The animalising affliction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: reading across the human-animal boundary
"Peter Atkins presents a detailed investigation into the nature of Nebuchadnezzar's animalising affliction in Daniel 4 and the degree to which he is depicted as actually becoming an animal. Atkins examines typical explanations of this which seem to have followed two predominant lines of in...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| WorldCat: | WorldCat |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
London
Bloomsbury Publishing
2022
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| In: |
Library of Hebrew bible/Old Testament studies (733)
Year: 2022 |
| Reviews: | New Directions for Thinking about the Bible and Nonhuman Animals (2024) (Millar, Suzanna, 1991 -)
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| Series/Journal: | Library of Hebrew bible/Old Testament studies Old Testament studies
733 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Daniel 4
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Nebuchadnezzar II King of Babylonia (-562 B.C)
B Bible. Daniel Commentaries |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | "Peter Atkins presents a detailed investigation into the nature of Nebuchadnezzar's animalising affliction in Daniel 4 and the degree to which he is depicted as actually becoming an animal. Atkins examines typical explanations of this which seem to have followed two predominant lines of interpretation: either Nebuchadnezzar undergoes a physical metamorphosis of some kind into an animal form; or diverse other readings that specifically preclude or deny an animal transformation of the king. By providing an extensive examination of this division of interpretative opinion, alongside innovative assessments of the narrative's textual history and ancient Mesopotamian divine-human-animal boundaries, Atkins ultimately demonstrates how neither of these traditional interpretations best reflect the narrative events. While there have been numerous metamorphic interpretations of Daniel 4, such readings are largely reliant upon later developments within the textual tradition and are not present in the earliest edition of Nebuchadnezzar's animalising affliction. However it is equally inadequate to state that the king does not undergo an animal transformation at all as, through Nebuchadnezzar's loss of reason, Daniel 4 describes a more subtle yet much more profound crossing of the human-animal boundary. When Daniel 4 is read in the context of Mesopotamian texts, which appear to conceive of the human-animal boundary as being indicated primarily in relation to possession or lack of the divine characteristic of wisdom, the affliction represents a far more significant categorical change from human to animal than has hitherto been identified"-- |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references |
| ISBN: | 1137606045 |
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5040/9780567706218 |