'In the Way of Righteousness Is Life': Symbolic Death Transcendence in Proverbs 10–29

Abstract

While the book of Qohelet expresses significant anxiety over the prospect of death, the sages of Proverbs 10–29 scarcely exhibit a trace of death anxiety. Research in experimental social psychology suggests that such psychological equanimity about death is not accidental. Scholars often argue that Proverbs 10–29 envisions death as a ‘universal fate’ that encounters both the righteous and the wicked in the same way, but examining the text through the lens of Robert Lifton's work on symbolic death transcendence shows that a distinction is made between the post-mortem fates of the righteous and the wicked: the wicked are viewed as being utterly terminated by death while the righteous remain connected to life in multiple symbolic ways, primarily in the biological and creative modes. As a result, Proverbs 10–29 appears to function as an effective buffer against death anxiety, providing its adherents with the symbolic resources to face death with equanimity.