I Set a Table before You: The Jewish Eschatological Character of Aseneth’s Conversion Meal
Food is a powerful symbol in Joseph and Aseneth in that it sharply defines the social boundaries that are so important to the text as a whole. Jews and Gentiles portrayed in the novella differ primarily with respect to their theological beliefs, and this difference is both reflected and incorporated...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2004
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Year: 2004, Volume: 14, Issue: 1, Pages: 63-77 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Food is a powerful symbol in Joseph and Aseneth in that it sharply defines the social boundaries that are so important to the text as a whole. Jews and Gentiles portrayed in the novella differ primarily with respect to their theological beliefs, and this difference is both reflected and incorporated through acts of eating. Employing classical anthropological and sociological approaches to the relationship between sacrificial meals and kinship, this essay explores the symbolic and literary function of the conversion meal in Joseph and Aseneth. Viewed as a symbolic expression of mediation between humanity and the divine, Aseneth’s meal is compared with similar passages from Philo and Rabbinic literature that depict mystical or eschato-logical meal scenes. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5286 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/095182070401400104 |