Oedipus in Midian: Analyzing Ancient Israel | Zendy

Propp William H. C. | Zendy

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Oedipus in Midian: Analyzing Ancient Israel

Author(s) -

Propp William H. C.

Publication year - 2015

Publication title -

international journal of applied psychoanalytic studies

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.314

H-Index - 15

eISSN - 1556-9187

pISSN - 1742-3341

DOI - 10.1002/aps.1376

Subject(s) - dream , affection , oedipus complex , psychoanalysis , psychology , literature , history , psychoanalytic theory , art , social psychology , psychotherapist

This study tests the existence of the Oedipus complex in ancient Israel by examining biblical texts. We find in various passages two key themes associated with Freud's theory: father‐son competition for a mother's affection and a man's fear of castration. The most striking case is Exodus 4:24–26. In the manner of an initiation or a dream, the episode of the “Bridegroom of Bloodshed” clearly articulates the anxieties of the Oedipus complex. Exodus 4:24–26 is analyzed through two psychological‐anthropological creative writing exercises: first as an ethnographer's description of an Israelite initiation ritual, then as a mock dream analysis by Freud. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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