RT Article
T1 Reading Elisha’s She-Bears: Biblical Interpretation, Extinction Studies, and the Wildness of God
JF Biblical interpretation
VO 31
IS 5
SP 602
OP 622
A1 Stone, Ken 1962-
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2023
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1872097693
AB Readers wrestle with the story of the two bears who maul forty-two lads taunting Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23–24. Little attention is given to the fact that bears are now extinct in Israel. This article reconsiders the passage and biblical bears in dialogue with a subgenre of animal studies known as “extinction studies.” Extinction studies in the humanities focus on “multispecies stories” about extinction over time. Using extinction studies to reexamine references to bears in the Hebrew Bible reveals ways in which the representation of bears as a dangerous threat to humans and livestock, in both biblical texts (including David’s story) and their interpretation, may contribute to the mistreatment and extinction of actual bears. Yet God is associated with bears and other wild animals in several biblical texts, including 2 Kings 2. Thus, a rereading of biblical bears also leads to reconsideration of the biblical God’s variable relationship to wildness.
K1 wild
K1 Elisha
K1 bears
K1 animal studies
K1 extinction studies
K1 Extinction
DO 10.1163/15685152-31050006