Parameters for Stylistic Analysis of Biblical Hebrew Prose

According to: Bible and Computer - The Stellenbosch AIBI-6 Conference:Proceedings of the Association Internationale Bible et Informatique:"From Alpha to Byte" University of Stellenbosch 17-21 July, 2000,ed. J. Cookpp. 259-281, Leiden: Brill, 2002

Parameters For Stylistic Analysis of Biblical Hebrew Prose

Texts

Frank H Polak (Tel Aviv University)

ABSTRACTLarge scale statistical analysis of the frequency of nouns vs. verbs, and of nominalverbal vs. finite forms of the verb, indicates differences between various classes ofnarrative and legal texts in biblical Hebrew. The present paper seeks to specify thestylistic parameters behind the statistical data, and proposes a sociolinguisticcharacterization of two different prose styles, viz., the complex-nominal style,manifesting many characteristics of written language, and thus at home at thescribal desk, and the rhythmic-verbal style that is close to spoken language, andthus probably reflects a substrate of oral discourse. In addition we analyze acorpus of 40 samples containing 350 nouns each, representing different genres(narrative, law, cult prescription and covenant), and strata ( “JE,” “Dtr,” “P,” andpostexilic prose). This analysis leads to new hypothesis concerning thedevelopment of the Hebrew prose style from the oral style of a spoken society to thescribal style of the official chancellery. A distinction is suggested between theHebrew chancery of the Judean monarchy and the provincial desk of the Persianera, which used Aramaic for all official purposes.

1. IntroductionAlmost ten years ago, at the completion of a comprehensive textbook on

Biblical Narrative: Art and Design (Polak 1994) I could only note the vast extentof unknown territory, precisely in some of the most central fields of biblicalnarrative. I mean, first and foremost, the characterization of various kinds andways of biblical Hebrew prose discourse. If rhetorical stylistics is taken tostudy the way in which the narrative uses rhetorical figures, such as repetitionand parallelism, and ritardimento, the study of discourse deals with a moreelementary level of style: the kind of clauses used, their interconnection, theirlevel of complexity, and the flow of information. Discourse typology, then,represents the interface between stylistics proper and syntax.

Parameters for Stylistic Analysis 259

with corrections for the tales of the stylistic-syntactic analysis

2. Former AttemptsA former attempt at analysis of distributional data relates to the Noun/

Verb rate in biblical narrative (N/V = Nouns/Nouns + Verbs), and the rate ofNominal forms of the verb (infinitives and participles) in relation to all verbs,including both finite and nominal forms (F/N =Finite/Finite +Nominal; Polak1995). The resulting figures suggest a subdivision into three different corpora.

The N/V rate typically is on the high side in narrative attributed to thePersian era, ranging as it does, between 0.714 (Esther) and 0.772 (Ezra), whilethe F/N rate ranges between 0.268 (Daniel 1) and 0.383 (Ezra; Polak 1995: 286,291, 303-4; 1998b:63-71).1

A second class of narratives, mainly represented the books of Kings,Jeremiah and parts of the book of Joshua,2 is characterized by slightly lowerrates, as the N/V rate ranges between 0.707 (Jeremiah Vita) and 0.736 (2 Kings22-25), and the F/N rate between 0.172 (1 Kings 9; 11; 150 and 0.260 (JeremiahVita; Polak 1995:287-8, 292, 305; 1998b:67-71).

Far lower rates are found in a third corpus, represented by Patriarchalnarrative, the Samson tales, the stories of Elisha and Elijah, and I-II Samuel.2

In these cycles the N/V rate ranges between 0.581 (Samson Tales) and 0.633(Exodus Cycle), with an F/N rate between 0.119 (Jacob Cycle) and 0.182(Exodus Cycle). This group represents the classical style of Hebrew narrative(Polak 1995:286-9, 292-3, 305-7; 1998b:63-71).

Within this corpus we note a subgroup, in which one of the rates (or both)is slightly higher than found in the main corpus: N/V between 0.640-671; F/Nbetween 0.119 and 0.234. This style, which may be characterized as “intricateclassical” is found in, e.g., the paradise tale (Genesis 2 – 4), and parts of theJoseph narrative (Genesis 40 - 45).3

These numbers indicate considerable differences between three extensivecorpora, the first of which originates in the Persian era, whereas the secondone may be attributed to the exilic (and late pre-exilic) period.4 The thirdcorpus represents the style of classical Hebrew narrative, that is to beattributed to the pre-exilic period, while the subgroup that is characterized by

1 Ezra 1:1 – 4:5; 8:1 – 10:19; Neh. 7:72 – 10:1; 10:29 – 11:3; Daniel 1:1 - 2:3; Esth. 1 – 10; 2Chron. 29 – 36 (also token into account: Neh. 1 – 2; 4:1 – 7:5; 12:27-43; 13:4-31; Job 1:1 –3:1; 42:7-17).2 Abraham tales (Gen. 12 – 13; 15 – 16; 18 – 22; 24); Jacob tales (Gen. 27 – 33); Exoduscycle (Exod. 2:1 – 6:1; 7:14 – 11:10; 14; 15:22-27; 17 – 19; 24; 32 – 33); Samson cycle (Judg.13 – 16); David-Saul narrative (1 Sam. 16 – 30); David’s court narrative (2 Sam. 7; 11 – 15;17 – 19); Elijah tales (1 Kgs. 17 – 22); Elisha tales (2 Kgs. 2 – 10). 3 This subgroup also includes the heroic tales of the Saviors (Judg. 4; 9; 3; 6-8; 11– 12);the account of the Danite expedition (Judg. 17 – 18); and parts of Josh. 3-11 (Polak1995:286-288, 292-294, 305-307; 1998b: 69-71).4 Similar results have been obtained by Verheij 1990 in his study of the “Frequenciesof the Hebrew Verbal Tense Forms in the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles,“matching the third, second and first corpus respectively in the present discussion.

260 F. H. Polak

the intricate style, seems to embody the transition from the classical style tothe style of the exilic age.

However, since the features counted are merely distributional, they giveonly a vague indication of the underlying linguistic structures (Talstra 1995:26).It seems hardly possible to gain any insight into the underlying linguistic andhistorical processes without a proper functional analysis.

3. Functional Analysis

To this purpose we have constructed a system based on three fundamentalparameters:

(1) The number of independent, explicit arguments, that is to say, thesyntactic slots that are dependent immediately on the predicate: subject,direct/indirect object(s), modifiers.5 The term “independent, explicitargument” includes nouns, noun phrases, clauses (including clauses containingor consisting of participle or infinitive), and particles with pronominal suffix(e.g., uk ubbn).5 In the following analysis such arguments are indicated as “arg.”

For instance, clauses with one explicit argument (1 arg) or without anyargument, leaving the predicate only (-):

Exod. 34:8 hvm (1) rhmyw 1 argsubjecthxra (1) dqyw 1 argmodifier(0) wjtvyw - implicit subject

Four explicit arguments:Deut. 16:1 lhvkt I (2) lthmuv chctv }sjc (1) hf

subject - modifier (time 1)vkhk (4) ohrmnn (3) modifiers (time 2; place)

(2) Subordinated clauses (attributive clauses, object clauses, infinitive andparticiple clauses, some conditionals), indicated as “sub,” e.g.,6

Exod. 21:7 hmal wtb_ta vya rkmy_ykw 3 arg -

5 Thus, object suffixes are not counted as independent argument, since they areenclitic. Moreover, counting them would oblige us to take all possessive suffixes intoconsideration as attribute. On a theoretical level one must be able to draw thedifference between a verbal clause with explicit object and subject, and a verbal clauseconsisting of verbal form with object suffix, e.g., wmabt (Exodus 15:17), in which theobject is indicated by the suffix and the subject by the prefix. The functionality of theprefix is indicated by the fact that the imperative does not contain this morpheme. Ifthe indication of the subject by prefix is not counted as a “explicit argument,” onecannot count the object suffix. Of course, it would be possible to introduce a special

category for this morpheme, but that procedure would not affect the results. 6 Special indications are used for Conditional and attributive clauses (“cond’ and“attr”, respectively).


conditional clause(Mydboh taxk) axt al (rkmy_ykw) 2 arg -main clause (with two modifiers/subordinated clauses)Mydboh taxk 1 arg subinfinitive clause (comparative)

Deut. 17:2 vat ut aht lhrga sjtc lcrec tmnh hf protasis(conditional)

lhvkt I hbhgc grv ,t vagh rat relative clauseu,hrc rcgk infinitive clause ohrjt ohvkt scghu lkhu protasis continued(...)

17:4 cyhv ,reju ,arsu ,gnau apodosisSubordinated clauses are counted as argument in the main clause.(3) Expanded noun chains, indicated as “exp,” e.g.,7

Lev. 23:7 ofk vhvh }se tren iu}trv ouhc 2 arg 2 expu{g, tk vscg ,ftkn kf 1 arg 1+ exp

v. 14 vzv ouhv omg sg ukft, tk knrfu hkeu ojku 3 arg3 exp

ofhvkt icre ,t ofthcv sg sub 1 expofh,c}n kfc ofh,rsk okug ,ej 2+ exp

This set of parameters enables us to distinguish between two differentprose styles. On the one hand, many texts are characterized by a large numberof (a) clauses containing 2-5 arguments, (b) of subordinated clauses, and (c) ofexpanded noun chains; reference is mostly by means of nouns and noun chains.

On the other hand a large number of texts mainly contain clauses consistingof the predicate only, or the predicate with one argument (0-1 arg), only fewexpanded noun chains (often including two nouns at most), and fewsubordinated clauses. Paratactic coordination is the rule; reference mostly iselliptic or pronominal. Since the latter style is characterized by the paratacticsequence of short, rhythmic clauses, we speak of the rhythmic-verbal style,whereas the former style, for which long noun chains and large numbers ofexplicit arguments are typical, is indicated as the complex-nominal style.

In the complex-nominal style most clauses contain 2-3 arguments, but oneencounters many clauses with four arguments or more. The percentage ofsubordinated clauses may amount to 20-30 % of all clauses, and expanded nounchains may occur in 80% of the clauses and more, e.g., Deut. 15:20:

ouenc (3) vb}c vb} (2) ubkft, lhvkt I hbpk (1) 4 arg - 3 expI rjch r}t 2 arg attr

7 An expanded noun chain that contains three nouns is indicated as “1+ exp.”

262 F. H. Polak

l,hcu v,t (4)2 clauses - 4 arg; 2 arg, 3 expanded noun chains (1.5 per clause), 1 relative

clauseThis style is often found in legal language, as illustrated by, e.g., Deut. 16:18:lhyc}k (r}t) lhrg} kfc lk i,, ohry}u ohyp} 4 arg - 2 explk i,b lhvkt I r}t 3 arg attr 1 expesm yp}n ogv ,t uyp}u 2 arg - 1 exp2 main clauses - 4 arg; 2 arg; 1 subordinated clause (3 arg); 4 expanded noun

chains (1.3 per clause). One also encounters this style in post-exilic narrative, e.g., Esther 4:7:kf ,t hfsrn uk sdhu main cls - 3 arguvre rat relat attr cls;xfv ,arp ,tu main cls - 1 arg(kueak) inv rnt rat attr cls - 3 arg(osctk) ohsuvhc lknv hzbd kg kueak inf cls within attr cls, 3 argosctk inf cls within former inf clsThe unit of Esther 4:1-17 contains 79 clauses, out of which less than 30 %

contain 0-1 argument, almost 10 % contain 3-5 arguments, and no less than 40% are embedded. Expanded noun chains are found in more than half of theclauses:

Esther 4:1-17 (79 clauses)0-1 arg 25.58 Subord 40.503-5 arg 8.86 Noun Ch 55.06


Graph 1: Esth 4: 1-17

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0 0-1 arg

3-5 argsubord

noun ch

Similar results are found for other units from the Persian era, e.g., Neh 8:1-18 (78 Clauses )0-1 arg 35.90 Subord 28.21 3-5 arg 15.38 Noun Ch 87.18

264 F. H. Polak

Graph 2: Neh 8: 1-18

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

9 0

1 0 0 0-1 arg

3-5 arg

subord

noun ch

From a linguistic point of view, this style has all features of writtenlanguage, as characterized in modern sociolinguistic research.8 Usedpredominantly in legal and cultic texts, one can detect its characteristicfeatures in such texts as the Aramaic contracts from Elephantine (Persian era;Polak: 1998b:104). The social context in which this style prevails is that of thescribal chancellery and its education (that is, the prestige culture of urbansociety). A number of texts in which writing is mentioned, are typicallycouched in the scribal style, e.g.,

Exod. 31:18 ,sgv ,jk hba (u,kff) van kt i,hu 3 arg - 2+(rcsk) u,kff 1 arg sub -hbhx rvc u,t rcsk 2 arg sub 1(ohc,f) ict ,jkohvkt gcmtc ohc,f 1 arg attr 1

Josh. 8:32 v}n ,ru, vb}n ,t ohbctv kg oa c,fhu3 arg - 1+ktrah hbc hbpk c,f rat 2 attr 1

Thus the complex-nominal style is found in corpora originating in (a) the royal chancery of the 7th Century BCE: large parts of Deuteronomy;

Joshua 3-11; the Josianic Redaction of 1-2 Kings (not including the tales in 1Kings 17 - 2 Kings 10);(b) the desk of the educated scribe of the exilic period, who was still

acquainted with the style of the Judean royal chancery: Jeremiah Vita; ExilicRedaction Kings; Josh. 22-24;(c) the study of the more learned scribes of the Persian era, who got their

training in the provincial chancellery of the Persian empire, where Official

8 For this characterization see Polak 1998b:101-105; id., 2001:51-59; id., in press.


Aramaic was the dominant language: Ezra Memoirs; Zerubbabel Chronicle;Chronistic History; Esther Scroll.

In contrast, texts in the Rhythmic-Verbal style are far richer in featuresthat are characteristic of spoken language, and, by implication, of oralnarrative. These texts consist mainly of short clauses (containing at most oneargument: 50-60% of all clauses), subordinated clauses are rare (15% and mostlyless); expanded noun chains are found in less than 30% of the clauses. Thisstyle may be illustrated by, e.g., an excerpt from the tale of Elisha and thewoman from Shunem (2 Kings 4:11-12). This short section contains no less thanfive clauses:9

ouhv hvhu 1 argvna tchu 1 pronvhkgv kt rxhu 1 argvna cfahu 1 pronurgb hzjd kt rnthu 1 arg - 1 expAll five clauses contain one argument, two of them in the form of a deictic

adverb; subordinated clauses are not found, and we count only one expandednoun chain (urgb hzjd).

The profile of narratives in this style is indicated by the following examples(the sections attributed to J and E in Genesis 37).

Gen 37:23-24, 28a-34 (34 Clauses; “E”) 0-1 arg 67.65 Subord 2.94 3-5 arg - Noun Ch 25.00

9 The abbreviation “pron” indicates arguments consisting of pronoun and/or particleor deictic adverb.

266 F. H. Polak

Graph 3: Gen 37 ("E") vv. 23-24, 28-34

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0 0-1 arg

3-5 arg

subord

noun ch

Gen 37:4-21 (82 Clauses; “J”)0-1 Arg 56.10 Subord 15.853-5 Arg 3.66 Noun Ch 20.73

This narrative represents the style of a large narrative corpus, extendingfrom the cycle of Abraham and Jacob, through the Samson tales and the Saul-David narratives, until the Elisha tales. The typical opposition between thisstyle and the complex-nominal style is indicated by the following graph:10

10 For Graph 5 X2=140.23 (n=12), far beyond the critical value for 0.001 (31.91),

according to the tables of Siegel 1956:249.


Graph 5: Two Styles

0

1 0

2 0

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

9 0

1 0 0

"E" "J" Esth Neh

0-1 arg3-5 argsubordnoun ch

In the sections from Genesis 37 the highest column is that of the shortclauses (0-1 argument); the column of 3-5 arguments is either empty (“E”) orextremely low (“J”). The columns of subordinated clauses and expanded nounchains are slightly higher, but do not suffer comparison with the column forshort clauses. Exactly the inverse picture is manifested for the sections in thecomplex-nominal style. In these sections the highest column is that forexpanded noun chains, whereas the column of short clauses, which is alwayssimilar to that of subordinate clauses, is second or third in height.

4. Sociolinguistic Background

Many signs indicate that the basis of the rhythmic-verbal style is found inoral narrative. The consistent use of short clauses, pronominal reference, andthe tendency to refrain from subordination and long noun chains ischaracteristic of spoken language. Moreover, this style is well-attested in oralnarrative,11 as indicated by (a) sections from the later Midrashim, e.g., EichaRabbah; (b) medieval narrative in Hebrew, parts of which, althoughtransmitted in writing, reproduce oral narrative and reflect the narrative styleof the period (Pesach & Yassif 1998); (c) the style of Biblical Hebrew tales thatare by consensus considered close to the ancient folktale, such as the Samsontales in Judges 14-15, and the Elisha narratives in 2 Kings 4; 6-7; (d) thesimilarity to quoted speech (direct discourse) in biblical narrative (Polak:2001:53-65; in press).

The social context in which this style is at home, is that of oral culture,representing a society in which scribal learning is not the norm for the

11 One also notes the oral style in narratives such as those recorded and collected byDorson 1960; Dorson 1964.

268 F. H. Polak

prominent officials, the higher officers, and the well-to-do farmers (Burke1978:23-42, 58-64, 91-115). In a society of this type the great literary tradition ofliterature is preeminently that of oral literature. In such a context oralliterature provides the model for all literary creations, even in writing. Thus thestyle of oral narrative has to a large extent been preserved when put intowriting. The great tradition of biblical narrative, then, is embodied by suchcorpora as the Abraham and Jacob Narratives, and parts of the Joseph Tale, aswell as the telling and writing of history in the tales of Samuel-Saul-David, andElijah (partly). The folk tradition seems represented by sections from the talesof Samson and Elisha

That is to say, the narratives in the rhythmic-verbal style represent theperiod in which society was not yet dominated by the royal bureaucracy andthe scribal chancellery, or in which the domination by the chancellery was notyet complete. The complex-nominal style, on the other hand, has its roots inthe scribal chancellery (Polak 1998b:101-105). It originates in the period inwhich the prophet had recourse to a secretary in order to have his prophecieswritten down (Jeremiah 36:1-4), so that the royal scribe was also able to readthem before the king and his officials (ch. 36:21-23). The narratives belonging tothe second corpus represent the period in which the language used by thescribes was still related to spoken Hebrew, that is to say, the late Judeankingdom, and the early exile.12 In Hebrew texts of the postexilic era (the thirdcorpus, Late Biblical Hebrew) the characteristic traits of the complex-nominalstyle are even stronger developed than in the language of the late monarchy(this tendency is still more pronounced in the Qumran texts). In order tobetter understand these developments one has to take into acount the role ofthe scribal chancellery in the Babylonian and Persian era. Under foreigndomination, the official scribal practice was subject to the imperialadministration, and the language used by it. In the Persian era, Aramaic turnedinto the official language for governmental, administrative, legal andcommercial purposes (Kutscher 1977:130-136).13 In the scribal chancellery, andin public and commercial life in general, Aramaic became the preferredlanguage. For the use of literary Hebrew the consequences were grave, since itsliterary tradition was not fostered any more by the scribal education at theofficial chancellery. Although Hebrew preserved its status as prestige languagefor religious purposes, at this stage the main source for its cultivation as literarylanguage presumably was the imitation of classical models, rather than livingusage.14 In this context, the use of literary Hebrew became the prerogative of

12 The transition from the rhythmic-verbal style to the mitigated complex-nominalstyle of the late Judean monarchy is supplied by the intricate style of the late classicalsubgroup. 13 To these factors one may add the influence of the returning exiles. 14 The way in which the poetry of Ben Sira imitates the patterns of classical Hebrew


the most learned scribes. Hence the literature of this period is heavilydominated by scribal culture and scribal style.15 This situation explains thecharacteristic traits of the complex-nominal style in the postexilic narrativecorpus, and in particular the preference for long-winded specification inexpanded noun chains.

Stylistic analysis, then, enables us to construct an empirically based theoryconcerning the sociolinguistic stratification of Biblical Hebrew prose narrative,and thereby the social and historical context in which the various corpora havecome into being.

5. Statistical AnalysisStylistic analysis according to the functional model proposed above is

necessarily based on a relatively small number of samples. Even though thenumber of analyzed units is growing fast (Polak 2001; in press) and in spite ofthe broad statistical basis that has been established in previous research (Polak1995), the number of samples is hardly large enough to carry the full weight ofthe present hypothesis.

What seems needed in order to place the theory proposed above on firmerground, is the application of a standard function over a large range of samplesof fixed size, but not in the form of a simple count of nouns and verbs. To thispurpose we propose a computerized count of:(a) nouns in cluster, that is to say, sequences of nouns and/or adjectives;

(b) nominal forms of the verb (participles and infinitives construct).Thus, noun clusters will be defined as sequences of nouns and/or adjectives,

not necessarily consecutive, but not interrupted by a finite verb (inconsequence, the nouns may be separated one from another by a nominal formof the verb).

This approach, then, enables us to avoid the pitfall of simply countingnouns that may occur in any context. Rather, this function measures theclustering of nouns in (a) explicit syntactic arguments, (b) expanded nounchains.

Application of this function an automatic Hebrew construct search (inAccordance 3.0) yields the following selections:

Exod. 21:3 wmIo w;tVvIa hDaVxyw a…wh hvIa lAoA;b_MIa aExy wpgV;b ab wpgV;b MIa

In this verse only two nouns occur in cluster. The fact that the modifierwpgV;b, which occurs twice, is not counted, reflects the fact that it used to qualifythe verbal predicate as single argument. In the last clause ;tVvIa is not counted;although it is not a single argument it is used together with the particle wmIo. In

has recently been analyzed by Joosten 1999. 15 The influence of the Hebrew vernacular seems visible in the style of Ecclesiastesand the imitation of spontaneous spoken language in Ezra 9-10; Nehemiah 8;Nehemiah 2-6.

270 F. H. Polak

The resulting count is, in hindsight, not unproblematic, although the ordering itself seems correct, FP, 23.2.2015

this case, then, the low number of nouns in cluster faithfully reflects the typeof discourse. By the same token, the number of nouns in cluster can alsoindicate the complex-nominal character of a passage:

Deut. 12:1-2:

XrDaD;b twcSoAl N…wrVmVvI;t rRvSa MyIfDpVvI;mAhw MyI;qUjAh hR;lEa

;hD;tVvîrVl KVl KyRtObSa yEhlTa ‘h NAtn rRvSa

hDmdSaDhlAo MyyAj MR;tAa_rRvSa MyImyAh_lD;k

Deut. 12:2

MDtOa MyIvrOy MR;tAa rRvSa Myw…gAh MDv_…wdVbDo rRvSa twmOqV;mAh lD;k tRa N…wdV;bAaV;t dE;bAa

NnSoår Xo lD;k tAjAtw twoDb…gAh lAow MyImrDh MyîrDhRh lAo MhyEhlTa tRa

The fact that both verses contains 8-9 nouns in cluster indicates thecomplex-nominal style.

In the ensuing discussion we shall apply a special rate in order to reach anapproximate evaluation of the number of nouns in cluster per independentclause. Thus, the Cluster rate (Cl/F) is defined as the number of nouns incluster relative to the number of finite verbs in the independent clause (as anapproximation of the number of independent clauses).16 Since the latter twoverses contain only one finite verb in an independent clause, Cl/F amounts to19, whereas in Exod. 21:3 this rate does not exceed 0.667 (2 nouns in cluster on3 finite verbs).

The linguistic basis of the concept of “noun cluster” could seem dubious,since it does not reflect any syntactic function: the selection of noun clustersdisregards the difference between noun strings in different syntactic slots(arguments) and between noun phrases within a given slot. Nevertheless thisconcept is not devoid of linguistic support. Michael Halliday speaks of lexicaldensity in order to indicate the quantity of lexical means used to storeinformation per clause (Halliday 1989:61-64, 65-67). According to thisapproach both argument and attribute are two different ways of encodinginformation. Hence the “noun cluster” can serve as a partial indication oflexical density, as it measures the number of nouns and adjectives in argumentand attribute. High density is characteristic of writing (Halliday 1989:64).16 Inspoken language density is far lower as the speaker spreads the informationover a number of short clauses (Halliday 1989:78-80).1716 Consider for instance the following sentence, containing three clauses: “One of themajor attitudinal resources available to conversationalists is that of appreciation, whichrefers to how speakers evaluate a text (e.g. a painting, music, a work of literature) or aprocess (e.g., the weather).” (Eggins & Slade 1997:126). This sentence contains 17content words on 3 clauses (density 5.667), and 12 nouns in cluster, which is 4.0 perfinite verb.17 Halliday 1989:79:81 views low density as a characteristic phenomenon, namely“lexical sparsity.” An obvious example is given by the following set of conversationalclauses; “Look. See that guy. He plays the double-bass.” “Does he?” “In the orchestra.He is a funny bastard, and his wife is German and he is insane” (Eggins & Slade


The second standard function counts the number of nominal forms of theverb in relation to the number of finite verbs. This definition is, however,problematic. The general survey quoted above merely assembles the figuresconcerning the participle and the infinitive construct. For the syntactic analysisthis count is less appropriate since it disregards (a) cases in which the participleserves as a predicate, (b) cases in which the finite verb occurs in a subordinatedclause. Hence it seems preferable (a) to treat finite verbs in rça clauses(attributive usage), as equivalent to nominal forms of the verb; (b) to countparticiple forms that serve as predicate in an independent clause, as finite verb(predicative-main clause). Thus we distinguish between predicative verbs (finiteverbs and participles, infinitives absolute as predicate in independent clause)and attributive verbs (nominal forms + finite verbs in attributive clauses).

An interactive search (by means of Accordance 3.0) selects nominal formsof the verb and finite verbs occurring in attributive clauses:

Infinite Construct:Lev. 21:21 ‘v hat ,t chrevk adh tk ivfv irvt grzn oun uc rat aht kfParticiple:Lev. 7:33 Nrha ynbm bljh_taw Mymlvh Md_ta byrqmh

hnml Nymyh qwv hyht wl

Verb in relative clause:Exod 23:20 Krdb Krmvl Kynpl Kalm jlv ykna hnh

ytnkh rva Mwqmh_la Kaybhlw

A second interactive search program selects finite forms of the verb andinstances of predicative use, e.g.,

ParticipleExod 23:20 lrsc lrnak lhbpk ltkn jka hfbt vbv Infinitive AbsoluteExod 20:8 u}sek ,c}v ouh ,t rufz Finite verb:Exod 22:11 uhkgck okah ungn cbdh cbd otu The corpus on which these functions have been applied consists of 40

samples of the same size: (a) 200 Verbs; (b) 350 Nouns (including adjectives),and belonging to the following genres: legal texts (mostly civil law); culticprecepts (mostly cultic); texts concerning covenant and election; narrative.18

1997:67). This sequence contains 11 content words on 8 clauses (density: 1.375), and 3nouns in cluster, amounting to 0.5 per finite verb18 We list the samples according to genre and Cl/F, from low to high. A. Legal Texts - Deut 13; 20; 21:2-15 (348 nouns; 239 verbs); Deut 19; 21:16-23; 24:1-4, 11-22; Deut 17:8, 10-15 (355 nouns, 231 verbs); Deut 22; 24:5-10; 25: 1-19 (355 nouns, 225 verbs); Lev 19:5-37; Lev 22:5-33 (349 nouns; 178 verbs); Lev 20:2-27; 25:2-28 (349 nouns; 195 verbs); Deut 15:1-23; 16:8-17:7 (349 nouns; 157 verbs); Num 27:1-11; 35:1-20; 36:1-11 (349 nouns; 124 verbs)`B. Covenant and Election - Lev 26; Exod 6:6-13; 6:29-7:6 (355 nouns, 210 verbs); Exod 23:15-32; 24; 34:5-18 (355 nouns, 189 verbs); Gen 9:1-17; 17:1-26; 28:1-6 (349 nouns, 138 verbs); Num 16:1-11, 16-24; 16:35-17:19; 17:21-25 (349 nouns, 136 verbs);

272 F. H. Polak

As an example we offer the data for Exodus 21-22, listing from left to right(1) finite forms of the verb (FinV, according to the above definition); (2) thenumber of nouns in cluster (NounCl), (3) the Cluster/Finite Rate (Cl/F,meaning NounCl/FinV); (4) the number of nominal forms of the verb (NomV,according to the above definition); (5) the number of nominal forms relative tothe number of finite verbal forms (Nv/F, indicating NomV/FinV). The firstrow gives the data for the section with approximately 200 verbs, and thesecond one for the section with around 350 nouns.

Exodus 21-22

FinV NounCl Cl/F NomV Nv/F

153 128 0.837 27 0.176

203 165 0.813 37 0.152

199 Verbs Exodus 21:2-23; 21:26-22:18

352 Nouns Exodus 21:1-23; 21:26-23:9The following table lists the samples according to Cl/F, from low to high,

with a fixed interval of 0.250, with notation of genre and presumed source atthe right.19 The last column presents the grading for Nv/F.

Text Cl/F Nv/F Genre Source Grad Nv/F1 Gen 37; 43-44 0.729 0.169 N J 42 Gen 18-19 0.759 0.187 N J 73 Exod 21-22 0.816 0.152 L E 24 Gen 26-27 0.826 0.174 N JE 5

C. Cultic - Deut 12:2-31;18:1-19 (348 nouns, 165 verbs); Num 5:8-30; 19 (350 nouns, 172 verbs); Lev 6:9-23; 8:18-36; 10:2-10 (351 nouns, 129 verbs); Lev 24:2-11, 14-22; 27:1-28 (350 nouns, 127 verbs); Lev 18:3,5-27; Num 15:3-30 (350 nouns, 120 verbs); Exod 12:1-21; 12:40-13:9 (351 nouns, 114 verbs); Lev 3:2-17; 4:2-26 (352 nouns, 94 verbs); Num 6:5-20; 18:5-24 (352 nouns, 95 verbs);D. Narrative - Gen. 18:1-22; 19:1-38 (350 nouns, 252 verbs); Gen 26:12-24; 27 (353 nouns,242 verbs); Exod 32:1-6; 32:15-34; 33; 34:2-3 (349 nouns, 222 verbs); Gen 30:1-22; 31:21-54(350 nouns, 204 verbs); Exod 3; 4:1, 5-30 (349 nouns, 215 verbs); Num. 10:29-32; 11:3-12:16(348 nouns, 201 verbs); Gen. 37:22-24, 29-36; 42:2-3, 6-7, 13-26, 28-37; 45:2-3, 6-15; 47:7-12(E; 350 nouns, 195 verbs); Gen. 37:6-21, 25-28; 43:1-24; 44:1-10; 45:18-23 (J; 351 nouns, 256verbs); Gen. 2:5-9, 15-25; 3:2-4:14 (352 nouns, 199 verbs); Exod. 14:2-26; 15:21-25; 17:1-16(348 nouns, 183 verbs); Exod 1:5-7, 13-14; 2:23-25; 6:2-13; 7:1-13; 16:2-3, 9-26 (354 nouns, 183verbs); 2 Kings 18:9-11, 14-16; 18:26-37; 20:1-19 (348 nouns, 154 verbs); Gen. 1:1-2:3; 6:9-18(348 nouns, 136 verbs); 2 Kings 11:1-12:16 (348 nouns, 143 verbs); 2 Kings 14:8-14, 19-22,25; 15:19-20, 25, 29-30; 16:5-9; 22:4-13 (348 nouns, 127 verbs); 2 Kings 24:1-2; 24:10-17;25:1-12; 25:20-30 (350 nouns, 91 verbs); Ezra 9:3-10:8; Neh. 8:5-6, 9-18 (348 nouns, 139verbs); 2 Chron. 29:13-30; 30:6-22 (348 nouns, 121 verbs); Esth. 2:3-10; 3:5-12; 4:4-12;5:5-12; 7:5-12; 8:5-12 (353 nouns, 159 verbs); Deut 1:15-41; 2:9-31; 3:1-3 (354 nouns, 217verbs).19 We use the following abbreviations: Cu = Cultic; Cov = Covenant/Election; L =Legal; N = narrative. Presumed sources are indicated by the usual abbreviations (JE, J,E, H, D), but note Pq (the P narrative in Gen. 1 - Exod. 6); Ps (the late Supplements toP, according to the system of Gray 1903:xxxiv-xxxvi); Px (supplements to P ofunknown origin, according to Gray 1903:xxxviii; but note that Gray:218 counts Num.18 as Pg). For Dtr we use such indications as DtrI, DtrII. RZ indicates texts related tothe Return to Zion.


5 Gen 30-31 1.061 0.110 N JE 16 Exod 3-4 1.133 0.178 N JE 67 Exod 32; 33 1.155 0.379 N JE 298 Num. 11-12 1.162 0.193 N JE 99 Deut 22; 25 1.173 0.370 L D 2710 Deut 13; 20-21 1.186 0.488 L D 3311 Gen 37; 42; 45 1.196 0.155 N E 312 Deut 19; 24 1.204 0.500 L D 3513 Lev 19; 22 1.206 0.241 L H 15

14 Lev 26; Exod 6 1.303 0.273 Cov H 1715 Lev 20; 25 1.336 0.279 L H 1816 Exod 14-17 1.355 0.191 N JE 817 Gen 2-4 1.362 0.283 N J 1918 Deut 1-3 1.428 0.497 N D 3419 Exod 1; 6; 7:1-15 1.479 0.314 N Pq 2120 Deut 15; 17 1.535 0.419 L D 3121 Num 5; 19 1.548 0.333 Cu Px 23

22 2 Kings 18-20 2.000 0.236 N DtrI 1423 Gen. 1; 6-7 2.080 0.214 N Pq 1124 Lev 6; 9-10 2.057 0.358 Cu P 2525 Deut 12; 18 2.081 0.588 Cu D 3726 Lev 24; 27 2.171 0.286 Cu H 2027 Gen 9; 17 2.233 0.320 Cov Pq 22

28 Num 16-17 2.309 0.236 Cov Pq 1329 Exod 23-24; 34 2.385 0.222 Cov JE 1230 2 Kings 11-12 2.485 0.444 N DtrI 32

31 Deut 28 2.676 0.713 Cov D 3832 Exod 12-13 2.778 0.267 Cu P 1633 2 Kings 22 2.815 0.370 N DtrI 2834 Ezra 8-10; Neh. 8 2.815 0.716 N RZ 3935 Lev 18; Num 15 2.846 0.538 Cu H/Px 36

36 2 Chron 29-30 3.047 0.407 N RZ 3037 Lev 1-2; 4 3.064 0.346 Cu P 24

274 F. H. Polak

38 Num. 35; 36 3.157 1.057 L Ps 40

39 2 Kings 24-25 3.513 0.197 N DtrII 1040 Num 6; 18 3.710 0.362 Cu Px 26

The higher the Cl/F and Nv/F rate, the more noun clusters andsubordinated clauses a given section contains, that is to say, the more thissection is affected by the scribal education as prestige culture. This regularity isindicated, on the one hand, by narrative texts from the exilic/postexilic period,such as the Ezra Memoirs (Cl/F: 2.815; Nv/F as large as 0.716) and theChronistic History (Cl/F as large as 3.047; Nv/F 0.407). One also notes the highrates in the selections from 2 Kings 11-12 (Cl/F 2.485; Nv/F 0.444); 22 (Cl/F2.815; Nv/F 0.370) and 24-25 (Cl/F 3.513; Nv/F 0.444 respectively).

On the other hand, one notes the data for the narrative texts in therhythmic-verbal style.20 In this class both rates are extremely low, as Cl/Franges between 0.729 (Gen. 37; 43-44) and 0.826 (Gen. 26-27), and Nv/Fbetween 0.110 (Gen. 30-31) and 0.169 (Gen. 37; 43-44). In these sections, then,we count less than one noun cluster per clause, and nominal forms of the verbare found in less than 18 % of all clauses. According to the figures, this classalso encompasses the legal section of Exodus 21-22, with Cl/F 0.836 and Nv/F0.176.

Actually, the section of Exod. 21-22 stands out among the legal texts, inwhich both functions are far higher. Let us consider the legal sections with thelowest Cl/F:

3 Exod 21-22 0.816 0.152 L E 29 Deut 22; 25 1.173 0.370 L D 2710 Deut 13; 20-21 1.186 0.488 L D 3312 Deut 19; 24 1.204 0.500 L D 3513 Lev 19; 22 1.206 0.241 L H 1515 Lev 20; 25 1.336 0.279 L H 18

The legal sections that seem closest to Exodus 21-22 are three sections inDeuteronomy (ch. 22; 25, ch. 13; 20-21; and ch. 19; 24) with a Cl/F slightly higherthan 1, meaning that half of the clauses contain in the mean one group of nounsin cluster (1.173, 1.186, 1.204 respectively). In this respect, then, the style ofthose sections seems quite similar to that of Exod. 21-22. Indeed, these figuresare close to the data for the section from the Jacob narrative (Genesis 30-31,with Cl/F 1.061). However, with regard to the second parameter (Nv/F) the

20 For the sections from the Joseph tale (Genesis 37; 42; 45; Genesis 37; 43-44) see thedata above. On Genesis 18-19 see Polak 1998b:81-82; Polak: in Press.


figures in those sections for Deuteronomy are far higher than found in Exodus21-22 (0.370, 0.488 and 0.500, respectively). By comparison, in the sectionsfrom Genesis and Exodus this rate amounts to 0.176, and 0.110 respectively).In the three Deuteronomic sections, then, the number of subordinate clausesis far higher than found in the section from Exodus 21-22. Whereas the lattersection is couched in the rhythmic-verbal style of oral narrative, the style of theformer sections contains some elements of the complex-nominal style.

Several sections from the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17-26) seem close to thesections from Deuteronomy. In Leviticus 19; 22 and Leviticus 20; 25 theCluster rate is not much higher than 1 (1.206 and 1.336 respectively). But inthese chapters the Nv/F rate is far lower than in Deuteronomy (0.241 and 0.279respectively, lower than 0.370, but still far above the number for Exodus 21-22,0.152). Similar figures are found for the covenant sections (Leviticus 26; Exodus6, with Cl/F 1.303 and Nv/F 0.273).�Thus we note a certain continuum, starting with the rhythmic-verbal style

of Exodus 21-22, through the sections from the Holiness Code in which theCluster Rate is somewhat higher than found in the preceding section, whereasthe Nv/F rate is still similar. In the legal sections in Deuteronomy thecomplex-nominal style stands out in the high Nv/F rate, even though theCluster rate is similar to that of the sections from the Holiness Code, or evenslightly lower.

Graph 6: D (1) - H Compared

0

2 0

4 0

6 0

8 0

1 0 0

1 2 0

1 4 0

1 6 0

Lev 26;Ex Lev 20; 25 Deut 19;24 Deut 1-3

Cl/ F

Nv/F

The data for additional sections in the Deuteronomic code indicate a steadyrise of the Cluster rate:

20 Deut 15; 17 1.535 0.419 L D 3125 Deut 12; 18 2.081 0.588 Cu D 3731 Deut 28 2.676 0.713 Cov D 3818 Deut 1-3 1.428 0.497 N D 3422 2 Kings 18-20 2.000 0.236 N DtrI 14

276 F. H. Polak

Graph 7:D Group: Overview

In the typically Deuteronomic sections of Deuteronomy 15; 17 (includingthe precepts concerning of the king), ch. 12; 18 (the sections concerning thecentralization of worship, the benefits assigned to the Levitic priests, and thefunction of the prophet), and ch. 28 one notes a gradual rise of the Cl/F rate(from 1.535 until 2.6766) and the Nv/F rate (from 0.419 to 0.713). The data forthe historical retrospection in Deuteronomy 1-3, an obvious narrative section,are only slightly different, with a cluster rate of 1.428 and a Nv/F as large as0.497. Obviously, then, narrativity in itself does not provide the explanation forthe differences between the rhythmic-verbal and the complex-nominal style.One also notes that the data for the Hezekiah section (2 Kings 18-20) standmidway between the first and the second group of Deuteronomic texts.

The data for the Deuteronomic sections of a more pronounced complex-nominal style are similar to those from certain sections in 1-2 Kings:

30 2 Kings 11-12 2.485 0.444 N DtrI 3233 2 Kings 22 2.815 0.370 N DtrI 2839 2 Kings 24-25 3.513 0.197 N DtrII 10In most of these sections, including the chronicles of Joash and Josiah (2

Kings 11-12; 22) , the Cl/F and the Nv/F rate (2.485; 2.815 and 0.444 and 0.370,respectively) are entirely within the range of the second Deuteronomic group.Only the Cl/F rate for the account of the final stages of the Judean monarchyand the exile (2 Kings 24-25) is higher (3.513). But here the Nv/F ratesurprisingly is on the low side.

On the other hand we will follow the data for the style of other sections ofthe supposedly priestly source. The first group of these sections contains anumber of units that are quite similar to the Deuteronomic group:

21 Num 5; 19 1.548 0.333 Cu Px 23


24 Lev 6; 9-10 2.057 0.358 Cu P 2526 Lev 24; 27 2.171 0.286 Cu H 2032 Exod 12-13 2.778 0.267 Cu P 16

Graph 8: P Group (1)

0

5 0

1 0 0

1 5 0

2 0 0

2 5 0

3 0 0

Gen 1; 6-7 Gen 9;17 Num 16-7 Exod 12-3

Cl/ FNv/F

Hence, the relationship between these texts and the second Deuteronomicgroup is very similar to the relation between the texts from the H group andthe first Deuteronomic group. From a stylistic point of view, the first group ofpriestly texts continues the line of H, in the same way as the second group ofDeuteronomic texts forms the continuation of the first Deuteronomic group.Moreover, within both traditions the differentiation between legal, cultic,narrative, and covenant texts is less decisive than the distinction between theD and the H-P groups.

However, the priestly group also includes a number of texts with far higherfigures for the Cl/F and the Nv/F rate:

35 Lev 18; Num 15 2.846 0.538 Cu H/Ps 3637 Lev 1-2; 4 3.064 0.346 Cu P 2438 Num. 35; 36 3.157 1.057 L Ps 4040 Num 6; 18 3.710 0.362 Cu Px 26The stylistic profile of these texts is quite similar to that of post-exilic

278 F. H. Polak

narrative, e.g.,Esther 4-5; 8 2.220 0.590 N34 Ezra 8-10; Neh. 8 2.815 0.716 N RZ 3936 2 Chron 29-30 3.047 0.407 N RZ 3039 2 Kings 24-25 3.513 0.197 N DtrII 10

Graph 9: P Group (2)

0

5 0

1 0 0

1 5 0

2 0 0

2 5 0

3 0 0

3 5 0

4 0 0

Ez-Neh Lev18;Num Lev 1-4 Num 35-36 Num6.18

Cl/ FNv/F

From a stylistic point of view, then, the second P-group seems to originatein the Persian era, whereas the first P-group is better attributed to the late pre-exilic period (seventh Century). The texts from the H-group seem earlier,much like the first D-group. The similarity between the profile of Leviticus 20;25 and Genesis 2-4 suggests attribution to the ”Intricate Classical” sub-corpus(possibly medio eighth century BCE). Thus the H-P group presents acontinuous development from the period before the conquest of Samaria untilthe Persian era, even though the H-group also includes some later texts (e.g.,Lev. 18).21 The notion of a continuous tradition provides a simple explanationfor the particular combination of ancient and late elements in the various textsattributed to the H-P group. Dillman (1892:XI) already spoke of “derstufenweise Umarbeitung und Erweiterung” of the texts of this group.

21 The special position of Leviticus 18 has been studied by Daube 1947: 81-82. OnNumbers 15 see Gray:1947:168-171, 180-183.


It appears, then, that the combination of Cl/F and Nv/F rates has thepower and the delicacy that are required to give an impression of theextent to which a text is couched in the complex-nominal or therhythmic-verbal style, while it is schematic enough to permit analysis ofa large number of extensive texts.

The resulting analysis enables us to follow the development of theHebrew prose style in narrative, legal, cultic and covenantal texts, fromthe style of oral formulation and delivery, to the extremely complexnominal style of the legal and cultic experts of the postexilic period

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Parameters for Stylistic Analysis of Biblical Hebrew Prose

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