Physical space, imagined space, and "lived space" in ancient Israel

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Spring, 2003 by Victor H. Matthews

You must not move your neighbor's boundary marker, set up by former generations, on the property that will be allotted to you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess. (Deut 19:14)

Cursed be anyone who moves a neighbor's boundary marker. (Deut 27:17)

Do not remove the ancient landmark that your ancestors set up. (Prov 22:28)

Do not remove an ancient landmark or encroach on the fields of orphans. (Prov 23:10)

Do not move a surveyor's stone to steal a field, do not move the surveyor's line to take a farm. Do not covet another's land, do not poach on the widow's field. ["Teachings of Amen-em-ope," Matthews & Benjamin 1997: 277].

Manipulation of Space and Shifts in Identity

One effect of the manipulation of space as well as access to defined space is a change in the conceptualization of personal identity. In fact agency and even individuality is itself the result of spatial conditions. For instance, when Joseph is placed in an Egyptian prison he has little agency whatsoever (Gen 39:20). Yet when he is brought into the presence of the pharaoh and is "authorized" to interpret the monarch's dream (based on a documented pattern of this skill), then both his personal identity and ultimately his status and agency to make great changes in Egypt are transformed (Gen 41:1-45; Matthews 1995: 33-36). A similar example of the manner in which spatial conditions determine agency and identity is in the Egyptian "Tale of Sinuhe." This political exile is finally allowed to return to his homeland after many years in Canaan, and yet his "rehabilitation" is only complete when he is recognizable as an Egyptian. He must return "the sand to those who dwell in it and the wood oil to those who grease themselves with it" so that the pharaoh and his household can recognize him and be assured that "it really is he"(Matthews & Benjamin 1997: 132-33).

On a more mundane level, a person who rents a room or apartment generally will decorate that space in such a way as to reflect both their aesthetic tastes and to place a stamp of personal identity on what is otherwise a liminal or generic living area (Pratt: 151). Some of this decoration may be simple happenstance, based on what is at hand, and may have no greater intention than to please oneself or to serve a utilitarian purpose (i.e., placing a mirror on the wall to aid in personal grooming). Thus when Boaz sleeps on the threshing floor at the foot of his pile of grain, he may be said to have simply found a convenient place to spend the night rather than waste time the next morning traveling from home back to the communal facility. However, it could also be said that his person and the deliberate placement of his body in a particular section of the threshing floor and at a point near his property says very clearly to all that he has temporarily defined that space as his own. It is no longer communal workspace. Instead, it has become "Boaz' corner"--with clearly defined limits, contents, and property rights. In essence, he has stamped this area by changing its character just it has "stamped" him by providing a place where his grain can be processed.