical nuances of the Old Testament language are particular, the author turns his research toward the cultural background of the OT as the context in which the metaphors are shaped. Among various contexts in the Old Testament, the one reserves special attention, and is that one of the game and sport, mostly overlooked. While dances and plays, a biblical man celebrates the Lord, but he also runs and fights for/with faith in the arena of his life just to affirm that he firmly walks in Lords Law and thus expresses his faith. Supporting his research with biblical citations, the author tries to explain how the Old Testament writers (and believers) used sport language not only as an authentic way of faith expression but also as a metaphor to explain their faith.
Keywords
Old Testament; Semitic way of thought; metaphor; dance; play; sport; faith
Hrčak ID:
196230
URI
Publication date:
22.3.2018.
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