RT Article
T1 Rebuilding Jerusalem: Ezra-Nehemiah as Narrative Resilience
JF Jewish studies quarterly
VO 30
IS 1
SP 1
OP 27
A1 Cleath, Lisa J.
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1832557510
AB This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma, which focuses on the cross-generational genetic, epigenetic and social effects of trauma. Sociologists suggest that narrative construction is essential for multigenerational resilience. Based on parallels of forced migration and colonized repatriation, I use findings about historical trauma in indigenous American communities to illuminate the experiences constructed in the Masoretic form of Ezra-Nehemiah. From a colonized perspective, Ezra-Nehemiah imagines a response of resilience to the exile and long-term colonization of repatriated Judeans. Historical trauma theory frames the reestablishment of the temple, the city walls and the law as a narrative source of agency, resilience and cultural clarity. Ezra-Nehemiah communicates to future generations that even though the trauma of exile has not ended, the ability to reassert agency and an adaptable differentiated identity is continual, pressing and restorative.
K1 HebrewBible
K1 Historicaltrauma
K1 PersianPeriod
K1 Post-colonialism
K1 Post-exilic
DO 10.1628/jsq-2023-0002