弗雷泽的社会观探析——评《〈旧约〉中的民间传说》

An Exploration on Frazer's View of Society——A Review of Folk-lore in the Old Testament

弗雷泽的《旧约》研究对人类学的重要意义一直没有得到充分的挖掘。通过梳理《〈旧约〉中的民间传说》一书中弗雷泽对希伯来社会形态演变史的关注,结合《金枝》这本书,本文意在指出弗雷泽的研究中所蕴含的社会观。在弗雷泽的研究中,以古罗马为代表的神圣王权是一种重要的古代社会形态,但并不是唯一的形式,希伯来社会呈现了人类社会形态的另一种可能。在不同社会形态的比较当中,我们还可以体味到弗雷泽心中的理想社会的特征。

Frazer＇s research on the Old Testament of the Bible has not been paid enough attention in anthropology. In Folk-lore in the Old Testament,Frazer demonstrated the evolutionary history of Hebraic social patterns. Combining this book with The Golden Bough,another classic by Frazer,this paper aims to reveal Frazer＇s view of society. In his research, divine kingship represented by ancient Rome is one,but not the only form of ancient society. This is because the Hebraic society manifests a form that differs from that of ancient Rome. Through the comparison of social structure,we can find Frazer＇s imagined ideal society.In the book The Golden Bough,by seeking to explain the remarkable rules which regulated the succession to the priesthood of Diana,James Frazer gave examples of the magical traditions existing all over the world. Magic is both a mode of thought and a system of practice. Frazer＇s discovery that the kingship in ancient Rome was closely related to magic laid the foundation for researching divine kingship in anthropology. However,we have to note that divine kingship is not the only pattern of ancient society. In his study of the Old Testament,Frazer found that kingship was not able to integrate the whole of society. This review aims to clarify Frazer＇s definition of Hebraic society,and reveal his conception of society behind it. Folk-lore in the Old Testament contains four parts. The first part titled ＂The Early Ages of the World＂is an analysis of creation myths,and will not be discussed here.The second part,＂The Patriarchal Age＂,is the beginning of his study on Hebraic history,and from it we can see the process of the evolution of society.I. Magic and Society of the Hebrew People The Patriarchal Period headed by Abraham was the beginning of Hebraic history. During that period,the Hebrews lived a nomadic life. Their society was organized into patriarchal clans. The Patriarch held both power and property,and was succeeded by his youngest son.The history of the Hebrews recorded in the Old Testament describes that Hebrews gradually adopted monotheism as their key element. In Canaan,Abraham and God made an oath of alliance,in which Abraham was asked to believe in God,and God promised land and property for Abraham and his descendants. This oath inserted the relationship between God and man into Hebraic society. However,monotheism did not totally replace magic. In the Old Testament,there are many rituals performed by the Patriarch that were regarded as magic,although,many religious scholars might take these as moral admonitions.After Moses led the Hebrews to Canaan,they became agriculturalists. At this time,the Hebrews grew into a nation,and were governed by judges.Judges are God＇s agents in man＇s world and were responsible for judicial adjudication. We can also still find remnants of the concept of magic in these judges,especially with regard to Samson. Samson had supernatural powers which were stored in his hair. This idea is related to the Hebrew concept of spirit,which could be extracted from body and stored in a container. In the magical mind,spirit is concrete rather than abstract,and could be cut off from life due to destruction from the outside.Magic also existed in the folk religion relatedto the worship of oak trees and mountain temples.Peasants regarded the oak as the dwelling of the gods,so,they made sacrifices to their ancestors and prophets beneath the trees. They also believed that the ceremonies conducted under oak trees were effective in healing illnesses. Temples where the gods resided were always built high up among the forests of oak. People sacrificed their harvest to the gods here to pray for prosperity. It is clear that there were once many local magicians or priests here who held rituals to satisfy the needs of peasant society.From the Patriarchal Age to the Time of Judges,magic played an important role in Hebraic society. We can see from The Golden Bough that Frazer made positive comments about magic. Although the exploration of the relationship of causation to magic might not correct,it was man＇s way of thinking about nature,and his efforts to control nature.Hence,this was an early stage of civilization for humans. When the Hebrews entered the period of the kings,we can still find a close relationship between the Hebraic kingship and magic. For example,Saul and his sons were buried under oak trees,and he（ Saul） once stood on a sacred mountain holding the spear of the king. However,Hebraic society did not turn into the kind of divine kingship as found in ancient Rome because Hebraic kingship was limited by monotheism.II. Hebraic kingship and religious reform Hebrew kingship had special background. After the Hebrews settled in Canaan,for a period,they were governed by judges in the name of God.Then,the people demanded a king,who was elected from common people,because of dissatisfaction with the judges. So,Samuel nominated Saul as the first king.Although Saul was a gifted leader,he was,as Frazer noted,always in a melancholy mood. As a secular governor,Saul was just a puppet controlled by Samuel. When Samuel died,Saul felt worse because he thought he had been discarded by God.He did not know how to deal with the invasion of Philistines except to ask Samuel＇s spirit for help.Saul found the witch of Endor who called upon the spirit of Samuel to guide the king. Unfortunately,the prophet did nothing but foretell of Saul＇s failure,which struck such a heavy blow that the king threw himself on the floor.In the chapter the＂Witch of Endor ＂,Frazer showed the tension in the relationship between king,prophet and witch. The king,elected by the prophet,was always in the danger of being discarded by God,and the witch fell under the king＇s attack due to her pagan nature. The paradox is that magic became the only hope for King Saul when he faced his crisis. This tension in the Age of Kings emerged during the religious reform launched by Josiah. The reform took im at the worship of oak trees and sacred temples because they were regarded as the worship of idols and were polytheistic. With the abolishment of the sacred places and temples,the ritual worship of Jehovah（ God） was concentrated in Jerusalem. The influence of the religious reform was that the local＇s need for prosperity could not be satisfied,and that Hebrew kingship relied more on the covenant with Jehovah as it lost its social base.III. Hebrew law reform Hebraic law derived from the covenant between God and man,but it was not invariable.Studies have established that the Jewish Pentateuch formed,in addition to in the desert and Moab by Moses,in later times when the Jews were expelled after Nebuchadnezzar occupied Jerusalem in BC586. The laws were totally new,however. According to textual exegesis,there were three different kinds of law in the Pentateuch： the Code of the Covenant,Deuteronomic Code,and the priest＇s law.The Book of Covenant,the oldest law,might derive from customary Hebraic law. It reflected the social conditions in the Age of Kings and Judges.The laws originated from the oracles that local priests received in the sacred places and the advice of prophets. So it could be said that the law was held by the priests with their intelligence.The Deuteronomic Code,founded in the Temple of Jerusalem in BC 621,was the second law. Itwas the first set of statutes and laws promulgated by the government. This law reform was important in two senses. On the one hand,it led to the religious reform in which Josiah abolished local worship and accordingly,the priests lost their social function.On the other hand,the Book of Deuteronomy heralds the beginning of the canonization of the Bible.The free thought and advice contained in the oracles were now constrained by words,and since this time,writers took place of prophets and priests. The emphasis on religious ethics and morals found in the Book of Deuteronomy led to the Hebrew＇s giving up the exploration and use of the nature. Unfortunately,s