Ani and its semantic domain in the Psalms

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:One of the most vexing questions in the exegetical research on the Psalms has been the establishing ofthe identity of the suppliant who refers to himself as the cani. Many scholars have endeavoured tostudy the meaning and significance of this word, but it is still not satisfactorily resolved. The weaknessof these studies can be traced back to two factors:(1) an exaggerated over-confidence in the etymological method of analysis, and(2) the implementation of inadequate and incomplete semantic methods.This investigation starts out with the hypothesis that the meaning of cani must be determined in termsof both its macro and micro leve~. Thus, the meaning of this designation will be establishedsynchronically, as well as in terms of an associative field. In this way the semantic field of cani can be.demarcated in light of its immediate lexical, as well as its wider associative field.A close reading of the Psalms in which cani appears, reveals that a triangular relationship is depictedbetween certain actants. The drama tis personae occupying the following roles in this triangle are:(1) Yahweh asjudge and saviour,(2) the cani as suppliant and victim, and(3) .the antagonist as oppressor and blasphemer.In order to establish the identity of the cani it was necessary to investigate its synonyms and antonymswithin this complex triangular structure. Within such a semantic framework it has been determined thatthe stereotype translation equivalent poor is both inadequate and misleading.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University