The Nose as Organ of Anger in the Book of Job: A Psychoanalytic Understanding

Abstract

As an external and more specifically a facial organ, the nose in the Hebrew Bible not only has various physiological functions such as smell and breathing, but also various meanings as metonym and metaphor. It is also one of the body parts attributed to God, mostly serving a metaphorical role. The nose is probably the body part which is most connected to an emotion, to such an extent that this emotion often displaces the bodily organ. This makes the nose an interesting object for psychoanalytic interpretation. The unique way the nose suggests anger in the Hebrew Bible will be explored from a psychoanalytical perspective to propose a phallic-sadistic understanding of this puzzling association with aggression.