Recognising the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative

by Isabella Hammad

The word epiphany itself comes from the Koine Greek word epipháneia, meaning manifestation or appearance, derived from the verb phainein, meaning to appear. It is usually applied in ancient Greek contexts to three things: the first is dawn, the second is the appearance of an enemy army, and the third is the manifestation of a deity. The third one is obviously what led to its use in the Bible and subsequently provided the meaning that the Catholic-born James Joyce subverted, detheologising it in his writing. But it’s the first two – dawn, and the appearance of the enemy army – that are interesting to me, because they suggest something appearing beyond the horizon, beyond the field of vision that your subject position allows, with the revelation of threat and light.