Inverterade symboler: Orm, Ko och Träd : En jämförande analys av symbolerna orm, ko och träd i judisk-kristen tradition och det forna Mellanöstern utifrån den intertextuella teorin om spegel-narrativ

Sammanfattning: This essay is a comparative study of Judeo-Christian religion and religions from the ancient Middle East, mainly ancient Sumer/Mesopotamia and Egypt, with focus on the common symbols; the serpent, the cow and the tree. The comparison of the three symbols from different religious traditions highlights that there are both key differences and similarities. The differences and similarities are then explained with the help of professor Yair Zakovitch theory inverted reflections stories also referred to as mirror-narratives, which is an intertextual theory. The application of the theory helps to establish that many of the biblical myths are part of a large collection of polemical literature. A strategy within polemics was to invert symbols and motifs from the so called ”pagan” tradition and associate an old well known motif with the opposite meaning in the later biblical reinterpretations, or what Zakovitch identifies as mirror-narratives. The result of this study shows that the theory mirror-narratives is very fruitful in the comparison of Judeo-Christian religion and ”pagan” religions from the ancient Middle East.