Race and Ethnicity at Genesis 10 and the Idea of “Semites”

This paper argues that (1) the segment of text known as Gen 10 is a collation of three separate works; (2) the works have mutually exclusive ideas about the zones and groups of the world; and (3) the zones and groupings illustrate the insight that has come to the fore of late that group identity—eth...

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Autore principale: Chavel, Simeon 1969- (Autore)
Tipo di documento: Elettronico Articolo
Lingua:Inglese
Verificare la disponibilità: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Pubblicazione: 2025
In: Vetus Testamentum
Anno: 2025, Volume: 75, Fascicolo: 4/5, Pagine: 503-535
Altre parole chiave:B Semitic
B Ethnicity
B Semites
B source-criticism
B Race
B Pentateuch
B “table of nations”
Accesso online: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Riepilogo:This paper argues that (1) the segment of text known as Gen 10 is a collation of three separate works; (2) the works have mutually exclusive ideas about the zones and groups of the world; and (3) the zones and groupings illustrate the insight that has come to the fore of late that group identity—ethnic, national, racial, and so on—is a human, cultural product, not a set of natural, biological traits. Specifically, Semitic identity was not an obvious and long-lived category in ancient Israel and Judea, but distinct to a few particular literary works and contradicted by others. Later cultures responded to the collated text at Gen 9–11 and used its terms and concepts selectively to map their own world, which has had a pernicious, bloody afterlife down to our own times. Therefore, (4) the label “Semitic” should not be used for peoples, places, cultures, religions, and even languages.
ISSN:1568-5330
Comprende:Enthalten in: Vetus Testamentum