Определения и конвенции проклятия в библейских источниках

Damnation, due to their pronounced negative expression, are a phenomenon that is very common in invective forms of communication. Utterances with the meaning of damnation are vivid examples of the organization of a speech product in accordance with the pragmatics of the utterance. Functionally, they belong to the paremic performatives intended "exclusively for illocutionary influence"

The general functional orientation of damnation is defined by researchers in a single key: "a damnation is a wish expressed in words for some kind of trouble, which is a reflection of a certain mental state of a person", "damnations include a wish for threats to health, well-being, happiness, and sometimes life itself..."

Technique of linguistic observation is used to identify dialogical units from the texts, representing an initial remark of damnation.

The method of linguistic comparison, which serves to identify common special features in the compared phenomena, allowed us to build a typology of verbal acts of damnation that function in the biblical texts.

Structural and semantic text analysis is used to find out combinations for further analysis of the structure and meaning of the text, helps to identify relationships, motives, ideas and concepts of damnation in the biblical texts.

Dealing with linguistic materials has shown that statements with the meaning of damnation can be divided into spheres of application and this article is about Biblical damnations. Before we start talk about this category of damnation it is necessary to give definition to the term damnation. According to Cambridge Dictionary damnation means the following:

1. The act of damning or the condition of being damned.

2. Condemnation to everlasting punishment.

3. Failure or ruination incurred by adverse criticism.

Statements with the meaning of biblical and ecclesiastical damnations represent an extensive group of expressions. First of all, it is necessary to highlight the existing definitions of the term damnation from church and biblical sources. The Bible Encyclopedia gives the following definition: damnation — is the opposite of the word "blessing". By a damnation, as opposed to a blessing, we mean the deprivation of a blessing and the condemnation of calamity.

In Easton's Bible Dictionary, we have found the following definitions:

In Romans 13:2, means "condemnation," which comes on those who withstand God's ordinance of magistracy. This sentence of condemnation comes not from the magistrate, but from God, whose authority is thus resisted.

In 1 Corinthians 11:29 this word means condemnation, in the sense of exposure to severe temporal judgements from God, as the following verse explains.

In Romans 14:23 the word "damned" means "condemned" by one's own conscience, as well as by the Word of God.

So, from the definitions given above, we see that the term "damnation" means a concept that is the opposite of the concept of "blessing" in content, for example:

"Когда введет тебя Господь, Бог твой, в ту землю, в которую ты идешь, чтоб овладеть ею, тогда произнеси благословение на горе Гаризим, а проклятие на горе Гевал".

(Второзаконие 11: 29)

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land to which you are going to possess it, then pronounce a blessing on Mount Gerizim and a curse on Mount Ebal".

(Deuteronomy 11:29)

Pronounced damnation in Biblical understanding means more than just wishing for something bad in an individual’s life. Something terrible was supposed to happen with a person in respect of whom damnation was pronounced. At the same time pronounced blessing was regarded not just as a wish for happiness and well-being in life. It implied the actual blessing of a person and the proclamation of happiness and well-being in his or her life.

Expressions of damnation from the Biblical sources are attracted attention. So event "Проклята земля за тебя" — сказал Бог в раю согрешившему прародителю says that in this case God informs Adam about the damnation he has already committed. At the same time, quote from the law of God "Проклят всяк, кто не исполняет постоянно всего, что написано в книге Закона"  gives ground for conclusions that it is some kind of regulation which imposes a restriction on individual’s behavior. Moreover, it follows from this phrase that those who have not fulfilled the law are already damned, and those who do not fulfill it will certainly be damned.

So it is not a performative formula in its classic case (verb first-person singular, present tense) but way of damnation expression which can be defined as indirect performative, i.e. statement acquires the power of performative when it is used in particular situation for a specific reason and with specific goal — to evaluate the actions of those who have broken the law.  Although from a believer’s point of view the damnation is performed by God regardless of whether the phrase is uttered, "Проклят всяк, кто не исполняет постоянно всего, что написано в книге Закона" (Everyone is damned who does not constantly do everything that is written in the Book of the Law).

Uttering their damnations people cried unto God, oftentimes they made an appeal to something supernatural which was able to curse for somebody. It resulted to common practice of divination and fortune-telling, damage, the evil eye and different ways of incantation.

Damnation has a very long history. This is not about only the faith of the ancient Jews, but also to earlier faiths. As an example it is possible to use the following one:

Голиаф проклинал Давида своими богами

(1 Царств 17: 43)

Goliath cursed David with his gods

(1 Samuel 17: 43)

This example shows that the best weapon in battle is humble reliance on God's help but not a damnation.

According to biblical law, not everyone had right of casting of the damnation, but everyone could damn:

 A. Father — children:  Noah and his blessing and damnation.

(Ной) сказал: проклят Ханаан;  раб рабов будет он у братьев своих. (Бытие 9: 25)

(Noah) said, Cursed be Canaan; he will be a servant of servants to his brothers. (Genesis 9:25)

B. Righteous man — unrighteous and ungodly:

 ...Проклят гнев их, ибо жесток, и ярость их, ибо — свирепа.  

 (Бытие 49: 7)

Cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel, and their wrath, for it is fierce.

(Gen. 49:7)

Such type of damnation is not an expression of personal rancor, anger and vengeance it is a kind of specific forecast.

   C. God — sin and instrument of sin:

 He has cursed Eve: 

Жене [Бог] сказал: умножая умножу скорбь твою в беременности твоей; в болезни будешь рождать детей; и к мужу твоему влечение твое, и он будет господствовать над тобою.

(Бытие 3: 16)  

To the woman [God] said, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow in your pregnancy; in your sickness you will bear children; and your desire is for your husband, and he will rule over you."

(Gen. 3:16)

God cursed Adam: 

Адаму же [Бог] сказал: за то, что ты послушал голоса жены твоей и ел от дерева, о котором Я заповедал тебе ...в поте лица твоего будешь есть хлеб, доколе не возвратишься в землю, из которой ты взят, ибо прах ты и в прах возвратишься.

(Бытие 3: 17–19)

But to Adam [God] said: Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you ... in the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the land from which you were taken, for you are dust and to dust you will return.

(Gen. 3:17–19)

God cursed the ground for Adam and Eve’s sin:

 Адаму же [Бог] сказал: за то, что ты послушал голоса жены твоей и ел от дерева, о котором Я заповедал тебе, сказав: не ешь от него, проклята земля за тебя...

 (Бытие 3: 17–19)

But to Adam [God] said, 'Because you listened to your wife's voice and ate from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'Do not eat from it, cursed is the earth for your sake.'…

(Gen. 3:17–19)

As we can see damnations connect are not primarily related to alienation or physical distance from God, but they are related to causing harm and misfortunate by damnation. Damnation here is like punishment.

Practical context was moral. There was an unwritten moral law where damnation was an instrument of punishment for non conformity.

As regards the implementation of damnations though according to the Bible curses come true however undeserved curses don’t come true.

Как воробей вспорхнет, как ласточка улетит, так незаслуженное проклятие не сбудется.

(Притчи 26: 2)

At the same time there were restrictions for damnation. According to Old Testament law it was forbidden to curse:

1) parents;

Кто злословит отца своего, или свою мать, того должно предать смерти;

(Исход 21: 17)

Whoever curses his father or his mother, he must be put to death;

(Exo 21: 17)

2) head of government:

Судей не злословь и начальника в народе твоем не поноси.

(Исход 22: 28)

Do not slander the judges, and do not revile the ruler of your people.

(Exo 22: 28)

It is necessary to mention that there are damnations addressed to potential recipients who violate certain restrictions imposed by higher powers in biblical texts. Such kind of damnation has a role of regulation that determine the behavior of people in a particular sphere of their being. It is a kind of threat which has to warn a man against certain actions. For example:

В то время Иисус Навин поклялся и сказал: проклят пред Господом тот, кто восставит и построит город сей Иерихон.

(Иисус Навин 6: 25)

At that time Joshua swore an oath and said, "Cursed before the LORD is he who raises up and builds this city of Jericho."

(Joshua 6:26)

It is worth emphasizing that here Joshua does not report an earlier curse, but commits the act of cursing himself. As we can see, the character's direct speech uses the short participle cursed in the present tense, although the curse applies to those who commit an action but have not yet committed it. Thus, it seems to us that the speaker's absolute confidence in the fulfillment of the curse is emphasized.

The analysis of the above definitions and examples results in the following conclusions. The category of biblical damnations is very numerous. In biblical sources, a damnation is primarily contrasted with a blessing in its meaning, and secondly, it has the meaning of rejection, separation, and excommunication. For the utterance of an effective damnation, that is, for the success of the verbal act of damnation, biblical sources provide certain guidelines beyond which damnation cannot be a successful speech act. Moreover, one may note that definitions of damnation are contrasted with blessing. This fact involves the alienation of damned person from God, his separation from some spiritual community. According to the biblical sources not every pronunciation of damnation is accompanied by a reference to these or other misfortune which has to conceive the object of damnation. In other words, it demonstrates that on its own separation from God, from blessing is reason of troubles and misfortunate for damned person.

For pronunciation of effective damnation, i.e. for success of speech act of damnation, the biblical sources give next respective provisions:

1) according to the ontological status (God — not god);

b) according to moral statute (Righteous man — unrighteous);

c) according to social statute (parents —– not parents)

The essential condition for success of speech act of damnation is its verbalization, i.e. the accusing has to pronounce certain corresponding linguistic formula where an indispensable invariant functional-semantic element is a lexical token with the meaning of  "проклинать".