Critical Empathy and Interpreting the Bible During War: Reading Gloating in Obadiah and Nahum

This chapter makes a case for critical empathy with particular focus on the othercondemning emotion of gloating and its depiction in two books of the Minor Prophets: Obadiah and Nahum. It begins with the inevitability of both subjectivity and emotional responsiveness to and engagement with the world in front of the text during the process of biblical interpretation. The gravity and distress of ongoing war in present-day Israel-Gaza, of the Bible’s ideological role and of the war’s impact also on biblical studies are raised. Next, the chapter explores imagery of gloating in each of Obadiah and Nahum, identifying the malice of this emotion through its contradistinction with a related emotion, Schadenfreude. From there, the chapter explores empathy and advocates for critical empathy, concluding with its potential for transforming teaching, research, and knowledge of self and others.