Gwyther, K orcid.org/0000-0002-9908-6638 (2021) Feasting and Fasting: Hybridity in the Book of Esther. Old Testament Essays, 34 (1). pp. 50-67. ISSN 1010-9919
Abstract
This article focuses on the feasting and fasting scenes that permeate the book of Esther. It examines the interactions between fasting and feasting through a lens of hybridity rather than reversal, as is the predominant approach of Western scholarship. To do so, it links the feasting and fasting to Persian and Jewish activity, respectively. Ultimately, it argues that Purim is an example of hybridity as it combines feasting and fasting in its observance, creating a hybrid of Persian and Jewish activity. The construction of Purim as a hybrid is considered in three sections and it relies on Homi K. Bhabha's postcolonial conception of hybridity: (1) feasting and fasting as Persian and Jewish activity, (2) Esther's mimicry and the beginning of the hybrid and (3) Purim as a hybrid. Understanding Purim as a hybrid, this article concludes by exploring how this hybrid can offer a challenge to the textual presentation of Persian hegemony in the book of Esther.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021, The Author. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0). |
Keywords: | Feasting, Fasting, Hybridity, Esther |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 08 Oct 2021 10:11 |
Last Modified: | 08 Oct 2021 10:11 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Old Testament Society of South Africa |
Identification Number: | 10.17159/2312-3621/2021/v34n1a5 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178992 |