Lourdes García Ureña | Universidad San Pablo CEU (original) (raw)

Books by Lourdes García Ureña

Τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί; Lo que hay entre tú y nosotros. Estudios en honor a María Victoria Spottorno ΧΛΩ... more Τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί; Lo que hay entre tú y nosotros. Estudios en honor a María Victoria Spottorno ΧΛΩΡO Σ Y SU RIQUEZA CROMÁTICA EN LA SEPTUAGINTA* LOURDES GARCÍA UREÑA UNIVERSIDAD CEU-SAN PABLO (MADRID)

Psalm 68 is a well known psalm due to difficulties in its interpretation. In it YHWH’s words are ... more Psalm 68 is a well known psalm due to difficulties in its interpretation. In it YHWH’s words are heard. He is addressing his people using the image of a dove. The poet describes its wings and its plumage. To do this, the psalmist uses a beautiful parallelism and a recurrent literary topic: silver and gold. This often appears in the biblical corpus (Zech 9,3; Prov 3,14; 8,10.19; 16,16).
Nevertheless, unlike what happens with the silver, the gold is described through the adjectival lexeme ירקרק, yraqraq. In this way the poet highlights the gold with which he describes the dove’s plumage. The hue of ירקרק, yraqraq has been much discussed both among exegetes and the modern versions of the Bible. In fact several hues have been proposed: yellow, green, bright or shining or simply gold. This shows the difficulty in interpreting the term ירקרק, yraqraq. This dilema can be observed in translations from antiquity: the Septuagint translates χλωρότητι χρυσίου golden greeness (NETS), the Targum of the Psalms uses a gloss, pure gold and the Vulgate presents two translations: viror (the Psalterium iuxta Hebraeos) and pallor (Psalterium Gallicanum). Due this diversity, Cognitive Linguistics offers a theoretical framework that can be helpful in resolving this intricate question.
Cognitive Linguistics stresses that the essence of language is the meaning. Among the means that people possess to access it are: the embodiment, the necessity to acquire an encyclopaedic knowledge (the experience of the world of the speaker), the value of connotation and the continuum between the pragmatic and the semantic. Based on these guidelines, a semantic analysis of the adjectival lexeme ירקרק, yraqraq can be carried out, which will allow us to determine its meaning and thus, its hue.

Papers by Lourdes García Ureña

JBL, 2023

Joel’s oracle proclaiming the day of the Lord concludes with the announcement of a series of wond... more Joel’s oracle proclaiming the day of the Lord concludes with the announcement of a series of wonders. The event that the prophet announces is not devoid of chromatism, since the language of color emerges in the prophecy through elements of nature that connote color (blood, fire, smoke [Joel 3:3–4; Eng. 2:30–31]). It is logical, then, to ask if חשך means “darkness” or, on the contrary, “color.” In order to determine if חשך has a chromatic meaning, I will apply a specific methodology based on cognitive linguistics. First, I will discuss the “encyclopedic knowledge” of the native speaker, describing the meaning of the color terms proposed in the main dictionaries and undertaking a comparative study of how the terms have been translated in the early versions of the Bible. I will then study the occurrences of the color terms in context and analyze the entity that describes the color term—the sun. In the light of this semantic analysis, I conclude that
חשך expresses color in Joel 3:4, and this fact has great relevance for the interpretation of the prophecy.

One of the fields where knowledge has greatly advanced in recent years is that concerning the ori... more One of the fields where knowledge has greatly advanced in recent years is that concerning the origin of human life. The scientist, without falling into concordism, experiences a wonder akin to that felt by the poet who composed Psalms 8 and 139 . Since both science and the Bible offer answers to man's questions about reality from their respective grounds and methods, a detailed analysis of Ps 139,13.15-16 could prove enlightening to anyone cognizant of modern scientific discoveries regarding life's origin. The psalmist describes two essential notes of the human person: a) the progressive conformation of the human being in the maternal womb; b) the identity of the individual who develops, first in the womb, then outside it. The study shows how, in the Psalm, these two characteristics are expressed lexically, grammatically and supra-grammatically.

El Apocalipsis se presenta como una obra constituida por unidades literarias heterogeneas sin que... more El Apocalipsis se presenta como una obra constituida por unidades literarias heterogeneas sin que se descubra a simple vista la conexion existente entre ellas. Junto a esta realidad, el lector percibe, de una parte, la insistencia del narrador por querer mostrar a sus destinatarios lo que vio y oyo; y, de otra, el uso recurrente de formulas y repeticiones a lo largo de la obra. Es logico, pues, preguntarse si el autor del Apocalipsis poseia un dominio de la lengua griega tan limitado que su obra constituye una pequena antologia de piezas literarias en las que predomina la narracion construida, a su vez, sobre el uso repetitivo de imagenes y vocablos, o si mas bien, la aparente heterogeneidad responde a un proyecto determinado sobre el que el autor configura su obra y que pueda dar razon de las mencionadas repeticiones. El estudio del texto pone de manifiesto que cuatro son los principios hermeneuticos sobre los que el autor construye el Apocalipsis: 1) la obra aparece como la revela...

The Book of Revelation is one of the most cryptic books of the Bible and one that raises many sch... more The Book of Revelation is one of the most cryptic books of the Bible and one that raises many scholarly questions. What is its literary genre? Why is it considered to be both a narrative and a drama? Why does John disregard time-space coordinates? Why does the audience have such an important role in the text? What literary guidelines has the author designed to facilitate the reading of the book? Applying the methods of literary theory to her study, Lourdes Garcia-Urena argues that John wrote Revelation as a book to be read aloud in a liturgical context. In her reading, John chose a literary form, similar to the short story, that allows him to use time-space coordinates flexibly, to dramatize the text, and to take his time in describing his visions. Through these techniques the audience re-lives and is made part of the visual and auditory experience every time the book is read.

En: La ideologia de genero: apariencia y realidad, pp 33-54. Madrid: CEU Ediciones, 2011. ISBN 97... more En: La ideologia de genero: apariencia y realidad, pp 33-54. Madrid: CEU Ediciones, 2011. ISBN 978-84-92989-98-0

El verbo nsk presenta un problema de orden semantico en SI 2,6, pues ha recibido distintas traduc... more El verbo nsk presenta un problema de orden semantico en SI 2,6, pues ha recibido distintas traducciones: ungir, constituir, consagrar. San Jeronimo propone una interpretacion sorprendente en al Psalterium iuxta Hebraeos: orditus sum, he tejido, Surge asi la pregunta de cual es el sentido del verbo nsk en SI 2,6. Para determinarlo, sera preciso: 1) estudiar cual es el contexto en el que aparece al verbo nsk, 2) examinar el uso que se hace del verbo nsk en TM y en los textos de Qumram; 3) a la luz da los resultados obtenidos, retomar el contexto para ver cual es el significado que se adecua al Salmo. El estudio realizado muestra, por una parte, que al sentido del verbo nsk debe mantener la ambiguedad creada por la ironia dramatica; por otra, que el verbo nsk posea dos raices distintas: nsk 1: verter, derramar, empleado en el contexto del culto con sentido literal; nsk II: tejer, usado en contextos diversos con sentido metaforico; concretamente, en la literatura sapiencial, nsk II se u...

Psalm 68 is well known for the difficulties of interpretation it presents. As YHWH addresses his ... more Psalm 68 is well known for the difficulties of interpretation it presents. As YHWH addresses his people using the image of a dove, the poet describes its wings and plumage through a beautiful parallelism and a recurrent literary motif: that of silver-gold. However, unlike silver, the gold here is described with the adjectival lexeme yraqraq, suggesting a hue which has been much discussed both among exegetes and in modern versions of the Bible. Today, the field of cognitive linguistics provides us with a theoretical framework and a series of useful lexicographical tools for this study, including the need for an encyclopaedic knowledge that will situate us in the world of speaker. From this, we can deepen our knowledge of the psalm’s context and the referents of the colour term: dove and gold. We have concluded that the dove’s plumage is imbued with a greenish gold colour.

El Salmo 2 es una de las composiciones del Salterio que mas carga dramatica posee. Dicho dramatis... more El Salmo 2 es una de las composiciones del Salterio que mas carga dramatica posee. Dicho dramatismo es debido no solo al contenido del poema, sino al continuo juego de personas que se dan en el. El Salmo se abre con la 3a de plural (Sl 2,1-2), prosigue con la 1a de plural (Sl 2,3) para despues recurrir a la 3a persona de singular (Sl 2,4-5; 7b), la 1a de singular (Sl 2,6; 7a; 7d), la 2a de singular (Sl 2,8), 2a de plural… Esta diversidad lleva a pensar que en el poema intervienen distintas voces, de ahi la necesidad de identificarlas. No obstante, hay exegetas que niegan esta posibilidad ya que consideran que en los salmos solo se hace presente una voz, la del salmista que, cuando es preciso, reproduce las palabras de otros. Con el fin de dar una respuesta valida al problema que se plantea, es preciso, en primer lugar, estudiar si realmente en el Libro de los Salmos aparecen o no distintas voces. En caso afirmativo, habra que dar un segundo paso, a saber, identificar quienes son las...

El Apocalipsis es uno de los libros más enigmáticos de la Biblia. A lo largo del tiempo ha recibi... more El Apocalipsis es uno de los libros más enigmáticos de la Biblia. A lo largo del tiempo ha recibido diferentes interpretaciones; sin embargo su valor literario ha sido cuestionado. La obra presente muestra que el Apocalipsis es un texto escrito para ser leído en voz alta. Su autor, Juan de Patmos, lo ha ido configurando minuciosamente de manera que el oyente/lector vea lo que él contempló, escuche lo que oyó y participe de algún modo de sus vivencias. Esta es la razón por la que elige una forma literaria peculiar, próxima al cuento, que le permite interpelar al oyente/lector, utilizar con flexibilidad las coordenadas espacio-temporales, dramatizar el texto o detenerse en descripciones. La autora, sirviéndose de las aportaciones de la Teoría de la Literatura, ofrece al lector contemporáneo un modo nuevo de leer el Apocalipsis, que le permite escuchar de viva voz el relato de las visiones y audiciones de Juan.

The Book of Revelation is a story endowed with a strong dramatic character. The author knows how ... more The Book of Revelation is a story endowed with a strong dramatic character. The author knows how to recreate the mimesis at different times in the narrative, giving it great vividness and realism. The resources used - the speech of the messenger, the chorus, deixis, the use of language to express the gesture or movement - are not techniques invented by the author of Revelation but belong to the long tradition of Greek tragedy, offering proof that Revelation dates from the Hellenistic period. One of the most important works in the Hebrew Scriptures related to Revelation is the book of Ezekiel. While the Exagoge of Ezekiel treats a properly Jewish theme, it can nevertheless be considered as the predecessor of the Book of Revelation. In the Exagoge one find dramatic techniques similar to those present in the Book of Revelation. Both works employ these techniques in such ways as to ensure that each characterised throughout with great drama.

Dreams, Visions, Imaginations

New Testament Studies, 2015

Colour is used throughout the NT, although sparingly, with different functions and in conjunction... more Colour is used throughout the NT, although sparingly, with different functions and in conjunction with specific situations. The gospels and the letters do not contain many references to colour, but when they do it is typically to indicate more than a physical quality. On the other hand, the author of the Apocalypse uses the colour in its literal sense to describe a particular object or character. In view of the fact that the book was meant to be read aloud, his repetition of colour adjectives stresses the effectiveness and importance of aural effect as a conveyor of meaning.

JBL, 2023

Dreams, Visions, Imaginations

New Testament Studies, 2015

Between Orality and Literacy: Communication and Adaptation in Antiquity, 2014

Unlike other New Testament texts, the Book of Revelation is not a text originating in the differe... more Unlike other New Testament texts, the Book of Revelation is not a text originating in the different traditions that were spread by word of mouth to be later written acquiring final written shape. The Book of Revelation is a written composition, fruit of the creative moment of the artist who uses the quill and papyrus to immortalize his work, and, as such, it is transmitted. In fact, the author of the Book of Revelation refers to it with two meaningful terms: τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα (Rev 1:3), at the beginning, and τὸ βιβλίον (Rev 22:10), at the end, and thus strengths the expression through the demonstrative τοῦτο on three occasions (Rev 22:18[2]–19). Nevertheless, in the initial prologue, the author makes it clear that his book has been written to read aloud: Μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy aloud (Rev 1:3), that is, the author states that he wrote his book to be read aloud and also in public, because it also refers to the listeners. It thus appears that the author of Apocalypse wrote his book to be read aloud in the assembly where the early Christian communities would meet. This circumstance will determine the configuration of the Book of Revelation, as the author writes it with a specific purpose: to transmit the revelation of God to the early Christian communities. The author feels himself to be the bearer of a mission, namely, that the early Christians receive the revelation accurately, so he put it in writing. Although, he writes it to be read aloud in the middle of the assembly, he makes use of the oral style. Indeed, it is only the oral style which can guarantee that his readers/listeners follow the narration easily and can therefore grasp the theological message he wants to transmit. For this reason, as will be shown in this paper, the author of the Apocalypse appeals at different moments of the story to formulaic language and repetitions, the use of additive structures, enumerations and narrator’s comments. All of these are resources of the oral style. Thus, the Book of Revelation is presented as a written text orientated towards oral performance and the oral performance is the way in which the theological message is communicated.

Cuadernos de Filología Clásica. Estudios griegos e indoeuropeos, 2014

El Apocalipsis constituye el último libro de la Biblia cristiana. Se trata de un texto escrito pa... more El Apocalipsis constituye el último libro de la Biblia cristiana. Se trata de un texto escrito para ser leído en voz alta, como se dice expresamente en Ap 1,3: Μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες, 'bienaventurado el que lee en voz alta y los que escuchan'. Por este motivo, Juan de Patmos confi gura su obra sirviéndose del estilo oral, el destinado a ser oído, que facilita al oyente/lector la escucha del texto. Entre los distintos recursos de este estilo, las fórmulas y las repeticiones ocupan un lugar destacado en el Apocalipsis, pues facilitan al oyente/ lector el seguimiento de una compleja trama. No obstante, en ocasiones, da la impresión que Juan de Patmos se sirve de las estrategias del lenguaje oral con otras intenciones, concretamente cuando las fórmulas se aplican a ὁ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τῷ θρόνῳ, 'el que está sentado en su trono', y a ὅμοιος υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, 'semejante a un hijo de hombre'. Tras el análisis de los textos, se puede concluir que Juan de Patmos utiliza el estilo oral no solo para que el oyente/lector reconozca e identifi que dentro de la trama narrativa a estos personajes, sino también para que a través de su efecto connotativo descubran su rostro, la relación que existe entre ambos y su conexión con la imagen de Dios del AT.