L’Autre et la Bible hébraïque

Abstract

Two types of Judaism rub shoulders in the sacred sources of the Jewis-h people: the Bible, whose heartbeat can be heard in the Torah and the rabbinical writings which suggest –or dictate the correct interpretations. Late Judaism is primarily concerned with the widow and the stranger and thinks less about opening up to the Other, while older Judaism advocates an openness to many Others, including some one might not expect. The demonstration of a cartography of electedness and the rewriting of parts of the relationship with the Other by late Judaism encourages a dialogue of religions and allows the Jews to rely on legitimate readings, older than the midrashim, to delve into the Other. Through semiotics, the linguistic analysis of the Hebrew Bible, cognitive anthropology and intercultural pragmatics, this paper examines the biblical text in order to extract what was said and not said through a semiotic analysis of intercultural dialogue. In the words of Roland Barthes (1985:297), we imagine «what is narratively scandalous» thus bringing up surprising questions. Through the exegesis of the «dream tales» of Nebuchadnezzar, Laban and Avimelec, their relationship with Daniel, Jacob, Rachel and Leah, Sarah and Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca and Ishmael is highlighted, but also the relationship with the most hated of the Others, with the reviled foreigner, the powerful Jezebel.