Abstract
In this detailed book Tilford develops a model for understanding the development of metaphors which she uses to study the development and use of metaphors by biblical authors in their writings. The particular focus of Tilford’s study is metaphors developed from sensory experiences: seeing, hearing/speaking; touching; ingesting; breathing; and moving, each of which is considered in a separate chapter (chapters 3–9). Tilford is able to demonstrate that metaphors develop from universal influences and from cultural factors, not one or the other but both working together. Thus, Tilford argues, ‘our study of the Hebrew Bible and its reception will benefit from taking into account not only the cultural milieu of the communities that produced and interpreted these texts but also the common corporeal experiences that shaped their literary ventures’ (p. 24).
Given the interest of this study in metaphor and biblical wisdom communities, Tilford helpfully offers a brief account of the historical context within which such wisdom communities arose (chapter 2). The main body of the book is an examination of the sensory metaphors as they are used in the Hebrew Bible (chapters 3–9). These chapters display a wide engagement with Wisdom Literature texts from the Hebrew Bible, reflecting upon many texts from Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Tilford draws her findings from these chapters together in a presentation of complex metaphors, by which she means the blending of metaphorical images and the clustering of diverse metaphors to establish ‘a more dynamic, multimodal depiction of wisdom’ (p. 198). Tilford concludes that a conceptual study of metaphor will take biblical scholars closer to the thought world of Israelites and Judeans and further demonstrates that the use of metaphorical language is not static but show development through repeated use.
Tilford’s book is at times a detailed study of philosophical and linguistic models of communication and cognition. The cross disciplinary nature of this work will benefit biblical scholars seeking a clearer understanding of the use and function of metaphors in biblical texts.