“On Her Account”: Reconfiguring Israel in Ruth, Esther, and Judith 9780567664303, 9780567664297, 9780567664310
Anne-Mareike Wetter investigates how the books of Ruth, Esther and Judith contribute to the discussion about Israel'
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English Pages [306] Year 2015
Cover
Title
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Part I: Theoretical Framework
Chapter 2. “Israel,” “Judah,” “Yehudim”— The Problem of Definition and Demarcation
1. (Re-)Constructing Israel: Tradition and Invention I
2. Juda-ism?
3. Religion—A Provisional Definition
a. A Common Myth
b. Ritual Behavior
c. The Holy
d. A Community of Believers
4. Ethnicity—A Provisional Definition
a. Primordial or Constructed?
b. Defining an Ethnie
c. Ethnic Election
Chapter 3. Methodology—The Power of Form
1. Text and Identity—Historical Discourse Analysis
2. Text and Cognition—Cognitive Linguistics
3. Embodying Israel—Tradition and Invention II
a. Say to Them: “I Am a Sign to You”— Metaphorical and Symbolic Language
b. Women’s Bodies and Communal Bodies
c. Female Narrative Characters?
Part II: Analysis
Chapter 4. Ruth
1. Religious Identity in Ruth
a. Religion Without Rituals?
(1) “I Acquire For Myself Ruth, the Moabite”
(2) “Spread Your Wing Over Me”
b. The “Myths” Behind the Book of Ruth
(1) Building the House of Israel
(2) ???
c. YHWH, Shadday, Boaz—Naming God in the Book of Ruth
d. Community of Believers
2. Ethnic Identity in Ruth
a. Strangers in the Night—The Use of ?? and ????
b. Solidarity and Common Culture
c. Common Ancestry and Shared Historical Memories
(1) Grafting Ruth Upon Israel’s Roots
(2) And These Are the Generations of Perez…
(3) Does Milk Run Thicker Than Water?
3. Gender Identity in Ruth
a. Virtuous Women, Mighty Men?
b. “May You Find Rest in the House of a Husband”
c. “She Is the Moabite Girl Who Returned with Naomi”
d. “But Ruth Clung To Her”
4. Conclusions—Embodying Israel in the Book of Ruth
Chapter 5. Esther
1. Religious Identity in Esther
a. Ritualizing Reality
(1) From Virgin to Concubine— A “Rite-de-Passage”?
Excursus: Rites of Passage
b. Holy Terror? God in the Book of Esther
Excursus: “Holy War”?
c. Telltale Gaps for Observant Readers
d. Purim—Celebrating Community
2. Ethnic Identity in Esther
a. (?)????? and ????—Names of Human Populations?
b. Mordecai the ?????
(1) Common Ancestry and Historical Memories
(2) Homeland and Historical Memories
c. Hating Haman—an Element of Common Culture?
d. A Chosen People?
e. “And Many of the People of the Land ‘Jewed’”
3. Gender Identity in Esther
a. A Cinderella-Story? Ideals of Femininity and Their Social Potential
b. Pleaser or Teaser?
c. Cracking the Mirror
d. Masculinity in the Book of Esther
(1) Mordecai, the ????????
(2) Ahasuerus and Haman—the “Other Men.”
(3) Hegai the Eunuch
4. Conclusions—Embodying Israel in the Book of Esther
Chapter 6. Judith
1. Religious Identity in Judith
a. Judith’s Myths
(1) The Motif of Testing
(2) Rationalizing Evil
(3) Burning for God: Religious Zeal in Judith and 1 Maccabees
(4) Conclusions
b. Ritual and Sacrifice
Excursus: Sacrificial Theory and the Hebrew Bible
(1) Ritualizing Judith
(2) Holy Wars and Holy Warriors
c. Judith’s God
(1) A God Who Crushes War?
(2) “With Feminine Hands”—Judith and Her God
d. A Community of Believers
2. Ethnic Identity in Judith
a. A Common Proper Name
b. Myths of Common Ancestry
(1) Judith, Daughter of Israel
(2) “That People is Descended from the Chaldeans”
c. Shared Historical Memories
d. Common Culture
e. Homeland
f. A Sense of Solidarity
g. A Chosen People?
h. “Seeing All that the God of Israel Had Done…”
(1) “Achior Trusted Greatly in God… and Was Added to the House of Israel…”
(2) “And Circumcised His Uncircumcised Flesh”
3. Gender Identity in Judith
a. Fragile Women, Men of War?
b. And Their Women and Children They Sent to Their Homes
c. And She Adorned Herself to the Beguilement of Every Man
d. “I Am a Daughter of the Hebrews”
e. “The Lord Resisted Him with Female Hands”
(1) Female Wiles and Manly Weapons?
(2) Our Soldier Is a Woman!
(3) Judith’s Hands as YHWH’s Hands
4. Conclusions: Embodying Israel in the Book of Judith
Part III: Synthesis And Conclusions
Chapter 7. Of Israelites, Women, and Other Strangers
1. Imagining Israel—Embodying Israel
a. Come On In, But Wipe Your Feet
b. Can You Keep a Secret?
c. Apocalypse Now
2. Common Ground and Common Sense
a. The Ground on Which You Stand is Holy
b. Out of the Ordinary
c. The Place to Be
d. Playing by the Rules?
3. Ecce Femina
Bibliography
Index of References
Index of Authors
Recommend Papers
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LIBRARY OF HEBREW BIBLE/ OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES
623 Formerly Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
Editors Claudia V. Camp, Texas Christian University Andrew Mein, Westcott House, Cambridge
Founding Editors David J. A. Clines, Philip R. Davies and David M. Gunn
Editorial Board Alan Cooper, John Goldingay, Robert P. Gordon, Norman K. Gottwald, James E. Harding, John Jarick, Carol Meyers, Carolyn J. Sharp, Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, James W. Watts
“ON HER ACCOUNT”
Reconfiguring Israel in Ruth, Esther, and Judith
Anne-Mareike Wetter
T&T CLARK Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, T&T CLARK and the T&T Clark logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2015 Paperback edition first published 2018 Copyright © Anne-Mareike Wetter, 2015 Anne-Mareike Wetter has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on p. ix constitute an extension of this copyright page. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wetter, Anne-Mareike. On her account : reconfiguring Israel in Ruth, Esther, and Judith / by Anne-Mareike Wetter. pages cm. – (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies ; volume 623) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-567-66429-7 (hardback) 1. Bible. Ruth–Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible. Esther–Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Bible. Judith–Criticism, interpretation, etc. 4. Palestine–In the Bible. 5. Identity (Religion) 6. Identity (Psychology)–Biblical teaching. I. Title. BS1315.6.P26W48 2015 222’.06–dc23 2015018704 ISBN: HB: 978-0-56766-429-7 PB: 978-0-56768-367-0 ePDF: 978-0-56766-431-0 Typeset by Forthcoming Publications Ltd (www.forthpub.com) To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.
CONTENTS Acknowledgments Abbreviations
ix xi
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
1 Part I THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Chapter 2 “ISRAEL,” “JUDAH,” “YEHUDIM”— THE PROBLEM OF DEFINITION AND DEMARCATION 1. (Re-)Constructing Israel: Tradition and Invention I 2. Juda-ism? 3. Religion—A Provisional De¿nition a. A Common Myth b. Ritual Behavior c. The Holy d. A Community of Believers 4. Ethnicity—A Provisional De¿nition a. Primordial or Constructed? b. De¿ning an Ethnie c. Ethnic Election Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY—THE POWER OF FORM 1. Text and Identity—Historical Discourse Analysis 2. Text and Cognition—Cognitive Linguistics 3. Embodying Israel—Tradition and Invention II a. Say to Them: “I Am a Sign to You”— Metaphorical and Symbolic Language b. Women’s Bodies and Communal Bodies c. Female Narrative Characters? 1
7 7 9 11 12 13 17 18 18 19 21 21 24 24 26 29 29 33 36
vi
Contents
Part II ANALYSIS Chapter 4 RUTH 1. Religious Identity in Ruth a. Religion Without Rituals? (1) “I Acquire For Myself Ruth, the Moabite” (2) “Spread Your Wing Over Me” b. The “Myths” Behind the Book of Ruth (1) Building the House of Israel (2) 5DI c. YHWH, Shadday, Boaz—Naming God in the Book of Ruth d. Community of Believers 2. Ethnic Identity in Ruth a. Strangers in the Night—The Use of C8 and JC