What is an "Emotion" in the Hebrew Bible?
As emotions and feelings in the Hebrew Bible are starting to receive scholarly attention, I question here the appropriateness of applying the modem concept of "emotions" to Biblical Hebrew. To which extent do our "emotions" fit the way Biblical Hebrew organizes human experience? The first part of th...
| Published in: | Biblical Interpretation Vol. 24; no. 4/5; pp. 442 - 466 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Brill Academic Publishers
2016
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=120153128&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 120153128 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 09272569 C1F jtl: Biblical Interpretation issn: 09272569 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 2016 vid: 24 iid: 4/5 pid: 639 pub: Brill Academic Publishers artinfo: ui: 120153128 10.1163/15685152-02445P02 ppf: 442 ppct: 24 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 9.5MB tig: atl: What is an "Emotion" in the Hebrew Bible? aug: au: Mirguet, Françoise affil: Arizona State University, USA su: Emotions Old Testament Emotional experience Translating & interpreting Dissociation (Psychology) Suffering Social dominance sug: subj: Emotions Old Testament Emotional experience Translating & interpreting Dissociation (Psychology) Suffering Social dominance keyword: emotions fear grief hate joy love ab: As emotions and feelings in the Hebrew Bible are starting to receive scholarly attention, I question here the appropriateness of applying the modem concept of "emotions" to Biblical Hebrew. To which extent do our "emotions" fit the way Biblical Hebrew organizes human experience? The first part of the article analyzes a few Hebrew words commonly translated by terms of emotion in modem languages. Based on existing scholarship and a brief study of the words in their literary contexts, I suggest that the terms are not limited to the expression of what we call emotions; rather, they also include actions, movements, ritual gestures, and physical sensations, w ithout strict dissociation among these different dimensions. This observation casts doubt on the existence of an isolated emotional realm in Biblical Hebrew's organization of human experience. In the second half, I proceed in an opposite way: I start from a given situation - scenes where the self faces the suffering affecting another person and initiates different actions in favor of the sufferer. The examples highlight that the experience we commonly shape as an "emotion" - compassion or sympathy - does not receive such a construction in Biblical Hebrew. Besides, the experience affects the self not so much in its individuality as in its social relationships; as such, it also functions inside a given social hierarchy. I conclude by considering the potential impact that this reframed view on biblical "emotions" may have on this nascent field. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Biblical Interpretation is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Biblical Interpretation holder: Brill Academic Publishers dt: @attributes: year: 2016 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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