Does the Genesis 4 narrative suggest some knowledge of psychopathy?

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Malan, Gert Jacobus
dc.date.accessioned 2024-12-10T11:01:35Z
dc.date.available 2024-12-10T11:01:35Z
dc.date.issued 2024-07-08
dc.description DATA AVAILABILITY : Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study. en_US
dc.description This article was researched and accepted for presentation at the SBL International Meeting in Amsterdam in 2024 at the Section for Psychological Hermeneutics. en_US
dc.description.abstract The depiction of Cain and his descendants in the Genesis 4 narrative aligns with the key characteristics of psychopathy and its hereditary nature. The purpose of this study is to examine whether this narrative reflects our current understanding of psychopathy. Cleckley’s description of the best-known traits of psychopathy includes a lack of conscience, empathy and social controls, which ultimately lead to deviant antisocial and criminal behaviour. These traits can be seen in Cain’s murder of Abel, as well as in his reaction when confronted. They may have also been present in his descendants, such as Lamech and those involved in the implied prostitution of Naäma. In this study, the narrative characters are assessed using Robert Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist: Shortened Version, which is examined within the context of Cleckley’s observations and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition (DSM-V). The mark of Cain and the Kenites, as well as their nomadic existence at the fringe of the desert, are also explained, as well as how society safeguarded itself by setting strong boundaries. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The PSL-SV is proven to be an effective diagnostic model when applied to narrative characters in a literary text. Its effectiveness becomes apparent when considering the broader context of the DSM-V and Cleckley’s description. Sufficient information about the text and relevant reference works is necessary to utilise this model successfully. This diagnostic approach can be useful for any discipline interpreting narrative texts, for example literary analysis of characters in novels, historical studies of texts about characters in history, and criminal investigation and law, when interpreting narrative accounts of witness statements. en_US
dc.description.department New Testament Studies en_US
dc.description.librarian am2024 en_US
dc.description.sdg None en_US
dc.description.uri http://www.ve.org.za en_US
dc.identifier.citation Malan, G.J., 2024, ‘Does the Genesis 4 narrative suggest some knowledge of psychopathy?’, Verbum et Ecclesia 45(1), a3124. https://DOI.org/10.4102/ve.v45i1.3124. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1609-9982 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 2074-7705 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.4102/ve.v45i1.3124
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/99848
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher AOSIS en_US
dc.rights © 2024. The Author. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. en_US
dc.subject Psychopath en_US
dc.subject Psychopathy en_US
dc.subject Cain en_US
dc.subject Abel en_US
dc.subject Genesis 4 en_US
dc.subject Kenites en_US
dc.subject Hare en_US
dc.subject Murder en_US
dc.subject PCL-SV en_US
dc.subject Nomadic en_US
dc.title Does the Genesis 4 narrative suggest some knowledge of psychopathy? en_US
dc.type Article en_US


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record