Job's Entrée into a Ritual of Mourning as Seen in the Opening Prose of the Book of Job
Joban scholarship has overlooked a ritual treatment of Job 1:20–21. In view of this, after exploring the practice of mourning rites in the context of ancient Israel and the Near East, this essay endeavors to explain the social function of Job's ritual acts (tearing the garment, head-shaving, an...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
2008
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| In: |
Die Welt des Orients
Year: 2008, Volume: 38, Pages: 194-210 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Joban scholarship has overlooked a ritual treatment of Job 1:20–21. In view of this, after exploring the practice of mourning rites in the context of ancient Israel and the Near East, this essay endeavors to explain the social function of Job's ritual acts (tearing the garment, head-shaving, and descent to the ground) and speech, in terms of A. van Gannep's and T. Turner's theories on ritual process, the examination of biblical and extrabiblical parallels along with the syntax of the Hebrew verbs. It is concluded that the mourning rites portrayed in Job 1:20–21 trigger the transformation of Job's ordinary identity into an undefined or ambiguous identity; at the same time, they mark his transition from day-to-day life to a liminal phase as identification with the dead. He remains in this paradoxical condition until the end of mourning when he reintegrates into normal life and his misfortune miraculously reverses (Job 42:7–17). |
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| ISSN: | 2196-9019 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Die Welt des Orients
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