(December 24, 2018 at 3:06 am)Fake Messiah Wrote: And what about flirting itself? When was that invented? I mean is it more believable that a Bible patriarch is flirting with a woman that his dad got him for couple of goats than just screwing her? I mean do you think that they flirted before sex or did he just give her the orders?
Wait... are you assuming the story is true?
I'd guess it's fiction, written for a purpose, to get some point across. This means that what seems likely to us to be true isn't really important. What we should think about is what point the story makes, why the writer wants to make that point, etc.
The way I read it, the couple is behaving in a playful or affectionate way that makes the observer think they are more than just pals. I have seen people behave this way, and it seems to fit the narrative. It also allows the old-fashioned meaning of "make love" as Henry James used it, and is consistent with what Cherub said about the dictionary meaning of the Hebrew original.
