Unleavened bread as exodus ecotheology

Abstract

The Exodus traditions belonging to the Hebrew Bible promote an eco-theological reflection and/or an eco-spirituality, instigating in their listener-readers a greater environmental consciousness. Sometimes in a poetic-narrative way, sometimes in a legal way, they insist on understandings and practical attitudes that aim at both the recognition of nature as the word of God and the preservation of flora and fauna. Against this horizon, it is also recognized that food, besides accompanying human beings throughout their lives, links them to nature. In this sense, as part of the Exodus traditions, the "unleavened bread" is an important symbol. Therefore, an investigation of this food is planned in this research, looking for its materiality and representativeness. With this, the eco-theological dimensions of unleavened bread and/or the proposal for a liberating eco-spirituality inherent to it will gain visibility. The research proposed here falls within the scope of ecological hermeneutics, that is, the green reading of biblical texts. This theme, thirty years ago, at the time of publication of the ecclesial document "The Church's interpretation of the Bible", had not yet gained greater visibility. Today, however, it is urgent.