Divine Metaphors in Selected Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation

Divine Metaphors in Selected Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation Synopsis

Alec Basson examines the divine metaphors in a selection of biblical Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation from a cognitive-anthropological perspective. He argues that the textual information in these poems is more than literary information as such; it is also a cognitive representation of the psalmist's world. In situations of affliction, the poet employs various cognitive strategies viz. cultural models, image-schemas and conceptual metaphors as a means of portraying the deity. The exploration illustrates the link between the psalmist's cultural experience, cognitive construal of reality and the metaphorical representations. To appreciate fully the divine metaphors used in the Psalms of Lamentation, one has to examine the cognitive world of the poet.