Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader

by Alice Bach (Editor)

Overview

Women in the Hebrew Bible presents the first one-volume overview covering the interpretation of women's place in man's world within the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Written by the major scholars in the field of biblical studies and literary theory, these essays examine attitudes toward women and their status in ancient Near Eastern societies, focusing on the Israelite society portrayed by the Hebrew Bible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135238759
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/31/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	566
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Alice Bach is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University and the editor of Biblicon, a journal of Bible, media, and culture. She is the author of Women, Seduction, and Betrayal in Biblical Narrative (1997) as well as numerous award-winning children's books.
is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University. She is the author of Women,Seduction, and Betrayal in Biblical Narrative (1997) and editor of several scholarly articles, including BiblicalGlamour and Hollywood Glitz. She is also the author of numerous award-winning children's books.

Table of Contents

1: The Social World of Women in Ancient Israel; 1: The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus; 2: “And the Women Knead Dough”; 3: Women and the Domestic Economy of Early Israel; 4: Structure and Patriarchal functions in the Biblical Betrothal Type-Scene; 5: The Problem of the Body for the People of the Book; 2: Reading Women into Biblical Narratives; 6: Status and Role of Female Heroines in the Biblical Narrative; 7: Woman and the Discourse of Patriarchal Wisdom; 8: The Harlot as Heroine; 9: His Story Versus Her Story; 10: The Literary Characterization of Mothers and Sexual Politics in the Hebrew Bible; 11: Who's Afraid of “The Endangered Ancestress”?; 3: Goddesses and Women of Magic; 12: A Heifer from Thy Stable; 13: The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel; 14: The Wise Women of 2 Samuel; 4: Rereading Women in the bible; 15: Reading Strategies and the Story of Ruth; 16: “A Son Is Born to Naomi!”; 17: The Seduction of Eve and the Exegetical Politics of Gender * 1; 18: Genesis 22; 5: Sexual Politics in the Hebrew Bible; 19: Law and Philosophy; 20: Eroticism and Death in the Tale of Jael; 21: Dealing/With/Women; 22: Adultery in the House of David; 23: Signs of the Flesh; 24: Sacrifice and Salvation; 25: Judith, Holding the Tale of Herodotus; 6: Feminist Identities in Biblical Interpretation; 26: Rereading the Body Politic; 27: Transforming the Nature of Community; 28: With a Song in Her Heart; 29: Roundtable Discussion; 7: The Social World of Women in Ancient Israel; 30: Introduction to A Case History; 31: The Strange Case of the Suspected Sotah (Numbers V11–31); 32: The Case of the Suspected Adulteress, Numbers 5:11–31; 33: Numbers 5 and the “Waters of Judgment”; 34: Accusations of Adultery; 35: Good to the Last Drop

Editorial Reviews

Bach (religious studies, Stanford Univ.), author of Women, Seduction, and Betrayal in Biblical Narrative (Cambridge Univ., 1997), has compiled a fascinating collection of nearly 40 essays on attitudes toward women and their status in early biblical times. Top scholars in the field--Esther Fuchs, Susan Ackerman, Howard Eilberg-Schwartz, Bach herself, and many others--analyze the lives and roles of the "wives" (Sarah, Rebekah, Leah), the "Good Girls" (Ruth, Esther, Judith), the "Bad Girls" (Eve, Delilah, Bathsheba, Jezebel), the "Sad Girls" (Lot's daughters, Dinah), the "Women Warriors" (Miriam, Deborah), the "Amazing Women" (the Medium of Endor, the Wise Women of Tekoa, the Playmate of God), and the ordinary women in extraordinary and revelatory depth. Included are extensive notes and bibliographies, though, alas, no index or author credits. Students and scholars in the fields of Hebrew studies, biblical history, and feminism will revel in the complex insights here, though general readers may have trouble. Highly recommended for special collections.--Marcia G. Welsh, Guilford Free Lib., CT

Library Journal

"The scope and breadth, the range and diversity of the set of articles offers great access both to the feminist project of the late twentieth century and to Hebrew biblical study." — Hebrew Studies
"Bach has compiled a fascinating collection of nearly 40 essays on attitudes toward women and their status in early biblical times...Highly recommended for special collections." — Library Journal
"Alice Bach has gathered an excellent collection of essays in the field. This reader is a 'must' for anyone taking courses in Biblical Studies." — Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Harvard Divinity School
"The emergence of feminist biblical criticism is one of the most exciting and provocative developments in modern biblical scholarship, and Alice Bach is one of the leaders in the field. Her new anthology serves as both an excellent introduction and a fine survey of the state of the art. I recommend it highly to all biblical scholars, and to general readers with an interest in some of the most important biblical criticism of our time." — Alan Cooper, Jewish Theological Seminary of America

From the Publisher