Anger in the Old Testament (review)

Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 100 Reviews mythology), an analogy between the novel and the Gennan medieval epic Nieblungenlied, and so on. Balaban paints a portrait of a character whose intellectual and emotional mediocrity are compensated for by his "Mediterranean qualities" (Le., submissive worldview and modesty in dealing with life's stumbling blocks). This work stands as a worthy homage to two of the finest novels recently produced in contemporary Hebrew narrative. Yair Mazor University ofTexas at Austin Austin. TX 78712 ANGER IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. By Bruce Edward Baloian. American University Studies. Series VII, Theology and Religion 99. Pp. 225. New York: Peter Lang, 1992. Cloth, $40.95. In this concise treatise the author takes up the concept of anger in the Hebrew Bible, giving a special stress to divine anger, which he finds "troubling" (p. 1). The second and third chapters deal with human and divine anger respectively. The fourth chapter attempts to interface divine and human anger. The fifth and final chapter discusses the traditio-historical development of divine anger. The author identifies ten Hebrew words used in expressions of anger in the Hebrew Bible (~M; Cl'f; ~l'f; i'ICM; mn; 01':>, m::w; ~p; fl"1; m"1; pp. 5-7) and centers his discussion around them. A chart on page 189 summarizes their distribution; another chart on pages 191-210 summarizes 387 instances of divine anger in tenns of the word used, motivation, object, and results. These data will certainly prove useful to future researchers, irrespective of their agreement or disagreement with Baloian's conclusions. The details of his findings are too many to itemize in a brief book review. He concludes that anger's primary motivation is "some type of injustice" perpetrated on the victim. The Bible does not condemn anger but urges its control through reason, showing that humans are not rigidly detennined but have genuine choices. Those persons in positions of leadership are given more attention because they have the power to actualize their anger (pp. 149151 ). The motivation for Yahweh's anger shifts from the Pentateuch to the later writings. In the fonner, the primary cause for divine anger is "rebellion Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 101 Reviews against His person," whereas the balance of the Hebrew Bible also sees God as angered by "the violation of the common sense of justice that all humans have" (p. 173). Yet this is not a traditio-historical development, but a shift in emphasis brought about by the interaction, both internally (socially within Israel) and externally (internationally), that characterizes Israelite life after the settlement in Canaan. Human anger is justified "if it conforms to the norms of justice," yet the justice must not be one personally defined by passion but rather "adjudicated by a judge" (p. 176). Anger can provide human beings an understanding of their limitations and need for salvation (p. 177) and can thus lead them to a knowledge of God. I found this book a difficult one to review on two counts. First, it seems to be, as the "Acknowledgement [sic]" strongly suggests, an unrevised doctoral dissertation. Doctoral dissertations are written for different reasons than other books and assume a much different format. As a result the writing style is unnecessarily ponderous and heavy. Secondly, the publisher has not been careful in proofreading the book. Typographical errors constantly intrude on the reader. Examples of these from the first fifty pages of the book are: "valuale" (p. 2); "(p in the phrase P::l'IDR R?)" [instead of N in the phrase U::l'IDR R?)] (p. 16; cf. 17); "straight forward" [for straightforward] (p. 30); the enigmatic "(UuaOU)" (p. 39); "over came" [for overcame] (p. 43); a strange series of supralinear dots (line 14, p. 46); O~::l::l? ::l"CR for C~::l::l?::l "CR (note 11, p. 52); "First born" [for firstborn] (note 23, p. 54). Footnote 17 intrudes into the text on page 4 and is replicated on page 17 (where it really belongs). The word Kill is gratuitously capitalized (p. 35). Some of the inscrutable signs are doubtless Hebrew words the publisher did not reproduce correctly. There are also errors of substance. That "pride and anger...