What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor? a Critical Re-Examination of Genesis 9.20-27
Gen. 9.20-27 is an eccentric anecdote of which the reception and interpretation are often equally fantastic. Besides a series of extravagant sexual, moral and racial interpretations, one can distinguish ethnological and moralizing explanations, and, more recently, symbolic and social-critical approa...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
1995
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 1995, Volume: 20, Issue: 68, Pages: 33-55 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Gen. 9.20-27 is an eccentric anecdote of which the reception and interpretation are often equally fantastic. Besides a series of extravagant sexual, moral and racial interpretations, one can distinguish ethnological and moralizing explanations, and, more recently, symbolic and social-critical approaches. The present examination of Gen. 9.20-27 maintains that exegetes should keep close to the text as a linguistic and literary composition. The analysis of the Noah tale, then, focuses successively on the 'bridge' function of this text among the genealogical compositions in Genesis 5-11, its linguistic and literary structure, and, finally, the origin and meaning of the text. It is argued that Gen. 9.20-27 displays Priestly characteristics. More particularly, the lexeme ? is considered to be a key term for the interpretation of the pericope. Referring to the usage of ? in the Priestly tradition, the analysis claims that, in Gen. 9.20-27, sexual habits which appear, to the eyes of Israel, as erotic aberrations, are condemned. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/030908929502006803 |