RT Article
T1 Inside Out: Jethro, the Midianites and a Biblical Construction of the Outsider
JF Journal for the study of the Old Testament
VO 34
IS 4
SP 395
OP 417
A1 Leveen, Adriane
LA English
YR 2010
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1777014255
AB Attitudes toward the outsider exist on a continuum in the Hebrew Bible. He or she may be attacked, critiqued, brutalized or praised, respected, and at times intentionally included. The treatment of the Midianites is an interesting case in point because it encompasses both ends of that continuum. The Midianite priest Jethro represents an outsider who is welcomed as a trusted advisor and valued participant. The Midianites as a group represent a sexual and idolatrous threat and are ruthlessly attacked by the Israelites. In this article, a close reading examines how such diametrically opposed views of Jethro and the Midianites are constructed, represented and maintained. Violence does not need to be the inexorable outcome of difference.
K1 Boundaries
K1 distinctions
K1 Priest
K1 father-in-law
K1 Midianites
K1 Outsider
DO 10.1177/0309089210365966