Claimed and Unclaimed Experience: Problematic Readings of Trauma in the Hebrew Bible

Janzen, David

Abstract

The understanding of trauma in sociology as the group’s creation of meaning for horrific events has been highly influential in the study of the Hebrew Bible. This sociological approach is very different than that of literary criticism, where trauma is understood through the lens of psychoanalytical analysis as that which has not been fully experienced by victims and is not truly known by them, as “unclaimed experience,” in other words. The sociological understanding of trauma has helped scholars understand potential social benefits of biblical texts, but scholarship often fails to clearly distinguish this approach from that of psychoanalysis and literary criticism, and this has led to problematic claims that texts which create meaning for traumatic events will prove to be therapeutic for individual trauma sufferers. The use of texts to create meaning and explanation actually forces trauma victims to repress the speech about their trauma that they need to engage in therapy.

Citation

Janzen, D. (2019). Claimed and Unclaimed Experience: Problematic Readings of Trauma in the Hebrew Bible. Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches, 27(2), 163-185. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685152-00272p01

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 12, 2017
• Online Publication Date: May 30, 2019
• Publication Date: May 31, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 19, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: May 8, 2021
• Journal: Biblical Interpretation
• Print ISSN: 0927-2569
• Electronic ISSN: 1568-5152
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 163-185
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685152-00272p01
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1359559