Torah on the Heart: Literary Jewish Textuality Within Its Ancient Near Eastern Context

• Issue: Volume 25, Number 1
• Author(s): David M. Carr
• Article: View PDF | Download PDF
• Citation: http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/25i/carr

Abstract

This essay examines evidence for the interplay of memory recall and written technology in ancient Israel and surrounding cultures. The essay begins with a summary of the comparative evidence for writing-supported textual transmission in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Israel (based on the ’s Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature [2005]). This is followed by a survey of studies in the humanities and social sciences on how memory shifts affect textual transmission. The article concludes with a preliminary summary of the author’s research on memory shifts and other trends in documented cases of transmission history.

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