Biblical Parables and Their Modern Re-Creations: From "Apples of Gold in Silver Settings" to "Imperial Messages"

315 Pages·1999·20.45 MB·English

by  Gila Safran Naveh

BIBLICAL PARABLES
AND THEIR
MODERN RE-CREATIONS
SUNY series in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture
Sarah Blacher Cohen, editor
BIBLICAL PARABLES
AND THEIR
MODERN RE-CREATIONS
From "Apples of Gold
in Silver Settings" to
"Imperial Messages"
GILA SAFRAN NAVEH
State University
of New York
Press
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2000 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Production by Susan Geraghty
Marketing by Anne Valentine
Cover photo by the author.
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For information, address State University of New York
Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Naveh, Gila Safran.
Biblical parables and their modern re-creations: from" Apples of
gold in silver settings" to "Imperial messages" / Gila Safran Naveh.
p. cm. - (SUNY series on modern Jewish literature and
culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-4397-3 (alk. paper). - ISBN 0-7914-4398-1 (pbk.:
alk. paper)
1. Parables-History and criticism. 2. Bible-Parables.
3. Jewish parables-History and criticism. 4. Literature,
Modern-20th century-History ancl criticism. I. Title.
II. Series.
PN56.P23N38 1997
809'.915-dc21 99-13726
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
List of Tables vii
List of Figures IX
Acknowledgments XI
Introduction xm
PART I In Pursuit of Wisdom
Chapter 1 The Nature and Structure of Parables 3
PART II Apples of Gold
Chapter 2 Biblical Parables: The Parable of the Poor Man's
Ewe Lamb 41
Chapter 3 Synoptic Gospel Parables: The Parable of the
Marriage Feast 63
Chapter 4 Rabbinic Parables: The Parable of the
King's Banquet 81
Chapter 5 Chassidic Parables: Two Kinds of Faith 107
PART III Imperial Messages
Chapter 6 Wisdom Lost: Modern Parables 123
Chapter 7 Franz Kafka: An Imperial Message 149
Chapter 8 Jorge Luis Borges: The Parable of Cervantes and
The Quixote 159
v
VI CONTENTS
Chapter 9 Italo Calvino: Cities and Signs 179
Chapter 10 S. Y. Agnon: Before the Kaddish 203
Toward a Conclusion: "Some Fabulous Yonder" 219
Notes 225
Bibliography 265
Index 285
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Divine Actions 58
Table 2.2 Divine Retribution 58
Table 2.3 Narrative Trajectory 59
Table 2.4 Euphoric and Dysphoric States 59
Table 3.1 Thymic and Phoric Dimensions 74
Table 3.2 Actantial Sequences 75
Table 8.1 Narrative Trajectory 172
Table 8.2 Sets of Oppositions 174
vii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1 Structure of First Narrative Sequence 88
Figure 4.2 Structure of Second Narrative Sequence 88
Figure 4.3 Structure of Third and Fourth Narrative Sequences 89
Figure 4.4 Narrative Function Expressed in the Third Person 92
Figure 4.5 Narrative Function Expressed in the First and
Second Person 92
Figure 4.6 First Narrative Sequence in Terms of Agent
Patient Relations 95
Figure 4.7 Second Narrative in Terms of Agent Patient
Relations 95
Figure 4.8 First Sequence Syntactic Deep Structure 97
Figure 4.9 Syntactic Deep Structure of Two Parallel
Sequences 98
Figure 4.10 Syntactic Deep Structure of Parallel Sequences 98
Figure 4.11 Syntactic Deep Structure of Parallel Sequences 99
Figure 4.12 Example of Equivalent Syntactic Structures 99
Figure 4.13 Examples of Phrases Forming Isotopies 100
Figure 4.14 Examples of Dysphoric and Euphoric Elements 101
Figure 4.15 Distribution of the Verb "Say" 102
Figure 4.16 Shift in Grammatical Subjects 102
Figure 5.1 Conjunction of Two Divergent Narratives 115
Figure 5.2 The Formula for Supreme Knowledge 116
figure 5.3 Knowledge of Tradition 116
Figure 5.4 Knowledge of Study 116
Figure 5.5 Supreme Knowledge 116
IX