Dan Sperber wrote:
> 1 ... we have not been clear enough ... in our thinking
> about the relationship between metaphor and effort.
I agree with Dan but I think we have not been clear enough
in distinguishing Lakoff-ian metaphors (which *can* be
figuratively analyzed) from classical idioms (which must
simply be "known" and are not usually analyzed).
A. Livin' Daylights
When one kid says to another: "I'm gonna beat the livin'
daylights outta ya", both kids understand that the
first one intends to beat the second one severely even
though *neither* of them realizes that the phrase
"livin' daylights" is derived from Old English
"liver and lights" and means "liver and lungs",
the most and least dense parts of one's body.
B. By the Skin of my Teeth
Job 19:20 "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh,
And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth."
The English is a correct literal translation of the
Hebrew. It is widely believed by both Hebrew and English
speakers that this phrase means "barely, hardly, with
difficulty". Using 3 to represent aiyin, which had a
G/K velar sound as in 3aZa = Gaza, the Hebrew phrase
B'3oR SHiNai = with skin of my teeth. The Hebrew word
B'KoSHi = barely, hardly, with difficulty.
It seems that Job used a euphemism/idiom to avoid saying,
literally, that he barely escaped (with his life).
There is an English analogue: scant = barely/hardly enough.
SKiN of Teeth
SCaNT
But I used and understood the phrase "skin of my teeth"
in English with the meaning "barely/hardly" ever since
I was a young kid and only recently learned that it was
a Biblical phrase translated from Hebrew. And I never
thought of this phrase as a (near) substitute for "scant"
when using it.
Now, examine the opinion of Hyam Maccoby (from a private email):
>>
The Koehler-Baumgartner Lexicon suggests an entirely different
translation of the puzzling expression in Job 19:20. This is
based on the research of Hoelscher and Fohrer. The verb MALAT
does not always mean `escape', but can have the meaning `strip'
(with a similar meaning in Arabic and Ethiopic; compare also the
Hebrew verb MARAT). The new translation, therefore, is `I was
stripped to the skin of my teeth' (i.e. gums). The meaning is
that Job's cheeks and lips became so emaciated that his gums
became exposed and prominent. I think that this meaning is much
more probable than the rendering `escaped by the skin of my teeth',
especially as in the context Job is concerned with his sufferings,
not with the margin by which he survived. If this explanation is
correct, the expression `to escape by the skin of one's teeth' has
entered the English language through a misunderstanding!
Hyam Maccoby
h.z.maccoby@leeds.ac.uk
<<
C. Pillar of Salt
Gen 19:17 "Escape [Heb: MALAT] for thy life, do not look behind
thee, and do not stay in all the circuit/plain." ...
Gen 19:26 "But [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt." [Heb: N'TZiB MeLaX, X = het]
Again we have a correct literal translation from the Hebrew.
This time, "everyone" knows it is a Biblical expression.
Most people interpret "pillar of salt" literally: she was
turned into salt as punishment for "looking backwards". But
"looking backwards" is usually interpreted figuratively to
mean "longing to return to the life she had in Sodom".
Lee Daniel Quinn (LDQ) told me that the Phoenicians used
the phrase "pillar of salt" to mean "paralyzed", as from
a stroke (thrombosis or aneurysm). After learning this I
found internal analytical evidence that convinced me that
LDQ is right. Lot's wife became paralyzed. She did not
become salt.
[Some correspondents have suggested that my reluctance
to accept the literal meaning of "salt" indicates
a lack of "faith" or lack of belief in God's word.]
"Looking backwards" at the Hebrew words, I find
N'TZiB = pillar --> BoTZ = mud --> SHaBeTZ = paralysis
MeLaX = SaLT --> XaLaM = DReaM; health, strength
that is, the opposite of a "pillar of strength".
In IE languages, SaLuT = health; and DRM dream/throm is a
homonyn of Latin dormire = to sleep. Compare English
dormant = inactive, motionless... --> unable to move.
In summary, the words used in A, B, and C (above) are not
being analyzed to obtain their "figurative" meaning by
speakers or hearers. Both speaker and hearer simply
understand (or mis-understand) the meaning the same way
they know the meaning of words that *are* used in their
literal sense.
Best regards,
Israel Cohen
izzy_cohen@bmc.com
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