This article considers Edward W. Said’s proposals on ‘imaginative geographies’ as suggested
in his leading work Orientalism as a tool to analyse the ideological circumstances that shape
geographical spaces in the Bible. My purpose is to discuss how these imaginative geographies
are present in the patriarchal narratives of Genesis and how they have left their mark on the
history of the interpretation of these texts and on the not always easy relations between
members of the religious traditions inherited from the Bible (Hebrews, Muslims and
Christians). I propose four types of ‘imaginative geographies’: (1) ‘Equalness’ is the way to
represent what is considered as sharing the own identity. The geography of ‘Equalness’
defines the spaces of Isaac, Jacob and their families. (2) ‘Otherness’ is the way to represent
the ‘Other’ as opposite or juxtaposed to one’s own identity. A common border is shared, thus
kinship relationships can be established. It defines the spaces of Ishmael, Esau/Edom, Lot
(Ammon and Moab) and Laban. (3) ‘Foreignness’ is the way to define what is strange, odd
or exotic considered as external to the own identity, in a space set beyond even the space of
the ‘Other’. Egypt is in Genesis a land of ‘Foreignness’. (4) ‘Delendness’ encompasses
whatever claims our same space and therefore threatens our survival and must be destroyed
(delendum). As such, processes of annihilation and dominion of Israel on Canaanites and
Sichemites are justified.
CONTRIBUTION : The article applies Said’s ‘imaginative geographies’ as an identity mechanism
for the creation of biblical literary spaces. A quadripartite classification (‘Equal’/‘Other’/‘
Foreigner’/‘Delendum’) instead of the usual bipartite one (‘Equal’ vs. ‘Other’) is proposed
and the consequences for the current coexistence between religious identities inherited from
Abraham are shown.
Description:
The author is participating
as a research fellow in the
project, ‘Biblical Theology
and Hermeneutics’, directed
by Prof. Dr Andries G. van
Aarde, Senior Research
Fellow in the Dean’s Office,
Professor at the Faculty of
Theology and Religion at
the University of Pretoria,
Pretoria, South Africa.
Special Collection: Scholarly Voices, sub-edited by Yolanda Dreyer (University of Pretoria).
