The Empathic Pillar of Salt : Bible, Literature and Scholar in Conversation

• In this article I show how the mainstream interpretation of Genesis 18.16-19.29, where the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as the fate of Lot´s wife is conceived in terms of punishment, needs to be corrected. I propose that Lot's wife's transformation into a pillar of salt is a textual representation of depression that might be understood as a text-inherent critique of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I also show how literature can serve as a hermeneutic tool for the biblical scholar, contributing to the interpretation of biblical texts that have traditionally posed stumbling blocks to interpretation. An intertextual journey between Bible and literature is one among many ways to attain new knowledge, a way that is especially helpful in the area of the emotions, human relationships and psychology as depicted in biblical Hebrew narratives.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Biblical reception

intertextuality

Gen 19

Torgny Lindgren

Bibelreception

intertextualitet

Torgny Lindgren

Genesis 19

Gamla testamentets exegetik

Old Testament Exegesis

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)