Old School Script

Scholars in Press: An interview with Elizabeth Robar

Name: Elizabeth Robar Education: MA in OT & MA in NT from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; Graduate work with Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics; ABD from Southern Seminary (changed programmes from LXX > Hebrew, hence Southern > Cambridge); PhD from University of Cambridge Favorite Past-time: Sip homemade hot chocolate while my husband reads aloud to the family; … Continue reading →

Jacob Cerone answers me these questions three on his recently defended thesis

I’m frankly surprised Jacob had the energy and desire to say anything more on his recently defended thesis: “A Comparative Discourse Analysis of the Masoretic and Septuagint Versions of Jonah”. Once you get to the end of a project like this, the last thing you want is to re-visit it. But Jacob was kind enough … Continue reading →

Scholars in Press: An interview with Mike Aubrey

Name: Mike Aubrey Education: I received a BA in Biblical Languages at Moody Bible Institute in 2007. Since then, my wife and I have been actively preparing for service with SIL/Wycliffe Bible Translators as a linguist. We completed certificates in applied linguistics in 2008 as well as started graduate studies in linguistics at the Graduate Institute … Continue reading →

Scholars in Press—a new interview series you don’t want to miss

Chris and I are pleased to announce a new series we’ll be hosting at Old School Script. You may have noticed that our writings tend to be linguistically bent, rather than exegetically based or theological, for that matter. While we are concerned with the latter, we are both convinced that certain linguistic frameworks can bring a … Continue reading →

The (supposed) infallibility of the printed word

If it’s in print it must be inspired. When I first began my studies in biblical languages I always marveled at my professor’s ability (read: audacity) to challenge a lexicon’s gloss or push back on a translation’s rendering. What gave him this authority? [Looking back, this incredulity must have been what the religious elite of Jesus’ day … Continue reading →

Greek Linguistic Historiography, O my!

Here at Old School Script we typically don’t re-post stuff here. For the most part this is a place for original contributions. With that said, when we do: you should pay attention. Over at Koine Greek—one of the few other linguistically oriented bible related blogs—Mike Aubrey has an ongoing project aimed at exploring old school … Continue reading →

Identifying the topical and focal relations in James 3:6 (or, “and THE TONGUE is a fire” versus “and the tongue IS A FIRE”)

posted by Kris (w/a “k”) 5b Ἰδοὺ ἡλίκον πῦρ ἡλίκην ὕλην ἀνάπτει· Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! 6 καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα πῦρ And the tongue is a fire! The unmarked word order of a verbless clause is for the subject to precede the predicate, as is the case here. Natural salience is assigned … Continue reading →

Moral and Ritual Purity: A True Divide?

Posted by Kris (w/a “k”) The other day a new book came in. One I’ve been waiting for. I’m just getting into it but here’s an excerpt on the supposed dichotomy of ritual and moral purity: “Let us finally touch upon one important aspect of the purity discussion that is of particular relevance for the … Continue reading →

At least Jesus loves women (or, Why do some feminists want to return to the dark ages?)

posted by Kris (w/a “k”) It’s discouraging that so much of the suffering mentioned in the OT about abusing sex is bent on explaining the damaging effects this has on man. It is decidedly one-sided. Command after command, and proverb after proverb is geared towards protecting man—often the initiating perpetrator of rape or prostitution—from the harmful … Continue reading →

Lexicon Valley, Sarah Palin, & the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament

posted by Kris (w/a “k”) Huh? What could all these have in common? In a not so recent podcast, Lexicon Valley talked about Sarah Palin’s use of demonstrative pronouns. It’s a fun listen, so definitely check it out for yourself, but here’s the blurb they give online: This, that, these, and those—the so-called demonstrative pronouns in … Continue reading →

Grammaticalization explained in common tongue, in 1891

posted by Kris (with a “k”) The other day I was looking at Hopper and Traugott’s (2003) Grammaticalization and came across this creative analogy of how a form may undergo grammaticalization. It’s such a fun example, so if you’re new to this concept, read on. If this is old news, read on—it’s good. While the first paragraph … Continue reading →

A child’s discourse: Go? Food. Bye. Papa!

posted by Kris (with a “k”) The other day I woke up and had one of the longest conversations with my one and a half year old that I’ve had yet: it consisted of four words. Dad: Wanna go get food? Kid: Go? Mom: Where are you going? Kid: Foo[d]. Kid: Bye. Kid: PAPA! This … Continue reading →

Is writing valued more than reading?

posted by Kris (with a “k”) Cambridge Extra (a blog affiliate of CUP Linguistics) published a post the other day on a topic I hadn’t given much thought to: the rise of writing (and decline of reading). Here’s a couple quotes to give you a taste of the article, but it’s certainly worth its own read. … Continue reading →