neuroBIBLISTICS

Chicago, IL

American Oriental Society’s Annual Meeting Conference, Omni Hotel Chicago, IL, March 15-18, 2019. Read the paper: The Vigilant Battle of “Turning” in the Hebrew Bible: The Act of “Shwb” as an Indicator of Free Will.

Abstract:

At a time when conversion and transformation are more prominent than ever, it is important to understand the converting experience itself.  In the paper, I explore the phenomena of the root “shwb” in the Hebrew Bible and its meaning of “turning” or “turning back.” A special emphasis is given to the motion of personal inner change in people and its consequences on the Covenantal Relationship of God and Israel. In the same way, the act of turning involves deciding and responding with intention toward the purpose which is twofold: being in a relationship with God or not. Based on my analysis, I argue that the verb “shwb” carries the nuance of freedom. To illustrate, this verb works in a manner of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as the ultimate test of affiliation. As a result, one is with the Lord or one chooses to leave God`s Covenant behind. This is an embedded and deep mystery of the verb “shwb”, and either conquer the ego or boosts it. The actual pinnacle of this moral battle is the response, which defines one`s future, and determines whether one will be numbered among the righteous or not. If the act of “shwb” results in the positive turning toward God, then God will respond in the same manner, turning toward and blessing those who repent, as in Jer. 18:8.  Lastly, conversion is the consequence of free will, embodied in the act of turning which will be compared with the several examples of repentance in the Ancient Near East.  It mysteriously represents the outcome of the vigilant inner battle.