99 1 Sam 1, Eli has only been indirectly introduced as the father of Hophni and Phinehas
1:3 and ;
keeps Eli in a secondary participant role. This is further reinforced by
in 1:12 and then - ? B + in 1:13. Eli comes into more active participant status in the final part of 1:13 with
. The way the text presents the participants is a product of choice.
5.2.4.5 Default
The notion of “default” is one of the most useful concepts for determining the possible significance of the occurrence of a linguistic item. At the most basic level, to say
something is default is to say that it is the automatic or typically expected structure. In the context-sensitive linguistic network of language, the concept of default must always
take into account the varying situational dimensions of language use. The concept of default is not meant to posit a context-free basic structure in a prescriptive sense. Default
structures will vary depending on genre, register, dialect, and other contextual factors that may impinge upon language use. Once these factors have been taken into consideration,
frequency of occurrence can help discern what is a default pattern or item. In any case, judgment concerning whether or not a certain structure is default must only be made after
extensive familiarity with the biblical Hebrew text.
5.2.4.6 Markedness
A further concept that is fundamental to the discourse-pragmatic orientation is markedness. The communicative competence of a native speaker includes knowing when
to use his or her own language’s unmarked default patterns and when to employ marked patterns to accomplish a specific communicative purpose. The notion of markedness is a
100 crucial part of the interpretive process. Since the Old Testament was written by speakers
of biblical Hebrew who knew when to used Hebrew’s unmarked and marked patterns, competence in understanding their communication in Hebrew, therefore, necessarily
involves developing an awareness of what was characteristic and what was not characteristic in their use of Hebrew under certain contextual conditions. This has far-
reaching implications for exegesis. When the notion of markedness is implemented in exegesis, the more unexpected or marked patterns in the text are given greater
significance than the characteristic or unmarked patterns. For example, what is the characteristic way of referring to someone who is already one of the main participants in
a narrative? A full answer to this question would involve extensive discussion, but assume for now that the following example from Gen 11:30 reflects a characteristic
pattern:
Sarai was barren; she had no child. Pc-vqw3fsXa np afs Pd PpX3fs ncms
8 B F
5
Gen 11:30
In this verse, Sarai is referred to by name like the reference to Abram in Gen 12:1:
the LORD said to Abram, Pc-vqw3ms np Pp-np
;
Gen 12:1
Both of these examples appear in the narrative after Abram and Sarai have already been introduced as main participants. This seems to be a typical pattern, but in
Gen 16:1 Sarai is referred to differently:
Now Sarai, Abrams wife had borne him no children,
Pc-np ncfsc np Pn vqp3fs PpX3ms
; ?
F
Gen 16:1
101 Why does this more complete identification of Sarai as Abram’s wife occur here
in the text? One possible explanation for the uncharacteristically full reference to Sarai as Abram’s wife, in this context, is to establish greater contrast between Sarai and Hagar
to make sure that the reader never loses sight of her crucial role as Abram’s wife. Further evidence of this distinction between Sarai and Hagar is seen in the explicit reference to
Ishmael in Gen 16:15 as the son which Hagar bore, rather than merely as Abram’s son. Sensitivity to markedness gives an added awareness of the purposeful use of
certain linguistic items that might otherwise seem to be nothing more than peculiar variants in the text. The notions of choice, default, and markedness work together in such
a way that presence and absence are like two sides of the same pragmatic coin. Further discussion of this important principle is found in Chapter 10.
5.2.5 A Cognitive Orientation
