The Death Wish in the Hebrew Bible

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Løland Levinson
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Narrative Criticism ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Literary Context ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Death Wishes ◽  
Death Wish ◽  
Previous Scholarship

This is the first book to systematically investigate the texts in the Hebrew Bible in which a character expresses a wish to die. Contrary to previous scholarship on these texts that assumed these death wishes were simply a desire to escape suffering, Hanne Løland Levinson employs narrative criticism and conversation analysis, together with diachronic methods, to carefully hear each death-wish text in its literary context. She demonstrates that death wishes embody powerful, multi-faceted rhetorical strategies. Grouping the death-wish texts into four main rhetorical strategies of negotiation, expression of despair and anger, longing to undo one's existence, and wishing for a different reality, Løland Levinson portrays the complex reasons why characters in the Hebrew Bible wish for death. She concludes that the death wishes navigate the tension between longing for death and fighting for survival - a tension that many live with also today as they attempt to claim agency and autonomy in life.

Are gender and life attitudes associated with the wish to die in older psychiatric and somatic inpatients? An explorative study

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1693-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Bonnewyn ◽  
Ajit Shah ◽  
Ronny Bruffaerts ◽  
Koen Demyttenaere
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Life Attitudes ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Death Wishes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Death Wish

ABSTRACTBackground:Death wishes are not uncommon in older persons, and to date, several risk factors have been identified. The presence of these risk factors is insufficient to fully understand why some older people, who are exposed to them, develop a wish to die and why others do not. The purpose of the study was to explore whether Purpose in Life as well as other life attitudes are associated with a death wish in older males and females.Methods:The sample comprised 113 older inpatients (from a psychiatric and somatic ward) with a mean age of 74 years. Psychiatric diagnoses were assessed by the SCID-II. Logistic regression analyses estimated the unique contribution of (the interaction between) life attitudes and gender to the wish to die, controlling for sociodemographic variables, depressive disorder, and somatic symptoms.Results:We observed a statistically significant relationship between life attitudes and the wish to die. Purpose in Life and the Purpose in Life*Gender interaction explained significant additional variance in the prediction of the wish to die. Purposelessness in life might therefore be an important correlate of a wish to die, especially in older men, independently from sociodemographic and clinical features.Conclusions:In assessing a wish to die in older adults, life attitudes need to be taken into account, besides the presence of a depressive disorder and/or somatic health. More specifically, finding or maintaining a purpose in later life might be an important feature in the prevention of the wish to die, especially in male persons.

Understanding Why Older People Develop a Wish to Die

Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 204-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Rurup ◽  
H. R. W. Pasman ◽  
J. Goedhart ◽  
D. J. H. Deeg ◽  
A. J. F. M. Kerkhof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Traumatic Life Events ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Death Wishes ◽  
Depth Interviews

Background: Quantitative studies in several European countries showed that 10–20% of older people have or have had a wish to die. Aims: To improve our understanding of why some older people develop a wish to die. Methods: In-depth interviews with people with a wish to die (n = 31) were carried out. Through open coding and inductive analysis, we developed a conceptual framework to describe the development of death wishes. Respondents were selected from two cohort studies. Results: The wish to die had either been triggered suddenly after traumatic life events or had developed gradually after a life full of adversity, as a consequence of aging or illness, or after recurring depression. The respondents were in a situation they considered unacceptable, yet they felt they had no control to change their situation and thus progressively “gave up” trying. Recurring themes included being widowed, feeling lonely, being a victim, being dependent, and wanting to be useful. Developing thoughts about death as a positive thing or a release from problems seemed to them like a way to reclaim control. Conclusions: People who wish to die originally develop thoughts about death as a positive solution to life events or to an adverse situation, and eventually reach a balance of the wish to live and to die.

scholarly journals Typifying and Characterizing Suicide and its Dynamics of Progression towards Completion: A Model

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Gautam Anand
Keyword(s):  
Discrete Data ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Death Wishes

Suicide has its own trends and path. An emotional set back may leads to suicide is seemed to happen instantly but it is not true, it takes times to complete .All most all of us have to experience death wishes but never reach to that point when said completed. Very few will reach to that point where assessed. This study has aim to decide the path by which completion occurs. Study has used the various discrete data of various studies freely available on internet. They were analyzed and arranged logically in sequence to set the path and trends. Conclusion: Everyone in their life at least has to wish to die but very few complete it. It progress in certain path as wish further strengthen by idea following celebrate self-harm may repeat or accidentally completed if not further proceeded to take attempt. It may be completed or rest as further are risk of suicide.

scholarly journals Conflict Resolution Strategies in Media Discourse: The Case Study of: “Ɂəl xayT ləbyəD” “The Mediator”

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Ilham Malki
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Interpersonal Conflicts ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Conflict Resolution Strategies ◽  
Discourse Strategies ◽  
Tv Show

This study examines the way discourse can contribute to conflict resolution. The study focuses on the discourse strategies used by the disputants in ‘the Mediator’ TV show to resolve their interpersonal conflicts. It also identifies the different tactics that the disputants in ‘the Mediator’ TV show use to negotiate their conflicts collaboratively and hence reach joint outcomes. Taking into consideration the significant role argumentation plays in the management of conflict, the study also seeks to underline the different rhetorical strategies and argumentative fallacies through which the contestants in ‘the Mediator’ TV show achieve their goals.Within a data corpus based on video-recordings of disputants in ‘the Mediator’ TV show, a number of interactional exchanges are phonetically transcribed, translated into English and qualitatively analyzed. The study analytical approach includes conversation analysis (Sacks (1974) Jefferson & Schegloff (1974)) as the methodological framework to investigate the contestants’ discourse strategies during conflict resolution process. The qualitative analysis of the selected data reveals different discourse and negotiating strategies adopted by the disputants to reach a resolution. These strategies contain discourse strategies of integrative conflict resolution, discourse strategies of cooperative competing conflict resolution, avoiding discursive strategies to conflict resolution, and finally discourse strategies of compromising conflict resolution. Strikingly is the fact that the results of the study identify accommodating, as the only style that has not been adopted by the disputants in ‘The Mediator’ TV show during the process of resolving their conflict.

The Value of Ancient Children

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn W. Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
Comparative Methods ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Previous Scholarship

This chapter reviews previous scholarship on children in the Hebrew Bible and identifies successes and common methods, but also some gaps. Children have rarely been considered a valid interpretive lens for elucidating biblical texts. No study has yet undertaken to examine the stages of a child’s life. While many of the historically based studies begin to suggest discussions of a child’s value, they do not explore those further. To begin the discussion, the chapter takes a linguistic analysis of terms for children both in Mesopotamian literature and the Hebrew Bible to begin framing the stages while demonstrating the fruits of the comparative methods.

A Captive, a Wreck, a Piece of Dirt: Aging Anxieties Embodied in Older People With a Death Wish

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Els van Wijngaarden ◽  
Carlo Leget ◽  
Anne Goossensen ◽  
Robert Pool ◽  
Anne-Mei The
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Metaphor Analysis ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Death Wish ◽  
Depth Interviews

The aims of this present study were to explore the use and meaning of metaphors and images about aging in older people with a death wish and to elucidate what these metaphors and images tell us about their self-understanding and imagined feared future. Twenty-five in-depth interviews with Dutch older people with a death wish (median 82 years) were analyzed by making use of a phenomenological–hermeneutical metaphor analysis approach. We found 10 central metaphorical concepts: (a) struggle, (b) victimhood, (c) void, (d) stagnation, (e) captivity, (f) breakdown, (g) redundancy, (h) subhumanization, (i) burden, and (j) childhood. It appears that the group under research does have profound negative impressions of old age and about themselves being or becoming old. The discourse used reveals a strong sense of distance, disengagement, and nonbelonging associated with their wish to die. This study empirically supports the theory of stereotype embodiment.

scholarly journals Typifying and Characterizing Suicide and its Dynamics of Progression towards Completion: A Model

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Gautam Anand
Keyword(s):  
Discrete Data ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Death Wishes

Suicide has its own trends and path. An emotional set back may leads to suicide is seemed to happen instantly but it is not true, it takes times to complete .All most all of us have to experience death wishes but never reach to that point when said completed. Very few will reach to that point where assessed. This study has aim to decide the path by which completion occurs. Study has used the various discrete data of various studies freely available on internet. They were analyzed and arranged logically in sequence to set the path and trends. Conclusion: Everyone in their life at least has to wish to die but very few complete it. It progress in certain path as wish further strengthen by idea following celebrate self-harm may repeat or accidentally completed if not further proceeded to take attempt. It may be completed or rest as further are risk of suicide.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. xvi-4
Author(s):  
Pamela Barmash
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Law And Literature ◽  
Biblical Law ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Literary Context ◽  
The Social ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ritual Law

The introduction to the Oxford Handbook of Biblical Law advocates for the study of both the law of the Hebrew Bible in its historical and literary context as well as the history of its interpretation in emerging Jewish and Christian communities. It explains that biblical law encompasses both civil/criminal law and ritual law and justifies their inclusion in a single volume. The introduction offers a survey of the organization of the Oxford Handbook of Biblical, showing how the volume offers a reappraisal of comprehensive issues in the study of biblical law in the light of the re-evaluation of the social, religious, and political context and ideology of the legal texts of the Hebrew Bible and the employment of methodologies from the fields of law and literature, gender studies, anthropology, and political theory.

scholarly journals The wish to die and hastening death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A scoping review

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002640
Author(s):  
Anke Erdmann ◽  
Celia Spoden ◽  
Irene Hirschberg ◽  
Gerald Neitzke
Keyword(s):  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Death Wishes ◽  
Desire To Die ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

BackgroundAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) develops into a life-threatening condition 2 to 4 years after the onset of symptoms. Although many people with the disease decide in favour of life-sustaining measures, thoughts about hastening death are not uncommon.ObjectivesOur aim was to examine the scope of literature on the wish to die in ALS and provide an insight into determinants and motives for different end-of-life options.MethodsWe searched eight databases for English and German publications on death wishes in ALS for the period from 2008 to 2018 and updated the search up to May 2020. After the screening process, 213 full texts were included for the final analysis. We analysed the texts in MAXQDA, using deductively and inductively generated codes.ResultsWe identified end-of-life considerations, ranging from wishes to die without hastening death, to options with the possibility or intention of hastening death. Besides physical impairment, especially psychosocial factors, socio-demographic status and socio-cultural context have a great impact on decisions for life-shortening options. There is huge variation in the motives and determinants for end-of-life considerations between individuals, different societies, healthcare and legal systems.ConclusionsFor a variety of reasons, the information and counselling provided on different options for sustaining life or hastening death is often incomplete and insufficient. Since the motives and determinants for the wish to hasten death are extremely diverse, healthcare professionals should investigate the reasons, meaning and strength of the desire to die to detect unmet needs and examine which interventions are appropriate in each individual case.

The relation between suicidal feelings and mental disorders in the elderly: results from the Berlin Aging Study (BASE)

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. BARNOW ◽  
M. LINDEN ◽  
H.-J. FREYBERGER
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Death Wishes ◽  
Using Data

Background. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the influence of several risk factors (particularly physical and mental disorders, loneliness and housing conditions) on the wish to die in the elderly.Method. Using data from a population-based sample of 516 senior citizens (70 to 103 years of age) in Berlin (Germany), we compared 54 persons with death wishes with 462 persons without death wishes on several psychosocial risk factors, physical health and psychiatric diagnoses. A logistic regression analysis was also conducted.Results. The data indicate that the wish to die is strongly associated with the presence of a mental disorder, especially major depression, while higher age, female gender, subjective assessment of physical health and negative living conditions were all only moderately related to death wishes.Conclusions. Our results emphasize the need for very careful diagnosis of death wishes in the very old and question the view that it is a normal and understandable phenomenon in older age.

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