Caves of the Hebrew Bible: A Speleology


This paper engages the five cave narratives of the Hebrew Bible: Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19), the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23), Joshua and the five Amorite Kings (Joshua 10), Saul and David’s cave encounter (1 Samuel 24), and Elijah’s theophany at Horeb (1 Kings 19). Biblical caves are sign...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Graybill, Rhiannon 1984- (Author) ; Sabo, Peter J (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2018
In: Biblical interpretation
Year: 2018, Volume: 26, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-22
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
HH Archaeology
Further subjects:B Geology
B Mountain
B Old Testament
B Caves space gender queer reproductive futurism Lee Edelman Luce Irigaray
B Land
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary:This paper engages the five cave narratives of the Hebrew Bible: Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19), the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23), Joshua and the five Amorite Kings (Joshua 10), Saul and David’s cave encounter (1 Samuel 24), and Elijah’s theophany at Horeb (1 Kings 19). Biblical caves are significant and symbolic places. Frequently, the cave is associated with concealment, providing a hiding place for people and taboo practices and things. The cave is also a space of resistance, both within the text and as part of a larger critique of futurity. Biblical caves are likewise significant to the analysis of gender. While the caves of Genesis simultaneously imitate and displace the female body, other biblical caves are wholly masculine spaces, acting as both shelters and prisons for men. Attending to the caves thus yields insight to questions of gender, futurity, and the function of space in literary reading.

ISSN:1568-5152
Contains:Enthalten in: Biblical interpretation
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685152-00261P01