Making a home: the difficulty of dwelling in Genesis and its intertexts

Harris, Emily (2016) Making a home: the difficulty of dwelling in Genesis and its intertexts. MTh(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Using an inter-disciplinary range of research on the home-space, home-making practices and
the concept of ‘dwelling’, I achieve a new understanding of a central thematic concern in
Genesis: its characters’ struggle to build stable, lasting homes upon the earth. Genesis starts
with a lost home-space named Eden, before progressing towards other temporary dwellings
such as the ark Noah builds, and Abraham’s tents. The biblical ‘home’ is constructed from a
mix of materials: the birth of children, divine instructions and journeys, dreams, homemaking
acts and so on. Alongside social scientific criticism, this thesis uses literary and midrashic
intertexts as a way into re-imagining the ‘unhomely’ experiences of certain characters, or
drawing out tensions in acts such as home-unmaking or homecomings. The investigation of
the concept of ‘home’ in Genesis contributes to the study of this space more widely, as well as
reinterpreting familiar biblical themes such as identity, family and community.

• Item Type: Thesis (MTh(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Hebrew Bible, Genesis, literature, midrash, home, home-making, homecoming.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BT Doctrinal Theology; P Language and Literature > PR English literature
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > Theology and Religious Studies
• Supervisor's Name: Nicholson, Dr. Sarah and Walton, Dr. Heather
• Date of Award: 2016
• Depositing User: Ms Emily Harris
• Unique ID: glathesis:2016-7470
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 11 Jul 2016 08:08
• Last Modified: 26 Jul 2016 11:47
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/7470