Sacred Languages and Sacred Texts (review)

John F. A. Sawyer. Sacred Languages and Sacred Texts. London: Routledge, 1999. Pp. 190 + x. $85.00, cloth; $27.99, paper.

As part of the "Religion in the First Christian Centuries" series edited by the author and Deborah Sawyer, this book aims to provide an interdisciplinary and cross-religion approach to sacred languages and texts. The chronological focus is from the late Hellenistic age to the fourth and fifth centuries c.e. with emphasis on Judaism and Christianity, but also including abundant material relating to such sources as the Zoroastrian Avesta and the Sibylline books.

The book is arranged by topics in eleven short but dense chapters (e.g., "literacy," "beliefs and controls"), beginning with a review of the state of interdisciplinary study of these issues and of the sources of evidence. The emphasis throughout is on processes (e.g., the transformation from preliterary to final written form), as well as influences across religions. Sawyer includes a survey of the languages of the period, emphasizing the relationship between language and script. He then explores the nature of sacred languages and the way languages achieve this status.

After noting the different attitudes towards both oral and written texts, Sawyer describes the process by which several religions, at about the same time, established authoritative lists and translated sacred texts. He further illustrates the influence of Hellenistic literary and linguistic scholarship on such aspects as methods of interpretation of religious texts. Sawyer elaborates the formation and role of the Mishnah, Midrash, and Talmuds in the conservative Jewish religion. He contrasts the exceptional Christian openness to translations, which in turn has affected Christian scriptural interpretation.

The chapter "Names and Numbers" provides examples (mostly from Judaism) of the use of etymologies in interpretation, the power of language, the use of numerical values of words, and other linguistic devices (e.g., atbash and acronyms). Familiar Christian examples and patristic works are not included.

Sawyer also makes connections with present-day society, especially in his chapters on translation, interpretation, and style. His discussion includes, for example, linguistic registers, the interaction of text and audience, and the influence of language on gender. He observes that current methods of scholarship are closer to the attitudes of the world of late antiquity than at any time since the seventeenth century.

In general, the book's strengths are the examples from Judaism and the numerous and wide-ranging parallels and connections. The book is good for inspiring discussion; it provides, however, minimal aids for the broad audience for whom it seems intended. Sawyer tries to cover a lot of topics and material in this small volume, including, necessarily, many potentially unfamiliar terms and names. Explanations of terms and dates are usually given with the first occurrence, but not always (e.g., darshanim is used on p. 131, but not defined until the next chapter, p. 151; the date for Akiba is given but not when he is used as a reference for dating). The index in general is limited. There are no notes per se, only limited citations (e.g., nothing for the question alluded to regarding Pythagorean influence, or for generalizing assumptions such as the statement that Latin became the official language of the Christian church by the time of Constantine). The citation references, which sometimes require consulting both the bibliography and the abbreviations section, often omit page numbers for books and sometimes give secondary sources for primary quotations. Overall, the book fulfills its purpose of providing a needed comprehensive and cross-religious study. However, for further study, one must look for a fuller version.

Rebecca R. Harrison
Truman State University

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