Biblica - Vol 91 (2010) Grant, Deena, A Brief Discussion of the Difference between Human and Divine hmx (2010)

The term, hmx, is a frequent descriptor of anger in the Bible. Notably, its syntactic context depends on whether hmx describes human anger or the anger of God. The syntax of human hmx highlights the experience of being aggrieved whereas the syntax of divine hmx emphasizes the consequence of provocation. As such, human hmx tends to be the subject of intransitive verbs and the object of passive verbs that describe the experience of being provoked. By contrast, divine hmx tends to be the object of transitive verbs and the subject of passive verbs that describe God’s reprisal. Additionally, divine hmx occurs as part of the curious construct &alquo;cup of hmx&rlquo;. We believe that these observations reflect an underlying struggle to reconcile the anthropomorphic idea of an emotional God with an omnipotent and invulnerable deity.