When Words become too Violent: Silence as a Form of Nonviolent Resistance in the Book of Jeremiah

Throughout the Book of Jeremiah, the prophet is depicted as a victim of verbal and physical violence to which he often responds with fierce imprecations. My study articulates a basic framework in which these troubling passages can be understood and used responsibly by contemporary readers (“Speech a...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Hildebrandt, Samuel (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Publié: 2021
Dans: Biblical interpretation
Année: 2021, Volume: 29, Numéro: 2, Pages: 187-205
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Bibel. Jeremia 15 / Bibel. Jeremia 16 / Bibel. Jeremia 18 / Bibel. Jeremia 26 / Bibel. Jeremia 28 / Violence / Malédiction / Parole / Silence / Souffrance / Lamentation
Classifications IxTheo:HB Ancien Testament
Sujets non-standardisés:B Violence
B Lament
B Speech
B Suffering
B Imprecations
Accès en ligne: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Résumé:Throughout the Book of Jeremiah, the prophet is depicted as a victim of verbal and physical violence to which he often responds with fierce imprecations. My study articulates a basic framework in which these troubling passages can be understood and used responsibly by contemporary readers (“Speech as a Response to Violence”) but then argues that Jeremiah’s prayer in Jer 18 violates the balance and boundaries of this framework (“Speech as a Response too Violent”). Inasmuch as this discussion reveals the problems and potential dangers of speech, I offer a reading of Jer 15–16, 26, and 28 that highlights the prophet’s silence as an alternative response to violence. This silence, I argue, is not a form of submissive suffering but an act of public critique and strategic disengagement. Jeremiah’s silence speaks powerfully and peacefully in his own violent context and, by extension, may speak so also in ours.
ISSN:1568-5152
Contient:Enthalten in: Biblical interpretation
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685152-00284P22