The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative Mythology
In this article, I argue that the history of the study of myth in the Hebrew Bible has been, and continues to be, shaped in negative ways by an essentially Romantic Nationalist understanding of the relationship between a people and their traditions. I then argue that more appropriate ways of modelin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/9/459 |
| _version_ | 1797554380203884544 |
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| author | Andrew Tobolowsky |
| author_facet | Andrew Tobolowsky |
| author_sort | Andrew Tobolowsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article, I argue that the history of the study of myth in the Hebrew Bible has been, and continues to be, shaped in negative ways by an essentially Romantic Nationalist understanding of the relationship between a people and their traditions. I then argue that more appropriate ways of modeling the construction of the Bible’s myths, combined with new investigations into the historical development of biblical traditions themselves, reveals a surprising continuity between the myth-making activity of biblical authors and editors and that of all those who retell and adapt biblical traditions in extrabiblical materials. I conclude that the existence of large-scale continuities between the adaptation of biblical traditions in different periods allows for a new kind of comparative investigation. By studying the use of biblical traditions in biblical literature, extrabiblical literature, and art, on approximately equal terms, we can gain new insights about the construction of biblical myths themselves, while connecting the study of the Hebrew Bible far more closely to the study of other bodies of tradition, elsewhere and later on. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:30:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f2e2daf190ac441f9a54d32e47dad65b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:30:13Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2e2daf190ac441f9a54d32e47dad65b2023-11-20T12:55:00ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442020-09-0111945910.3390/rel11090459The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative MythologyAndrew Tobolowsky0Department of Religious Studies, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USAIn this article, I argue that the history of the study of myth in the Hebrew Bible has been, and continues to be, shaped in negative ways by an essentially Romantic Nationalist understanding of the relationship between a people and their traditions. I then argue that more appropriate ways of modeling the construction of the Bible’s myths, combined with new investigations into the historical development of biblical traditions themselves, reveals a surprising continuity between the myth-making activity of biblical authors and editors and that of all those who retell and adapt biblical traditions in extrabiblical materials. I conclude that the existence of large-scale continuities between the adaptation of biblical traditions in different periods allows for a new kind of comparative investigation. By studying the use of biblical traditions in biblical literature, extrabiblical literature, and art, on approximately equal terms, we can gain new insights about the construction of biblical myths themselves, while connecting the study of the Hebrew Bible far more closely to the study of other bodies of tradition, elsewhere and later on.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/9/459Hebrew Biblemythmyth theoryromantic nationalismcomparative mythology |
| spellingShingle | Andrew Tobolowsky The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative Mythology Religions Hebrew Bible myth myth theory romantic nationalism comparative mythology |
| title | The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative Mythology |
| title_full | The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative Mythology |
| title_fullStr | The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative Mythology |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative Mythology |
| title_short | The Hebrew Bible as Mythic “Vocabulary”: Towards a New Comparative Mythology |
| title_sort | hebrew bible as mythic vocabulary towards a new comparative mythology |
| topic | Hebrew Bible myth myth theory romantic nationalism comparative mythology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/9/459 |
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