The Ark of the Covenant as a Material Actant: Adapting New Materialist Concepts for Cause and Effect
The discussion of cause-and-effect in Hebrew Bible narratives has been limited by assumptions restricting agency to will and intention and causation to a strict linearity from subject to object. The field of new materialisms through its explorations of the meaning of matter — the materiality of the world of the reader — offers stimulating ways to examine nonhuman and material activity and the interrelationships between all participants in the world of the text. This thesis adapts new materialist concepts about the effects of material objects and the distribution of agency to expand the discussion of interconnections between entities. In close readings of passages in Exodus, Joshua, and Samuel that feature the Ark of the Covenant, the terms “actant” and “efficacy” are used to include nonhuman and material entities and activity, and the term “actantial context” is used to refer to a particular grouping of divine, human, nonhuman, and material actants whose entanglements with one another produce events that drive biblical narratives. Through this “material actantial” lens on the Ark-related passages, it emerges firstly that YHWH invites rather than compels human participation in actions and communities connected with him. Human actants are free to choose how to relate to YHWH and can even reject him from their midst, though this comes with consequences. Secondly, how human actants interact with nonhuman and material actants reveal their attitudes towards YHWH, adding to what they say about and to him. Thirdly, human and also divine control over other actants in an actantial context is limited. This warns against presumptions of absolute control, even over material objects, which can resist through their materiality and in some instances compete for loyalty to YHWH. Finally, just as agency is collective, so is accountability. Actions are not fully self-determined, and events are not the sole responsibility of a single actant. While this complicates moral culpability, since blame is shared across an actantial context, what results is a more nuanced understanding of interconnectedness in the way things ‘work’. The approach in this thesis is shown to complement Hebrew Bible interpretation and encourage activism in its application. The exegetical method pays attention to the material world of the text and presents a plausible way to talk about other-than-human agency. As such, it complements close readings of the Hebrew Bible. The ecological implications drawn from the exegetical findings demonstrate how the method helps discern what biblical texts have to say about issues that underlie the myriad crises today: both individuals and collectives are accountable for their actions; cooperation is needed for the sake of a community and its future; hubristic attempts at domination reject the reality of an interconnected world; and humble stewardship that seeks the good of others is how all of creation will flourish.
Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, New Materialism, New Materialisms, Ark of the Covenant, Book of Exodus, Book of Joshua, Book of Samuel, Material Agency, Ecological Hermeneutics, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Materiality
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