Who knew ad fontes could possibly be so much fun? Better yet, and I think this would be a hysterical exercise, some brave soul should try to find conceptual/literary parallels between modern fantasy works (LOTR, Harry Potter) and Second Temple Jewish literature. If you want to get nuts (love that Costanza line!), broaden out your investigation to the Talmudic literature. If you want a great starting place, trace Jewish traditions regarding the demon Asmodeus.
PS. This all stems from some study I'm doing in the book of Tobit. Hopefully, more posts will follow! The author of Tobit (AT) presumably wrote during a time of increasing Hellenization and the romance novel combines ethical exhortation & wisdom instruction to stabilize Jewish identity as external pressures challenged group cohesion. I'm interested in how the AT's focus on burying the dead (and the purpose of highlighting such a practice) is echoed in early Christian literature.
1 comment:
ya, i love that book "The Hobit" and I hate that demon witch in it, the "White Witch". Man, crazy stuff happened during those days!
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