Reading Kings through the Lenses of Trauma

Janzen, David

Abstract

At least two kinds of trauma theory can be used to read Kings, one developed within sociology and one from within psychoanalysis and psychology. The latter has been adapted by literary criticism in its readings of trauma literature. The former, sometimes called collective trauma, allows for a reading of Kings as an explanation of the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile. The final form of Kings can be read as collective trauma that blames victims for their suffering in an attempt to create a social identity for Judahites that makes them dependent upon a future Davidic rule. Literary critics, however, conceive of trauma as something victims cannot understand or explain; a reading of Kings from this standpoint deconstructs the book’s explanatory narrative, throwing into doubt the notion that God functions as a just judge or that royal actions affect what happens to Judah.

Citation

Janzen, D. (2024). Reading Kings through the Lenses of Trauma. In The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings (534-545). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197610374.013.38

• Online Publication Date: Jun 20, 2024
• Publication Date: Mar 5, 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 14, 2024
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 534-545
• Series Title: Oxford Handbooks
• Book Title: The Oxford Handbook of the Books of Kings
• Chapter Number: 36
• ISBN: 9780197610374
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197610374.013.38
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2957498