Divine Violence and Divine Presence: Reading the Story of Uzzah and the Ark in 2 Samuel 6 with Slavoj iek
This article interprets the story of the outbreak of God against Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6 as an act of "divine violence," a concept described by Slavoj iek in his book Violence: Six Sideways Reflections. In previous interpretations of 2 Samuel 6, the violence against Uzzah has been understood...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2019]
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| In: |
Biblical interpretation
Year: 2019, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-19 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Samuel 2. 6
/ Žižek, Slavoj 1949-
/ Idea of God
/ Violence
/ Power
/ Ark of the Covenant
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Divine Violence
B Ark of the Covenant B Slavoj iek B Uzzah B Bible. Samuel 2. 6 B Book of Samuel |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article interprets the story of the outbreak of God against Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6 as an act of "divine violence," a concept described by Slavoj iek in his book Violence: Six Sideways Reflections. In previous interpretations of 2 Samuel 6, the violence against Uzzah has been understood either as a punishment for a transgression, or as a capricious act of God's power. Slavoj iek describes "divine violence" as violence, which is not a means to an end, and which irrupts from a position of vulnerability and impotence. By looking at the details of the Masoretic Text of 2 Samuel 6, it will be argued that the violence of God in this story should also be interpreted as divine violence: it lacks meaning as a punishment for transgression, and it stems from the vulnerability of God's presence in the ark rather than from God's transcendent power. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5152 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblical interpretation
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685152-00271P01 |
