Layers of Abjection

The Unnamed Pilegesh of Judges 19 and Us

Abstract

The unnamed pilegesh of Judges 19 has been understood and labeled as “abject.” However, to only see her as abject as it pertains to the text is to miss the layered aspects of her abjection. She is not only abject literally and literarily but also abject as she is a symbol of abjection for the social body of Ancient Judah, a figure by which they understand and make sense of their traumas. The dismembered pilegesh thus demonstrates how corporeal violence to her body is used to think within the ancient world, how her body continues to demonstrate the subjugation of precarious bodies, and the way her body demonstrates theological claims and ideas—on multiple layers. Finally, in a manner of self-reflexivity, this article considers my posture as continuing her abjection. While this will not and cannot redress her abjection, exposing these layers is an attempt at re-membering.