Topic > Language Styles Used in the Bible

"It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Revelation 21:6 From the opening words of the Bible (Revised Standard Version) to its conclusion “Amen,” the power of language is highlighted as a central aspect of the text. Among the many narrators and both in the Old and New Testaments, the words of God remain. Necessary to welcome these words and therefore intrinsically linked in a sort of listening alliance, are the followers of God. The words of God become gifted linguistic acts of extraordinary powers. Perhaps the greatest of these is the power to create. Moments of creation provide particularly important forays into the world of words. The idea that a discourse not only can be, but can become a concrete reality is one of the strengths of the Bible. After all, the Bible is a linguistic vehicle of spirituality, a space in which words must create realities of their own, even if less concrete than the world itself. In the narrative path of the Bible, the focus on God's words moves away from their power to create concrete objects. This is replaced by an intense attention to the words themselves, the beauty of hearing them spoken and the importance of finding salvation through them. The power of God's words lies in their potential for eternal meaning as much as in their ability to create through speech acts. The subsequent discussion of language will focus on the opening chapters of Genesis through to the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation, the literal 'the first and the last, the beginning and the end.' (Revelation 5:6). These two sections are not only relevant to a discussion of language because they begin and end the book, but because the book begins and ends by extolling the power of words. From the beginning, the story of creation in Genesis establishes a unique and astonishing power in The Words of God. The reader participates in the gradual construction of the world, word by word. It seems that God speaks whenever He can. The sequence of events in these opening moments sets the stage for an emphasis on the voice of God. It is an important first step that 'In the beginning God' did not speak, but 'created the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1 ). The book does not begin with a linguistic act, but with a silent creative act. Every creation that follows this one, including Adam, will be produced by the words of God. But for now, the silence continues, strangely visualized in the image of "The earth...formless and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep." (Gen. 1:2). The "void", the "darkness" and the "deep" paint a kind of echoing cave of nothingness. This is a space ready for the entry of a voice that will fill it with both sound and form, simultaneously. This gives the speech act its stage. A list of creations begins with the now familiar “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The speech act grounds its pure, even evident, power in the simple structure of this phrase. God's words are parallel to their implementation, separated by the semicolon. This is an almost mathematical equation, a sort of perfect symmetry of the words with respect to the life they create is an astonishing revelation. God's words = life. This conclusion will be firmly rooted in the reader's mind after the numerous repetitions of his equation fill the chapter with new words and the earth with new life. Even though God had 'created the heavens and the earth' Genesis I:I, it should be noted that it was only after his speech act was repeated many times and thus giving life to his creation that 'the heavens and the earth were finished' (Genesis I,2).silent birth of the same heavens and the same earth was not enough. It was God's words, and therefore God's creations, that completed the universe. A privileged relationship is established between God, his words and their products. God's words give life and his creations provide ears. Those who listen not only hear the voice of God, but find redemption in the encounter with the strength that gave them life. These listeners will become churchgoers and Bible readers for centuries to come. To qualify the words spoken by a mere mortal, or printed on a flimsy page, the affirmation of God's voice must go through a transformation that will adequately glorify His words. In Revelation, this transformation from voice to words has been completed. The book reminds the reader in its very opening sentences that "Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of prophecy, and blessed are they who hear" (Revelation, I:3). This idea of ​​an exchange of words and willing ears between God and his blessed creatures is therefore a common thread between these two books. In these opening lines of Revelation, the presence of a reader as opposed to God speaking represents a transition from the thundering voice of God to the words themselves. Words without the actual voice of God maintain the power of blessing through the word. The words themselves, even the “written” ones (Rev 1.3) have become an equally crucial force for liberation. The phrase 'He who has an ear' (Revelation 2:17, 3:22, 13:9) is repeated enough to remind us that speaking and hearing the word of God is a blessed exchange. God's voice is no less powerful. God is still absolutely present and central in the Apocalypse. But the importance of his words has increased. This must have something to do with the shape of the Bible itself. Outside of the few mortals who actually speak to God, such as the prophets and saints, a reader of the Bible will have only God's words to transport him and inspire life in him with their power. This subtle passage from the voice to the words of God already began in Genesis. The naming process is as much the work of the first Genesis as the speech act. Emphasizing naming means highlighting the importance of the way in which God chooses to call his creatures, in other words, God's original words. The formula of the speech act comes to include this moment of naming, which is repeated methodically at each creation. We see how what 'God called' something must be included to make the world complete. After separating the light from the darkness, "God called the light Day and the darkness Night" (Gen 1.5). It is only after God names the light and the darkness that it passes away. This first denomination is therefore a sort of linguistic act, since immediately afterwards the first night and the first morning actually pass with "it was evening and it was morning, one day" (Gen 1.5). As Genesis continues, the presence of naming does not diminish and contributes to the progression of language as a central theme. Interestingly, when God decides to 'create a helper' for Adam and forms 'every beast of the field and every bird of the air', he brings out Adam to name him. This can be seen as a prime example of the burden or blessing of words placed in the hands of man. It is the beginning of a tradition that allows the Bible to exist by upholding the right of humans to create foundational words (under God's supervision, of course). Adam then "[gives] names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to all the beasts of the field" (Genesis 2:20). Note that when God is not speaking, the details of what these names suddenly become less important and are not included. This is a subtle reminder of the.