Abstract
in the text. A literary analysis shows that repetitions of terms from the semantic fields of kinship and sexual intercourse provide special emphasis to the theme of a sexual act occurring between father and daughters. Instead of the expected relations in which fathers own their daughters, the daughters depicted here possess and manipulate their father. Moreover, taking into account that the general initiative and focalization are assigned to the elder sister, the constructed narrative pattern departs from the more common biblical pattern in which the younger siblings are more dominant and theologically prominent. While some scholars have suggested that the daughters had no choice, and even acted heroically, the analysis suggested here may lead to a reading that considers the reported sexual acts as negative and uncommon among Israelites.
Highlights
After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:1–29), Lot and his two daughters take refuge in a cave
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There is no explicit condemnation of the events involving Lot and his daughters in the cave, an attentive reading would consider certain telling semantic and stylistic features; the prominent repetitive appearance of terms from the semantic fields of kinship and sexuality; the word-for-word repetition of the elder sister’s proposal to sleep with the father; the frequent occurrence of the possessive suffixes (“our father,” “their father”), and the accounts of the plan’s implementations all contribute to awareness that this is an account of incest between father and daughters
Summary
After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:1–29), Lot and his two daughters take refuge in a cave. As a preliminary to my own findings, some of the main approaches to this text will be surveyed When examining this short narrative, many commentators focus on the statement attributed to the elder sister in Gen 19:31: “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth” (biblical quotations in English follow the RSV unless stated otherwise). The second instance is described in almost the exact words of the suggestion This repetition together with the initiation on the part of the elder sister form a pattern which departs from a common biblical pattern in which the younger siblings are dominant and theologically prominent (e.g. Jacob, Isaac, Joseph).[18] in their actual doings, but in their way of thinking and in the way they conduct their dialogue, Lot’s daughters form a pattern distinct from the ones the Israelites had created for themselves.[19]. Verses 37–38 consist of words from the field of kinship: ( ותלדbore), ( הבכירהfirst-born), ( בןa son), ( אבי־מואבthe father of the Moabites, v 37); ( והצעירהthe younger), ( ילדהbore), ( בןa son), ( בן־עמיBen-ammi), ( אבי בני־עמוןthe father of the Ammonites, v 38)
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