Udders, Queer Nests, and Animal Family Trees: Kinship as Keyword in Animal Studies in the Bible

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 tu...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Berkowitz, Beth ca. 20./21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2023
In: Biblical interpretation
Year: 2023, Volume: 31, Issue: 5, Pages: 635-651
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Kinship / Animals / Protection of animals / Veganism / Bible. Pentateuch, Bible. Pentateuch / Mishnah
RelBib Classification:BH Judaism
HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Animals
B Humanitarianism
B Veganism
B Mishnah
B Kinship
B Family
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:1568-5152
Contains:Enthalten in: Biblical interpretation
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685152-31050008