Cain, Abel, and the Politics of God (Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Biblical Criticism)

"The Genesis story of Cain's murdifer of Abel is often told as a simplistic contrast between the innocence of Abel and the evil of Cain. This book subverts that reading of the Biblical text by utilising Giorgio Agamben's concepts of homo sacer, the state of exception and the idea of sovereignty to re-examine this well-known tale of fratricide and bring to the fore its political implications. Drawing from political theory, philosophy, and psychoanalysis, this book creates a theoretical framework from which to do two things: firstly, to describe and analyse the history of interpretation of Genesis 4:1-16, and secondly to propose an alternative reading of the Biblical text that incorporates other texts inside and outside of the Biblical canon. This intertextual analysis will highlight the motives of violence, law, divine rule, and the rejected as they emerge in different contexts and will evaluate them in an Agambenian framework. The unique approach of this book makes it vital reading for any academic with interests in Biblical Studies and Theology and their interactions with politics and ethics."--Provided by publisher Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- The purpose of this study -- Reception history: exceptional text/text of exception -- Theoretical framework: Agamben, Rancière, and Kristeva -- Giorgio Agamben's concepts of sovereignty, Homo sacer, and the state of exception -- Jacques Rancière's concepts of dissensus and ethical community -- Julia Kristeva's critical-psychoanalytic concept of foreignness -- 1 Cain's evil nature: a story of otherness -- Othering Cain: pre-Augustinian interpretations -- Who's your daddy? -- Are we brothers? -- Farmers against shepherds? -- It's the thought that counts -- Say what? -- The killing field and the gap filling -- Of brothers and keepers -- Who cursed whom? -- Crime and punishment -- Synopsis -- The tale of two cities: Augustinian interpretation of Genesis 4:1-16 -- The origins -- The destinies -- The mark of Cain -- 2 God's intervention: a story of othering -- The political character of biblical interpretation -- Reading a conflict/conflicting readings -- Thanksgiving or arrogance? -- Shepherd or farmer? -- Complaint or contrition? -- Protection or abandonment? -- 3 Cain speaks back to Augustine: a critical reading from Byron to Vallejo -- What is Cain? -- Augustine and Byron: similarities in the differences -- A critical reading of Cain: A Mystery -- The Cain within us: Jorge Luis Borges -- Reaching for the other: César Vallejo -- Los dados eternos/The eternal dice -- Voy a hablar de la esperanza/I am going to speak about hope -- Conclusion -- 4 Genesis 4:1-16: the paradoxical narrative -- Paradoxes of sovereignty -- Paradoxes of desire -- Paradoxes of guilt -- Epilogue -- Index Utilising Giorgio Agamben's concepts of homo sacer and drawing from political theory, philosophy, and psychoanalysis, this book creates a theoretical framework from which to analyse interpretations of Genesis 4:1-16 and to propose an alternative reading of the Biblical text that incorporates other texts inside and outside the Biblical canon.