An important contribution to coherence comes from cohesion, which is the set of linguistic resources that every language has for linking one part of a text to another.
101
There are forms which occur in discourse which instead of being interpreted in their own right make reference to something else for their interpretation. Where their interpretation
lies outside the text the relationship is exophoric, which plays no part in textual cohesion. Where the interpretation lies within the text, they are called endophoric relations. These
are of two kinds: anaphoric relations, which look back in the text, and cataphoric relations, which look forward.
102
3.6.1 Lexical cohesion: oracular formulas
Lexical cohesion is ‘established at the lexicogrammatical level. It includes the two aspects of reiteration and collocation. Usually, a reiterated item has a reference item such
as a definite article or a demonstrative at least, in English. Reiteration is however cohesive in its own right and works even without a reference item. Collocation, which is
using a synonym or otherwise related word to one used before, also contributes to coherence.
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One of the more obvious instances of lexical cohesion is one which gives us the clue to the genre of the text, this being the formulaic phrases such as ‘the word of
Yahweh’, ‘oracle of Yahweh’ and ‘said Yahweh’ which have already been mentioned in the participant reference section. These formulaic phrases occur as follows:
Expression Number of Occurrences References
֣ ְָ־ם ַ׆ ְؓ 2 1:1,
2:5 ‘word of YHWH’
ְָֽ־ג ְֻׅו 4
1:2, 1:3, 1:10, 3:8 ‘oracle of YHWH’
ם֥ ַד ָׅ ְָֽ
1 3:20 ‘said YHWH’
These phrases perform different functions in the text. The first, ֣ ְָ־ם ַ׆ ְؓ,
signals to the reader what kind of text this will be from the very first phrase, also indicating the beginning of the discourse. It also reappears in 2:5 in the form
ְ־ם ַ׆ ְؓ ֣ ָ
ג ֶ֗אֵבֲח ‘word of YHWH against you’. The only other occurrence of ֣ ְָ־ם ַ׆ ְؓ followed by
בַח is in Zechariah 12:1, where the phrase occurs as part of a longer utterance at the beginning of an oracle. Here in Zephaniah, the phrase occurs at the beginning of what is
termed the ‘oracle against the nations’ which stretches from 2:5-2:15.
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The phrase
101
Halliday Hasan, Language, Context, 48.
102
Brown Yule, Discourse, 192.
103
Halliday Hasan, Cohesion, 318-319.
104
Berlin, “Zephaniah’s Oracle,” 175.
serves to mark the start of the oracle, in parallel with ו ֗ ‘woe’ at the beginning of the
verse. The second phrase
ְָֽ־ג ְֻׅו occurs more frequently, occurring 4 times, and keeps the thread of continuity going throughout the discourse and also indicates minor
breaks see section on structure. The third formula is placed at the conclusion of the discourse, forming an inclusio
with the very first phrase. On many occasions in prophetic literature when ם֥ ַד ָׅ
ְָֽ comes at the end of a unit, it forms a tail-head linkage with
ֹؚ֥ ם֖ ַד ָׅ
֣ ְָ at the start of
the next unit.
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This latter phrase does not occur at all in Zephaniah. There are no other instances in Old Testament prophetic literature of
ָׅ ם֥ ַד
ְָֽ concluding a whole book.
Here in Zephaniah it very clearly marks the conclusion.
3.6.2 Lexical cohesion: The day of YHWH
