House of weeping : the motif of tears in akkadian and hebrew prayers

Abstract

This book originated as part of a larger project investigating weeping in ancient literature. I became fascinated by weeping when, in the course of researching grief, I discovered that there was a significant body of scientific research attempting to understand this complex human behavior that is shaped by both biology and culture. This research provides a valuable corrective to cultural assumptions, individual bias, and misleading anecdotes or introspection. As I have worked on weeping in prayer, I have become similarly fascinated by prayer itself. According to one researcher, infant weeping and adult prayer are one and the same thing, which might explain my dual interests. According to John C. Wathey, “prayer is the adult manifestation of infantile crying.” He summarizes his argument in five points...