OT Speech Act Classification¶

Speech act theory (Austin, Searle 1969) classifies utterances by their illocutionary force — what the speaker is doing with words:

Type	Definition	Hebrew cues	Biblical examples
Assertive	Claims a state of affairs	אֲנִי יְהוָה, predicate nominals	"I am the LORD your God"
Directive	Attempts to get hearer to act	Imperative/jussive, לֹא + yiqtol	Commands, laws, prohibitions
Commissive	Commits speaker to future action	1st-person yiqtol, שָׁבַע/נָדַר oath	Covenantal promises
Expressive	Expresses psychological state	הָלַל, בָּכָה, אוֹי/הוֹי	Praise, lament, thanksgiving
Declarative	Changes reality by utterance	בָּרַךְ, אָרַר, סָלַח, קָרָא	Blessing, curse, naming, forgiveness

Method: Rule-based classifier using MACULA morphological and lemma data. Full illocutionary analysis requires pragmatic context; this is an approximation.

References: Searle, Speech Acts (1969); Watts, Isaiah (WBC); BBH Chapter 18 (Qal Imperative), Chapter 21 (Infinitive Absolute as directive).

In [ ]:

import sys
sys.path.insert(0, '../../../src')

from bible_grammar import (
    SPEECH_ACT_TYPES,
    ot_speech_act_data, ot_speech_act_profile,
    ot_speech_act_comparison,
    print_ot_speech_act_profile, print_speech_act_comparison,
    speech_act_chart, speech_act_heatmap,
)
import pandas as pd

print(f"Speech act types: {SPEECH_ACT_TYPES}")

import sys sys.path.insert(0, '../../../src') from bible_grammar import ( SPEECH_ACT_TYPES, ot_speech_act_data, ot_speech_act_profile, ot_speech_act_comparison, print_ot_speech_act_profile, print_speech_act_comparison, speech_act_chart, speech_act_heatmap, ) import pandas as pd print(f"Speech act types: {SPEECH_ACT_TYPES}")

1. Overview — Book-Level Profile¶

In [ ]:

# Deuteronomy — should dominate in directives (the law)
print_ot_speech_act_profile(book='Deu')

# Deuteronomy — should dominate in directives (the law) print_ot_speech_act_profile(book='Deu')

In [ ]:

# Psalms — should dominate in expressives (praise/lament)
print_ot_speech_act_profile(book='Psa')

# Psalms — should dominate in expressives (praise/lament) print_ot_speech_act_profile(book='Psa')

In [ ]:

# Genesis — assertives and commissives in covenantal passages
print_ot_speech_act_profile(book='Gen')

# Genesis — assertives and commissives in covenantal passages print_ot_speech_act_profile(book='Gen')

2. YHWH's Speech Act Profile by Prophetic Book¶

YHWH's speech in the prophets contains all five types:

• Directives (commands to the nation)
• Assertives ("I am YHWH" identity declarations)
• Commissives (covenantal promises)
• Declaratives (blessings, curses, judgment declarations)
• Expressives (divine lament in Hosea, Jeremiah)

In [ ]:

# YHWH's speech in Isaiah
print_ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='יְהוָה', book='Isa')

# YHWH's speech in Isaiah print_ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='יְהוָה', book='Isa')

In [ ]:

# YHWH's speech in Jeremiah
print_ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='יְהוָה', book='Jer')

# YHWH's speech in Jeremiah print_ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='יְהוָה', book='Jer')

In [ ]:

# YHWH in Amos vs. Hosea vs. Micah — different prophetic emphases
print_speech_act_comparison(['Amos', 'Hos', 'Mic', 'Isa', 'Jer', 'Eze'], lang='H')

# YHWH in Amos vs. Hosea vs. Micah — different prophetic emphases print_speech_act_comparison(['Amos', 'Hos', 'Mic', 'Isa', 'Jer', 'Eze'], lang='H')

In [ ]:

speech_act_chart(['Amo', 'Hos', 'Mic', 'Isa', 'Jer', 'Eze'], lang='H')

speech_act_chart(['Amo', 'Hos', 'Mic', 'Isa', 'Jer', 'Eze'], lang='H')

3. Directive vs. Commissive in the Law¶

Deuteronomy contains both legal directives ("you shall not...") and covenantal commissives (YHWH's promises of blessing/curse in Deut 28). How does that balance shift across the book's chapters?

In [ ]:

# Torah comparison: directive and commissive distribution
print_speech_act_comparison(['Gen', 'Exo', 'Lev', 'Num', 'Deu'], lang='H')

# Torah comparison: directive and commissive distribution print_speech_act_comparison(['Gen', 'Exo', 'Lev', 'Num', 'Deu'], lang='H')

In [ ]:

speech_act_chart(['Gen', 'Exo', 'Lev', 'Num', 'Deu'], lang='H')

speech_act_chart(['Gen', 'Exo', 'Lev', 'Num', 'Deu'], lang='H')

In [ ]:

# By chapter within Deuteronomy: where do commissives cluster?
deu_data = ot_speech_act_data(book='Deu')
deu_pivot = deu_data.groupby(['chapter', 'speech_act_type']).size().unstack(fill_value=0)
print("Deuteronomy speech acts by chapter (selected types):")
cols_to_show = [c for c in ['directive', 'commissive', 'declarative', 'expressive'] if c in deu_pivot.columns]
deu_pivot[cols_to_show].tail(15)

# By chapter within Deuteronomy: where do commissives cluster? deu_data = ot_speech_act_data(book='Deu') deu_pivot = deu_data.groupby(['chapter', 'speech_act_type']).size().unstack(fill_value=0) print("Deuteronomy speech acts by chapter (selected types):") cols_to_show = [c for c in ['directive', 'commissive', 'declarative', 'expressive'] if c in deu_pivot.columns] deu_pivot[cols_to_show].tail(15)

4. Declarative Speech Acts — Covenantal Blessings and Curses¶

In [ ]:

# Verses classified as declarative in Deuteronomy
deu_decl = ot_speech_act_data(book='Deu')
deu_decl = deu_decl[deu_decl['speech_act_type'] == 'declarative']
print(f"Deuteronomy declarative verses: {len(deu_decl)}")
deu_decl[['ref', 'chapter', 'verse']].head(20)

# Verses classified as declarative in Deuteronomy deu_decl = ot_speech_act_data(book='Deu') deu_decl = deu_decl[deu_decl['speech_act_type'] == 'declarative'] print(f"Deuteronomy declarative verses: {len(deu_decl)}") deu_decl[['ref', 'chapter', 'verse']].head(20)

In [ ]:

# Expressive speech (praise/lament) in Psalms vs. Lamentations
print_speech_act_comparison(['Psa', 'Lam', 'Job', 'Ecc'], lang='H')

# Expressive speech (praise/lament) in Psalms vs. Lamentations print_speech_act_comparison(['Psa', 'Lam', 'Job', 'Ecc'], lang='H')

5. Comparison — YHWH vs. Human Characters¶

Does YHWH have a different speech act profile from human speakers? YHWH should be higher in commissives (promises) and declaratives (blessings/judgments).

In [ ]:

# YHWH vs. Moses in Deuteronomy
yhwh_deu = ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='יְהוָה', book='Deu').set_index('speech_act_type')['pct']
moses_deu = ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='מֹשֶׁה', book='Deu').set_index('speech_act_type')['pct']

comparison = pd.DataFrame({'YHWH': yhwh_deu, 'Moses': moses_deu}).fillna(0).round(1)
print("Speech act comparison — YHWH vs. Moses in Deuteronomy:")
comparison

# YHWH vs. Moses in Deuteronomy yhwh_deu = ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='יְהוָה', book='Deu').set_index('speech_act_type')['pct'] moses_deu = ot_speech_act_profile(speaker='מֹשֶׁה', book='Deu').set_index('speech_act_type')['pct'] comparison = pd.DataFrame({'YHWH': yhwh_deu, 'Moses': moses_deu}).fillna(0).round(1) print("Speech act comparison — YHWH vs. Moses in Deuteronomy:") comparison

6. Full OT Heatmap¶

In [ ]:

ot_sample = ['Gen', 'Exo', 'Lev', 'Deu', 'Psa', 'Pro', 'Job', 'Isa', 'Jer', 'Eze', 'Amo', 'Jon']
speech_act_heatmap(ot_sample, lang='H')

ot_sample = ['Gen', 'Exo', 'Lev', 'Deu', 'Psa', 'Pro', 'Job', 'Isa', 'Jer', 'Eze', 'Amo', 'Jon'] speech_act_heatmap(ot_sample, lang='H')