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Review of Luke Gärtner-Brereton,The Ontology of Space in Biblical Hebrew Narrative: The Determinate Function of Narrative 'Space' within the Biblical Hebrew Aesthetic: (London and Oakville: Equinox, 2008)
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Galbraith, Deane |
| Copyright Year | 2009 |
| Abstract | In The Ontology of Space in Biblical Hebrew Narrative, Luke Gärtner-Brereton contends that the topographical spaces within biblical Hebrew narrative have a much more important role to play than as mere backdrops against which biblical stories are told, or as locales where characters perform their respective parts. Instead, he argues, our way of thinking should all be turned on its head: narrative spaces are themselves one of the primary structural determinates of biblical Hebrew narrative. In many cases, therefore, a reading which focuses on the spaces within the biblical narrative may account both for the manner by which the plot will unfold and for the actions of its characters. Furthermore, despite the widespread embrace of literary approaches in contemporary biblical scholarship, Gärtner-Brereton maintains that practitioners have failed to appreciate a central distinction in the deep structure of Hebrew narrative: the 'ontological' or 'cosmic' value it accords to space. These contentions are supported by discussion of a small selection of biblical narratives, on which he offers brief and limited comments: Jacob at Bethel (Gen 28:10-22), the Creation accounts (Gen 1-3), Cain and Abel (Gen 4), Jacob and Esau (Gen 25, 27), and – in a somewhat more extensive fashion towards the end of the book – the book of Ruth. Gärtner-Brereton does not claim to provide a systematic examination of biblical Hebrew narrative or any 'comprehensive hermeneutical approach to the HB'. Instead, the book's stated method is to suggest an alternative approach to the text which provides 'some basic coordinates' for a narrative-space-centred reading of biblical narratives, which might fruitfully be taken up in a more developed form. To this end, the work is largely theoretical in approach, drawing inspiration from an assortment of literary or biblical theory, which Gärtner-Brereton treats in rapid, and often fleeting, succession. BOOK REVIEWS |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.2104/bc090045 |
| Volume Number | 5 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://novaojs.newcastle.edu.au/ojsbct/index.php/bct/article/download/276/259 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.2104/bc090045 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
