The Presence and the Role of Senses in Proto-Apocalyptic Book of Joel
Abstract
The proto-apocalyptic Book of Joel attracts attention with a multitude of sensory references. They not only provide the dynamics of the text but also create an experience of interpersonal contact that is elusive in cursory reading. The synergy in which they remain and the mutual reinforcement raise the question of the role of the senses in the process of persuasion undertaken in the apocalyptic context and text. Analyses of the semantic layer, with the application of the methods of literary analysis, with reference also to the theory of affect, conducted on the biblical text in synchronicity, reveal the radical turns of thought, marked by references to the senses, as well as counterpoints highlighting the main points of the message. They make it possible to perceive the various stages of the communicative exchange, its coherence, and the specificity of affect, where the removal of blockages in the interpersonal relationship is located. The application of the guidelines of the theory of affect reveals, among other things, the space of perception offered in the Book of Joel through references to the senses, in accordance with the culture of the recipient. The power of persuasion, pointing to the active work of God, conveyed through the language of the senses, becomes graspable to the recipient who experiences trauma and adversity.
Keywords:
Book of Joel, apocalyptic, senses, persuasion, affectSupporting Agencies:
The research activities co-financed by the funds granted under the Research Excellence Initiative of the University of Silesia in Katowice.References
Assisi, E., “The Date and Meaning of the Book of Joel,” Vetus Testamentum 61/2 (2011) 163–183. (Crossref)
Assisi, E., The Book of Joel: A Prophet between Calamity and Hope (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 581; London: Bloomsbury – Clark 2013).
Avrahami, Y., The Senses of Scripture: Sensory Perception in the Hebrew Bible (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 545; New York: Clark 2012).
Avrahami, Y., “The Study of Sensory Perception in the Hebrew Bible: Notes on Method,” Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 5/1 (2016) 3–22. (Crossref)
Balla, I., “The Role of God’s Mighty Acts in Joel: The Book of Joel as an Example of Trauma Literature,” The Biblical Annals 11/1 (2021) 63–78. (Crossref)
Barker, J., From the Depths of Despair to the Promise of Presence: A Rhetorical Reading of the Book of Joel (Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures 11; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns 2014). (Crossref)
Beard, B.A., “Seeing Visions with the Prophet: Toward an Iconographic Hermeneutic of Joel,” 2023, https://www. researchgate.net publication/371306846_Seeing_Visions_with_the_Prophet_Toward_an_Iconographic_Hermeneutic_of_Joel [access: 10.09.2024].
Black, F.C. – Koosed, J.L. (eds.), Reading with Feeling : Affect Theory and the Bible (Semeia Studies 95; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2019). (Crossref)
Black, F.C. – Koosed, J.L., “Some Ways to Read with Feeling,” Reading with Feeling: Affect Theory and the Bible (eds. F.C. Black – J.L. Koosed) (Semeia Studies 95; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2019) 1–12. (Crossref)
Cook, S.L., Prophesy & Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress 1991).
Cook, S.L., “Apocalyptic Prophecy,” The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic Literature (ed. J.J. Collins) (New York: Oxford University Press 2014) 19–35. (Crossref)
Egger-Wenzel, R. – Corley, J. (eds.), Emotions from Ben Sira to Paul (Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook 2011; Berlin – Boston, MA: De Gruyter 2012). (Crossref)
Górska, H.W., “Rodzaje wiatru występujące w opisie plagi szarańczy (Wj 10,13.19). Charakterystyka zjawisk meteorologicznych oraz analiza zmian wprowadzonych w Septuagincie i Wulgacie,” Studia Teologiczno-Historyczne Śląska Opolskiego 40/2 (2020) 13–24. (Crossref)
Hockey, K.M., The Role of Emotion in 1 Peter (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 173; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2019).
Kotrosits, M., “How Things Feel: Biblical Studies, Affect Theory, and the (Im)Personal,” Brill Research Perspecotives in Biblical Interpretation 1/1 (2016) 1–53.
Kurek-Chomycz, D., “The Fragrance of Her Perfume: The Significance of Sense Imagery in John’s Account of the Anointing in Bethany,” Novum Testamentum 52/4 (2010) 334–354.
Lemański, J., “Nadzieja zbawienia dla wzywających imienia Pana ( Jl 3,1–5),” Verbum Vitae 9 (2006) 33–47.
Lyons, T., “Interpretation and Structure in Joel,” The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 1/1 (2014) 80–104.
Massumi, B., Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation (Post-Contemporary Interventions; Durham – London: Duke University Press 2002).
Massumi, B., “Autonomia afektu,” Teksty Drugie 6 (2013) 112–135.
Mirguet, F., “What Is an ‘Emotion’ in the Hebrew Bible? An Experience that Exceeds Most Contemporary Concepts,” Biblical Interpretation 24/4–5 (2016) 442–465.
Moore, S.D., “Biblical Hermeneutics Without Interpretation? After Affect, Beyond Representation, and Other Minor Apocalypses,” Religions 15/7 (2024) 755, https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/7/755 [access: 10.09.2024].
Rubinkiewicz, R., “Apokaliptyka u progu ery chrześcijańskiej,” Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny 41/1 (1988) 51–59.
Rudnicki, C., “Koncepcja aury immanentnej,” Estetyka i Krytyka 30/3 (2013) 99–116.
Schellenberg, A. – Krüger, T. (eds.), Sounding Sensory Profiles in the Ancient Near East (Ancient Near East Monographs 25; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2019).
Scott, K., “Time and the Locust Plagues in the Book of Joel and the Sefire Inscriptions,” Catholic Biblical Quaroterly 85/1 (2023) 19–35.
Spencer, F.S. (ed.), Mixed Feelings and Vexed Passions: Exploring Emotions in Biblical Literature (Resources for Biblical Study 90; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2017).
Strazicich, J.R., Joel’s Use of Scripture and the Scripture’s Use of Joel: Appropriation and Resignification in Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity (Biblical Interpretation Series 82; Leiden: Brill 2007).
Szmajdziński, M., “Blitzkrieg w Jl 2,1–11,” Studia Loviciensia 16 (2014) 269–301.
Tilford, N.L., Sensing World, Sensing Wisdom : The Cognitive Foundation of Biblical Metaphors (Ancient Israel and Its Literature 31; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2017).
Vosburgh, H., “The Day of the Lord in the Book of Joel,” Journal of Dispensational Theology 24/69 (2020) 161–178.
Warren, M.J.C., “Tasting the Little Scroll: A Sensory Analysis of Divine Interaction in Revelation 10:8–10,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 40/1 (2017) 101–119.
Kotrosits, M., “How Things Feel: Biblical Studies, Affect Theory, and the (Im)Personal,” Brill Research Perspectives in Biblical Interpretation 1/1 (2016) 1–53. (Crossref)
Kurek-Chomycz, D., “The Fragrance of Her Perfume: The Significance of Sense Imagery in John’s Account of the Anointing in Bethany,” Novum Testamentum 52/4 (2010) 334–354. (Crossref)
Lemański, J., “Nadzieja zbawienia dla wzywających imienia Pana ( Jl 3,1–5),” Verbum Vitae 9 (2006) 33–47. (Crossref)
Lyons, T., “Interpretation and Structure in Joel,” The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 1/1 (2014) 80–104.
Massumi, B., Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation (Post-Contemporary Interventions; Durham – London: Duke University Press 2002). (Crossref)
Massumi, B., “Autonomia afektu,” Teksty Drugie 6 (2013) 112–135.
Mirguet, F., “What Is an ‘Emotion’ in the Hebrew Bible? An Experience that Exceeds Most Contemporary Concepts,” Biblical Interpretation 24/4–5 (2016) 442–465. (Crossref)
Moore, S.D., “Biblical Hermeneutics Without Interpretation? After Affect, Beyond Representation, and Other Minor Apocalypses,” Religions 15/7 (2024) 755, https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15/7/755 [access: 10.09.2024]. (Crossref)
Rubinkiewicz, R., “Apokaliptyka u progu ery chrześcijańskiej,” Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny 41/1 (1988) 51–59. (Crossref)
Rudnicki, C., “Koncepcja aury immanentnej,” Estetyka i Krytyka 30/3 (2013) 99–116.
Schellenberg, A. – Krüger, T. (eds.), Sounding Sensory Profiles in the Ancient Near East (Ancient Near East Monographs 25; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2019).
Scott, K., “Time and the Locust Plagues in the Book of Joel and the Sefire Inscriptions,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 85/1 (2023) 19–35. (Crossref)
Spencer, F.S. (ed.), Mixed Feelings and Vexed Passions: Exploring Emotions in Biblical Literature (Resources for Biblical Study 90; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2017). (Crossref)
Strazicich, J.R., Joel’s Use of Scripture and the Scripture’s Use of Joel: Appropriation and Resignification in Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity (Biblical Interpretation Series 82; Leiden: Brill 2007). (Crossref)
Szmajdziński, M., “Blitzkrieg w Jl 2,1–11,” Studia Loviciensia 16 (2014) 269–301.
Tilford, N.L., Sensing World, Sensing Wisdom : The Cognitive Foundation of Biblical Metaphors (Ancient Israel and Its Literature 31; Atlanta, GA: SBL 2017). (Crossref)
Vosburgh, H., “The Day of the Lord in the Book of Joel,” Journal of Dispensational Theology 24/69 (2020) 161–178.
Warren, M.J.C., “Tasting the Little Scroll: A Sensory Analysis of Divine Interaction in Revelation 10:8–10,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 40/1 (2017) 101–119. (Crossref)
University of Silesia in Katowice https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6386-1268
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Pursuant to the Act on Copyright and Related Rights of February 4, 1994, the Author of the publication grants to the Publisher of the journal „The Biblical Annals” e a non-exclusive and royalty-free license to use the Work submitted for publication, without time and territorial restrictions in the following fields of use:
a) record the Work and copy it by means of any technique (including printing and electronic recording) on all known data carriers (including IT, electronic and polygraphic), and in all IT systems (in particular those available online);
b) enter the Work into computer memory, disseminate the Work and its copies, as well as market the Work and its copies;
c) publicly perform, replay, display and screen the Work, as well as lend, rent and lease the Work and its copies;
d) make available, market and disseminate the Work and its copies via IT networks, and in particular via the Internet, including the promotion or advertising of the Work, the journal or the Publisher. - The Author shall further grant his/her consent for the Publisher to use and dispose of derivative works.
- The Publisher may sublicense the work.
- Third parties may use the articles and other materials containing the Works, or developed on the basis of the Works in line with the model Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (also referred to as CC BY 4.0).
