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.
510 MATTHEW J. LYNCH
So what semantic domain, if any, stands in opposition to vwb-
synonyms ? In the texts examined above, vwb-synonyms stand in
starkest contrast with terms related to provision and sustenance
rather than honor. These vwb-synonyms stand in a basic “typolog-
ical contrast†to terms and motifs resonant with the experience of
“ joy †in the Hebrew Bible. The designation “typological contrastâ€,
borrowed from Gary Anderson, refers to a whole set of related
terms that can be grouped in opposition to another, but that func-
tion together as one conceptual set 41. In the examples above,
vwb-synonyms designated diminishment or deprivation associated
with natural disasters (locusts, famine, and drought). Quite log-
ically, therefore, the cessation of vwb and its synonyms coincides
with the return of sustaining provisions lost to the diminished per-
son. For example, Joel 2,26-27 contrasts a state of perpetual vwb
with the satisfaction of eating. Isa 65,13 demonstrates that vwb can
stand in contrast to behaviors associated with joy and provision,
such as eating, drinking and rejoicing 42. The psalmist similarly jux-
taposes the state of vwb associated with famine and the reception of
abundant provision 43.
Another important typological polarity exists between vwb-
synonyms and the experience of divine help or protection 44. States
this position, see the recent article by Y. AVRAHAMI, “vwb in the Psalms —
Shame or Disappointment?†JSOT 34 (2010) 295-313.
I borrow this language from G.A. ANDERSON, “The Praise of God as
41
Cultic Eventâ€, Priesthood and Cult in Ancient Israel (eds. G.A. ANDERSON –
S.M. OLYAN) (JSOTSS 125; Sheffield 1991) 25. Anderson details the
typological opposition between the behaviors associated with joy (eating,
drinking, festal attire, anointing with oil and bathing, sexual union, singing
praise) and those associated with mourning (fasting, rending garments, putting
dust on one’ head, sexual continence, lamenting) found throughout the
Hebrew Bible.
In other words, vwb operates within Anderson’s typological contrast
42
between the pleasures of joy (eating, drinking, rejoicing) and the behaviors
associated with mourning (hunger, thirst and vwb).
Translation and emphasis mine. On provision vs. deprivation, see also
43
Hos 2,5.
E.g., jfb, hwq, hsj, [vy, jmc, discussed by AVRAHAMI, “vwb in the
44
Psalms â€, 302-304, though without attention to physical features. Her study
aims to establish that vwb often means “to be disappointedâ€. While her study
goes a long way toward critiquing the viability of the shame-honor antinomy,
vwb-synonyms often denote behaviors or states that are far less “internal†to
the person.