Women in the Hebrew Bible

Resumo: Este artigo visa a elaborar uma breve análise da evolução do status feminino entre os hebreus/ judeus no período do primeiro e do segundo Templos. Fazendo uso do texto bíblico como fonte principal de informação, mas buscando alternar visões diversas e até contraditórias dos espaços e tempos da mulher no cotidiano do trabalho, do estudo e da religião. O trabalho faz um recorte de tempo amplo por pretender observar as continuidades e as alterações de concepção dos direitos e da participação social e religiosa da mulher em um vasto período. Percebe que a diversidade de atitudes tem certa coerência: as mulheres na sociedade tradicional e patriarcal eram mais participantes e atuavam no espaço público mais do que vieram a atuar no período posterior ao cativeiro da Babilônia (586-536 a.E.C.), 1 também denominado período do segundo Templo (c. 589 a.E.C. -70 d.E.C.) Palavras-chave: mulheres, Judaísmo, religião.

Il contributo mostra come la così detta «vita privata» dei profeti debba essere considerata una costruzione letteraria. All'interno della letteratura profetica, tale costruzione letteraria segnala uno sviluppo importante: dal profeta soggetto di profezia – il profeta, cioè, che pronuncia oracoli profetici –, al profeta oggetto di profezia. Il profeta diventa oggetto di narrazioni, riferite alla sua vicenda e alla sua persona; esse  sono composte come parte integrante dei libri profetici, finendo per essere esse stesse profezia.
Nel momento in cui si attua un tale slittamento nella letteratura profetica, non solo le profetesse vengono progressivamente ridimensionate o cancellate dai testi biblici, ma in aggiunta le donne vengono impiegate come arnesi letterari e redazionali, con l’obiettivo di costruire le vite private di profeti-uomini, finendo così per enfatizzare ulteriormente la loro rilevanza all’interno dei libri biblici

Theoretical considerations about law and narrative and their combination in biblical literature lead to a brief overview of biblical texts, prophetic and historiographical, advancing law (broadly construed), then to an analysis of four Priestly stories about the generation of new law, Lev 24:10-23 (about cursing the deity), Num 9:1-14 (about the secondary date for performing the Pesah), Num 15:32-36 (about Sabbath observance), and Num 27:1-11 (about inheritance by women), with implications for understanding the Priestly history.

This paper is a rebuttal and analysis of some common claims about Deut. 24:1-4, specifically the claims reiterated by Todd Scacewater in his paper "Divorce and Remarriage in Deuteronomy 24:1-4". In this paper I highlight and deconstruct some of the claims made by Mr. Scacewater in his analysis of The Torah passage in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. I also highlight and deconstruct some of the claims that his analysis accords with The Messiah's teachings. I demonstrate that Mr. Scacewater's analysis is primarily influenced by a Pauline theology based on Christianity rather than an understanding of The Torah.

This entry in the IVP Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, and Writings provides an overview of the history of interpretation of the biblical book of Ruth.

Taken from Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings edited by Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns. Copyright (c) 2008 by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL  60515-1426. www.ivpress.com

http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=1783

The Power of the Word
As a Catholic who grew up before the changes wrought by the Second Vatican Council, I heard the beginning of the Gospel of St. John every Sunday at the end of Mass:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Later, in college, when I studied Greek, and read Plato’s Dialogues, I was fascinated to learn that St. John’s “Word” was Socrates’ “Logos”, and that St. Paul, being a Greek-educated Jew, understood and incorporated the significance and symbolism of the Logos in his writings about the divinity of the Christ.
I have always had an affinity for the power, the sacredness, the symbolism of the Word. As a writer I am particularly attached to meanings, symbols, denotation and connotation, double-entendres and word play. But above all, it is the idea of the sacred character of the Word—whether it is the word of creation that brings all things into existence, or the mystery and the power of words to destroy, the magic of incantations and curses as well as the ‘magic’ of prayer and blessing. In my novel, “J—The Woman Who Wrote the Bible,” a central focus of the sacred mystery of writing is the Tetragrammaton, or The Name of God. In Hebrew, the four letters YHWH stand for the ineffable Name, and is therefore not to be spoken, except by the High Priest within the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). In ancient times, as in the time of King David, even to write the letters was fraught with danger, so powerful was the Name as well as the art of writing. The people respectfully and fearfully referred to their God as HaShem, which means The Name.
In my research into Ancient Hebrew for the novel, I discovered some fascinating things about the elements of very early written languages. Obviously, languages were spoken long before they were written down, and it was enlightening to have a window into how the transition may have happened. Ancient Hebrew, like other ancient languages, was more intimately and directly connected to physical attributes and natural events than the highly abstract language that developed later, written and spoken. For example, there is no word “anger” in ancient Hebrew – the symbols or characters used are the marks for “flaring nostrils”, which is what happens physically when someone is really angry. This essay explores that aspect of ancient languages that I attempted to make use of while writing a novel about the first human writer of the Old Testament.

Le livre des Juges est l’un des textes les plus violents de la Bible hébraïque. Les femmes y sont souvent victimes de la violence masculine. Pourtant, aux chapitres 4 et 5, deux femmes font figure d’exception dans l’imaginaire biblique patriarcal. En effet, Déborah et Yaël exercent toutes deux violence et pouvoir : l’une par son autorité plurielle auprès du peuple d’Israël et de son armée ; l’autre comme meurtrière de Sisera, le chef de l’armée cananéenne. Ce sont ces deux personnages, à la féminité atypique, qui se trouvent au centre de notre projet d’exégèse biblique féministe. Dans cette recherche, nous explorons de quelles manières les actes violents et les gestes de souveraineté de Déborah et de Yaël façonnent les représentations de leurs genres féminins respectifs. Entre normativité et subversion du genre, où situer la prophétesse de guerre et la meurtrière ?

Cette réflexion s’inscrit à la suite des travaux de Mieke Bal sur les rapports entre genre féminin et meurtre en Juges 4-5 et s’inspire de la théorie de la performativité du genre de Judith Butler. De nombreuses méthodes aussi bien diachroniques que synchroniques sont mises à profit afin d’explorer ces thématiques : critique textuelle, traductologie, philologie, analyse littéraire, critique des formes et narratologie.

Abigail’s wise and independent intervention to avert the impending disaster sparked by her foolish husband saves herself and her household from slaughter and Israel’s future king from presumption and bloodguilt. An examination of the 1 Samuel 25 narrative concerning Abigail’s prophetic act of mediation, which draws David’s gratitude and Yahweh’s blessing, contributes to the understanding of the role women played in ancient Israel.