Open AccessA post-Jungian reading of the Book of Baruch
Author(s) -
Zacharias Kotzé
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
hts teologiese studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2072-8050
pISSN - 0259-9422
DOI - 10.4102/hts.v78i2.6679
Subject(s) - analytical psychology , interpretation (philosophy) , archetype , literature , philosophy , hero , psychoanalysis , criticism , value (mathematics) , prayer , reading (process) , collective unconscious , art , psychology , theology , linguistics , machine learning , computer science
It is often claimed that the use of depth psychology in the interpretation of ancient texts is irrelevant and methodologically unsound. Several typical Jungian archetypes, such as the shadow, the primordial mother, and the hero, were identified, interpreted and commented on from a post-Jungian perspective. The apocryphal Book of Baruch has typically been studied as a prime example of penitential prayer in the late Second Temple Period. In this study, the book was approached from the perspective of post-Jungian literary criticism. While Jungian literary criticism has become unfashionable as a result of Jung’s anti-feminist and anti-Semitic ideas, the usefulness of his theory to criticise itself was demonstrated. Although Jung’s work is haunted by racism, anti-feminism, and antisemitism, his work may still be useful for literary criticism from a psychological perspective.Contribution: The article demonstrated the value of the depth psychological approach to the interpretation of biblical material.