Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

by

Hilary Lipka

• LAST MODIFIED: 25 October 2017
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0246

Detailed study of Mesopotamian goddesses that traces their changing gender, role, function, status, and influence through several stages of historical development, taking into consideration a wide array of textual, visual, and other material and contextual evidence. Good for those familiar with Assyriology.

Both a historical and art-historical study of the representation of gendered bodies, especially the female body, in ancient Mesopotamia. There is also a discussion of the role of Babylonian women in the 19th-century European artistic imagination. Accessible to undergraduates, though some background in Assyriology is helpful.

Collaborative work arising from a workshop on gender at the 2006 meeting of the British Association of Near Eastern Archeologists focusing on temporal aspects of the construction of gender in ancient Near Eastern societies from the Neolithic to the Iron Age periods. Technical; good for those familiar with ancient Near Eastern archaeology.

Collection of primary sources related to women in the ancient Near East, including myths, epics, wisdom literature, medical texts, legal collections, letters, treaties, ritual texts, and inscriptions; divided into twelve chapters, each with a helpful introductory essay by a leading scholar who also did the translations. Good for all students.

Study of the symbols associated with masculinity (e.g., bow) and femininity (e.g., spindle) used in ancient Near Eastern sympathetic magical practices associated with virility and fertility. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Comprehensive examination of the treatment of women in ancient Near Eastern laws using a select corpus of laws drawn primarily from Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and biblical legal collections, supplemented by other evidence of legal practice. Technical. In French.

Collection of fifty-seven papers (most in English; a few in German) presented at the 47th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale conference, covering a wide range of topics related to women, gender, and sexuality in the ancient Near East, including several considered foundational in the field. Good for those familiar with Assyriology.

Collection arising from the two meetings of the Prophetic Texts in Their Ancient Context section of the Society of Biblical Literature focusing on the intersection of gender and prophecy in ancient Near Eastern, Greek, and biblical texts. Situates biblical prophecy within a larger cultural context. Technical, but accessible to undergraduates.

Collection of ten essays arising from a 2011 conference, “Mapping Ancient Near Eastern Masculinities” at the Penn Museum, focusing on various aspects of the constructions of masculine identities in the greater ancient Near Eastern world (including Mesopotamia, Israel, Anatolia, and India). Good for those familiar with Assyriology.

Collection of incantations and rituals intended to restore sexual potency in men utilizing both physical stimulation and sympathetic magic. It includes a short introduction and copies of the texts in both transliterated Akkadian and in translation. Accessible to undergraduates, but best for those with some background in Assyriology.

Contends there are discernible gendered differences in expression of sexuality in Sumerian literature, and the expression of sexuality in the Sumerian love songs (namely the Inanna-Dumuzi texts) reflects a female voice. Accessible to undergraduates.

Analysis of the handling of both coercive and consensual cases of sexual relations with non-betrothed, betrothed, married women, and slave women in various Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian legal collections and a few trial records. Very technical; good for those with some background in Assyriology.

Lieck utilizes a variety of methodological approaches in her study of sex and eroticism in Sumerian and Akkadian literature. The study covers a wide range, including myths, love poetry, hymns, ballads, and incantations spanning two millennia, grouped by date of composition, subject matter, and context. Accessible to undergraduates.

Collection of fifty-seven papers (most in English; a few in German) presented at the 47th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale conference, covering a wide range of topics related to women, gender, and sexuality in the ancient Near East, including several considered foundational in the field. Good for those familiar with Assyriology.

Study of terms and phrases used in sexual contexts (including incest, bestiality, adultery, and rape) in the Hittite Law Code. Technical; good for those with some background in Hittitology or Assyriology.

Considers the impact of scholars’ tendency to not acknowledge cases in biblical and ancient Near Eastern legal collections involving non-consensual sex as about rape, instead identifying them as laws about marriage, adultery, or seduction, when lack of consent appears to be immaterial to the outcome. Technical, but accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Comparative study of the treatment of adultery in biblical and ancient Near Eastern law that finds that in both, adultery was considered both an offense against the husband and a sin. What we cannot determine is how much these laws reflected actual legal practice in any of these cultures. Accessible to undergraduates. Reprinted in Law from the Tigris to the Tiber: The Writings of Raymond Westbrook. Vol. 1, The Shared Tradition. Edited by Bruce Wells and F. Rachel Magdalene, 245–287. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.

An engaging, accessible introduction to the study of women’s lives, culture, and status in ancient Israel, focusing on the position of women within ancient Israelite family structure, women’s place within their households’ economies, women’s religious lives, and leadership roles taken by women. Good for all audiences.

The thirty-four previously published articles in this collection, many considered classics in the field of feminist biblical studies, are arranged under thematic categories such as “the social world of women in ancient Israel” and “sexual politics in the Hebrew Bible.” Accessible to general readers, but best for those with some background in biblical studies.

This collection of essays by Phyllis Bird, most previously published, while not comprehensive in scope, covers a range of topics and provides a good introduction to the challenges faced by those engaged in the study of women in biblical texts from a feminist perspective. At times technical, but accessible to undergraduates.

Updated edition of Brenner’s 1984 seminal work focusing on two distinct, but interrelated areas: the literary types women tend to be cast in within biblical narratives and the roles of women in ancient Israelite society who strike out on their own, outside the family circle and into the male domain. Good for all audiences.

Engaging, accessible book featuring close readings of biblical narratives that focus on women, taking a feminist approach that Frymer-Kensky describes as combining a “hermeneutics of suspicion” with a “hermeneutics of grace.” Good for all audiences.

A literary-critical analysis of the characterization of women in biblical narratives, enhanced by insights from sociological and psychological approaches, with a focus on how these women have dealt with and sometimes overcome social constraints. Good for all audiences.

In this accessible, engaging book, Pardes, taking an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates feminist theory, literary criticism, and psychoanalysis, attempts to tease out antithetical female voices within the Bible, highlighting the diversity of voices present within biblical texts. Good for all audiences.

Collection of ten essays coming out of a conference held at King’s College, London, in 2006. It includes a methodological overview and sections on gender in law and ritual, ethnological and anthropological approaches to gender, and gender in post-biblical literature. Technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Brenner focuses on how notions of desire and sexuality are gendered within biblical texts, and how they relate to the male dominated societal structure. Includes a semantic study of biblical terms for desire, love, sexual activity, and male and female body parts. Technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Carmichael explains religious laws governing sexuality in the Hebrew Bible as in part a response to events in the narrative texts. Good for theologians and general readers who appreciate creative and sometimes incisive readings of biblical texts. Not for those who wish to understand biblical texts related to sexuality within their original sociohistorical contexts.

This thoughtful study, whose intended audience is Christian laypeople, shows how the Bible affirms a link between spirituality and a wide range of erotic dimensions of human life, including sexuality, and asserts that sexuality and spirituality are integrally interconnected. Good for all audiences.

This engaging, highly readable survey of biblical texts that address sex, sexuality, and gender roles within their original social and historical context is intended for all audiences. It provides a good introduction for those with no background in biblical studies; best for those who view the Old and New Testaments as a continuum.

This massive, comprehensive study attempts to demonstrate that the Bible conforms to a single ethical and theological vision of human sexuality. The coherence seems at times a bit forced, as some readings go against the plain meaning of the text. Best for evangelical Christian lay audiences and seminary students.

This engaging survey of sex and sexuality in biblical texts intends to show that human sexuality is a good and necessary part of God’s original design. A good introduction for those with no background in biblical studies; best for those who view the Old and New Testaments as a continuum.

In this engaging, entertaining, and very accessible book, Knust, using a conversational style and including anecdotes from her own Christian upbringing, focuses on showing the complexity and diversity of biblical texts related to sex and sexuality. Good for general audiences, especially a Christian lay audience.

Collection of essays, some previously published, featuring feminist critical readings focusing on gender relations in Genesis 1–3, motherhood and maternity in the stories of the matriarchs, and illicit female sexuality in both active and passive forms. Sometimes technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies. Reprinted in 1997.

Collection of essays, some previously published, on the depiction of female characters in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Essays are divided into three sections: daughters, social status and female sexuality, and Miriam. Sometimes technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Work of canonical criticism that provides a portrait of Miriam based on the seven biblical references to her, and includes historical speculation about the “real” Miriam. Also seeks to prove that Miriam was not a prophet, but rather a cultic leader. Good for all audiences, though some may find her work too speculative.

This work of feminist literary criticism explores the interplay between gender, power relations, and divine promise in biblical texts, and theorizes, sometimes rather creatively, on how events depicted in biblical texts would have appeared from female characters’ perspectives. Five of the eight chapters focus on Genesis. Good for all audiences.

Highlights the central role that women play in the Genesis narratives, focusing on the depiction of women in Genesis 12–36. Fischer identifies several redactional layers in these chapters through literary-critical analysis, which enables her to trace the growth of traditions about the matriarchs. In German.

Detailed study of the power dynamics within male-male, male-female, female-female, and divine-human relationships in various narratives in Genesis, often focusing on the influence of deception and power in the relationships between various characters. Accessible to undergraduates, though a bit dense and at times repetitive.

This engaging and accessible work of feminist narrative criticism focuses on the depiction and characterization of women in Genesis 12–50. Good for all audiences, especially general readers.

Incisive examination of how the Pentateuchal sources differ in their treatment of and attitude toward women focusing on the narrative texts, revealing some noteworthy differences between the depictions of women in the priestly and non-priestly sources. Technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Ackerman, identifying several different character “types” of women in Judges, examines how they were understood within their original religious and cultural context and how these “types” evolved over time. She also considers the sociohistorical context in which these texts were composed and transmitted. Good for all audiences.

In this incisive, challenging work of literary criticism informed by semiotics, feminist criticism, and psychoanalytic theory, Bal provides a cohesive reading of the book of Judges, focusing on the role of female characters. Technical and dense; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Collection of essays, most of which were not previously published, by leading feminist biblical scholars, including Esther Fuchs, J. Cheryl Exum, Adele Reinhardtz, and Mieke Bal, focusing on the depiction and characterization of women in Judges. Sometimes technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Collection of essays on Samuel and Kings, some of which were previously published, by leading feminist biblical scholars. Particular attention is paid to the depiction of Hannah, various women associated with King David, and the role of queen mothers. Sometimes technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

This examination of the depiction of queen mothers in biblical texts contrasts the depictions of queen mothers whose sons ruled during the divided monarchy, such as Maacah, Athaliah, and Nehushta, with the depiction of queen mothers in other biblical texts. Technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Two essays in this anthology, both considered classics in the field, concern the treatment of women in the former prophets: “Eroticism and Death in the Tale of Jael” by Susan Niditch and “From the Child is Born the Woman: The Story of Jepthah’s Daughter” by Peggy L. Day. Good for advanced undergraduates.

In the essays in this collection, some previously published, Exum employs a variety of feminist reading strategies to undermine and subvert the androcentrism of the biblical texts and uncover what she can of women’s experiences from the often fragmentary evidence. Good for advanced undergraduates.

This collection of essays, intended as a somber companion piece to Trible’s 1978 work, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality, came out of a lecture series that Trible gave at Yale in 1982. Three of the four “texts of terror” that Trible discusses are in the former prophets. Good for all audiences.

In this thorough treatment, Baumann explores the origins and evolution of the prophetic marriage metaphor. She also addresses the question of how contemporary readers should approach these texts. Translated from the German. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Collection of essays by leading feminist scholars, some previously published and some revised versions of earlier work, including several that are considered classics in the field. Two subjects of particular focus are female imagery in Hosea and sexual violence in the prophets. Some articles are challenging for undergraduates, but worth the effort.

In her discussion of prophetic pornography, Exum contends that the problem we face in interpreting these passages is not just the violent imagery, but the ideology that informs it. She provides a fourfold interpretive strategy to help readers respond to the prophetic corpus of sexual abuse. Good for all audiences.

Examination of the use of the marriage metaphor to describe the relationship between a city and a patron deity in both ancient Near Eastern and biblical material prior to Ezekiel, and Ezekiel’s distinctive use of the marriage metaphor in terms of style, content, placement, and function. Technical; good for advanced undergraduates.

Contends that the key to understanding the metaphoric language used in Hosea 1–2 is considering it within the context of Hosea 4–14 and the pressing socio-political conflicts going on in Israel during Hosea’s time, brought on by Omrid and Jehuid political and economic policies. Technical, but useful for undergraduates.

Contends that scholars should abandon the term “marriage metaphor” and stop fixating on “cultic prostitution” when discussing prophetic sexual and marital metaphoric language because both limit the reader’s ability to see the full range and diversity of the sexual imagery used in the prophetic texts. Technical, but useful for undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Contends that the objectification of female sexuality in the imagery used in Hosea 1–2 has all of the features that distinguish pornography, including negative depiction of female sexuality, degradation and public humiliation of women, and depiction of female sexuality as an object of male possession and control. Good for all audiences. Reprinted in Brenner 1993a, cited under Women in Other Writings)

In this work of postmodernist literary theory, Sherwood combines the approaches of reader response theory, semiotics, Derridean deconstruction, and feminist criticism to gain new insights into the marriage metaphor in Hosea 1–3, including a reading of the marriage from Gomer’s perspective. Technical; best for those comfortable with literary theory.

Weems examines the association of divine love, compassion, commitment and reconciliation with battery, infidelity, rape, and the mutilation of women in the rhetoric of Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and considers how and why these prophets combine marriage, sex, and violence this way in their discourse. Good for all audiences.

This collection of thirteen essays, some previously published, includes contributions by several leading feminist biblical scholars, including Carol R. Fontaine, Gale A. Yee, Claudia V. Camp, Harold C. Washington, and Brenner herself. Sometimes technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Thorough, wide-ranging study theorizing that while the personification of wisdom as a woman may be an earlier development, Lady Wisdom’s significant role in the Book of Proverbs, and the implied role of women generally in Proverbs, is a reflection of Judean society in the post-exilic period. Technical, but useful for undergraduates.

This challenging, thought-provoking book, which incorporates several of Camp’s earlier essays on this subject, uses the figures of the Strange Woman and Woman Wisdom as a hermeneutical lens through which to view narrative texts in which issues of otherness predominate. At times difficult to follow. Technical; good for advanced students.

Engaging work of feminist criticism that considers the role of women in wisdom traditions in ancient Israel and the ancient Near East, and contends that women were accepted as “performers” of family-based wisdom traditions, providing them with a platform to use their acknowledged wisdom in public roles. Good for all audiences.

Maier posits that the speeches about the dangerous, adulterous strange woman in Proverbs were produced among the educated urban class in the post-exilic province of Yehud to preserve family wealth and social status within the ancestral houses. In German (though the concluding section is in both German and English).

Yoder contends that the Woman of Substance is a composite of real Persian period women and, based on extensive lexical and thematic parallels, that the two female figures framing the book of Proverbs, Woman Wisdom and the Woman of Substance, essentially coalesce into one figure. Technical, but useful for undergraduates.

Collection of twelve essays, some reprinted and some written for this volume, by leading feminist scholars, divided into sections focusing on gendered readings of the text, the question of female authorship and/or provenance, ancient interpretations, and artistic interpretations of the book. Sometimes technical, but useful for undergraduates.

This first volume of the Feminist Companion series is one of the best. The collection includes eighteen essays, some reprinted and some written for the book, by leading feminist scholars, such as Fokkelien Van Dijk-Hemmes, Phyllis Trible, T. Drorah Setel, Carol Meyers and Marcia Falk, and Brenner herself. Accessible to undergraduates.

Ten of the essays in this collection focus on the book of Esther, addressing subjects such as the form and style of the book, the issues of perspective and authority within the text, and midrashic approaches to the book (ancient and contemporary). Sometimes technical, but useful for undergraduates.

Part of the Feminist Companion Second Series, this collection of ten essays, all commissioned for this volume, considers questions and issues raised by feminist readings and interpretations of the Song, and also includes some personal readings. Accessible to undergraduates.

Burrus and Moore present an intriguing “counterpleasures” reading of the Song, based on the approach of Karmen MacKendrick in Counterpleasures (New York: SUNY Press, 1999) that focuses on the recurring motif of the pleasure of desire that is frustrated and unfulfilled. Challenging, but worthwhile, for undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Three of the essays in this collection, by Harold C. Washington, Daniel Smith-Christopher, and Tamara C. Eskenazi with Eleanore P. Judd, consider various aspects of the attempt to end mixed marriages described in Ezra 9–10 and Nehemiah 13, including what “foreign” means in this context. Technical, but useful for undergraduates.

The chapter “Love’s Lyrics Redeemed” (reprinted in Brenner 1993, cited under Women in the Pentateuch) uses Genesis 2–3 as a key for understanding the Song of Songs. “A Human Comedy” considers how Ruth and Naomi through their actions successfully shape and transform their destiny and achieve their own salvation. Good for all audiences.

White contends that Esther, in her ability to successfully adapt to new situations and save her community through judicious and careful actions, serves as a role model for Jews to live successfully in the often uncertain world of the Diaspora. Accessible to undergraduates.

In this article, Ackerman discusses what we can discern about the daily lives of women in ancient Israel based on biblical, anthropological, archaeological, and comparative evidence, providing an overview of the lives of both regular women and elite women, such as those of the royal court. Good for all audiences.

In this accessible and engaging monograph, Ebeling, using biblical, archaeological, epigraphic, ethnographic, and comparative evidence, discusses what we know about women’s everyday lives in ancient Israel, and traces the life of a fictional woman living in the Iron Age I period. Good for all audiences.

Thorough and detailed comparative study of women’s social and religious lives in ancient Israel and Ugarit, covering marriage, family life, and economic lives of women in both cultures. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Considers what typical daily life was like for Israelite women in the Iron Age I period and attempts to rediscover the “pristine Eve,” exploring how the biblical figure of Eve may have been understood within the original sociocultural milieu that produced the Eden story. Good for undergraduates; challenging but worthwhile for general readers.

In this eloquent and accessible work, Meyers goes beyond the scope of her 1988 book, using biblical, archaeological, ethnographic, and comparative evidence to reconstruct what everyday life was like for women living in Iron Age Israel. Meyers also revisits the characterization of Eve in the Eden story. Good for all audiences.

Detailed article on marriage, divorce, and family dynamics in ancient Israel that relies heavily on biblical evidence. The book also has good articles by Victor H. Matthews and David W. Chapman on marriage and the family in the ancient Near East and in Second Temple Judaism, respectively. Good for all audiences.

This work of narrative criticism focuses on the status and power of mothers in biblical texts, looking into how mothers acquired power, what the nature of their power was, and the influence they wielded both at home and within society at large. Good for all audiences.

The five essays in this book provide detailed discussions of the family in early Israel, First Temple Israel, and Second Temple Judaism, conclusions that can be drawn about family life based on commonalities in all three time periods, and the ethical and theological implications of this study for families today. Good for all audiences.

Drawing upon ethno-historical evidence and contemporary childhood studies, Steinberg examines how childhood is understood in the Hebrew Bible, and considers children’s roles within the family as an economic unit and the factors that had an impact on an individual’s experience of childhood. Good for all audiences.

Engaging in close readings of biblical texts featuring father-daughter relationships and drawing upon a variety of methodological approaches, Steibert considers issues such as father-daughter incest, the metaphoric image of daughter Zion, and whether daughters were valued as much as sons. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Covers topics related to pregnancy and birth in the Bible and Mesopotamia, with an emphasis on the latter, and includes a chapter by Frans Wiggermann on Lamaštu, a demonic female baby snatcher. Accessible to all audiences, though best for those with some background in Mesopotamian religion and culture.

Detailed study of a variety of topics related to marriage in Judea in the Persian period that takes into consideration comparative evidence from Elephantine and Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors. Good for those with some background in biblical studies. In Italian.

Detailed look at female labor in the Hebrew Bible, focusing on, but not limited to, the Deuteronomistic history, that includes discussion of female slaves, women in the arts, female workers within the royal household, sex workers, and the working poor. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Examining the social and economic roles of women and men in pre-monarchic Israel, observes that the survival of a social entity is dependent on three activities: procreation, production, and protection, and, depending on a variety of circumstances, the balance between males and females in production will shift. Available online by subscription.

After discussing some methodological considerations, especially regarding the use of biblical texts as evidence (which she contends must be used with great caution), Meyers focuses on what can be gleaned about the economic role and status of women in early Israel. Technical, but useful for undergraduates.

In this eloquent and accessible book, Meyer goes beyond the scope of her 1988 book, Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context, taking into account the recent profusion of archaeological and anthropological evidence regarding women’s lives in ancient Israel. Good for all audiences.

Ackerman, using both biblical and archaeological evidence, focuses on the cultic and ritual activities of women, emphasizing the significant and multifaceted role that women played in household and family religious life. Accessible to undergraduates.

Utilizing archaeological and biblical evidence, this comprehensive treatment of Iron Age Israelite family and household religion addresses topics such as the relationship between family and “official” religion, care for the dead, and what can be learned about family religion from personal names. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

This volume, intended as a complement to Household and Family Religion in Antiquity (see Ackerman 2008), features contributions by specialists in biblical studies, epigraphy, and archaeology, including, in addition to the editors, Susan Ackerman, William Dever, Erhard Gerstenberger, Carol Meyers, and Ziony Zevit. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

This collection contains two previously published essays by Bird on the religious lives of women in ancient Israel, “The Place of Women in the Israelite Cultus” and “Israelite Religion and the Faith of Israel’s Daughters: Reflections on Gender and Religious Definition.” Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

This thorough comparative study of women’s social and religious lives in ancient Israel and Ugarit includes a detailed discussion of women’s religious lives in both cultures, covering women as religious specialists and women as worshippers separately. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Utilizing anthropological, archaeological, and ethno-historical evidence, Meyers discusses women’s religious culture, including rituals related to fertility, pregnancy, labor, birth, lactation, infant care, and circumcision. The slim monograph Households and Holiness: The Religious Culture of Israelite Women (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005) is a revised and somewhat condensed version of this article.

This lightly revised translation of the author’s 1987 Dutch monograph of the same title follows the stages of an ordinary woman’s religious life from birth to death, with a focus on folk piety and domestic worship. Provides a cursory but helpful overview of women’s religious lives. Good for all audiences.

Study of female imagery in Isaiah 40–66, including the use of birth imagery to denote God’s creative power and the depiction of God as a compassionate and comforting mother; suggests the prophet drew his imagery from the one form of security left to an exiled people, namely their family. Accessible to all audiences.

Study of female imagery and metaphors used to describe God that arose in response to the trauma of the Babylonian Exile and the need to find a new way to envision God as Deliverer, since the old ways no longer made sense. Good for all audiences; especially recommended for seminary students.

Utilizing George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s concept of “metaphoric coherence,” Dille examines the use of parental imagery for God in five passages in Deutero-Isaiah, considering these metaphors within their particular rhetorical and cultural context. Good for those with some background in biblical studies; familiarity with metaphorical theory will be helpful.

Løland examines the use and possible significance of gendered god-language in the Hebrew Bible through a close study of three sample texts. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

This dense and challenging work, informed by contemporary gender theory, especially the work of Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler, explores how both maleness and femaleness in the Bible are constructed in the light of divine omnipotence. Technical; good for advanced students comfortable with postmodern theory.

Clines, identifying qualities associated with masculinity that he sees as typical among male prophets, discusses the problems that the masculinity of the prophets can pose to modern readers and interpreters. This is a good example of this prolific author’s approach to biblical masculinities. Accessible to undergraduates.

Collection of fourteen essays, most not previously published, exploring various aspects of the construction and representation of masculinities in the Hebrew Bible. Contributors include, in addition to Creangǎ, Roland Boer, David J. A. Clines, Susan E. Haddox, and Stephen D. Moore. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Collection of thirteen previously unpublished essays, a sequel of sorts to Creangǎ 2010, exploring various aspects of masculinities in the Bible and related literature; includes five essays each on the Old and New Testaments, and two responses to these articles. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Eilberg-Schwartz, drawing on anthropology, gender criticism, and psychoanalytic criticism, considers the impact that the depiction of God’s masculinity in the Hebrew Bible had on the conceptualization of human male masculinity and gender relations in ancient Judaism. Good for all audiences.

Utilizing gender studies, rhetorical studies, and cognitive anthropology, Haddox examines the use of metaphor and the construction of gender and male identity in Hosea, and considers the impact of Hosea’s rhetoric on his predominantly elite male audience. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Analytical survey of biblical masculinity studies from the past two decades which traces the evolution of this subfield over this period. Provides an excellent introduction for those interested in this area, as well as helpful guidance for further reading. Good for all audiences. Available online by subscription.

Olson engages in a close reading of Genesis 2–4, finding a multifaceted depiction of men and masculinity in the text, and suggests possible positive implications for men today. Good for all audiences.

Wilson explores how the coming-of-age theme is employed by biblical authors and redactors, considering both stories of successful coming of age and those in which the boys fail to mature. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Three of the essays in this collection consider the construction of both hegemonic and alternative masculinities within biblical texts. Other articles in the collection focus on the wide spectrum of masculinities found in ancient Near Eastern texts and iconography. Good for those with some background in the field.

Chapman considers the depiction of both successful and failed performance of masculinity during warfare in biblical and Assyrian sources, and examines how discrediting and undermining the masculine performance of enemy kings and soldiers is used as an ideological tool during the Israelite-Assyrian encounter. Technical, but useful for undergraduates.

Taking into consideration evidence regarding attitudes toward gender ambiguity, cross-dressing, and gender transformation from neighboring cultures, Fox suggests that the prohibition against cross-dressing in Deuteronomy 22:5 served to strictly enforce gender norms and “proper” gender performance within Israel’s two-gender system, which was seen as integral to the community’s survival. Accessible to undergraduates.

Study of how representations of the male body of prophets such as Hosea, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah often break with the normative representation of masculine embodiment in biblical texts, and their prophetic gender performance often subverts norms of hegemonic masculinity found elsewhere in the Bible. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Exploring the interplay between feminine and masculine gender roles in Judges 4 and 5, Haddox notes that both texts present characters who violate gender norms, and yet in both the basic ideology remains deeply patriarchal and the violence, even if carried out by a woman, is presented in masculine terms. Accessible to undergraduates.

Exploration of gender ambiguities and reversals in Ezekiel 16 contending that wife Jerusalem’s sin is not just infidelity to Yahweh, but subverting defined gender roles within their relationship by behaving aggressively and independently. The result is chaos, controllable only through a reinforcement of “normative” gender scripts. Accessible to undergraduates.

Study of Ezekiel 23 as a response to the humiliating, demasculinizing Judean defeat and loss of land at the hands of the Babylonians, focusing on the hypermasculinity of the imagery used to describe the foreign lovers of the metaphoric Oholibah, while vanquished Judea is feminized, depicted as a woman. Accessible to undergraduates.

Niditch examines how the description of Sisera’s death in the song of Deborah reverses expected gender roles. Sisera dies in a pose of defeat and humiliation, emasculated and effeminized, falling dead between Jael’s legs in a parody of a would-be rape, while Jael is the aggressor. Good for all audiences.

Suggests that Joab’s recollection of the death of Abimlelech, who was “unmanned” by being killed by a woman, when conveying the news to David that Uriah has been killed in 2 Samuel 11, can be read as a subtle commentary on David’s own diminishing masculine performance. Accessible to undergraduates.

Vedeler contends that Deuteronomy 22:5 prohibits a particular type of cultic activity found in neighboring cultures that involved performing the other gender; he sees evidence of this in the law’s usage of the term “abomination” (toveah) and “geber,” a term associated with gender roles and expectations. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

In this engaging, accessible monograph, Ackerman explores the use of intentionally ambiguous erotic and sexual language to describe the relationships of both David and Jonathan and Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Good for all audiences.

Noting that Foucault ignores biblical and ancient Jewish culture in his history of sexuality, Boyarin provides his own analysis, with a focus on texts involving male-male sexual relations. Good for all audiences. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Gagnon sets out to demonstrate that the Bible unequivocally defines same-sex intercourse as a sin and that there exist no valid hermeneutical arguments, either based on biblical interpretation or contemporary scientific knowledge, for overriding the Bible’s authority on this matter. Accessible to all audiences, intended for conservative Christians.

Balanced study of attitudes toward homoeroticism in both the biblical world and in neighboring cultures, concluding that ancient attitudes toward same-sex relations are inseparable from assumptions about gender role, social status, and active/passive positions in intercourse, and our modern understanding of sexuality has no equivalent in these sources. Good for all audiences.

Demonstrates that these two laws specifically concern male-male anal intercourse, not male-male sexual contact in general, and reflect a concern with illicit mixing. Also argues that the redaction history of these verses is crucial to understanding them, since they represent two different stages of development. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Contends that David’s statement in his lament that Jonathan’s love was more wondrous than the love of women reveals that the relationship is more than simply a political alliance, since the comparison implies something sexual or sexual-emotional. Good for all audiences.

Stone explores the interrelation between gender, power, homosexuality, and hospitality in Judges 19 within the context of the dynamic of honor and shame, and shows how sexual violence against women can be seen as a reflection of the struggles for honor and power between men. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

In this response to Olyan’s 1994 article, Walsh contends that Olyan’s argument that these laws refer specifically to anal intercourse between men is correct, and he also sees these texts as reflecting different phases of development, but he challenges some of Olyan’s other assertions and his conclusion. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

This book includes a section with five excellent essays on the Sotah ritual in Numbers 5:11–31, by Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Jacob Milgrom, Jack Sasson, Michael Fishbane, and Alice Bach. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Provides an in-depth discussion of all of the biblical texts that address adultery, drawing a distinction between those that take adultery as a transgression against religious boundaries, those that depict it as a transgression against communal boundaries, and those that depict it as both. Technical but accessible to undergraduates.

Noting that there is no recorded instance in the biblical narrative texts of anyone actually being put to death for adultery, calls into question how much the biblical legal collections reflected actual legal practice regarding adultery in ancient Israel, positing that other sanctions were more commonly employed. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

A response to McKeating contending that the death penalty for adultery was enforced, and that the biblical adultery laws can be traced through several phases. A central contention is that women were not held liable for adultery under biblical criminal law until the Deuteronomic reforms. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Detailed analysis of the handling of adultery as part of Pressler’s study of the treatment of women in the Deuteronomic family laws, providing support for her argument that Deuteronomy does not offer women a more favorable legal status than do other legal collections. Technical, but accessible to undergraduates.

Examining adultery in the biblical legal collections within the context of ancient Near Eastern law, Westbrook observes that in both, adultery was considered an offense against the husband and a sin. What we don’t know is how much these laws reflected actual legal practice in these cultures. Accessible to undergraduates. Reprinted in Law from the Tigris to the Tiber: The Writings of Raymond Westbrook. Vol. 1, The Shared Tradition. Edited by Bruce Wells and F. Rachel Magdalene, 245–287. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.

Semantic analysis of the term ענה (inah) which concludes that when used in sexual contexts, the term does not necessarily denote rape, but rather the shame or humiliation associated with sexual intercourse that violates marital, family, or community bonds and obligations. Views Genesis 34:2 as denoting consensual sex. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Astute study observing that there is no room in the world of Deuteronomy for a sexually experienced, never married woman; in Deuteronomy 22, a woman who has sex outside of marriage is either married off quickly or put to death, depending on whether she was considered a consenting participant. Accessible to undergraduates.

Observes that the dual usage of בתולה (betulah) to denote both a virgin and a girl of marriageable age reflects the basic cultural assumption that young marriageable women are virgins, and considers the importance of premarital virginity within the context of the connection between female chastity and family honor. Accessible to undergraduates.

Analyzing Deuteronomy 22:13–21 in light of ancient Near Eastern legal culture, contends that the case involves a husband bringing charges against his wife, with the punishment of the husband being considerably lighter if his accusation is proved false. Technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies. In German.

Engaging in a close reading of Genesis 34, Scholz contends that the sexual encounter between Shechem and Dinah is a rape; also provides a survey of scholarship on rape and the history of interpretation of Genesis 34, focusing on the frequent trivialization of the rape element in the latter. Accessible to undergraduates.

Considering Deuteronomy 22:13–21 in light of other ancient Near Eastern laws involving slander, contends that the husband is the plaintiff, bringing a case against his bride’s father, and that the punishment of the husband if the accusation is proved false mirrors that of the father if it is proved true. Technical; good for advanced students. Available online by subscription.

Detailed discussion of issues related to the translation and interpretation of the stem זנה (znh), the basic meaning of which, Bird contends, is “to engage in sexual relations outside of or apart from marriage.” She also considers figurative uses of זנה (zonah), and the relationship between verbal and nominal uses. Accessible to undergraduates. Reprinted in Bird 1997, cited under Women and Gender in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

Examination of the interrelationship between narrative art and social presupposition in three texts, Genesis 38:1–26; Joshua 2:1–24; 1 Kings 3:16–37, which considers how the image or understanding of the prostitute in each text influences the story. Accessible to undergraduates. Reprinted in Bird 1997 and Bach 1999 (both cited under Women and Gender in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)

Contends, based on a close examination of the usage of the terms קדש (qadesh) and קדשים qedeshim) in biblical texts, and taking into account literary-historical and sociological considerations, that there is no evidence for the institution of male cultic prostitution in ancient Israel. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Bird provides an overview of prostitution in ancient Israel and touches on all of the issues related to the topic that she covers in more depth in her other articles on this subject. Accessible to undergraduates.

Observing that כלב (kelev) and זונה (zonah) are also paired in 1 Kings 22:38, where כלב (kelev) clearly means dog, suggests that “harlot’s hire” and “price of a dog” are formulaic expressions used to denote something cheap, perhaps in Deuteronomy 23:18 denoting offerings considered inadequate in payment for one’s vow. Accessible to undergraduates. Available online by subscription.

Budin, in this detailed study, contends that sacred prostitution never existed in either the ancient Near East or Mediterranean. The chapter on evidence from the ancient Near East covers Sumerian, Akkadian, Hebrew, and Ugaritic texts. Accessible to undergraduates, though best for those with some background in classical studies.

Considers all the options for translating כלב (kelev) in Deuteronomy 23:19, and concludes, based on the biblical usage and evidence from ancient Near Eastern literature and iconography, that it probably did convey a male homosexual prostitute. Accessible to undergraduates.

Considers the usage of the stems קדש (qadesh) and קדשה (qedeshah) and their equivalents among Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors, and whether there is any evidence for the practice of sacred prostitution. Good for those with some background in biblical studies and Assyriology.

This comparative study of the Book of the Covenant and Deuteronomic laws identifies a construction of gender in which males are dominant and women subordinate, asserting that the gender paradigm in these laws is a form of violence against women. Technical; good for those with some background in biblical studies.

Baumann explores the origins and evolution of the prophetic marriage metaphor, highlighting the extensive use of imagery featuring God as a perpetrator of sexual violence, and addresses the question of how contemporary readers should approach these texts. Translated from the German. Good for those with some background in biblical studies.

In her discussion of prophetic pornography, Exum contends that the problem we face in interpreting these passages is not just the violent imagery, but the ideology that informs it. She provides a fourfold interpretive strategy to help readers respond to the prophetic corpus of sexual abuse. Good for all audiences.

Collection of twelve articles, utilizing a diverse array of approaches and hermeneutical styles, focusing on the dynamics, intersection, and relatedness of gender, sex, and violence in biblical texts, divided into three parts: (1) passion, power, and relational conflict; (2) legal and regulatory matters; and (3) types, stereotypes, and archetypes. Accessible to undergraduates.

Comprehensive survey of biblical texts related to rape divided thematically into chapters on topics such as acquaintance rape, rape of enslaved women, male on male rape, and rape in the prophetic metaphors that encourages readers to engage the biblical texts in conversation with contemporary debates on rape. Good for all audiences.

Groundbreaking work of feminist criticism focusing on four biblical narrative “texts of terror,” three of which (the stories of Hagar, Tamar, and the unnamed woman in Judges 19) involve sexual violence. Intended as a companion and contrast to Trible’s God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (Trible 1978, cited under Women in Other Writings). Good for all audiences.

Weems examines the association of divine love, compassion, commitment, and reconciliation with battery, infidelity, rape, and the mutilation of women in the rhetoric of Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and considers how and why these prophets combine marriage, sex, and violence this way in their discourse. Good for all audiences.

Observing that Genesis 34, Judges 19, and 2 Samuel 13 each feature a similar progression in plot, Yamada engages in a detailed analysis and comparison of these narratives, noting both similarities and elements that are unique to each. Accessible to undergraduates.

Considers the treatment of incest in biblical texts, suggesting a possible reason for the significant differences in attitudes toward sexual and marital relations between kin in the narrative texts and the legal and prophetic texts; she also considers various theories explaining the nature of incest taboos. Originally published in 1994. Accessible to undergraduates.

Utilizing psychoanalytic literary theory, Rashkow examines family dynamics within biblical texts, with a focus on texts dealing with sexual relations, both those considered acceptable and those considered unacceptable. Accessible to general audiences.

Detailed study of the treatment of both overt and implied first-degree incestuous relations, divided into discussions of narrative and non-narrative texts; also provides a survey of the history of scholarship in this area, including the contribution of those engaging in queer and post-feminist criticism. Accessible to undergraduates.

Three of the contributors to this excellent anthology of minority biblical criticism focus on the intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality within the context of Old Testament texts: Cheryl B. Anderson (on Ezra 9–10), Gale A. Yee (on Ruth), and Randall C. Bailey (on Esther). Accessible to undergraduates.

Collection of thirteen essays by a diverse array of scholars engaging in postcolonial feminist readings, roughly half of which focus on Old Testament texts. Most are written from a Christian perspective. Accessible to undergraduates.

Collection of seventeen essays, roughly half of which focus on Old Testament texts, featuring work by those engaging in womanist biblical hermeneutics, divided into four sections: gender and sexuality, agency and advocacy, foregrounding women on the margins, and illuminating biblical children/childhood. Accessible to undergraduates.

This festschrift in honor of Katherine Doob Sakenfeld includes a section highlighting mujerista, womanist, and Asian-American approaches, and has contributions by Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Nyasha Junior, and Anna May Say Pa. Accessible to all audiences, though best for those interested in a Christian, especially Protestant, feminist perspective.

Roughly half of the essays in this collection highlighting African women’s reading and interpretation of the Bible focus on the Old Testament. Contributors utilize a variety of approaches and methods, including reading through the lens of African folktales, womanist readings, and reading with non-academic and grassroots women interpreters. Accessible to undergraduates.

Concise introduction to womanist biblical interpretation, contending that rather than being an offshoot of feminist interpretation, womanist biblical interpretation is part of a distinctive tradition of the engagement of African American women with biblical texts. Accessible to undergraduates.

Collection of articles originating from a 2000 international symposium on feminist exegesis and the hermeneutics of liberation that includes contributions by a diverse array of scholars and theologians focusing on issues related to the Bible and liberation. Accessible to undergraduates.