Includes bibliographical references (pages [207]-229) and indexes.
Contents:
Maternal grief as an archetype in the psychology of grief and ancient Near East -- Modern-day psychology of parental grief-- Gender differences in parental grief: modern-day psychology of maternal grief -- Maternal grief as paradigmatic experience of loss in the ancient world -- Maternal grief as an archetype of loss in Mesopotamian sources -- Maternal grief in Ugaritic literature -- Maternal grief in Hittite sources -- Maternal grief in Egypt -- Maternal grief as paradigmatic experience of loss in the Hebrew Bible -- Grief in Jewish Apocalyptic literature -- Hagar: Ishmael: first funeral in the Hebrew Bible -- Overall structure of Genesis and Gen. 21 -- Ishmael's 'Death' and 'Burial': the verb 'to cast' in the Hebrew Bible -- The verb 'to cast' in Gen. 21:15 -- Hagar in Gen. 21 -- The aberrant image in Gen. 21:14: textual issues and previous solutions -- The aberrant image in Gen. 21:14: alternative solution -- ANE analogues to the image of a heroine carrying a loved one on her shoulders en route to burial -- Rizpah: Rizpah's mourning in Biblical scholarship -- Midrashic derivations of Hebrew names: previous views on the significance of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah -- Alternative view on the symbolism of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah -- Compositional structure of 2 Sam. 21:1-14 organized around the issue of remnants and oaths that guard them -- Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah -- David as a recipient of the light-based ideology in the Addendum (2 Sam. 21-24) and Samuel-Kings -- The Woman of Tekoa: The speech of the Tekoite: the syntax of anguish -- David's disposition towards Absalom -- Royal deviance narratives and 2 Sam. 14 -- David's oath in 2 Sam. 14:11 -- The metaphor in 2 Sam. 14:14: like water poured on the ground -- The imagery of 'Spilled Water' in extrabiblical sources -- The imagery of 'spilled water' in biblical texts -- The phrase 'like water' and the verb 'to spill -- The verb 'to gather' in the Hebrew Bible -- Consequences of David's actions: 2 Sam. 15-18 -- Rachel: Rachel's mourning in Jer. 31:15-22 -- Jer. 31:22b: a brief survey of previous views and their assessment -- Alternative reading: Rahcel's funerary dance -- Virgin israel and her mourning in Jer. 31:21 -- Grave marking -- Ritual wailing -- The modern debate over 'motherist politics' -- 'Motherist politics' in ancient Israel -- Mother-grief and its capacity for intercession -- Mother-grief and the attainment of wisdom -- Mother-grief and the hierarchy of mourning -- Mother-grief and the politics of care.
Summary:
Setting out from the observation made in the social sciences that maternal grief can at times be a motor of societal change, Ekaterina E. Kozlova demonstrates that a similar mechanism operates also in the biblical world. Kozlova argues that maternal grief is treated as a model or archetype of grief in biblical and Ancient Near Eastern literature. The work considers three narratives and one poem that illustrate the transformative power of maternal grief in the biblical presentation: Gen 21, Hagar and Ishmael in the desert; 2 Sam 21: 1-14, Rizpah versus King David; 2 Sam 14, the speech of the Tekoite woman; Jer 31: 15-22, Rachel weeping for her children. Although only one of the texts literally refers to a bereaved mother (2 Sam 21 on Rizpah), all four passages draw on the motif of maternal grief, and all four stage some form of societal transformation.
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