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Vita Daphna Arbel uses critical theories of gender to offer an
alternative reading of the multilayered conceptualization of the
Song of Song's feminine protagonist: "the most beautiful woman".
Arbel treats "the most beautiful woman" as a culturally constructed
and performed representation of "woman," and situates this
representation within the cultural- discursive contexts in which
the Song partly emerged. She examines the gender norms and cultural
ideologies it both reflects and constructs, and considers the
manner in which this complex representation disrupts rigid,
ahistorical notions of femininity, and how it consequently
indirectly characterizes "womanhood" as dynamic and diverse.
Finally, Arbel examines the reception and impact of these ideas on
later conceptualizations of the Song of Songs' female protagonist
with a heuristic examination of Mark Chagall's Song of Songs
painting cycle, Le Cantique des Cantiques. These
compositions-selected for their diverse depictions of the Song's
protagonist, their impact on European art, and their vast
popularity and bearing in the broader cultural
imagination-illustrate a fascinating dialogue between the present
and the past about the "most beautiful woman" and about multiple
femininities.
Vita Daphna Arbel uses critical theories of gender to offer an
alternative reading of the multilayered conceptualization of the
Song of Song's feminine protagonist: “the most beautiful
woman”. Arbel treats “the most beautiful woman” as a
culturally constructed and performed representation of “woman,”
and situates this representation within the cultural-discursive
contexts in which the Song partly emerged. She examines the gender
norms and cultural ideologies it both reflects and constructs, and
considers the manner in which this complex representation disrupts
rigid, ahistorical notions of femininity, and how it consequently
indirectly characterizes “womanhood” as dynamic and diverse.
Finally, Arbel examines the reception and impact of these ideas on
later conceptualizations of the Song of Songs' female protagonist
with a heuristic examination of Mark Chagall’s Song of Songs
painting cycle, Le Cantique des Cantiques. These
compositions—selected for their diverse depictions of the
Song’s protagonist, their impact on European art, and their vast
popularity and bearing in the broader cultural
imagination—illustrate a fascinating dialogue between the present
and the past about the “most beautiful woman” and about
multiple femininities.
The phrase "and so they went out" is often used to describe the
departure of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Yet it also
aptly describes the many versions of the stories of Adam and Eve as
they began to circulate about the turn of the Common Era: they too
"went out", and the appearance of these stories in multiple
versions and languages attests both to their widespread popularity
and to their ongoing appeal in the ancient world. Nor is their
appeal confined to antiquity-these stories continue to fascinate,
and the various versions of the apocryphal "Books of Adam and Eve"
have begun to command considerable attention in the academic world.
Thus far, the scholarly community has concentrated principally on
the complex tradition-history of these texts, their date,
provenance and language. But the process of the reshaping and
transformation of the stories within the "Books of Adam and Eve"
has not yet been thoroughly studied. This book sets out to redress
this imbalance by focusing primarily upon conceptual, literary, and
thematic issues. By making use contemporary critical methods such
as literary-critical analysis, ritual theory, and social-scientific
taxonomy, the book explores how these stories represent a profound
transformation and reshaping of ancient attitudes to gender, body,
sexuality, sin, social hierarchies, and human aspirations.
The role of human sacrifice in the ancient Mediterranean world and
its implications continue to be topics that fire the popular
imagination and engender scholarly discussion and controversy. This
volume provides balanced and judicious treatments of the various
facets of these topics from a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural
perspective. It provides nuanced examinations of ancient ritual,
exploring the various meanings that human sacrifice held for
antiquity, and examines its varied repercussions up into the modern
world. The book explores evidence to shed new light on the origins
of the rite, to whom these sacrifices were offered, and by whom
they were performed. It presents fresh insights into the social and
religious meanings of this practice in its varied biblical
landscape and ancient contexts, and demonstrates how human
sacrifice has captured the imagination of later writers who have
employed it in diverse cultural and theological discourses to
convey their own views and ideologies. It provides valuable
perspectives for understanding key cultural, theological and
ideological dimensions, such as the sacrifice of Christ,
scapegoating,self-sacrifice and martyrdom in post-biblical and
modern times.
The role of human sacrifice in the ancient Mediterranean world and
its implications continue to be topics that fire the popular
imagination and engender scholarly discussion and controversy. This
volume aims to advance the discussion by providing balanced and
judicious treatments of the various facets of these topics from a
cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural perspective. It provides
nuanced examinations of ancient ritual, exploring the various
meanings that human sacrifice held for antiquity, and examines its
varied repercussions up into the modern world. The book explores
evidence to shed new light on the origins of the rite, to whom
these sacrifices were offered, and by whom they were performed. It
presents fresh insights into the social and religious meanings of
this practice in its varied biblical landscape and ancient
contexts, and demonstrates how human sacrifice has captured the
imagination of later writers who have employed it in diverse
cultural and theological discourses to convey their own views and
ideologies. It provides valuable perspectives for understanding key
cultural, theological and ideological dimensions, such as the
sacrifice of Christ, scapegoating, self-sacrifice and martyrdom in
post-biblical and modern times.
The process of the reshaping and transformation of the Adam and Eve
stories within the "Books of Adam and Eve" has not yet been studied
as thoroughly as it warrants. This book sets out to help redress
this imbalance. The phrase 'and so they went out' is often used to
describe the departure of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Yet
it also aptly describes the many versions of the stories of Adam
and Eve as they began to circulate about the turn of the Common
Era: they too 'went out', and the appearance of these stories in
multiple versions and languages attests both to their widespread
popularity and to their ongoing appeal in the ancient world. Nor is
their appeal confined to antiquity-these stories continue to
fascinate, and the various versions of the apocryphal "Books of
Adam and Eve" have begun to command considerable attention in the
academic world. Thus far, the scholarly community has concentrated
principally on the complex tradition-history of these texts, their
date, provenance and language. But the process of the reshaping and
transformation of the stories within the "Books of Adam and Eve"
has not yet been thoroughly studied. This book sets out to redress
this imbalance by focusing primarily upon conceptual, literary, and
thematic issues. By making use contemporary critical methods such
as literary-critical analysis, ritual theory, and social-scientific
taxonomy, the book explores how these stories represent a profound
transformation and reshaping of ancient attitudes to gender, body,
sexuality, sin, social hierarchies, and human aspirations.
In Forming Femininity in Antiquity, Vita Daphna Arbel investigates
depictions of the emblematic Eve that are embedded in one of the
most influential accounts of Adam and Eve after the Hebrew Bible,
namely the apocryphal Greek Life of Adam and Eve (GLAE) from
antiquity. Treating the figure of Eve as a culturally constructed
representation of ''woman,'' Arbel examines a crucial
transformative stage in the literary and conceptual discourse of
Eve, with a focus on several pivotal issues that have not been
looked at in previous scholarship. She offers a nuanced analysis of
the GLAE's multifaceted and at times contradictory portrayals of
Eve and, by extension, women. She also situates these depictions in
the hybrid Greco-Roman cultural world in which they emerged, and
discusses the extent to which they both reflect and construct
contemporaneous overlapping and competing concepts and norms
regarding Eve/women's standing, role, authority, and realms of
experiences. Finally, Arbel examines how the GLAE's representations
of Eve/women resonate with later Jewish and Christian traditions,
which often characterize the figure of Eve in accordance with views
that are embedded in the GLAE, rather than in Genesis.
Beholders of Divine Secrets provides a fascinating exploration of
the enigmatic Hekhalot and Merkavah literature, the Jewish mystical
writings of late antiquity. Vita Daphna Arbel delves into the
unique nature of the mystical teachings, experiences, revelations,
and spiritual exegesis presented in this literature. While previous
scholarship has demonstrated the connection between Hekhalot and
Merkavah mysticism and parallel traditions in Rabbinical writings,
the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocalyptic, early Christian, and Gnostic
sources, this work points out additional mythological traditions
that resonate in this literature. Arbel suggests that mythological
patterns of expression, as well as themes and models rooted in Near
Eastern mythological traditions are employed, in a spiritualized
fashion, to communicate mystical content. The possible cultural and
social context of the Hekhalot and Merkavah mysticism and its
composers is discussed.
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