Biblical Narrative as Ethics?: The Limits of Exemplarity in Ancient Jewish Literature
Abstract This paper considers whether biblical narrative was used as part of a technology of the self in Jewish antiquity. Many have seen the assumption that Israel’s ancestors were perfect and, hence, worthy of imitation as essential to the Bible’s identity as Scripture around the turn of the Commo...
| Subtitles: | Special Issue: Formation of the Subject$dEssays in Honor of Carol Newsom’s 70th Birthday |
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| Main Author: | |
| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2021
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| In: |
Dead Sea discoveries
Year: 2021, Volume: 28, Issue: 3, Pages: 423-447 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Memory
/ Self-education
/ Genesis rabbah
/ Bible
/ Story
/ Genesis-Apokryphon (Qumran Scrolls)
/ Book of Jubilees
/ Sirach
/ Philo, Alexandrinus 25 BC-40
/ Josephus, Flavius 37-100
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament HD Early Judaism |
| Further subjects: | B
Exemplarity
B Memory B biblical narrative B self-formation B Festschrift B Newsom, Carol Ann 1950- B Genesis Rabbah |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Abstract This paper considers whether biblical narrative was used as part of a technology of the self in Jewish antiquity. Many have seen the assumption that Israel’s ancestors were perfect and, hence, worthy of imitation as essential to the Bible’s identity as Scripture around the turn of the Common Era. Recently several scholars have detailed the specific dynamics of exemplarity among certain readers of the Bible, such as Philo, particularly in light of Hellenistic and Roman models. Such work draws attention to the relative lack of explicit attestation for such a practice in much of ancient Jewish literature. As a next step, we need to further delineate what constitutes a literary practice of exemplarity and explore alternatives or additions to it, such as memorialization. To do so, this paper examines a range of texts, including the Genesis Apocryphon, the Book of Jubilees, Ben Sira, Philo, Josephus, and the rabbinic collection, Genesis Rabbah. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5179 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Dead Sea discoveries
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685179-bja10029 |