TY - JOUR

T1 - Whom Shall I Fear? The Irony of Affective Politics in Judges 19

AU - Fry, Alexiana Dawn

PY - 2023/7/10

Y1 - 2023/7/10

N2 - In Judges 19, the Levite from Ephraim, together with his concubine, on their journey back home pass by Jebus and refuse to stay in the hometown of the Jebusites, remarking that “we will not stop at a foreign city where there are no Israelites” (Judges 19:12). It is an ironic comment made as it is precisely within the city of Israelites in Gibeah that danger and violence will occur. This narrative portrayal is particularly poignant in the current context of the United States that is dominated by fear, specifically through the bodies of those who are deemed “other” in terms of their ethnicity. Meanwhile, it may be that the greatest threat in the United States today lies within its own walls, i.e., in the majority demographic. This paper explores the biases majority culture holds towards the supposed morality of “other” ethnicities and nationalities, considering questions regarding what is considered “normal” or “safe.” The fear that characterises the downfall of the narrative reaches beyond ethnic othering to gender and sexual othering as well, not only inside the text, but in interpretation and reception as well. Yet, the narrative shows this as baldly ironic in order to face it; whereas the United States and scholars within have yet to truly name the problem in order to maintain the ideals of hierarchy, power, and White supremacy.

AB - In Judges 19, the Levite from Ephraim, together with his concubine, on their journey back home pass by Jebus and refuse to stay in the hometown of the Jebusites, remarking that “we will not stop at a foreign city where there are no Israelites” (Judges 19:12). It is an ironic comment made as it is precisely within the city of Israelites in Gibeah that danger and violence will occur. This narrative portrayal is particularly poignant in the current context of the United States that is dominated by fear, specifically through the bodies of those who are deemed “other” in terms of their ethnicity. Meanwhile, it may be that the greatest threat in the United States today lies within its own walls, i.e., in the majority demographic. This paper explores the biases majority culture holds towards the supposed morality of “other” ethnicities and nationalities, considering questions regarding what is considered “normal” or “safe.” The fear that characterises the downfall of the narrative reaches beyond ethnic othering to gender and sexual othering as well, not only inside the text, but in interpretation and reception as well. Yet, the narrative shows this as baldly ironic in order to face it; whereas the United States and scholars within have yet to truly name the problem in order to maintain the ideals of hierarchy, power, and White supremacy.

KW - Faculty of Theology

KW - Judges

KW - Affect Theory

KW - Fear

KW - Irony

U2 - https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:57309

DO - https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:57309

M3 - Journal article

VL - 5

SP - 1

EP - 15

JO - Journal for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies

JF - Journal for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies

SN - 2633-0695

IS - 1

ER -