Der Tod von eigener Hand: Studien zum Suizid im Alten Testament, Alten Ägypten und Alten Orient

Current discussions involving suicide and assisted suicide and their philosophical, social, cultural, and theological repercussions keep bubbling to the surface of contemporary society in many parts of the world. Countries such as Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland have legalized physician-assisted suicide, while a number of states in the USA (among them, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington) have passed Death with Dignity laws for qualified terminally ill adults to request and receive prescription medication to hasten their death. Another element of this multifaceted and surprisingly contemporary topic involves the death of martyrs who willingly choose self-immolation to advance a specific cause, often motivated by strong religious convictions. Islamic suicide bombers consider their deaths a means to advance God’s kingdom and gain victory over perceived aggressive infidels.Dietrich’s important monograph on the subject, which was accepted in 2016 as Habilitationsschrift at the University of Leipzig, Germany, attempts to tackle some of these difficult topics in the literature of the Hebrew Bible and the larger ancient Near East. Following an introductory chapter (pp. 1–17) detailing a brief history of the interpretation of the topic (mostly undertaken from the vantage points of moral theology or ethics), Dietrich offers nuanced definitions of four German terms associated with suicide (all translated “suicide” in German-English dictionaries). This is followed by a brief discussion of the distinction between a death wish and suicidal intention in the example of Job 7:15ff. The author suggests that a death wish is often used when addressing the deity, where death is not attempted by one’s own hand but rather used as a means to get God’s visible engagement in human history (e.g., Exod 32:32; Num 11:15; 1 Kgs 19:4).The main body of the volume is divided into five parts. Part 1 discusses sociocultural foundations, including the concepts of honor, shame, and disgrace in ancient near Eastern cultures and their structural significance for these societies (pp. 19–58). Part 2 focuses on suicide as an escape and represents the largest chapter in the volume (pp. 59–193). Dietrich has organized this section in good German manner very systematically, looking at escape from militarily futile situations (including Saul [1 Sam 31:3–6 and parallel references], Abimelech [Judg 9:53–54], and Zimri [1 Kgs 16:15–20], who dies in the fire that he set himself in his palace); escape from existential failure (he includes Ahitophel’s story found in 2 Sam 17:23); escape from profound societal crisis moments (with no biblical example); and escape from juridical troubles (again, no biblical example).Part 3 focuses on the subcategory aggressive suicide (pp. 195–238). It discusses suicide as a means of extortive behavior. All of the examples for this subcategory come from ANE texts, except for a section discussing whether the emotional exclamations of Rebekah (Gen 27:46 “I am tired of living,” NASB) and Rachel (Gen 30:1 “Give me children, or else I die,” NASB) should be considered in this category. Dietrich concludes that these expressions represent late editorial adjustments, reflecting a “feminizing perspective” (p. 220). They are powerful rhetorical tools to move others—and they seemed to have worked. The second type of aggressive suicide discussed by the author is suicide as revenge or out of heroism and focuses on biblical Samson and an example from the books of Maccabees.Part 4 (pp. 239–300) discusses sacrificial suicides and, intriguingly, includes Jonah and his sacrificial offer to be thrown into the raging sea (Jonah 1:12) as a means to pacify a storm that has the hallmarks of divine punishment. Dietrich’s careful textual analysis of the chapter leads him to suggest that Jonah’s actions in this chapter should be considered a sacrificial suicide—as both the seamen and Jonah himself (as well as the reader) expect the prophet to perish in the waves.The final part, part 5, includes a succinct summary (pp. 301–5) and is followed by a list of images (p. 307), a substantial bibliography (pp. 309–51), and a number of helpful indexes (pp. 353–81).Der Tod von eigener Hand is an intriguing read. It generally works carefully with the text under discussion (be it a biblical or an ANE text). At times, Dietrich does make “shorthand” decisions regarding source- or literary-critical issues, which he usually references in dense footnotes. His approach to the biblical text is marked by careful close reading that looks at the context of a specific event/text within the larger narrative, while being cognizant of literary-critical issues. His comment on the Abimelech narrative in Judg 9 serves as a good example: “Die Abimelecherzählung enthält erhebliche Spannungen und Widersprüche, die auf ein geschichtliches Wachstums des Textes hinweisen und sich nur durch literar- und überlieferungskritische Erwägungen plausibel erklären lassen. Eine holistische nacherzählende ‘Interpretation’, wie man sie besonders im englischsprachigen Raum findet, verschleiert in diesem Fall die bestehenden Schwierigkeiten und kann die bestehenden Spannungen nicht erklären. Leider sind jedoch auch die literarkritischen Untersuchungen zur Abimelecherzählung im Detail nicht konsensfähig” (p. 77). One wonders what elements make a particular interpretation “konsensfähig” (capable of creating a consensus)?Dietrich highlights the important underlying value systems that lead to often-distinct evaluations of suicides, especially considering a Western perspective. Honor, shame, and community do not range that high on the scale of significant values for Western readers, while they played (and continue to play) a significant role for readers living in an Eastern cultural context. Intriguingly, the author emphasizes that death is not generally chosen for the sake of death but rather for the sake of life (p. 304). In this sense, suicide (or consciously choosing death) is part of an attempt to “make sense” or “give sense” to a world that may be beyond sense.Those studying the topic of suicide exegetically and theologically will need to read this important volume. Dietrich does not offer ethical or theological value judgments and also does not engage (wisely, I reckon) with the current hot topic of religiously motivated suicide in the form of suicide bombers that we can read about on a weekly basis. That must be the topic for a future study requiring not only biblical scholars well versed in exegesis and literary work but also ethicists, systematic theologians, sociologists, and all those studying the nexus between culture, politics, and religion. Until then, however, this volume should be on the standard reading list of everyone interested in this challenging topic.

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