Mixed Feelings and Vexed Passions: Exploring Emotions in Biblical Literature (Resources for Biblical Study Book 90)

A ground-breaking collection exploring the rich array of emotions in biblical literature An international team of Hebrew Bible and New Testament scholars offers incisive case studies of passions displayed by divine and human figures in the biblical texts ranging from joy, happiness, and trust to grief, hate, and disgust. Essays address how biblical characters' feelings affect their relationship with God, one another, and the world and how these feelings mix together, for good or ill, for flourishing or vexation. Deeply engaged with both ancient and modern contexts, including the burgeoning interdisciplinary study of emotion in the humanities and sciences, these essays break down the artificial divide between reason and passion, cognition and emotion, thought and feeling in biblical study. Features * Case studies drawn from multiple genres across the Bible: narrative, prophets, poetry, wisdom, Gospels, and letters * Helpful select bibliographies of interdisciplinary resources at the end of each essay * Critical balance between theory and practice and between method and close textual analysis * Distinctive ancient Hebrew and Greek uses of emotional terms and concepts compared with each other and with evolving understandings in Western culture F. Scott Spencer is Professor of New Testament and Biblical Interpretation at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is past president of the Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion and current co-chair of the Bible and Emotion group for SBL. He is the author of Song of Songs and Salty Wives, Spirited Mothers, and Savvy Widows in Luke . Cover Contents Preface Abbreviations Getting a Feel for the “Mixed” and “Vexed” Study of Emotions in Biblical Literature The Central Role of Emotions A Prototype of Biblical Hate From Fear’s Narcissism to Participatory Imagination Disgust in Body, Mind, and Language Understanding Grief and Reading the Bible Mourning over Sin/Affliction and the Problem of “Emotion” Emotion, Repentance, and the Question of the “Inner Life” The Pride of Babylon in Isaiah 47 Revisited God and the “Happiness Formula” “Your Faith Has Made You Well” Not “Hardened Hearts” but “Petrified Hearts” Reflexivity and Emotion in Narratological Perspective Why the Johannine Jesus Weeps at the Tomb of Lazarus When Enough Is Never Enough The Missing Emotion Afterword Contributors Ancient Sources Index "This ground-breaking collection of essays explores the rich array of emotions in biblical literature displayed by divine and human figures. How do biblical characters' "feelings" affect their relationship with God, one another, and the world? How do they mix together, for good or ill, for flourishing or vexation? Deeply engaged with both ancient and modern contexts, including the burgeoning interdisciplinary study of emotion in the humanities and sciences, an international team of Hebrew Bible and New Testament scholars offers incisive case studies of "passions" ranging from joy, happiness, and trust to grief, hate, and disgust"-- Provided by publisher