2009/01/01 by Ronald Charles
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Aesthetics #Ambivalence #Anthropology #Archaeology #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Art #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Gender studies #Genealogy #Historical and Linguistic Studies #History #Hybridity #Identity (music) #Jewish identity #Jewish studies #Judaism #Literature #Narrative #Negotiation #Order (exchange) #Psychoanalysis #Psychology #Social science #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1163/157006309x410662
openalex publication_date 2009/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Abstract This paper explores how the complex notion of hybridity, as developed by Homi K. Bhabha, can shed light on the Letter of Aristeas. Throughout the narrative of this ancient Jewish tale one finds a risky attempt on the part of the author to incorporate the best aspects of the two cultures and modes of thinking—Judaism and Hellenism—within which his community were living in Alexandria. In order to understand the dynamics of the hybrid condition of Aristeas in its ambivalence, this paper argues that the multiple agencies in place to foster a certain version of Jewish identity in this diasporic social location are best captured in the forms of calculated negotiations, prudent affiliations, and idealized memory.