Beastly Speech: Intertextuality, Balaam's Ass and the Garden of Eden

The anomalous feature of animal speech in Gen. 3 and in Num. 22 is only the most obvious point in common between the two texts. The serpent and the she-ass play complementary roles in relation to the human actors in the stories, and a comparison of their functions reveals further similarities. Both...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Savran, George W. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 1994
In: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 1994, Volume: 19, Issue: 64, Pages: 33-55
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The anomalous feature of animal speech in Gen. 3 and in Num. 22 is only the most obvious point in common between the two texts. The serpent and the she-ass play complementary roles in relation to the human actors in the stories, and a comparison of their functions reveals further similarities. Both the garden story and the Balaam narrative focus on the themes of blessing and curse, vision and understanding, and obedience/disobedience to God. The intertextual relationship between the stories uncovered in this analysis sheds light on larger patterns of inner-biblical interpretation within the Pentateuch.
ISSN:1476-6728
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/030908929401906404