Diseased Bodies and the Invaded Social Body in Biblical Depictions of the Census

Abstract

The question of why biblical literature links census-taking with plague has long puzzled scholars. I propose looking at the problem through the lens of body theory, where one understanding of the body is to see it as a place upon which society and culture are mapped. Several studies anchored in this approach have found that diseased bodies are sometimes understood as symptoms of the “sick” or malfunctioning society. I propose that this representation of the sick body as a consequence of the sick society lends credibility to the interpretation that the biblical census-plague link stemmed from perceived dangers about political centralization under the monarchy. Some factions in ancient Israel viewed the census as an affront to tribal society with an emerging monarchy invading traditional village life. I argue that the diseased bodies of Israelites in these texts articulated concern for the invaded and deteriorating social body of the tribes.