Robert Alter, in The Art of Biblical Narrative, talked about Hebrew "type-scenes" in which stock characters would act a certain way every time. In the Hebrew stories, it sometimes happens that when a man meets a woman at a well, they get married. So, if you didn't know who Jesus was, to Hebrew ears, this was a possible outcome, and was a great way of telling a story. Because not only is this a story about divinity and humanity, it's a story about love and, while not hate, about the people whom we aren't supposed to love. |
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