Yahweh’s Breast: Interpreting Haggai’s Temple through Melanie Klein’s Projective Identification Theory

Abstract

Haggai’s emphasis on the temple is driven more by a concern for a defensive preservation of social-political identity than it is for the institutional restoration of the cult. As a heuristic device, Melanie Klein's theory on projective identification helps identify constructivist elements in Haggai that highlight postures of defensive preservation as legitimations of the Jerusalem temple as a shared object. Haggai’s vision of a “restored” society is based on his belief that the symbolic value of the temple is a necessary, constructive element in the creation or manifestation of that society and its corresponding identity.