This study examines the rhetoric of the Old Testament Miriam references and their socio-historical contexts, and processes the history of research into Miriam from a feminist perspective. Previous research into Miriam was largely determined by prior decisions on literary history, and was thus only able to make rudimentary statements about Miriam. In contrast, a feminist rhetorical analysis inquiring into the aesthetics of reception and production reveals new contexts for what Miriam represents in the text. She can no longer be regarded as a 'prophetess' from the early history of Israel, but instead represents a particular theo-political position in Persian times.

Der Sammelband anlasslich der Emeritierung von Johannes Marboeck, Professor am Institut fur Alttestamentliche Bibelwissenschaft der Karl-Franzens-Universitat Graz, ist dem wichtigsten Arbeitsfeld des Geehrten gewidmet: der Weisheitsliteratur des Alten Testaments. In den zahlreichen Beitragen namhafter Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler wird dieses Thema aus hoechst unterschiedlichen Perspektiven immer neu in den Blick genommen.