Limit this search to....

Hospitality in the Hebrew Bible
Contributor(s): Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (Author), Quick, Laura (Editor), Vayntrub, Jacqueline (Editor)
ISBN: 056768184X     ISBN-13: 9780567681843
Publisher: T&T Clark
OUR PRICE:   $109.25  
Product Type: Hardcover
Published: September 2025
This item may be ordered no more than 25 days prior to its publication date of September 18, 2025
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Biblical Studies - Old Testament - General
Physical Information: 224 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Gudme applies an anthropological approach to the Hebrew Bible and carries out a systematic study of the role, function and literary use of hospitality in the biblical texts. Gudme's starting point is a contextualization of classical anthropological themes such as reciprocity, guest friendship and kinship structures, which is supplemented by insights from more recent studies on gender, materiality and space. She moves on to provide a much needed critical and systematic analysis and overview of the key hospitality texts in the Hebrew bible, including discussions of the 'dark sides' of hospitality such as deceit, rape and violence.

Gudme shows that hospitality is a central theme and a core value in the Hebrew bible. This is famously illustrated by the patriarch Abraham who acts as the perfect host to a visitor that turns out to be God himself in the Book of Genesis chapter 18. In the biblical texts, hospitality creates social capital, it forges alliances and marriages and it is used as literary tool to characterize both people and deities.