Through this lesson the student will learn how to apply the social model of honor and shame to the interpretation of a biblical text.
Bible: Genesis 34; 1 Samuel 25
The Shame, A Short Story by Yusuf Idris
Lecture: Honor and Shame in Ancient Israel
Handouts: Women in the Mediterranean, Model of Limited Good
Interpret 1 Samuel 25 in the context of honor and shame.
In order to affectively argue your thesis, your essay should explain the social features in the narrative and how they contribute to the meaning of the passage. Consider the following questions in relation to the dynamics of honor and shame:
- Did Nabal interpret David's request as a positive or negative challenge?
- Does Nabal's interpretation of the challenge have any validity?
- What was Nabal's response: positive rejection, acceptance, or negative refusal?
- What does Nabal's response mean?
- At what level of challenge does David interpret Nabal's response?
- What is the effect of Abigail's actions on David and on Nabal?
Your essay should not simply answer these questions. Rather, your answer to these questions should contribute to your understanding of the social dynamics of the conflict between David and Nabal. Your essay should argue for this understanding.
Based on the short story, The Shame, address the following questions:
Why is "love" called "the shame"?
Why does Fatma remain unmarried? Why does no man want to marry her, despite her great attraction?
Why does Farag worry over his sister? Why does Farag give gifts generously and spend his money freely, even though he is a man of little means?
Why do the people of the farm assume that Fatma and Gharib committed "the shame"? After Fatma is proven innocent, why does Farag beat her? Why does Abdoun beat his son, yet remain proud of him?
Compare the characters in The Shame to the characters in Genesis 34. What are the similarities? What are the differences?
David D. Gilmore, ed. Honor and Shame and the Unity of the Mediterranean. American Anthropological Association Special Publication 22. Washington DC: American Anthropological Association, 1987.
Frank Henderson Stewart. Honor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Carol Delaney. The Seed and the Soil: Gender and Cosmology in a Turkish Village Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
