The Matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah

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Katie J. Woolstenhulme considers the pertinent questions: Who were ‘the matriarchs’, and what did the rabbis think about them? Whilst scholarship on the role of women in the Bible and Rabbinic Judaism has increased, the authoritative group of women known as ‘the matriarchs’ has been neglected. This volume consequently focuses on the role and status of the biblical matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah, the fifth century CE rabbinic commentary on Genesis. Woolstenhulme begins by discussing the nature of midrash and introducing Genesis Rabbah; before exploring the term ‘the matriarchs’ and its development through early exegetical literature, culminating in the emergence of two definitions of the term in Genesis Rabbah – ‘the matriarchs’ as the legitimate wives of Israel’s patriarchs, and ‘the matriarchs’ as a reference to Jacob’s four wives, who bore Israel’s tribal ancestors. She then moves to discuss ‘the matriarchal cycle’ in Genesis Rabbah with its three stages of barrenness; motherhood; and succession. Finally, Woolstenhulme considers Genesis Rabbah’s portrayal of the matriarchs as representatives of the female sex, exploring positive and negative rabbinic attitudes towards women with a focus on piety, prayer, praise, beauty and sexuality, and the matriarchs’ exemplification of stereotypical, negative female traits. This volume concludes that for the ancient rabbis, the matriarchs were the historical mothers of Israel, bearing covenant sons, but also the present mothers of Israel, continuing to influence Jewish identity. Cover Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Note on Texts and Translations Abbreviations Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1. Literature Review 1.2. Content Outline Part I ‘The Matriarchs’ in Genesis Rabbah Chapter 2 Rabbinic Midrash: An Introduction 2.1. Midrash ( (מדרשׁ 2.2. The Theory of Midrash: The Rabbinic Worldview 2.3. Common Midrashic Exegetical Techniques 2.4. Rabbinic Texts 2.5. Genesis Rabbah 2.6. A Note on the Text of Genesis Rabbah 2.7. Conclusions Chapter 3‘The Matriarchs’ (האימהות 3.1. Modern Scholarly Understandings of the Term ‘Matriarch’ 3.1.1. Summary 3.2. A Note on the Titles ‘Matriarch’ ( אם ) and ‘Patriarch’ ( (אב 3.3. The Matriarchs: Biblical Beginnings 3.3.1. The Matriarchs in the Hebrew Bible 3.3.2. Marriages between Patriarchs and Handmaids 3.3.3. Summary 3.4. The Matriarchs in Ancient Jewish Sources 3.4.1. The Book of Jubilees 3.4.2. The Damascus Document 3.4.3. Pseudo-Philo’s Liber antiquitatum biblicarum 3.4.4. Early Rabbinic Midrash 3.4.5. Summary 3.5. Excursus: The Matrilineal Principle 3.5.1. Summary 3.6. ‘The Matriarchs’ ( האימהות) in Genesis Rabbah 3.6.1. The Wives of the Patriarchs 3.6.1.1. The Title ‘the Matriarchs’ Paralleled with a Male Equivalent 3.6.1.2. Summary 3.6.2. Uses of the Noun אם as ‘Matriarch’ 3.6.2.1. Summary 3.6.3. Characteristics of the Matriarchs 3.6.3.1. ‘The Matriarchs ( האימהות) Were Prophetesses’ 3.6.3.2. The Matriarchs ( האימהות) as ‘Women in the Tent’ 3.6.3.3. ‘The Merit of the Matriarchs’ 3.6.3.4. ‘Why Were the Matriarchs Made Barren?’ 3.6.3.5. Summary 3.6.4. The Mothers of the Tribal Ancestors 3.6.4.1. The Matriarchs as ‘Mothers of the Tribal Ancestors’, in Reference to Their Children 3.6.4.2. Summary 3.7. Conclusions Part II ‘The Matriarchal Cycle’: The Portrayal of the Matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah Chapter 4 Preface to Part II: ‘The Matriarchal Cycle’ 4.1. The Biblical Barren Matriarch Tradition 4.2. ‘The Matriarchal Cycle’ 4.3. ‘The Matriarchal Cycle’ in Genesis Rabbah Chapter 5 Barrenness 5.1. The Anguish of Barrenness 5.1.1. Summary 5.2. God’s Role in Childbirth and the Reversal of Barrenness 5.2.1. God’s Control over Childbirth 5.2.2. God’s Support of the Disadvantaged, Especially Barren Women 5.2.3. God Ensures the Reversal of Barrenness by His Power 5.2.4. Summary 5.3. The Matriarchs as Representatives: Of the Disadvantaged 5.3.1. Matriarchs as Representatives of the Disadvantaged 5.3.2. The Reversal of Barrenness and Its Consequences 5.3.3. Summary 5.4. The Matriarchs as Representatives: Of the National Identity 5.4.1. Use of the Biblical Barren Matriarch Tradition and Its Development 5.4.2. Matriarchs as Representatives of the National Identity 5.4.3. Scriptural Texts Applied to the Matriarchal Narratives 5.4.4. Summary 5.5. Conclusions Chapter 6 Motherhood 6.1. Pregnancy and Childbirth 6.1.1. The Physical Act of Childbearing 6.1.2. Death during Childbirth 6.1.3. Summary 6.2. Identity 6.2.1. Sons Are Identified through Their Mothers: By Name 6.2.2. Sons Are Identified through Their Mothers: By Traits 6.2.3. Summary 6.3. Family Dynamics 6.3.1. Husbands’ Respect for Their Wives as Mothers 6.3.2. Sons’ Respect for Their Mothers 6.3.3. Summary 6.4. Maternal Protection of the Covenant Son 6.4.1. The Role of Motherhood in Each Matriarch’s Story 6.4.2. Sarah and Isaac 6.4.3. Rebekah and Jacob 6.4.4. Leah, Rachel and the Tribal Ancestors 6.4.5. Summary 6.5. National Motherhood 6.5.1. The National Dimensions of Matriarchal Motherhood 6.5.2. Sarah: The First Mother of Israel 6.5.3. Rebekah: The Mother of Two Nations 6.5.4. Leah and Rachel: The Mothers of Tribal Ancestors 6.5.4.1. Leah 6.5.4.2. Rachel 6.5.5. Summary 6.6. Conclusions Chapter 7 Legitimacy and Succession 7.1. Sarah as the ‘Capable Wife’ 7.1.1. Summary 7.2. Sarah and Rebekah as Exemplars of Sexual Purity and Rachel in Relationship with God 7.2.1. Summary 7.3. Marriages 7.3.1. Legitimate Unions 7.3.2. Illegitimate Unions 7.3.3. Summary 7.4. Matriarchal Succession 7.4.1. Summary 7.5. Conclusions Part III The Rabbis and the Matriarchs as Women Chapter 8 The Rabbis and the Matriarchs as Women 8.1. Positive Rabbinic Portrayals of the Matriarchs as Women 8.1.1. Prayer and Praise 8.1.2. Piety 8.1.2.1. Summary 8.1.3. Beauty and Sexuality 8.1.3.1. Summary 8.2. Negative Rabbinic Portrayals of the Matriarchs as Women 8.2.1. Stereotypical Negative Characteristics 8.2.1.1. Summary 8.2.2. Beauty and Sexuality 8.2.2.1. Summary 8.3. Conclusions Chapter 9 Conclusions 9.1. Main Findings 9.2. The Unity of Genesis Rabbah 9.3. The Views of Modern Scholarship 9.4. The Matriarchs: The Bible versus Midrash 9.5. Further Research Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors