'n Alfabeties-akrostiese klaaglied
Abstract
Laments date back to the start of mankind and are known
among all peoples, languages and nations. Laments are often
spontaneous and unstructured, but sometimes they are structured
in poetic form. The biblical book of Lamentations is structured
according to the alphabet. The alphabetic framework that
forms the foundation of the book indicates that it has a cognitive
advancement/build up, and consists of a logically-anticipated
inception/beginning and conclusion. It starts with the first letter
of the alphabet and concludes with the last. According to
Jewish rabbis the alphabetic acrostic structure indicates that the
lamentation was completed in full – from start to finish.
With the constant development of Afrikaans a need exists for a
contemporary Afrikaans Bible translation. This article is an attempt
to present the book of Lamentations in a contemporary
alphabetic acrostic Afrikaans translation. The message and
structure of the book form a cognitive unit that must be preserved
as much as possible. A cognitive unit indicates that the
reader anticipates the logical build-up and it makes sense to
him/her. The acrostic structure is considered to be not only an
inherent part of the poem itself, but it could also be insightful
and illuminative to the reader
Collections
- Faculty of Theology [977]