Man, Woman, and Hospitality - 2 Kings 4:8--36

Abstract

Using ethnographic data on Mediterranean societies, the validity of which has been established elsewhere, this article begins by stressing the dominant role of the woman in the domestic sphere. The three-act "scenario" of 2 Kings 4:8-36, properly understood, poses no problem with respect to the woman's conduct, which transforms a hostile stranger into a guest; it is rather Elisha's influence brokering in attempting reciprocity that is seen as unacceptable. When the prophet's sumbolic universe collapses (at the end of the narrative), life and "resurrection" take place.

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