Women in Israelite Religion: The State of Research Is All New Research
Name:
religions-10-00122.pdf
Size:
3.629Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Final Published version
Author
Nakhai, BethAffiliation
Univ Arizona, Arizona Ctr Juda StudiesIssue Date
2019-02Keywords
religionwomen
Israel
Judah
Iron Age
domestic religion
family religion
rituals
worship
Jerusalem Temple
feminist studies
archaeology
Hebrew Bible
Old Testament
Yahweh
Asherah
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
MDPICitation
Nakhai BA. Women in Israelite Religion: The State of Research Is All New Research. Religions. 2019; 10(2):122.Journal
RELIGIONSRights
© 2019 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Historically, those studying Israelite religion have ignored the existence of women in Iron Age Israel (1200-587 BCE). They have, therefore, accounted neither for the religious beliefs of half of ancient Israel's population nor for the responsibilities that women assumed for maintaining religious rituals and traditions. Such reconstructions of Israelite religion are seriously flawed. Only in the last four decades have scholars, primarily women, begun to explore women's essential roles in Israel's religious culture. This article utilizes evidence from the Hebrew Bible and from archaeological sites throughout Israel. It demonstrates that some women had roles within the Jerusalem Temple. Most women, however, resided in towns and villages throughout the Land. There, they undertook responsibility for clan-based and community-based religious rituals and rites, including pilgrimage, seasonal festivals, rites of military victory, and rites of mourning. They fulfilled, as well, essential roles within the sphere of domestic or household religion. At home, they provided medico-magical healing for all family members, as well as care for women and babies throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond. They, and the men in their communities, worshipped Yahweh, Israel's primary deity, and the goddess Asherah, as well; for most people, these two divinities were inextricably linked.Note
Open Access JournalISSN
2077-1444Version
Final published versionAdditional Links
http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/2/122ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3390/rel10020122
Scopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2019 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.