Posttraumatic Growth and Deuteronomistic Redaction of Jer 31,31-34

ABSTRACT

According to David Carr’s study, the Jewish and Christian scriptures arose from the positive psychological reaction to catastrophic human trauma, namely posttraumatic growth (PTG). Despite this insight, biblical scholars have hardly focused on reading biblical texts and the theology behind them through the lens of PTG. This article applies PTG to a specific passage in the Hebrew Bible, proposing a new solution to the controversial issue regarding the Deuteronomistic redaction of Jer 31,31-34. It argues two main points. First, a theology that emphasizes Spiritual Change but ignores New Possibilities differs from one that emphasizes New Possibilities because New Possibilities and Spiritual Change are two different factors of PTG. Second, Jer 31,31-34 is not a Deuteronomistic redaction because it indicates the domain of New Possibilities, which does not belong to Deuteronomistic theology; by contrast, Jer 23,5-6 and Jer 33,14-16 could be Deuteronomistic because they indicate Spiritual Change, which fits Deuteronomistic theology.

Key words:

• Posttraumatic growth
• Deuteronomistic theology
• Jeremiah 31,31-34