Deena Grant, «A Brief Discussion of the Difference between Human and Divine hmx», Vol. 91 (2010) 418-424
The term, hmx, is a frequent descriptor of anger in the Bible. Notably, its syntactic context depends on whether hmx describes human anger or the anger of God. The syntax of human hmx highlights the experience of being aggrieved whereas the syntax of divine hmx emphasizes the consequence of provocation. As such, human hmx tends to be the subject of intransitive verbs and the object of passive verbs that describe the experience of being provoked. By contrast, divine hmx tends to be the object of transitive verbs and the subject of passive verbs that describe God’s reprisal. Additionally, divine hmx occurs as part of the curious construct &alquo;cup of hmx&rlquo;. We believe that these observations reflect an underlying struggle to reconcile the anthropomorphic idea of an emotional God with an omnipotent and invulnerable deity.
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A Brief Discussion of the Difference between
Human and Divine hmj
Biblical hmj is an expression of displeasure that has the potential to
precipitate punitive acts of violence 1. Though hmj is ascribed to both man
and God in the Bible, its syntactic behavior differs depending on whether
it is used to describe man’s anger or the anger of God. When hmj
describes human anger, its context highlights the experience of being
aggrieved. By contrast, when hmj describes divine anger, its context
emphasizes God’s reprisal. We suggest that the distinctive focus of divine
hmj on the consequences of provocation instead of on God’s own
e x p e r i e n c e of anger reflects a biblical struggle to reconcile the
anthropomorphic idea of an emotional God with an omnipotent and
invulnerable deity. We begin by discussing human hmj, and our
observations about human hmj will serve as the backdrop against which
we examine divine hmj.
I. Human hmj
The noun, hmj, denotes human anger (or excitement) 25 times in the
Hebrew Bible 2. Whether human hmj appears in post-exilic texts, as it
most frequently does or, texts from an earlier period, its grammatical
c o n t e x t highlights the experience of being angry instead of the
consequences of anger 3. Thus, we see that human hmj occurs as the
D. GRANT, Divine Anger in Biblical Literature (PhD diss. New York
1
University ; New York 2009) 1-126. See also B. BALOIAN, Anger in the Old
Testament (American University Studies; New York 1992). Other terms that
fit this definition of anger include hrb[, s[k, π[z, μ[z, πa and πxq.
Gen 27,44; 2 Sam 11,20; 2 Kgs 5,12; Esth 1,12.2,1.3,5.5,9.7,7.10; Pss
2
37,8.76,10 ; Pro 6,34.15,1.18. 16,14.19,19.21,14.22,24.27,4.29,22; Isa 51,13 (2x);
Ezek 3,14; Dan 8,6. This list excludes Job 13,13 which requires an
emendation, and includes Jer 6,11 which describes Jeremiah as “filled” with
God’s hmj. Other meanings of hmj in the Bible include poison and fiery wine
Deut 32,24; Ps 58,5.
hmj is especially common in post-exilic texts, only occasionally
3
appearing in earlier texts such as Gen 27,44; 2 Sam 11,20; 2 Kgs 5,12.
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