"Aseneth's Transformation" (book publication)

Aseneth's Transformation (research result Postdoc NFR) In this book, Aseneth's transformation from a foreign idolater into a suitable bride for Joseph is investigated on the basis of blending theory, intertextual blending theory, and cognitive theories o n rituals and magic. Scholars have traditionally compared the activities comprising Aseneth's transformation to rituals taking place in various religious groups in antiquity. Alternatively, they have employed van Gennep's, Turner's, and Lincoln's theories on rituals of passage, liminality, and women participants in rituals of passage. The author argues that the rituals depicted in the novel do not constitute replications of actual rituals that took place in specific religious groups in antiquity. Rather, readers and audience members are expected to employ their general knowledge of real life rituals, in particular rites of passage, in order to understand the profound importance and the implications of Aseneth's internal and external transformation in the novel. Chapter 1: "Introduction" (history of research and the current state of research on the text, arguments with regard to date, place, and the religious classification of the text, etc.). Chapter 2: "Mystical Features in Joseph and Aseneth" compares Aseneth?s transformation to similar transformations and related phenomena depicted in Ezekiel, the Ascent Apocalypses, the Qumran Texts, and the Hekhalot Literature. Chapter 3: "A Cognitive Perspective on Metaphors, Allegory, and Intertextuality in Jos eph and Aseneth" begins by introducing blending theory and intertextual blending. Chapter 4: "Aseneth's Transformation Viewed against the Backdrop of Cognitive Theories on Rituals and Magic" draws on blending theory and from other cognitive theories on rituals and magic. Chapter 5: Conclusion. Appendix: Figures of all conceptual and hybrid integration networks analyzed in this book