The Self in Israelite Culture: A Preliminary Overview

Previous studies of Israelite anthropology of the self have often focused on the use of terms for various parts of the body to represent the self and its agency. Still contested is the question whether a privileged term (“heart”) served to represent an executive center of the self. This chapter reframes the discussion in terms of the “I-Me” relationship often used in psychology. Also debated is whether ancient Israel’s model of the self was dominantly sociocentric. This chapter argues for a more nuanced view of the relation of self and agency in relation to social context. In addition, it considers other ways in which one might examine evidence for changing models of the self in Second Temple Judaism other than a focus on moral agency, which characterizes the present study.