29
votes
What translation/version of the Bible would Chaucer have read?
Chaucer (almost certainly) used the Vulgate, the 4th-century Latin translation by Jerome, the text that was the usual scripture of the Catholic Church in the medieval period.
I added the caveat “...
- 47.6k
18
votes
Accepted
The Torah is written without vowels?
As other answers have mentioned, what is meant is simply what is said: many renderings of the Torah leave out the vowel markers (and punctuation). As several comments have offered, this is a common ...
- 423
18
votes
The Torah is written without vowels?
Vowels in Hebrew - called n'kudot - are written as dots and lines surrounding the letters. In an actual Torah - written on parchment - these symbols aren't there.
As an example, here's a picture of a ...
- 21.4k
17
votes
Do the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh really contain the same rare proverb about the strength of a triple-stranded rope?
The relevant passage in the Bible is easy enough to find: it is Ecclesiates 4:12 (see Bible Hub):
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (...
- 43.2k
13
votes
Did the Lord of the Flies have any kind of religious reference more specific than just the Devil?
The entire book can be seen as an allegory for the Bible. It has a startlingly large number of allusions to Jewish and Christian myths and stories. Here are some of them:
The island, in the ...
- 4,334
13
votes
Accepted
In The Mezzotint by M. R. James, what is a "Door Bible"?
It's a mispronunciation of Doré Bible.
The mispronunciation is quite natural: to an English speaker's eye, Doré looks like "Dore", which would be a homophone of "door" in English. It also fits with ...
- 67.9k
7
votes
Literary genres of Mark and Q in the two-document hypothesis?
There is a lot to unpack here, and it can be difficult to explain everything that you're actually wanting to know unless you have a baseline of knowledge of Mark and Q scholarship. So instead of ...
- 887
7
votes
Did the Lord of the Flies have any kind of religious reference more specific than just the Devil?
Existing answers have covered a few of these concepts, but there was plenty of Christian iconography apart from the devil who promoted evil among mankind.
The island itself, particularly Simon's ...
- 846
6
votes
Why is Jesus upset with God?
Any analysis of this line needs to begin with the understanding that "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" is a direct quotation of (and thus a reference to) Psalms 22. Psalm 22 begins ...
6
votes
Did the Lord of the Flies have any kind of religious reference more specific than just the Devil?
The allusions mentioned above are true in some regard; although, some clarity could be made about the Christian idea of sin. Christianity affirms that each individual has the choice of, even the ...
- 61
6
votes
Which flood story was first: Genesis or The Epic of Gilgamesh?
Walther Sallaberger's book Das Gilgamesch-Epos. Mythos, Werk und Tradition (C. H. Beck, 2008) discusses the flood story
mainly in the context of the Standard Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh Epic. ...
- 43.2k
6
votes
Accepted
How much does "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young" differ from the original Bible story?
How much does this poem differ from the Bible story?
The poem appears to be mostly consistent with the original Biblical story (starting with Gen. 22:3, through part of Gen. 22:13). As to your three ...
- 5,820
5
votes
Why does Nick say that Moses was 130 years old when he died?
Jeffrey Archer is a convicted perjurer, with a long record of, at the very least, embroidering his lifestory (claiming to have attended a prestigious public school, been an undergraduate at Oxford ...
- 1,867
4
votes
Accepted
Are angels ever depicted as having golden halos floating above their heads in the Bible?
The only direct description of an angel in the Bible is in Revelation 10:1 (emphasis added):
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a
cloud, and a rainbow was upon his ...
- 410
4
votes
"I've seen your flag on the marble arch"
In an article in Haaretz, Elon Gilad and Ruth Schuster write:
The “marble arch” may allude to Titus’ Victory Arch in Rome, a
monument celebrating the Roman final victory over the Jews. If so,
...
- 2,967
3
votes
"I've seen your flag on the marble arch"
Possibly the reference to seeing her flag on the marble arch refers to seeing her conquered, or taken, by another? Since the following line is "Our love is not a victory march" - A victory march for ...
3
votes
"I've seen your flag on the marble arch"
I don't think Cohen has ever made this clear, so we can only speculate. While I agree that the Arch of Titus makes the most sense, three other candidates jump out at me:
Washington Square Arch in ...
- 1,690
2
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of 'cast a bank'?
"cast a bank" means to build a ramp.
This is the archaic meaning of "cast" as in item 1, subitem 9 here:
(archaic) To throw up, as a mound, or rampart.
Bible, Luke xix.48
Thine ...
- 67.9k
2
votes
What translation/version of the Bible would Chaucer have read?
Gareth Rees's answer has given a very nice, detailed summary of analysis by Landrum (1924) and also mentions Skeat, who was earlier. I just want to point out in this answer that there may be another ...
- 21
1
vote
What translation/version of the Bible would Chaucer have read?
Chaucer was an educated man who would certainly have read the Bible in Latin. Interestingly, the date of Wycliffe's translation into English of parts of the New Testament more or less coincides with ...
- 1,867
1
vote
Literary genres of Mark and Q in the two-document hypothesis?
Thanks, cmw and David Anson, for your helpful answers to my question. This self-answer provides some other material that I came across when the question hadn't yet attracted any answers.
Here is a ...
- 11
1
vote
What is the significance of Grendel being descended from Cain?
The story of the descendants of Cain is told in Genesis 4. Reading it may clarify this passage in Beowulf.
Cain was an outcast for his crime, doomed to permanent exile. Jehovah sets a mark on him that ...
1
vote
Accepted
Is this Atlas Shrugged quote a deliberate Biblical reference?
This particular scene was especially moving and powerful for me. Taken in isolation, it would be easy to say there is no evidence of a biblical reference, given the fact that the term "well done&...
- 1,252
1
vote
Do the opening lines of Frost’s poem “After Apple-Picking” contain a biblical reference?
The most famous ladder in the Bible is Jacob's ladder in Genesis 28 (here quoted from the New King James Version):
Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
So he came to a certain ...
- 43.2k
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