The Elusive Covenant : A Structural-Semiotic Reading of Genesis / / Terry J. Prewitt.

• Author: Prewitt, Terry J. 1945-
• Place / Publishing House: Bloomington : : Indiana University Press,, 1990.; ©1990.
• Year of Publication: 1990
• Language: English
• Series: Advances in semiotics
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (1 online resource x, 146 pages) :; illustrations.

The Elusive Covenant takes a fresh look at the book of Genesis, at the foundational text of the Hebrew bible. Uniting the studies of literary form, sign theory, and kinship structures, Terry J. Prewitt demonstrates the close relationship between the unfolding genealogies and the narrative structures...

Table of Contents

• I. Genealogies
• Genealogical patterns in Genesis 1-11
• Social patterns in Genesis 12-50
• Birth, death, and rite of passage
• Time and place
• Structural implication of the Terahite system
• The covenant of circumcision
• The definition of Israel
• II. Polity and history
• Historicity
• Mythscapes
• Tribal ranking and monarchic succession
• Birth order and maternal heritage
• Names, blessings, rank, and social structure
• Intersecting alliances of the Levites
• Territory, kingship, and social structure
• III. Structural hermeneutics
• Rhetorical structures and cultural themes
• Structural patterns in Genesis 1-14
• Genesis 1 and 14
• Genesis 2 and 13
• Genesis 3 and 12
• Adam and Abraham
• Genesis 4 and 11
• Genesis 5 and 10
• Genesis 6 and 9
• Genesis 7 and 8
• Adam, Noah, and Abram
• Toward a unified Genesis structure
• Themal analysis
• Holism and reductionism as hermeneutic principles
• IV. Mythos and Ethos
• Kinship, place, and story types
• Matrimonial alliance in Biblical narrative
• Withdrawn-woman narratives
• Central marriage narratives
• Redemption narratives
• Mythos of patriarchal succession
• Threats to lineage continuity
• Violations of patriarchal authority
• Validations of the lineage
• Justice in the resolution of conflict V. Semiosis.