Research Catalog

Title

The Matriarchs of Genesis : seven women, five views / by David J. Zucker and Moshe Reiss.

Author

Zucker, David J., 1942-

Publication

• Eugene, Oregon : Wipf & Stock, [2015]
• ©2015

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Reiss, Moshe.

Description

xiii, 267 pages; 23 cm

Summary

Sarah. Hagar. Rebekah. Leah. Rachel. Bilhah. Zilpah. These are the Matriarchs of Genesis. A people's self-understanding is fashioned on their heroes and heroines. Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel--the traditional four Matriarchs--are important and powerful people in the book of Genesis. Each woman plays her part in her generation. She interacts with and advises her husband, seeking to achieve both present and future successes for her family. These women act decisively at crucial points; through their actions and words, their family dynamics change irrevocably. Unlike their husbands, we know little of their unspoken thoughts or actions. What the text in Genesis does share shows that these women are perceptive and judicious, often seeing the grand scheme with clarity. While their stories are told in Genesis, in the post-biblical world of the Pseudepigrapha, their stories are retold in new ways. The rabbis also speak of these women, and contemporary scholars and feminists continue to explore the Matriarchs in Genesis and later literature. Using extensive quotations, we present these women through five lenses: the Bible, Early Extra-Biblical Literature, Rabbinic Literature, Contemporary Scholarship, and Feminist Thought. In addition, we consider Hagar, Abraham's second wife and the mother of Ishmael, as well as Bilhah and Zilpah, Jacob's third and fourth wives.

Subject

• Bible. > Criticism, interpretation, etc
• Matriarchs (Bible)
• Women in the Bible

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-267).

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction. General introduction ; Sources ; Themes ; A final note -- Sarah. Biblical Sarah ; Early extra-biblical literature's Sarah ; The Rabbis' Sarah ; Contemporary scholarship ; Feminist thought ; Addition/excursus ; Summary and conclusion -- Hagar. biblical Hagar ; Early extra-Biblical literature's Hagar ; The rabbis' Hagar ; Contemporary scholarship ; Feminist thought ; Summary and conclusion -- Rebekah. Biblical Rebekah ; Early extra-biblical literature's Rebekah ; The rabbis' Rebekah ; Contemporary scholarship ; Feminist thought ; Addition/excursus ; Summary and conclusion -- Leah. Biblical Leah ; Early extra-biblical literature's Leah ; The rabbis' Leah ; Contemporary scholarship ; Feminist thought ; Summary and conclusion -- Rachel. Biblical Rachel ; Early extra-biblical literature's Rachel ; The rabbis' Rachel ; Contemporary scholarship ; Feminist thought ; Summary and conclusion -- Bilhah and Zilph. Biblical Bilhah and Zilpah ; Early extra-biblical literature's Bilhah and Zilpah ; The rabbis' Bilhah and Zilpah ; Contemporary scholarship ; Feminist thought ; Summary and conclusion.

ISBN

• 1625643969
• 9781625643964

OCLC

• 921034414
• SCSB-12082089

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library