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Where Can I Find Consolation? A Theoretical Analysis of the Meaning of Consolation as Experienced by Job in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore the meaning of consolation as experienced by Job in the Book of Job and as presented in literature and how consolation relates to suffering and care. The study’s theoretical design applied Ricoeur’s view on phenomenology and hermeneutics. The resulting themes were as follows: consolation that is present, that originates in confrontation, that keeps suffering at a distance, that does not alleviate suffering, that originates in experience from giving comfort, and that facilitates a change of perspective. The authentic and caring consolation accepts the sufferer’s incomprehensible “otherness” but however provides no answers about how to console.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Order of St. John and the South of Sweden Nursing Home.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, 351 95, Växjö, Sweden

    Åsa Roxberg, David Brunt & Mikael Rask

  2. University College of Haraldsplass, Bergen, Norway

    Åsa Roxberg

  3. Departments of Mental Healthcare and Systematic Theology, Ansgar College and Theological Seminary, Kristiansand, Norway

    António Barbosa da Silva

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  1. Åsa Roxberg
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  2. David Brunt
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  4. António Barbosa da Silva
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Correspondence to Åsa Roxberg.

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Roxberg, Å., Brunt, D., Rask, M. et al. Where Can I Find Consolation? A Theoretical Analysis of the Meaning of Consolation as Experienced by Job in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible . J Relig Health 52, 114–127 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9459-7

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