The Child's Sickbed in the Elijah and Elisha Narratives: Safeguarding Ritual Space in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4.
In the healing narratives of 1 Kgs 17:17-24 and 2 Kgs 4:18-37, the men of god Elijah and Elisha cure nearly or already dead children by placing them in the prophets' own beds and enacting ritual praxes. Attention to neglected dimensions of ritual space in these narratives reveals two significant poi...
| Publicado en: | Catholic Biblical Quarterly Vol. 84; no. 3; pp. 385 - 404 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Catholic Biblical Association of America
Jul2022
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | In the healing narratives of 1 Kgs 17:17-24 and 2 Kgs 4:18-37, the men of god Elijah and Elisha cure nearly or already dead children by placing them in the prophets' own beds and enacting ritual praxes. Attention to neglected dimensions of ritual space in these narratives reveals two significant points about the sickbeds. Images of these beds as both ominous portents and protected loci stand in tension throughout the texts. Epigraphic and visual artifacts from Mesopotamia and the northern Levant illustrate the widespread nature of sickbed discourse in the ancient Middle East, and comparison of the Elijah and Elisha narratives to such material illuminates the aims of the biblical texts in linking ritual space and privileged ritual practitioner. |
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