Biblical Interpretation· 2026Q2
(Not) Letting Go
- 0citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Roman manumission gestures, like touching enslaved persons with a rod or spinning them, paradoxically highlighted the restricted nature of their granted freedom, deconstructing the very notion of absolute liberty.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Roman manumission involved significant gestures, such as touching with a rod or spinning, which have been largely ignored by scholars.
- These gestures, while conferring freedom, also served to physically impress upon the individual the restrictions tied to their former enslaved status.
- Judith Butler's theory of gesture is applied to interpret the ambiguity of these acts.
- The gestures paradoxically deconstructed the concept of absolute freedom they ostensibly declared.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract This article aims at suggesting a plausible contextual framework for Paul’s language of enslavement and manumission, as well as manumission conventions of ancient Christ groups by considering prominent gestures in Roman manumission procedures. While New Testament scholars have been paying increasing attention to ancient slavery, gestures of manumission have remained largely ignored. However, gestural acts were a key part of manumission procedures, highlighting important aspects of freedpersons’ living conditions. By applying Judith Butler’s theory of gesture, I highlight the ambiguity of gestures involving touching enslaved persons with a rod, holding their hand, and spinning them around. While these gestures, on the one hand, granted freedom, on the other hand, they made to-be-freed persons experience bodily that their freedom would always be restricted by their servile past. Following Butler’s theory, it seems to us that those performing the procedures exposed themselves as deconstructing the prospect of absolute freedom they seemingly declared.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Biblical Interpretation, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Religious studies
Religious studiesArts and Humanities