Ian Atkinson | University of Cambridge (original) (raw)

Conference Presentations by Ian Atkinson

Research paper thumbnail of Back to Fronting: Common Ground as a Unifying Approach to Pre-verbal BH Constituent Order

SBL, 2021

The study of fronting is no novelty in BH studies and the book of Genesis has been the primary ob... more The study of fronting is no novelty in BH studies and the book of Genesis has been the primary object of such investigation. Unfortunately, outside of the information structure notions of topic and focus, previous treatments have only managed to compile diverse and seemingly unconnected taxonomies of semantic possibilities. In this paper I revisit fronting in Genesis and propose that the communicative principle of Common Ground holds promise for a unified approach. The distinction between categorical (topic-comment) and thetic (unified) statements will be analysed as an extension of the Common Ground model, not as a separate level of analysis, as both depend on the information status of the content of the statement. The former can be seen in the final clause of Gen. 4:2, ְו ַ֕ק ִין ָהָ ֖יה עֹ ֵ ֥בד ֲא ָד ָ ֽמה׃ , where Cain is discourse active and
ַה ְנּ ִפ ֞ ִלים ָה ֣יוּ ָב ָא ֶר ֮ץ ,6:4 .presented as the topic of the clause, and the latter can be seen in Gen
where the entire clause is irretrievable from the Common Ground at the moment of , ַבּ ָיּ ִ ֣מים ָה ֵה ֒ם
utterance. These unexpected informational units are entered into the Common Ground by means of accommodation, whereby the hearer posteriorly accepts the presuppositions, the activation (or existence) of referential entities and the asserted content of the statement for the purposes of fluid and cooperative communication. Such is true if a person says to her friend, ‘Your shoe’s untied,’ without any previous discussion of the hearer’s footwear. The shoe’s status as topical is impossible and thus the entire state of affairs is profiled. It will be shown that, apart from more adequately accounting for pre-verbal clausal constituent order in BH narrative with typological evidence, the benefits of such an approach include a more robust methodology for tracing discourse thematic attention and the delineation of text-units.

Book Reviews by Ian Atkinson

Research paper thumbnail of Review of B. J. Noonan, Advances in the Study of Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic: New Insights for Reading the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic. 2020.

Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages., 2021

I am not sure that the views of Young and Rezetko received a fair share of attention. The least o... more I am not sure that the views of Young and Rezetko received a fair share of attention. The least one can say is that surely the last word has not been spoken on this topic. I, for one, was convinced by the way the authors demonstrated that linguistic-based research has implications for the dating of texts.

Articles by Ian Atkinson

Research paper thumbnail of The Roots מצ׳׳י and מצ׳׳ץ in the Psalms according to the Babylonian Tradition

Textus 33, 2024

The root מצ׳׳י occurs twice in the Psalter in the Tiberian tradition. Ps 73:10 contains the nipha... more The root מצ׳׳י occurs twice in the Psalter in the Tiberian tradition. Ps 73:10 contains the niphal יִמָּ֥צוּ, while the qal יִמְצ֣וּ is read in Ps 75:9. Half of the Babylonian manuscripts containing Ps 73.10 exhibit a different morphology, possibly to avoid ambiguity between the intended root מצ׳׳י and מצ׳׳א, though more likely derived from the geminate מצ׳׳ץ. The latter reading comes close to the commonly-conjectured revocalisation, יָמֹצּוּ, though the niphal is almost certainly in view, rather than the supposed qal. Four out of six Babylonian manuscripts containing Ps 75:9 also provide a unique reading in comparison to the Tiberian tradition. Two are identical to their forms in Ps 73:10, while one possibly contains the niphal מצ׳׳י (as the Tiberian יִמָּ֥צוּ in Ps 73:10) and another definitely does so. These four manuscripts provide previously-undocumented Hebrew manuscript support for the LXX’s syntax, with the passive ἐξεκενώθη.

Research paper thumbnail of Paths of Movement and Eli's Fall

Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages, 2024

The preposition בעד is found accompanied by יד only in 1 Sam 4:18, which has led to numerous int... more The preposition בעד is found accompanied by יד only in 1 Sam 4:18, which has led to
numerous interpretations and textual emendations throughout the centuries. Most
modern translations render the prepositional phrase as some variation of “beside”,
potentially explained by Driver’s (1890:39) emendation of בעד יד to ביד , even though
such a reading is never attested in the Hebrew Bible for בעד governing an inanimate
landmark with the movement of an animate trajector (BHRG §39.9). The MT as it stands
is intelligible, however, with the יד השׁער in 1 Sam 4:18 fitting the profile for an opening in a wall, in analogy with the clearer cases of "through" for בעד with חלון.

Research paper thumbnail of Back to Fronting: Common Ground as a Unifying Approach to Pre-verbal BH Constituent Order

SBL, 2021

The study of fronting is no novelty in BH studies and the book of Genesis has been the primary ob... more The study of fronting is no novelty in BH studies and the book of Genesis has been the primary object of such investigation. Unfortunately, outside of the information structure notions of topic and focus, previous treatments have only managed to compile diverse and seemingly unconnected taxonomies of semantic possibilities. In this paper I revisit fronting in Genesis and propose that the communicative principle of Common Ground holds promise for a unified approach. The distinction between categorical (topic-comment) and thetic (unified) statements will be analysed as an extension of the Common Ground model, not as a separate level of analysis, as both depend on the information status of the content of the statement. The former can be seen in the final clause of Gen. 4:2, ְו ַ֕ק ִין ָהָ ֖יה עֹ ֵ ֥בד ֲא ָד ָ ֽמה׃ , where Cain is discourse active and
ַה ְנּ ִפ ֞ ִלים ָה ֣יוּ ָב ָא ֶר ֮ץ ,6:4 .presented as the topic of the clause, and the latter can be seen in Gen
where the entire clause is irretrievable from the Common Ground at the moment of , ַבּ ָיּ ִ ֣מים ָה ֵה ֒ם
utterance. These unexpected informational units are entered into the Common Ground by means of accommodation, whereby the hearer posteriorly accepts the presuppositions, the activation (or existence) of referential entities and the asserted content of the statement for the purposes of fluid and cooperative communication. Such is true if a person says to her friend, ‘Your shoe’s untied,’ without any previous discussion of the hearer’s footwear. The shoe’s status as topical is impossible and thus the entire state of affairs is profiled. It will be shown that, apart from more adequately accounting for pre-verbal clausal constituent order in BH narrative with typological evidence, the benefits of such an approach include a more robust methodology for tracing discourse thematic attention and the delineation of text-units.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of B. J. Noonan, Advances in the Study of Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic: New Insights for Reading the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic. 2020.

Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages., 2021

I am not sure that the views of Young and Rezetko received a fair share of attention. The least o... more I am not sure that the views of Young and Rezetko received a fair share of attention. The least one can say is that surely the last word has not been spoken on this topic. I, for one, was convinced by the way the authors demonstrated that linguistic-based research has implications for the dating of texts.

Research paper thumbnail of The Roots מצ׳׳י and מצ׳׳ץ in the Psalms according to the Babylonian Tradition

Textus 33, 2024

The root מצ׳׳י occurs twice in the Psalter in the Tiberian tradition. Ps 73:10 contains the nipha... more The root מצ׳׳י occurs twice in the Psalter in the Tiberian tradition. Ps 73:10 contains the niphal יִמָּ֥צוּ, while the qal יִמְצ֣וּ is read in Ps 75:9. Half of the Babylonian manuscripts containing Ps 73.10 exhibit a different morphology, possibly to avoid ambiguity between the intended root מצ׳׳י and מצ׳׳א, though more likely derived from the geminate מצ׳׳ץ. The latter reading comes close to the commonly-conjectured revocalisation, יָמֹצּוּ, though the niphal is almost certainly in view, rather than the supposed qal. Four out of six Babylonian manuscripts containing Ps 75:9 also provide a unique reading in comparison to the Tiberian tradition. Two are identical to their forms in Ps 73:10, while one possibly contains the niphal מצ׳׳י (as the Tiberian יִמָּ֥צוּ in Ps 73:10) and another definitely does so. These four manuscripts provide previously-undocumented Hebrew manuscript support for the LXX’s syntax, with the passive ἐξεκενώθη.

Research paper thumbnail of Paths of Movement and Eli's Fall

Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages, 2024

The preposition בעד is found accompanied by יד only in 1 Sam 4:18, which has led to numerous int... more The preposition בעד is found accompanied by יד only in 1 Sam 4:18, which has led to
numerous interpretations and textual emendations throughout the centuries. Most
modern translations render the prepositional phrase as some variation of “beside”,
potentially explained by Driver’s (1890:39) emendation of בעד יד to ביד , even though
such a reading is never attested in the Hebrew Bible for בעד governing an inanimate
landmark with the movement of an animate trajector (BHRG §39.9). The MT as it stands
is intelligible, however, with the יד השׁער in 1 Sam 4:18 fitting the profile for an opening in a wall, in analogy with the clearer cases of "through" for בעד with חלון.