Language:
English
Year of publication:
2023
Titel der Quelle:
Biblical Interpretation; a Journal of Contemporary Approaches
Angaben zur Quelle:
31,5 (2023) 635-651
Keywords:
Bible Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Mishnah Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Kinship in the Bible
;
Animals in the Bible
Abstract:
How might kinship help us think about animals in the Bible, and, conversely, how can the Bible help us think about animal kinship? I propose that the concept of kinship can help us take next steps in Animal Studies in the Bible. After defining kinship and reviewing work on human-animal studies, I turn to animal-animal kinship, the “mutuality of being” that animals share not with humans but with each other. I focus on the four “animal family” laws of the Pentateuch and the so-called humanitarian rationale that has dominated interpretation of them. Pointing to problems with that rationale, I turn to rabbinic reception of these laws in the Mishnah, which, I argue, takes a very different approach that deserves our attention. I close with scientific and source critical perspectives, along with reflection on the real-life stakes of attending to the Bible’s animal families.
DOI:
10.1163/15685152-31050008
URL:
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