Notions of women as found in the Bible have had an incalculable impact on western cultures, influencing perspectives on marriage, kinship, legal practice, political status, and general attitudes. Women and Exilic Identity in the Hebrew Bible is drawn from three separate strands to address and analyse this phenomenon. The first examines how women were conceptualized and represented during the exilic period. The second focuses on methodological possibilities and drawbacks connected to investigating women and exile. The third reviews current prominent literature on the topic, with responses from authors. With chapters from a range of contributors, topics move from an analysis of Ruth as a woman returning to her homeland, and issues concerning the foreign presence who brings foreign family members into the midst of a community, and how this is dealt with, through the intermarriage crisis portrayed in Ezra 9-10, to an analysis of Judean constructions of gender in the exilic and early post-exilic periods. The contributions show an exciting range of the best scholarship on women and foreign identities, with important consequences for how the foreign/known is perceived, and what that has meant for women through the centuries.

An examination of the influence of gender in concepts of exile and the depiction of women during the exilic and post-exilic periods.

About the Author
Katherine E. Southwood is University Lecturer and Associate Professor in Old Testament and a Fellow and Tutor in Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, UK. Martien Halvorson-Taylor is Associate Professor and Associate Chair in Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, USA.

Reviews
The contributions show a range of the best scholarship on women and foreign identities, with important consequences for how the foreign/known is perceived, and what that has meant for women through the centuries. * Interpretation *
The book amply demonstrates the pervasiveness of female presences in exilic and postexilic texts and offers fresh insights into why that is so and why attention to issues of gender is so fruitful. * Review of Biblical Literature *
There is significant resonance among the eight chapters of this compelling book. * Journal of Theological Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9780567668424
Author Dr Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint T.& T.Clark Ltd
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 449g