| Record ID | marc_columbia/Columbia-extract-20221130-003.mrc:389989004:3183 |
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LEADER: 03183fam a2200397 a 4500
001 1422604
005 20220602032427.0
008 930617s1994 nyu b 001 0 eng
010 $a 93028112
020 $a0195082532
035 $a(OCoLC)28424205
035 $a(OCoLC)ocm28424205
035 $9AHT7345CU
035 $a(NNC)1422604
035 $a1422604
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dNNC
050 00 $aBS579.B7$bG73 1994
082 00 $a221.8/306875$220
100 1 $aGreenspahn, Frederick E.,$d1946-$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82033283
245 10 $aWhen brothers dwell together :$bthe preeminence of younger siblings in the Hebrew Bible /$cFrederick E. Greenspahn.
260 $aNew York :$bOxford University Press,$c1994.
263 $a9311
300 $axi, 193 pages ;$c23 cm
336 $atext$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$2rdacarrier
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 161-174) and index.
505 0 $a1. Firstborn of All Creation -- 2. An Unnatural Custom. Sacrifice of Firstborns. Inheritance. Israelite Inheritance. bekor. Succession. Summary -- 3. The Last Shall Be First -- 4. Every Brother a Supplanter -- 5. The Son God Has Chosen -- Index of Biblical and Other Sources.
520 $aAlthough 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. Central to the plot of most biblical stories, the sibling relationships depicted are rarely harmonious, and the surprising preference for younger siblings is an intriguing and unexplained pattern.
520 8 $aUsing evidence from a wide range of disciplines. Frederick E. Greenspahn presents a seminal interpretation of this phenomenon. In this study, he demonstrates that ancient Israelite fathers were in fact free to choose their primary heirs. The Bible's propensity for younger offspring, Greenspahn shows, reflects neither a legally mandated norm nor a protest against the prevailing custom, but rather conforms to a widespread folk motif, evoking innocence, vulnerability, and destiny.
520 8 $aWithin 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, in portraying younger siblings triumphing over older ones, these tales serve as complex parables of God's relationship to his chosen people, and reflect Israel's own discomfort with the contradiction between its theology of election and the reality of political weakness.
650 0 $aBrothers in the Bible.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85017227
650 0 $aSisters in the Bible.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93004807
650 0 $aFirst-born children in the Bible.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93004808
630 00 $aBible.$pOld Testament$xCriticism, interpretation, etc.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85013769
852 00 $bglx$hBS579.B7$iG73 1994