Semantics/Lexical Semantics
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Overseer: Ian Atkinson
Introduction[ ]
Semantics is the study of how language is used to represent meaning. The goal of semantic analysis for interpreting and translating the Bible is to understand the meaning of words and how they relate to each other in context. We want to understand what is implicit about word meaning – and thus assumed by the original audience – and make it explicit – and thus clear for us who are removed by time, language, and culture.
One major branch of semantic study is lexical semantics, which refers to the study of word meanings. It examines semantic range (=possible meanings of a word), the relationship between words (e.g. synonymy, hyponymy), as well as the relationship between words and larger concepts (conceptual domains). One component of our approach involves not only the study of the Hebrew word meaning but also of our own assumptions about word meaning in modern languages. Because the researcher necessarily starts with their own cultural assumptions (in our case, those of Western-trained scholars), this part of the analysis should be done afresh for every culture.
One of the characteristics of poetry, including its use of words, is its tendency to bend the normal "rules" of language. The Psalms, as biblical poetry, are no exception. They combine words creatively, including rare and archaic terms and those chosen for their phonetic qualities. When there is good evidence to suppose so, the Psalms may also be said to exploit the polysemous potential in language rather than using words according to a single, narrow sense. [1]
Lexical semantics is one of four parts of semantic analysis (cf. verbal semantics, mid-level semantics, and unit-level semantics), which ultimately must be taken together as part of a full interpretation.
Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew[ ]
The Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (SDBH) lies at the heart of our method lexical-semantic analysis. Introduction to the dictionary as well as detailed instructions for its use will be provided below in “Steps”.
Required Tools[ ]
- Open-source Hebrew text
- OSHB Read
- This is what you will use for any Hebrew text that needs to be copy/pasted.
- Grammatical diagram
- This is the same grammatical diagram that you completed in the previous layer.
- Lexicons
- If there is need for further lexical research, other common lexicons for biblical Hebrew other than SDBH (#1 below) are as follows:
- Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew
- Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT)
- Brown–Driver–Briggs (BDB)
- Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (DCH)
- Versions
- Ancient Versions
- Modern Versions
- Additional Information
- Versions with asterisks are required. Versions without asterisks are recommended but not required.
- To see all of these translations linked to a specific psalm, visit the wiki page "Psalm # Translations" (e.g., Psalm 8 Translations).
Steps[ ]
1. Complete initial lexical study.[ ]
[ ]
Go to SDBH's website using this link or any of the hyperlinks above.
Once you are there, navigate to your psalm using either the navigation field in the top right, or the enumerated list at the bottom.
When you have reached your Psalm's page, you may click on individual Hebrew words (or their English correspondences) to bring up the dictionary entry for that word.
Alternatively, you may find it helpful to click on the chapter analysis button in the top left toolbar. This list displays every word in your chapter along with its relevant entry in SDBH.
B. Analyze words using SDBH and add appropriate glosses[ ]
The next part of completing the initial lexical study is to add glosses to your grammatical diagram. Note that the glosses should appear with the correct color if you have tagged your diagram appropriately. That is, glosses within sections tagged as “alternatives” will appear in pink; glosses within sections tagged as “emendations” will appear in blue, etc.
i. Reading SDBH[ ]
Gloss words using either the glosses provided by SDBH or one of the words in the definition. Our default is to assume that these glosses/definitions are correct. To further make use of the dictionary, however, it is important to understand precisely how to read it. Consider the following example of הֹופִֽיעַ from Psalm 50:2.
- The green text tells you lexical domain. You may think of a lexical domain as a category. By virtue of belonging to a certain category, a word can have a meaning without any context, or, stated positively, the category tells you the minimal contribution the word makes to all of its contexts. The יפע verb here is in the category of “shine”; it then gets mapped onto (the “>”) the category of space. “Mapped onto...” means that the focus is no longer primarily on the category of “shine”, but rather on the category of “space”; “shine” is still there, but it is less salient.
- The purple text tells you the contextual domain(s). Whereas the lexical domains give you the meaning common to all contexts of word's uses, the contextual domain identifies the contexts in which a word comes to have its derivative/more specific meanings.
- The black text tells you the word's definition. A definition for a word is given on the basis of a combination of its lexical domain and its most common/prototypical contextual domain.
- The gold text is a possible English gloss for the word. Again, assume this gloss, or a close synonym, is accurate. (Usually a close synonym may be found in the definition).
Thus, when reading this entry, you may think to yourself: “A word from the category ‘shine’ that then gets mapped onto the category ‘space’ used in a context of light and darkness means ‘to shine forth’; more specifically (the ‘=’ sign means ‘description’) it is a process by which a deity...”.
ii. What to do if you disagree[ ]
If you find that the definition given for a word when you click on it/given in the summary sheet does not fit the context of your verse/psalm, most of the time the meaning you are looking for is either in another sub-entry or another contextual meaning of the word. To access sub-entries and contextual meanings, you must go to the overview page of a word. You may either search for the word under the “Dictionary” tab or click on the Hebrew root of the word's entry on the Biblical text page (you cannot access the overview page of a word from the Psalm's overview page).
Let's say I want to argue that קרא in verse 4 here means something like “to summon” instead of “to cry out,” since God summons the heavens and earth elsewhere in Scripture (cf. Deut 30:19). When I check the word's overview page, I see the following sub-entries (Note that sub-entries are called for either a word's lexical domain shifts or when one lexical domain gets mapped onto another, as illustrated in the following).
As I scan through the sub-entries I see that sub-entry (f) is closer to the meaning I want. In order to approve this change I would then tag Reinier de Blois in a forum post and try to argue my position, that קרא in Psalm 50:4 be categorized under 1(f) instead of 1(a).
A meaning you are looking for may be under a more specific contextual usage. Consider the word בית in Psalm 5:8.
Let's say I interpret בית here as “temple,” not “house” as the gloss suggests. When I go to the overview page, however, none of the glosses say “temple.” It is good practice to always check “contextual uses.” This can be accessed by clicking the two arrows pointing down on a sub-entry and then clicking “contextual meanings.”
Recall that a word's definition and glosses are derived from its lexical domain plus its most common/prototypical contextual domain. “Contextual meaning(s)” lists less common/prototypical contexts in which the word is used with the lexical domain/meaning of the sub-entry. When I scroll through the list, I find the context “Sanctuary,” in which בית can mean “temple.” When I click on the button for scriptural references, I find that Psalm 5:8 is indeed listed. Thus in this case there is no actual disagreement. The meaning I was looking for is simply used in a less prototypical context than what was listed in the sub-entry. I can gloss the word as “temple” and move on.
The text in green parentheses/curly brackets explains the contextual label. That is, in this example, it makes explicit what the context of “Sanctuary” contributes to the lexical meaning “Building.”
If the meaning for which you want to argue is not in a sub-entry or in another contextual use (or perhaps your verse is listed under a sub-entry or contextual use you think is inappropriate), you may have to carry out your own lexical study. Please take good notes if you have to do extra research and, most importantly, post your findings on the forum tagging Reinier to get his input.
iii. SDBH sigla[ ]
SDBH uses four signs in its definitions.
- The “=” sign means “description”. It further elaborates whatever is to the left of it.
- The “⏴” sign means “source”. What follows is a reason, cause, source etc., of the referent
- The “⏵” sign means “function”. What follows is an effect, purpose, use, etc., of the referent.
- The “≈” sign means “connotation”. What follows are emotional, metaphorical, etc., connotations of the word. Note that this information can speed up the story-behind as well as emotional layers”.
To illustrate these signs, consider the first sub-entry of the word חוֹמָה “wall”.
We may paraphrase this entry as follows: “חומה is a noun whose core lexical meaning is “wall” (lexical domain). A description (“=” sign) of what this word means in its most prototypical contexts, “Town; Buidling; Strength; Security” (contextual domains), is a structure surrounding a building...; the (material) source (“⏴”) of this structure is stone; a function (“⏵”) of this structure is to provide proctection; the word therefore has connotations (“≈”) of strength, safety, etc.”.
vi. Rare and difficult words[ ]
If you encounter a word that is a hapax (used only in that instance), a rare word or a particularly difficult word, you should proceed in the following order. In general, use the biblical corpus as much as possible and expand out from there if necessary:
- Check other places in Scripture where the word is used if it is a rare word.
- Check the entries in the standard Hebrew lexica listed above. HALOT especially will usually have a discussion of different views on the word's meaning as well as references. DCH also lists references to articles and monographs in which the meanings of difficult words are discussed.
- Check entries around your word in the standard Hebrew lexica. In effect, this means checking words from the same root.
- See if the word is used in the Dead Sea Scrolls. You can check this using the Qumran Digital Text and Lexicon's interactive website.
- Check if your word is used in Rabbinic Hebrew. This is most easily done using Jastrow's lexicon. Note that you may click on a reference in this lexicon and the website (sefaria.com) will take you to the relevant text so you can read it in context for yourself.
- Check ancient versions.
C. Gloss your grammatical diagram[ ]
After you have decided on a gloss, record this gloss on your grammatical diagram.
For various reasons, you may choose to use two glosses, one general and one more specific. Indicate this relationship using two arrows “>>”. The more general word should be on the left and the more specific word on the right. Examples of where you may want to use arrows include a general gloss provided by SDBH followed by a more specific word included in the definition; a literal meaning of a word followed by a more figurative meaning (indicated in SDBH with ≈); a gloss given by SDBH followed by a word listed under contextual meanings, etc.
2. Write a lexical semantics paraphrase (optional)[ ]
You might find it helpful to provide a paraphrase for each verse. The character of the paraphrase should be very free, with fluid, natural English. Focus on conveying the meaning of each word as used in the current context, along with all of its connotations. The diagram gloss may or may not be the most appropriate word choice for the paraphrase. You may use parentheses or restatement if helpful, but be judicious. As the meanings are clarified, patterns of coherence will emerge. The ultimate purpose of the paraphrase is to discover, as early as possible, these patterns of coherence. Exercise freedom to depart from default glosses (e.g. for אהב, usually glossed "to love," a better rendering in context may be "to be dedicated to").
Include alternatives, emendations, and vocalization, all with the appropriate colors.
Note: this paraphrase is not an official translation, and it will not be published. It is intended to be a lexical semantics tool for creators and reviewers.
3. Analyze semantic domains.[ ]
A. Identify repeated and/or key lexical and contextual domains.[ ]
Take note of which lexical and contextual domains recur most often or are located in critical places. A list of the lexical and semantic domains for your psalm should be automatically generated before you begin. They will be located in this folder on our shared google drive. The navigation path to the folder is: 4. Psalms Project >> C. Production >> 3. Exegetical Materials >> Visualisations >> 3. Semantic domains.
Paste the spreadsheet onto your Miro Board by copy/pasting the URL link. Use colored boxes to highlight the domains you think are most important. Depending on the length of your psalm, 3–5 occurrences of the domain is the minimum number of repetitions for it to be noteworthy. The domains are ordered by frequency of occurrence in the spreadsheet, so expect virtually all of your boxes to be towards the left side of the sheet. You may choose to group certain domains that are separate in the spreadsheet; do this by using the same-colored box.
B. Record your observations.[ ]
Using a text box, record any observations regarding the significance of the lexical and contextual domains. Ideally, for shorter psalms, this may simply consist of a brief paragraph. For longer and more complex psalms, you may find it more beneficial to list out observations in bullet points, bolding the noteworthy domains (see “Lexical Domains in Psalm 68”).
C. Write a mini-story for lexical domains.[ ]
Summarize the message of the psalm through the lens of the lexical domains you have chosen to highlight in your table. The colors of the words should match the colors of the box surrounding the relevant domain.
This is NOT a summary of the entire psalm, but only of those elements that are highlighted by the repeated lexical domains.
D. Write a mini-story for contextual domains.[ ]
Repeat step C. for the contextual domains.
4. Create Venn diagrams.[ ]
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A. Select terms for closer study.[ ]
Whenever you have the thought, “This English gloss is the best we can do but it still has some unwanted connotations,” that's your cue to make a Venn Diagram for the word.
Make at least two Venn Diagrams per Psalm.
Note that we have a word bank of previous Venn Diagrams already made here. Even if a Venn Diagram already exists for the particular Hebrew lexeme in question, you will almost always need to make another one for the word's specific use in your psalm. This is because the precise (English) connotations you want to avoid in a particular verse will hardly ever overlap the unwanted connotations in another context, even if the same gloss is used for the same Hebrew lexeme in that other context.
B. Prepare Venn diagram.[ ]
Using the Venn diagram template (available on the Miro "templates" board), place the chosen Hebrew word above the right oval and one English gloss above the left oval. For Hebrew verbs, provide the root without vowels and the binyan ("vb. [binyan abbreviation]"); see abbreviations below. For English verb glosses, provide the infinitive form (e.g. to discipline). For other Hebrew words, provide vowels and indicate the part of speech (abbreviated in parentheses).
Abbreviations[ ]
Parts of speech
- noun (n.)
- verb (vb.)
- adjective (adj.)
Binyanim
- qal (qal)
- niphal (ni.)
- piel (pi.)
- pual (pu.)
- hiphil (hi.)
- hophal (ho.)
C. Complete Hebrew side.[ ]
Using the lexicons listed in "required tools" (including both definitions and semantic domains) provide the definition, definition excerpt, or association of the word (making sure to cite the source).[2] If there are synonym(s) or antonym(s), you may include those at the bottom of the oval. The goal is not to be exhaustive, but to provide several items that help fill out the semantic range of the term in question.
Create a Miro frame and title it using simplified SBL transliteration (e.g. Nefesh). You may find it helpful to use this automatic Hebrew transliteration tool, selecting "SBL General" style.
D. Complete English (or other modern language) side.[ ]
Fill in the English gloss oval, consulting at least one English dictionary (e.g. Concise Oxford English Dictionary or Merriam-Webster). You may re-word a definition (as necessary) in order to be most easily compared with the Hebrew definition. As with the Hebrew, you may include synonyms and antonyms at the bottom.
Where the definitions (and associations) are similar to the Hebrew, indicate this by putting them in the overlapping area of the diagram.
Note 1: Avoid cognates in definitions (e.g. a ‘fool’ is one who acts a‘foolishly’) unless the cognate is more readily intelligible to the audience.
Note 2: You are encouraged to write a brief paragraph summarizing the Venn, using modern translations to illustrate.
5. Identify repeated roots.[ ]
A. Retrieve Table.[ ]
A list of repeated roots will be generated for your psalm and located in the same folder as the generated tables for the semantic domains. Again, copy and paste the table to your Miro board by copying and pasting the URL of the Google Sheet.
Note: this app (by Jason Sommerlad, a friend of the project) has a setting for repeated roots. Enter your chapter number at the top, then choose "Rep" from the sliding menu above the text. The repeated roots will be highlighted in unique colours.
B. Find patterns.[ ]
Create a duplicate of the repeated roots table, and mark it up (using colors, shapes, etc.) to show any groupings, breaks, or significant patterns. Beneath the visual, include a legend explaining the significance of the different colors, shapes, etc., and record any observations.
C. Write a repeated roots "mini-story."[ ]
Summarize the message of the psalm, through the lens of the repeated roots. You want to capture the effect of the repeated roots. This mini-story is not intended to include everything. Its purpose is simply to illuminate the repeated roots. Generally, the more times a root is repeated, the larger the font size for that word in the mini-story. There are two things to capture:
- Roots repeated throughout the entire Psalm (framing the message)
- Roots repeated only in one part or another (often revealing thematic shifts)
Help[ ]
Good Examples[ ]
- Repeated roots mini-story in Psalm 18
- A brief note on Psalm 38:18 that departs slightly from SDBH and the corresponding forum post
- Paraphrase of Psalm 37
- Venn Diagram in Psalm 44
Common Mistakes[ ]
- “Reinventing the wheel”: The only time for long and elaborate notes is when you are making a significant departure from all of SDBH's analyses. Be sure to check SDBH as thoroughly as possible before embarking on your own lexical study from scratch.
- Not documenting departures from SDBH: Further to the previous point, if you do encounter a difficult word or have good reasons to depart from SDBH, do not forget to document your research on the forum and tag Reinier. In the long run, this will improve the dictionary and thereby speed up the work for this layer.
- Mini-stories too long: The mini-stories should be “mini.” If your psalm consists of 10 verses and your mini-story consists of 5 sentences, it is not “mini.” Use your best judgment, but try to keep the mini-story around 1–3 sentences.
- Paraphrase too wooden: Avoid making the paraphrase a string of your glosses. If you are paraphrasing שְׁבֹר זְר֣וֹעַ רָשָׁ֑ע (Psa 10:15), do not simply write “Break the arm of the wicked one.” Unpack the actual referents as much as possible, e.g., “Weaken the power of wicked people.”
- Too much rigidity in Venns: Avoid simply copying dictionary definitions or quoting English translations in the Venns. The point here is to tease out which semantic components and connotations you want the user to take away from the English gloss as well as those components and connotations you want the user to discard. Practically, this means that the diagrams should contain mostly connotations gleaned from dictionaries re-worded in your own words.
Additional Resources[ ]
Archer, Gleason L. Jr., Robert Harris, and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press, 1980 (Logos version, 2002).
The Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database project
Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, edited by Reinier de Blois, with the assistance of Enio R. Mueller, ©2000-2021 United Bible Societies.
Reinier de Blois, "Towards a new dictionary of Biblical Hebrew based on Semantic Domains."
List of semantic domains, developed by Ron Moe (SIL).
Zotero: Lexical Semantics
Rubric[ ]
| Dimension | Description |
|---|---|
| Completeness | The page includes every element required by the creator guidelines.
|
| Documentation and Engagement with secondary literature |
|
| Clarity of language |
|
| Formatting/Style |
|
Submitting your draft[ ]
Copy the text below into your forum submission post, entitled Lexical Semantics - Psalm ###. After posting, change your post into a wiki post so the reviewers can check the boxes. To change your forum post into a wiki post, click on the three-dot menu at the end of the text.
Click on the wrench.
Select "make wiki."
[Lexical Semantics Layer Rubric](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Semantics/Lexical_Semantics#Rubric)
|Guardian Review|Overseer Review|Final Checks|Description|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|||| **Completeness**
|[ ]||| The page includes every element required by the creator guidelines.
|||| *English glosses*
|[ ]||| English glosses are on the preferred grammatical diagram as well as alternatives.
|[ ]||| English glosses are also on supplied and elided elements.
|||| *Semantic Domains*
|[ ]||| Repeated domains are represented either in a chart.
|[ ]||| Mini-stories are provided for lexical and contextual domains.
|||| *Venn Diagrams*
|[ ]||| At least two words are chosen.
|||| *Repeated roots*
|[ ]||| Two charts are provided—one with the repetitions circled and one without.
|[ ]||| Any patterns are represented visually (for example, with a line of symmetry).
|[ ]||| Mini-story is provided for repeated roots.
|||| **Documentation and Engagement with secondary literature**
|[ ]|[ ]|| Unless argued for otherwise, glosses on the diagrams match those provided by SDBH.
|[ ]|[ ]|| Major Hebrew lexica are consulted when necessary (''BDB'', ''HALOT'' and ''DCH'').
|[ ]|[ ]|| Deviations from SDBH are treated in the Lexical Semantics forum post with Reinier tagged (@ rdeblois).
|[ ]||| At least one English dictionary is cited in the Venn diagram.
|||| *Difficulties and alternatives*
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Where necessary, each view is thoroughly explained and defended with a note.
|[ ]|[ ]|| Where necessary, an effort was made to consult commentaries, articles, and other dictionaries for difficult words.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Notes are well-researched and citations are properly documented.
|||| **Clarity of language**
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Prose (within notes) is clear and concise.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Language is not too technical so as to be inaccessible to [Sarah](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Personas). If a technical concept is unavoidable, it must be clearly explained.
|||| **Formatting/Style**
|[ ]||| Each gloss is centered above each Hebrew word where possible.
|[ ]||| All sources are properly cited (Author-Date).
|[ ]||| Notes are free of typos.
|[ ]|[ ]|| Double arrows (>>) are used to separate general from specific.
|[ ]||| Possessive pronominal suffixes are glossed with the English accusative.
|[ ]||| Mini-stories are color-coded.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Mini-stories are not too long or complex.
|||| *Venn-Diagram*
|[ ]||| Hebrew verbs are glossed with the English infinitive.
|[ ]||| Actual Hebrew words (as opposed to abstract roots) are vocalized.
|[ ]|[ ]|| Correct abbreviations are used throughout (see §4B).
|[ ]||| Each item is introduced with a hyphen (‘-’).
|[ ]||| Each item is a separate text box.
|[ ]||| The diagrams are relatively the same in size.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Every effort is made to include only essential information and reduce redundancy.
|||| *Repeated roots*
|[ ]||| The divine name is purple in the repeated roots chart.
|[ ]||| Legend is provided.
|[ ]||| Shapes and colors are consistent with legend.|
Footnotes[ ]
- ↑ There is an important distinction between polysemy, homophony, and vagueness. Polysemy refers to multiple meanings of a single word (one entry in the dictionary), whereas homophony (sometimes called lexical ambiguity) refers to different words that are spelled the same way (more than one entry in the dictionary). Vagueness refers to a single word with a nonspecific meaning. For tests to distinguish between polysemy and vagueness, see Geeraerts, Dirk. "Lexical Semantics." In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford: OUP, 2017.
- ↑ Do not include homonyms (i.e. different words spelled the same way), but do account for all of the entries for a particular word. When it's not clear, use the entries provided in SDBH (or, where SDBH is incomplete, other lexicons).