2019 SBL

2019 SBL Annual Meeting
November 23–26, 2019
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA

We Will Rock You:
Stone Monument Construction as Sites of Memory in the Deuteronomistic History
Historiography and the Hebrew Bible

This paper seeks to apply memory studies—in particular, Pierre Nora’s notion of sites of memory (les lieux de mémoire)—to biblical texts concerning the erection of stone monuments (Deut 27) at Gilgal (Joshua 4; Judges 3), Shechem (Josh 24), and Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). I will argue that these sites demonstrate the characteristic features of sites of memory in that they function to develop a shared notion of the past that reciprocally shapes and is shaped by the present for the purposes of inculcating specific values in future generations. To do so, I will (1) demonstrate the explicit and implicit (i.e., inner-scriptural) presentation of each site as evoking the watershed exodus event of the past in order to (2) inculcate a consistent and preeminent interest in Torah observance. That is, I will show that each of the stone monuments functions as its own mirco-historical overview, manifesting the exodus event from the sea event to the law-giving at Mt. Sinai at various points in Israelite history. Such an investigation will not only clarify the methods and aims of Nora’s notion of lieux de mémoire, but also offer a productive framework through which we are able to read biblical monuments as sites of memory.

Memory in Exile:
Current Debates and Future Directions
Exile and Forced Migrations

This response will critically engage the four papers offered by this panel and the value of this discourse for cases of exile and forced migrations within the Hebrew Bible. In addition to highlighting the unique contributions of the research of each presenter, this paper offers clarification of some of the disparate approaches and terminology used within these papers and the field of memory studies more broadly. In line with the work presented, this response endeavors to examine the potential exilic and post-exilic catalysts for memory activity specific to this crucial period in the literary development of the Hebrew Bible.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to hear more about these projects or get together at the meeting.