Touch and Responses to Pain in the Hebrew Bible

The article takes its departure point in two sets of contemporary studies: first, studies that establish the vital role of touch in the alleviation of pain among both human and non-human primates; second, studies that demonstrate the social and cultural constructions of touch. On this basis, the article investigates whether the Hebrew Bible, consistent in its attention to suffering, depicts touch as a way to relieve pain. It first reviews נגע and other roots implying bodily contact; then, it examines responses to a range of linguistic and bodily expressions of distress, including the root נחם , whose meaning is discussed. As a case study, the article analyzes the metaphor of breastfeeding developed in Isaiah 49, 60, and 66, alongside other intimate bodily contacts. These non-exhaustive inquiries indicate that the Hebrew Bible reflects little cultural attention to comforting touch but rather focuses on other responses to distress, such as sensory perception and assistance.