Matthew J. Lynch, «Neglected Physical Dimensions of “Shame” Terminology in the Hebrew Bible», Vol. 91 (2010) 499-517
Psychological and social paradigms have dominated translations and interpretations of shame terminology in the Hebrew Bible. Scholars often adopt modern notions of shame as either internal feelings of worthlessness or external social sanction, and then apply those notions to the biblical text. I suggest that there is need to reevaluate whether or not such psychological and social frames are appropriate to biblical terminology of shame. My essay contends that shame terms, such as #$wb, Mlk, and their cognates and synonyms, frequently denote the experience of 'diminishment' or 'harm' in ways far more physical than typically reflected in modern renderings.
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NEGLECTED PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS “ SHAME â€
OF
and “wail†because their crops had failed 21. The precise meaning
of *vwb requires again that we attend to the interrelated behaviors
of humans, land and animals and not impose sociological or
psychological frames of reference 22.
To begin, the responses commanded by Joel are already “ut-
tered †and embodied by the environment. Immediately proceeding
v. 11, the prophet describes how the fields stand ruined, the land
“ mourns â€, and the new wine is “dried up†23. We also hear that
animals, sheep, and beasts pant after God (Joel 1,20). Like Jer 14,
Joel 1 depicts a coherent scene of physical deprivation and loss
that accompanies the experience of vwb. In fact, Joel’s tactics are
quite similar.
In particular, Joel 1,10-11 emphasizes the symmetry between the
state of land and humans. Just as the land “mourns†and is “dried
up †(vybwh), the people are to “wail†and “become diminishedâ€
(wvybwh). The prophet calls the people to join the land in its
mournful appeal to God. For, as the prophet knows, God responds
with zeal to deliver the destitute.
Then in vv. 13-20 the prophet also commands the priests to call
a sacred fast. This sacred fast aims to evoke God’s pity by
accentuating the visible physical misery of its participants. As in
Jer 14, physical diminution and lament work in tandem. The
former expresses the “communal affliction†and the latter “serves
as its verbal garb†24. In a sense, the sound of humans, land and
animals in mourning is the acoustic equivalent to the visual
12,13 ; Ezek 16,52; 36,32; Joel 1,11. See R. A. SIMKINS, “‘Return to Yahweh’:
Honor and Shame in Joelâ€, Semeia 68 (1994) 41-54.
Most commentators agree that wvybh is a hiphil of vwb. For discussion,
21
see E.D. MALLON, “A Stylistic Analysis of Joel 1:10-12â€, CBQ 45 (1983)
537-548. D. STUART, Hosea-Jonah (WBC 31; Waco, TX 1987) 237, translates
the first part of v. 11 “ Wilt, farmersâ€, calling it a “punâ€, though he does not
indicate whether he understands vby or vwb as the verbal root. My translation
distinguishes the use of vwb in v. 11 from vby in v. 10, though clearly the latter
is a play on the former.
For example, T. FRANKFORT, “Le kî de Joëlâ€, VT 10 (1960) 445-448,
22
argues for the personal culpability of the farmers and vintners. See LAPSLEY,
“ Shame and Self-Knowledgeâ€, 159, for a discussion of “disgrace-shame†as a
“ gift from God ...[that] strips people of their delusions about themselvesâ€.
From the root vby, which anticipates the sense of vwb in v. 11.
23
LAMBERT, “Fastingâ€, 494.
24