Who is the Real “Model Minority”?: An Asian American Reading of Ruth and Ebed-Melech in the Hebrew Bible
Recent global developments have mounted a challenge to this account of the submissive “model minority.” Since Ruth’s character is ambiguous and has been (mis)used at times among Asian American Christians as a “biblical” example, the real “model minority” is found in Jeremiah’s portrayal of Ebed-Mele...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2023
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| In: |
Biblical interpretation
Year: 2023, Volume: 31, Issue: 4, Pages: 457-472 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Old Testament
/ Ruth
/ Ruth Biblical character
/ Ebed-Melech Biblical character
/ Minority
B Exegesis / Afro-Americanism |
| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Ruth
B Ebed-Melech B Asian American biblical interpretation B model minority |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Recent global developments have mounted a challenge to this account of the submissive “model minority.” Since Ruth’s character is ambiguous and has been (mis)used at times among Asian American Christians as a “biblical” example, the real “model minority” is found in Jeremiah’s portrayal of Ebed-Melech. He intervenes on behalf of a prophet about to be killed and speaks truth to power (Jeremiah 38). However, Ebed-Melech is frequently overlooked because of the unfounded assumption that, as a black Cushite, he must have been a slave and/or eunuch. The label of “model minority” for Asian Americans has rightly come under scrutiny due to its role in constructing a new cultural narrative that repositioned them as desirable immigrants. Among Asian American Christians, the construct of “model minority” has often been mirrored in the biblical book of Ruth since she, as ancient Israel’s most famous daughter-in-law, is portrayed as compliant, loyal, and industrious despite being a “perpetual foreigner.” |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5152 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblical interpretation
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685152-20221683 |