Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 22/09/2004 07:25, Michael Banyai wrote:

> Dear Peter,
>
> that is what I said about common sense. Assuming the removal of jewelry to be a general act of mourning is a matter of common sense and not explicitely belonging to the world of the Bible. You are however bringing inside your 21-st century common sense, which might look completely different from an LBA view point. 
>  

Well, I was talking more about anthropological universals than common 
sense. But yes, you are right that this needs to be checked from an LBA 
(or MBA) ANE perspective. Does anyone on this list know anything about 
ANE mourning customs? Did they include taking off jewellery?

> > As for whether removing jewellery was a sign of mourning ('BL Hithpael, 
> > 'EBEL, 'ABEL) among the Israelites: It is entirely clear that mourning 
> > was associated with wearing sackcloth and other mourning clothes: Gen 
> > 37:34; 2 Sam 14:2; Est 4:3; Psa 35:13,14; Isa 61:3; Jer 6:26; Ezk 
> > 7:27(?), 24:17; Amos 8:10; Micah 1:8. This is something hardly 
> > compatible with wearing jewellery. See also Ezk 26:15-17, where taking 
> > off embroidered garments is clearly a sign of mourning. In fact I would 
> > think that it is more or less a cultural universal that people wear less 
> > adornment as an indication of mourning. Does anyone know of any 
> > counter-examples?
> >    
>
> In the story of Dinah is also reccuring such a scene of abandon of jewelry, once more in context with some idol(s). This time however as part of the booty taken by the sack of Schechem. 
>  

Well, this looks like a case of plunderers removing jewellery from dead 
bodies, not the same thing at all?

> Is this same gesture once more a gesture of mourning or is part of a general 
> rule, that one has to abandon jewelry? Or is simply the hand of the same 
> redactor as before applying his ingenious scheme? Notice: there must have 
> existed a northern kingdom story treating the antecedents of the temple of 
> Beth-El and of his golden calf. As a matter of fact it seems that the 
> judahite version we own is worked out of the material of such a work, since 
> most in book Genesis is dealing with northern later-cult places. Actually 
> except Hebron (since the reference to Jerusalem as place of the sacrifice of 
> Abraham might be a later interpolation - Moria seems to be a name linked to 
> Schechem primarily - thus Moreh) practically everything.
>  

Your speculative reconstruction might be correct. But your method seems 
to involve making one speculative reconstruction e.g. that there was 
calf worship during the "judges" period, and then taking its results as 
evidence for further speculation e.g. that the golden calf story was 
originally in favour of this calf worship. So you erect a whole edifice 
on a very shaky foundation.


--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/