The Ontology of Space in Biblical Hebrew Narrative: The Determinate Function of Narrative Space within the Biblical Hebrew Aesthetic

by Gartner-Brereton,Luke

• ISBN13: 9781845533144
• ISBN10: 1845533143
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-08-08
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The central premise of this book is that biblical Hebrew narrative, in terms of its structure, tends to operate under similar mechanical constraints to those of a stage-play; wherein 'space' is central, characters are fluid, and 'objects' within the narrative tend to take on a deep internal significance. The smaller episodic narrative units within the Hebrew aesthetic tend to grant primacy to space, both ideologically and at the mechanical level of the text itself. However 'space', as a determinate structural category, has been all but overlooked in the field of biblical studies to date; reflecting perhaps our own inability, as modern readers, to see beyond the dominant 'cinematic' aesthetic of our times. The book is divided into two major sections, each beginning with a more theoretical approach to the function of narrative space, and ending with a practical application of the previous discussion; using Genesis 28.10-22 (the Bethel narrative) and the book of Ruth respectively, as test cases.

Author Biography

Luke Grtner-Brereton completed his undergraduate degree through the Australian College of Theology in 2003 and lectured in biblical Hebrew studies for a time before co-founding The Centre for Theology and Politics, a political think tank established in 2005.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Toward an Aesthetics of Biblical Hebrew Narrative	p. 1
"A Cudgel by Itself Kills"	p. 6
A Proppian Critique of Biblical Narratology	p. 6
The Emergence of Russian Formalism	p. 7
Vladimir Propp and his Morphology of a Folktale	p. 9
Proppian Analysis and the Hebrew Bible	p. 12
Louis Althusser and the Notion of "Interdisciplinarity"	p. 18
Determining Space in Biblical Hebrew Narrative	p. 25
Aesthetic Difference within the Hebrew Bible	p. 26
Biblical Literature and the Birth of Fiction	p. 30
Biblical Criticism and the Category of "Space"	p. 36
"How Awesome Is This Place!"	p. 41
Jacob at Bethel - Genesis 28:10-22	p. 42
The Hebrew Weltanschauung	p. 46
Behind the Smoke and Mirrors	p. 47
The Hebrew Bible as Historical Literature	p. 49
The Hebrew Bible as Religious Literature	p. 53
"Identity Formation" and the Violence of Biblical Monotheism	p. 55
Structures of Scarcity	p. 61
Narrative Space and the Structure of Creation	p. 67
Genesis 1 - Primordial Divisions	p. 68
The Ontology of "the Field(s)": From Eden to Moab	p. 73
Genesis 25 - Sibling Rivalry	p. 78
Determining Space in the Book of Ruth	p. 84
Stories within Stories	p. 85
Narrative Space and the Structure of Ruth	p. 86
Narrative Space and the Plot of Ruth	p. 91
Narrative Space and Characterization in Ruth	p. 96
"Overcoming Moab": A Spatial Reading of the Book of Ruth	p. 103
Conclusion	p. 106
Determinate "Space" within the Hebrew Aesthetic	p. 106
Endnotes	p. 109
References	p. 118
Index of Authors	p. 125
Index of References	p. 127
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