This study investigates the nature and function of jealousy and envy in ancient Hebrew and Greek literature, and the relationship among envy, jealousy and vengefulness in those cultures.

Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter. It provides the theoretical background of the investigation, by setting it in the framework of the study of emotions in general and of the study of emotions in literary texts in particular, and by engaging in the theoretical views of envy, jealousy, and their relationship to revenge in various disciplines. In line with the studies of D. Cairns, R. Kaster and others, L. rightly points to the fact that a purely lexical approach to studying emotions in literary texts is insufficient and that instead one should consider ‘the situational factors which prompt the emotion …, the character appraisal of the situation, any reported bodily sensations or “body language” triggered by the appraisal, and the character's words and action in reaction to these stimuli’ – what are often called ‘scripts’ (p. 4). From the following pages, however, it is not clear how L. intends to track divine envy, jealousy and vengefulness in such a vast corpus of literature, which specific works will be analysed and why.

Chapter 2 considers divine envy, jealousy and vengeance in ancient Israel and Greece. After an outline of scholarly opinions on whether the biblical God and Greek deities are considered as coherent personalities, and on biblical and Greek understanding of divine jealousy and envy, the chapter moves to divine vengeance and its relationship to envy and jealousy in biblical and Greek texts. L. engages in the close reading of several passages from the Hebrew Bible, with which he is clearly more conversant than with Greek literature. For the concepts of nemesis, envy and vengeance in Greek literature, L. relies mostly on secondary literature. He offers a short close reading on revenge and justice in Euripides’ Hecuba (pp. 32–7), discussed in light of current Classical scholarship, which would have logically fitted in the chapter devoted to Greek tragedy (Chapter 6).

Chapters 3 and 4 focus on the Hebrew Bible, building on some of L.'s previous research. Chapter 3 deals with the characterisation of Yahweh. L. questions the common assumption that it is impossible for Yahweh to experience envy, and examines the charges that Yahweh is not only envious of other gods, but also of certain human beings. On the basis of psychological approaches, he further discusses narcissism and associated traits in relation to envy in general, and as they apply to Yahweh's personality. The overall picture is that of a God who shows aspects of problematic behaviour and emotional inconsistency. L. argues that such problematic aspects of Yahweh's behaviour can often be attributed to jealousy, envy, vengefulness and narcissism. Finally, L. raises an important question about God's behaviour towards Job: ‘is it far-fetched to ask whether Yahweh might harbor a grudge against his favorite human because Job is too good?’ (p. 47). It would have been worth expanding this key question further, especially in view of the comparison with Herodotus (see below, on Chapter 5). Chapter 4 opens with three biblical figures who are described as jealous (the priest Phineas, the prophet Elijah and king Jehu) and whose acts of vengeance reveal their interpretation of Yahweh's jealousy. Phineas’, Elijah's and Jehu's vengeful reactions bring Moses into the picture, whose vengeful slaughter in Numbers 31 even exceeds that of the characters previously discussed. The chapter concludes with Samson's revenge against the Philistines and Yahweh's role in such violence. The rationale behind the choice of these passages is not provided, and there is no conclusion to these two chapters on biblical literature.

Chapters 5 and 6 are devoted to Greek literature. Against scholars who see few examples of divine envy in Homer, L. argues in Chapter 5 for the significance of the portrait of Hera in this respect in Homer and in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. The rest of the chapter focuses on divine envy and revenge in Herodotus, for which L. raises another important question. While usually scholars justify divine envy and revenge with some human action or attitude, L. suggests that Herodotus may have viewed the gods ‘as possessing destructive human emotions, emotions which might lead them to topple an extraordinarily successful individual “for no reason”, as the biblical Yahweh admits that he had done with Job’ (p. 99). It would have been worth investigating this question further in the comparative Chapter 7. Chapter 6 considers divine envy and vengeance in Aeschylus’ Persians, Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus and Euripides’ Hippolytus and Bacchae. Based on these tragedies, L. suggests that divine vengeance can ‘just happen’ and is not always caused by human wrongdoing; that the reasons of terrible suffering are not always clear and may not be due to human behaviour; and that divine vengeance, depending on the perspective one takes, may not be considered excessive.

Chapter 7 is meant to be the core comparative chapter, based on the findings of the previous chapters. However, the comparison is mostly centred on divine vengeance and includes other aspects of emotions or divine behaviours, such as compassion or parental behaviour, not previously discussed. Chapter 8 works as a concluding chapter and addresses the function of the deities’ imperfection for the human beings who worship them. Against scholars who draw a radical contrast between Greek and biblical religion, L. argues that, just as the deities of Classical Greek texts, Yahweh is portrayed in the Hebrew Bible in all his imperfect traits. He concludes that Yahweh's variety of character traits ‘can certainly account for the mass disasters and unfairness reported in the biblical world’ and that ‘assigning negative traits to Yahweh may also function to explain the co-presence in our world of beauty, terror, innocent suffering, unpredictability, and paradox’ (p. 158).

The theoretical background of the volume is impressively rich, bringing to the fore scholarship from psychology and psychology of religion, philosophy, literary studies and anthropology. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, that L. does not engage with M. Nussbaum's work (particularly Anger and Forgiveness. Resentment, Generosity, Justice [2016], and the chapter on Euripides’ Hecuba in: The Fragility of Goodness. Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy [2013], pp. 397–421). Several thought-provoking questions are raised, which would have been worth expanding further in a comparative perspective, as in the case of Job (see above, on Chapters 3 and 5). From the point of view of methodology, L. mentions in the preface that, while he employs tools from other disciplines, ‘this is fundamentally a comparative literary study’ (p. ix). A clear methodological section as part of the introductory chapter, to clarify which other tools are used, where and why, would have helped readers to follow L.'s reasoning and choice of the material. Likewise, a systematic use of partial conclusions and a more expanded version of the final conclusion would have given a clearer grasp of how far the comparative approach can be brought in the case of divine envy, jealousy and vengeance in ancient Hebrew and Greek literature. Finally, although texts and examples are numerous and meaningful, no criteria for their choice are provided, with the result that they often look arbitrary. In spite of these shortcomings, because of its being a rich source of information and its thought-provoking questions, the volume offers a valid point of departure for those wishing to engage in the study of emotions in ancient literature from a comparative perspective.