Violence and the City: On the Yahwist's Leviathan
The story of Cain is ultimately an origin story of the city, i.e., a narrative representation of its nature and function. This being the case, there seems to be a constitutive relationship between violence and the city, for Cain builds the first city only after committing the first homicide. Reminis...
| Published in: | Near Eastern archaeology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Chicago Press
2015
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| In: |
Near Eastern archaeology
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The story of Cain is ultimately an origin story of the city, i.e., a narrative representation of its nature and function. This being the case, there seems to be a constitutive relationship between violence and the city, for Cain builds the first city only after committing the first homicide. Reminiscent of Hobbes, the Yahwist sees the city as originating in the domestication of the violent impulses of its citizens. Hence the mark of Cain: it is the threat of reprisal that enables Cain to overcome his fear of, and thereby coexist with, the Other. But vengeance alone will not suffice to maintain civilized collective life, as we learn from the example of his descendant, Lamech. Rather, it is only through hospitality that men can hope to live together in peace. This is the lesson of the story of Sodom, in which the Yahwist juxtaposes the hospitality of Abraham and of Lot with the violent barbarism of the men of Sodom. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-5404 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Near Eastern archaeology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5615/neareastarch.78.4.0264 |