Spoken into Being

Søren Lorenzen’s Spoken into Being: Self and Name(s) in the Hebrew Bible may initially appear to be a somewhat introductory exploration of the names of individuals in the Hebrew Bible—their significance and the way those names relate to a sense of self. Indeed, Lorenzen prefaces this work by recounting how he became “piqued by names and selfhood” and the “idea of language as being central to selfhood” (v). However, this simple explanation does not begin to scratch the surface of this monograph’s complexity; this volume is exceptionally dense in its philosophical and historical analysis of naming in the Hebrew Bible, with little focus on figures’ names. Instead, the book is an intense dive into names as symbols and the use of שׁם—shem (“name”), as well as the historical and academic background of this field of study.

One need only glance at the table of contents to grasp the scope and scale of Lorenzen’s scholarship. Each chapter is further broken down into subsections, which are themselves divided into subsections. And even these subsections are composed of smaller and more specific sub-sub-subsections. While this may help a reader locate an extremely specific point, those reading this book from front to back may find themselves struggling to keep track of the overarching point of the chapter and, indeed, the thesis of the book. But generally, this study is divided into two parts (though those two parts are not demarcated in the table of contents): part 1, the first two chapters, “provides a theoretical vocabulary on selfhood based on [Paul] Ricoeur’s philosophical anthropology” and the “four foundational elements […] found in the history of scholarship on proper names and [shem and selfhood]” (17). Part 2, composed of the latter two chapters, “contains the central exegetical studies” (17) of the book.

Part 1 begins by providing the context for conceptualizing self and selfhood in the Hebrew Bible, and also explaining where biblical selfhood fits into modern academic discourse. This includes explorations into literature that predates the Hebrew Bible. However, the author quickly shifts focus from concepts of selfhood in pre-Hebrew Bible literature to this theme’s presence in modern scholarship. In essence, Lorenzen breaks down the arguments of several modern academics into short paragraphs, approaching them fairly and with little commentary of his own before moving onto the star philosopher of Spoken into Being: Paul Ricoeur.

The goal of analyzing Ricoeur’s philosophies is to build what Lorenzen calls a “Ricoeurian vocabulary” (61), a guide and a lens through which the rest of the book may be read. As he claims: “Ricoeur’s philosophical anthropology will help bring forward nuances of proper names and shem in the biblical texts and will show how the person engages with oneself through these intersubjective linguistic objects” (62). However, the reader is not able to immediately engage with this new vocabulary, as Lorenzen then changes directions and introduces a history of scholarship. This begins with scholarship regarding shem and the name of God; continues to the analysis of the literary function of proper names, and the function of proper names and shem as objects; and concludes with an examination of names and shem in society. The examination of proper names does not involve breakdowns of the etymology of individual names, but refers to the function of proper names in the general sense.

In part 2, Lorenzen finally links Ricoeur’s philosophy and vocabulary with the subject matter, beginning with exploring: functions of proper names in the Hebrew Bible (105), including their functions as symbols—at this point, the how “symbol” should be defined according to Ricoeur’s philosophy and how proper names are related to the self. Then, the importance of shem again makes an appearance as the book explores self and conceptual metaphor; shem as a present object to be perceived; shem’s perception through touch, proprioception, etc.; and then finally the qualities of a shem. Though this section is long and brimming with detail, Lorenzen mentions and cites Ricoeur only rarely and occasionally veers into passages that appear to be only tangentially related to the rest of the work. For instance, Lorenzen admits the relationship between shem and olfaction is limited, but continues to dedicate nearly two pages to the relationship between name, reputation, and scent in ancient Egyptian texts (230-231). Though interesting, these rather abstract and somewhat unrelated forays make it tricky to remember the line of inquiry that is supposed to track throughout the work. The second part, and the book altogether, concludes by noting that many questions about proper names and the incidences of shem remain unanswered, but can be approached through the Ricoeurian vocabulary.

This book is a work of significant ambition and is clearly the product of careful scholarship in religious studies and related fields. It is very clearly directed toward the serious academic, and those interested in the perception of self and/or the significance of naming in the Hebrew Bible will certainly find value in this book. The serious scholar will also find delightful quotes from Parks and Recreation (138) and the occasional humorous aside to alleviate the dense blocks of text and technical phrasing. The book is not without some problems, however. One of the issues present is the odd use of abbreviations that are never expanded. For example, “ANE,” an abbreviation commonly used in historical and anthropological academic contexts, is left abbreviated, never written as “Ancient Near East” (e.g., 20). Another issue is that quotations in ancient languages are not translated. Though the audience for this book is clearly, Lorenzen appears to assume every reader understands Biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek.

Lorenzen’s Spoken into Being is daunting. But those who take the time to carefully analyze this book will be rewarded with a well-researched exploration of selfhood and naming in the Hebrew Bible, and may very well acquire new tools to further journey into this topic.

Larissa Rosendale is a PhD student in religious studies at the University of Aberdeen.

Larissa Rosendale

Date Of Review:

August 19, 2023