Women in the Hebrew Bible presents the first broad overview covering the place of women in the writings in the Old Testament.

"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.
Feminist analysis of the Bible offers clues for the beginnings of gender bias in Western culture. Metaphors and literary persona from those ancient writings permeate Western literature and haunt our collective unconscious. The essays range from feminist strategies for understanding the social world at the time of the production of the Hebrew Bible to interpretations of key female literary figures such as Ruth, Esther, Judith, Sarah, Rachel and Leah, the unnamed daughter of Jephthah, and the unnamed Levite's concubine in the book of Judges.
A case history of five essays presents different perspectives and interpretations of one passage, Numbers 5: 16 - 31, the so-called "Sotah text." These articles show how critical interpretive perspectives are to reading and understanding a biblical text.
"Women in the Hebrew Bible" offers a stellar selection of the most important writings about the social, cultural and gender codes reflected in Biblical texts.

This accessible, readable book breaks new ground in the cultural study of the Bible, challenging the traditional mode of reading the women in the Bible. Using the stories of the "wicked" literary figures in the Bible--the wife of Potiphar, Bathshebha, Delilah and Salomé--Bach argues that biblical characters have a "life" in the mind of the reader independent of the stories in which they were created. Thus, the reader becomes the site at which the texts and the cultures that produced them come together.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Religion has gone public; and the much-discussed political pendulum has been swinging widely in its effort to keep up with the eruptions of faith swelling the broadband. Private faith finds very public outlets through the media's appetite for voices and choices. Faith-based networks have become media-savvy, urging their members to send barrages of emails, faxes, telephone calls, letters of praise or outrage to politicians. Those same politicians return the volley, using the broadcast media with great skill, wooing the faithful, convincing the cynical that God is on their side. Only a deity could be on so many sides simultaneously. Alice Bach's new book reflects her long-time focus on the Bible, religion and culture. Popular religion is expressed within our culture in rock videos, televangelism, political rhetoric, children's books, films and animations. Every sort of media from print to electronic to broadband is imbued with subtle and blatant religious imagery. The media are new; the message is not. The tightly woven pattern of religion, politics and media has been part of the American fabric since the country was founded. When one examines this cultural cloth, threads of varying colours are revealed, threads whose twists reflect both media coverage of religion and religious views of the media.

These essay in honour of Professor Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza draw on international feminist scholarship indebted to her ground-breaking achievements in the areas of biblical studies, feminist thought and social justice. The contributors represent a wide variety of backgrounds, commitments, methodologies, talents and interests. They are united here by their appreciation for her as a scholar, teacher, mentor, colleague and friend. The spectrum is full of vitality, with important convergences and intersections. It exemplifies what Schussler Fiorenza has called "critical collaboration": women thinking together and creating together. This Festschrift is unique in that it celebrates the work of all women in the field.