By Charles Halton on Tuesday, 12 May 2009 at 10:23 am

Last week I sent in the proofs for my article, “Allusions to the Stream of Tradition in Neo-Assyrian Oracles” in ANES 46 (2009): 50-61. It should hit the bookshelves in bit and at that time I’ll try to make an electronic offprint available but until then here is the abstract and a teaser trailer. The trailer is only around 30 seconds and it is formatted for play on iPhones.

Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to begin the evaluation of the rhetorical aims and
strategies of the use of allusions within Neo-Assyrian oracles. These allusions are
to some of the most prominent texts within the Mesopotamian literary stream of
tradition: Adapa and the South Wind, Atra-hasis, and the Gilgamesh Epic.
The authors borrowed imagery from these works and fused it with their own
rhetorical purposes. Prophets even used allusions that contained a complex set of
apparently conflicting associations. The use of subtle allusions that often contain
complex associations should cause modern readers to more greatly appreciate the
rhetorical abilities of the Neo-Assyrian prophets.

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Category: Akkadian Language,All,My Publications,Videos

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