Post-P Redaction and the Primordial Territorial Privilege of the Abrahamic Branch in Gen 9:18–29
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21906/rbl.3775Keywords:
Gen 9:18–29, Noah, Canaan, post-Priestly redaction, Pentateuch, patriarchal traditions, Shem, redaction criticism, Genesis 1–11Abstract
This article examines Gen 9:18–29 as a post-Priestly redactional insertion focused on the territorial question of Canaan. Through an analysis of its literary connections with other accounts in Gen 1–11 and the patriarchal traditions, the study argues that the curse of Canaan and the blessing of Shem function to legitimize, within a primordial framework, the territorial privilege of the Abrahamic branch. The narrative thus emerges as a theological and redactional reinterpretation intended to ground Israel’s claim to the land of Canaan in Noah’s authority and in an original memory of the postdiluvian world.
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