Human-Nature Blends and the Parent-Child Relationship in Isaiah and Neo-Assyrian Prophecy

Abstract

Texts from Isaiah and the Neo-Assyrian prophetic corpus attest a range of blends between the natural and human worlds in the domain of parent-child relationships. This essay uses conceptual blending theory to analyze the integration of natural imagery with human and divine parents in both corpora. The results of this analysis reveal patterns in the use of nature to conceptualize parenthood and differences in the manner and extent to which each prophetic corpus draws on specific taxonomies within nature.