The biography of ancient Israel : national narratives in the Bible / Ilana Pardes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pardes, Ilana.

Series:

Contraversions ; 14.

Contraversions ; 14

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Pentateuch--Historiography.

Bible.

Bible. Pentateuch--History of Biblical events.

Bible as literature.

Jewish nationalism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (225 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The nation--particularly in Exodus and Numbers--is not an abstract concept but rather a grand character whose history is fleshed out with remarkable literary power. In her innovative exploration of national imagination in the Bible, Pardes highlights the textual manifestations of the metaphor, the many anthropomorphisms by which a collective character named "Israel" springs to life. She explores the representation of communal motives, hidden desires, collective anxieties, the drama and suspense embedded in each phase of the nation's life: from birth in exile, to suckling in the wilderness, to a long process of maturation that has no definite end. In the Bible, Pardes suggests, history and literature go hand in hand more explicitly than in modern historiography, which is why the Bible serves as a paradigmatic case for examining the narrative base of national constructions. Pardes calls for a consideration of the Bible's penetrating renditions of national ambivalence. She reads the rebellious conduct of the nation against the grain, probing the murmurings of the people, foregrounding their critique of the official line. The Bible does not provide a homogeneous account of nation formation, according to Pardes, but rather reveals points of tension between different perceptions of the nation's history and destiny. This fresh and beautifully rendered portrayal of the history of ancient Israel will be of vital interest to anyone interested in the Bible, in the interrelations of literature and history, in nationhood, in feminist thought, and in psychoanalysis.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: Split Conception

2. Imagining the Birth of a Nation

3. Suckling in the Wilderness: The Absent Mother

4. At the Foot of Mount Sinai: National Rites of Initiation

5. The Spies in the Land of the Giants: Restless Youth

6. Crossing the Threshold: In the Plains of Moab

7. Epilogue: Mount Nebo

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-194) and index.

ISBN:

9786613520401

9781280094484

1280094486

9780520929722

0520929721

9781597344975

1597344974

OCLC:

475929151