Product Description

"Builds on the premise that language and thought are inevitably and inextricably bound up with each other. . . . A classic study of the differences between Greek and Hebrew thought."—John E. Rexrine, Colgate University "In its patient, lucid philological approach to crucial issues, in its breathtakingly compact treatment of significant voices from Heraclitus to Job to Bergson, and in the studied independence of its own lines of development and conclusions, Boman's book is a modest masterpiece. It must be read not only by those who are concerned with the theological facets of the problem but by anyone who claims any interest in the problem of thinking in Western culture."—Christian Century

"It might be said with some truth that he must be armoured in robur et aes triplex who essays the comparison between Hebrew and Greek thought. . . . The Scandinavian professor who has written this challenging book appears to be such a paragon. . . . A particularly interesting section of the book is devoted to a comparison between Hebrew and Greek conceptions of Time and Space. . . . Valuable and original."—Times Literary Supplement

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153729 in Books
• Published on: 1970-10-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

Read James Barr's Semantics of Biblical Language
This book assumes the peculiarity of the Hebrew language to make a theological point. Unfortunately, the author does not make a systematic analysis of either Hebrew or Greek. The arguments of the book were completely demolished by James Barr (Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University) in his book, The Semantics of Biblical Language. While I would urge everyone to study Hebrew (and Greek) because it will open up new insights into the Scriptures, this facile treatment of Hebrew is not really worthwhile.

A very applicable work, excellently done.
The author does an outstanding job of bringing to light many common misperceptions that can arise when interpreting the work of one culture from the framework of another. His insights are very applicable and add significant depth and understanding to ancient Hebrew literature. This is an essential book for anyone seeking to understand the context and meaning of ancient Hebrew works.

A must have for any student of Biblical Hebrew
First, I would like to state that I have yet to read every last page of this book. Much of the material is condensed, and therefore, it's taking sometime for me to go through all the details and form my opinions. However, I would like to say that I have read most of this book, and so far everything that I have read is definately thought provoking, and insightful.

It has been well established by people like Max Muller that there is a petrified philosophy within language. Each people or nation has their own unique social psyche, and this will be reflected in the language(s) of their culture. The ancient Hebrews who wrote the Old Testament were no exception to this.

Bowman attempts in this book to analyze the Hebrew psyche, and understand how the ancient Hebrews understood both time, as well as action, and how they relates to one another. He quotes from numerous scholars in the field of Biblical Hebrew, and quotes numerous examples from the Old Testament to prove his points. He also attemps to explain and demonstrate how the Hebraic mindset is completely different from our own modern-western mindset.

One of the greatest examples in his book is his analysis of time. He demonstrates that the Greeks and other European peoples view time as being something linear, where as the Hebrews appeared to view time as being cyclical. His explanation on the time concept is VERY in-depth, and thought provoking. It will provide much insight for anyone who is willing to take the time to go through the material on the subject.

Im my honest opinion, I do not see how anyone can consider theirself to be an educated student of God's word, and more specifically an educated student of Biblical languages, and not understand the concepts and material presented in this book. I highly recommend it.

PS. I noted that someone stated in another review that Bowman calls Greek thought "static" and Hebraic thought "dynamic", and that this viewpoint is simplistic in the extreme. I would like to state that Bowman does state this at the very beginning of the first chapter, but goes in-depth to prove his points through out the rest of the book. Furthermore, Bowman also stipulated that Greek though only appears to be static, harmonious, and prudent in comparison to Hebrew though, which by comparison appears to be dynamic, vigorous, passionate and explosive in kind. Furthermore, Bowman stated that he regreted using the terms "dynamic" and "static" to label Hebrew and Greek thought since these are terms commonly used in the real of physics and mechanics, but he stated he used them because of how well their meanings are engrained into our psyche and langauge. Therefore, Bowman was not trying to label Greek thought with an insultive label, but rather only explaning things from a comparitive stand point, and if you read the book you will realize that Bowman does not attempt to insult the Greek psyche, but rather feels that the Greek/European mindset forms a complementary unity with Hebraic thought.