How Metaphors Related to Plants Evoke Hope in the Book of the Twelve

How Metaphors Related to Plants Evoke Hope in the Book of the Twelve

Marcus KM TSO

This paper gives a succinct introduction to two seminal cognitive approaches to the study of metaphors, namely, Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Conceptual Blending Theory. It then identifies instances of images of plants in the Book of the Twelve and how they might evoke hope, as metonymies of the blessings of the good life, as metaphors for God's people, and in a unique instance, as metaphors for God. The paper then analyzes these metaphors using the cognitive approaches presented, seeking for coherence among the diversity of related but inconsistent metaphors. Drawing from the results, this paper focuses on how the predominant metaphorical blend “people as tree” had continued its life in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament, outlining some of the ways the blend had been elaborated through different self-definitions and theologies. The body of this paper finishes by applying metaphor theories to examine the continuities and discontinuities between how plant-related metaphors might work in the contemporary world and how they might have worked in antiquity. This results in the proposal of two general strategies for working with these biblical metaphors in the church now. Finally, and following the insights of the cognitive approaches presented, this paper concludes that the best way to release the power of metaphors to evoke hope today is not only to understand how they work but to explore and live in the blend.