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When brothers dwell together : the preeminence of younger siblings in the Hebrew Bible /

Although primogeniture is commonly assumed to have prevailed throughout the world and firstborns are regarded as most likely to achieve success, many of the most prominent figures in biblical literature are younger offspring, including Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, and Solomon. Adducin...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Clasificación:Libro Electrónico
Autor principal: Greenspahn, Frederick E., 1946-
Formato: Electrónico eBook
Idioma:Inglés
Publicado: New York : Oxford University Press, 1994.
Temas:
Acceso en línea:Texto completo
Descripción
Sumario:Although primogeniture is commonly assumed to have prevailed throughout the world and firstborns are regarded as most likely to achieve success, many of the most prominent figures in biblical literature are younger offspring, including Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, and Solomon. Adducing evidence from a wide range of disciplines, this study demonstrates that ancient Israelite fathers were free to choose their primary heirs. Rather than being either legally mandated or a protest against the prevailing norm, the Bible's propensity for younger offspring conforms to a widespread folk motif, evoking innocence, vulnerability, and destiny. Within the biblical context, this theme heightens God's role in supporting ostensibly unlikely heroes. Drawing on the resources of law, anthropology, folklore, and linguistics, Greenspahn shows how these tales serve as complex parables of the relationship of God to his chosen people, also reflecting Israel's own discomfort and confusion about the contradiction between its theology of election and the reality of political weakness.
Descripción Física:1 online resource (xi, 193 pages)
Bibliografía:Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-174) and indexes.
ISBN:0585332118
9780585332116
1280443421
9781280443428