Religion and Female Body in Ancient Judaism and Its Environments

Description

The volume publishes papers read at the ninth International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, Budapest, 2012. The title of the conference and the issuing volume covers an, on the one hand, extremely important and, on the other hand, regrettably neglected aspect particularly of the ancient Jewish and Christian traditions. Traditional manifestations of both Judaism and Christianity are predominantly masculine theological constructions. Despite their harsh masculine orientation, however, neither Judaism nor Christianity lacks elaboration on the female principle. When an ancient author chooses female imagery in order to make his message more emphatic, the female body as such forms an integral part of their metaphors. The contributions in this volume explore this phenomenon within the literature of early Judaism, and within its broad environments. Preface Contents Mesopotamia The Voices of Ištar The Hebrew Bible and Its Environments The Female Body in Israel and Judah before the Exile Menstruation and Impurity Early Judaism “She Undid Him with the Beauty of Her Face” (Jdt 16.6) The Female Body in Second Temple Literature The Personification of Wisdom and Folly as Women in Ancient Judaism “Pillars of Gold on a Silver Base:” Women’s Roles in the Narrative and Theology of the Book of Tobit Judith as a Female David Christianity and Gnosticism Female Imagery in the Book of Revelation Female Body? The City without(?) Women Index