Women In the Bible-Guest Speaker Linda Sexson

1. Women-historical Figures or Socially Designation (Social Construction)
2.Female-Biological Category
3. Feminine-Symbol or Metaphor
1 and 3 are easily confused

monotheism   One God absorbs attributes of all E.G. Creation=Fertility a feminine trait

Eve is 1 [mother of all]
  Taking the rib from Adam to create Eve-separating male and female
      Rib-Te in some languages (Tiamat, Tiat Goddessses)
Anat-warrior Goddess

Repetitive Parallelism

Linda's law # 45-All Gods are metaphors

Zipporah-3
In Patriarchal societies phallic images ALWAYS take precedence over feminine (A women who hits a guy in the balls to save her husband must have her hand chopped off Deut.)

Lot and his Daughters-Moabites and Amenites, like Bastards Or SOB (Ancient insult)

Judges 19-The Levite and his Concubine/Wife
  Rules of hospitality are sacred

"Place your hand on my thigh" Testes are vows
     Foot may be a euphemism in bible

Amos-Hosea \
721-fall of Norther Kingdom--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fall of Southern Kingdom
                                           Prophets appear to explain Israel's suffering
                                                 -Israel's fault for not worshipping correctly and not treating each other right
                                                       First consideration given to Social Justice
                                                        Cultic Purities

Hosea's Whore of a Wife=Israel

Jeremiah (And his Loincloth)

Teraphim-Household Gods
  Rachel's blood

1)Deborah
            2)Jael
                   3)Mother of Sisera
    The Decline
        !)Strong women who entered battle, even to the point of affirming masculinity [general who wouldn't go to battle without her] 2)Having to use trickery and deceit to establish power [killing enemy general with tent peg (Which head?)] 3)Women were spoils of war

  This lecture was especially interesting to me. I've noticed that sexist teachers of the Bible always used these women as justification for male dominated societies, while PC teachers always completely avoid mentioning them. I also noticed several correlations between Linda Sexson's literary perspective of Women and the Bible and ideas discussed in a Sociology of Gender class I took last year, especially the repression of women being a Social Construction and appearing in customary traditions (like the isolation of a woman while she is having her period).

Notes from September 28th

The Scattering
Portable religion---[God in a box] becomes integral to displaced Jews
Zionism-return to homeland
Christians-Jesus was Messiah Jews-Messiah hasn't come yet Islam-?

Notes from September 21st

Polysemous-many meanings
"All literature is displaced myth" N. Frye
"According to J, the moral of the story IS the story" P. Sexson
Lilith
Etiology-study of causation
Axis Mundi

Different Levels of Reading Literature
1. Descriptive
2. Poetic
3. Metaphor

Genisis and Exodus

  I've finally found the trick to reading the Bible while ignoring the all the outside information my subconscious brain-inundated with years and years of preachers, Sunday-school teachers, biblical authors and parental scolding-keeps trying to interject. The Bible, Genesis and Exodus in particular, is an Edward Rutherford book! Read it like an epic historical novel that spans an immense amount of time and focuses on a particular tribe of people-the Jews-and its possible to focus on its literary value instead of its role as the guidebook for one religion or another.

Notes from September 16th

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimesis

http://www3.dbu.edu/mitchell/odysseus.htm

What is an ephod?

A question posed in class was "What is an ephod?" and I happened to have the answer because I also had the question. An ephod is a breastplate, usually made of linen with the "Twelve stones of Israel" embedded upon it. The twelves stone respresent the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel. My computer won't let me post an image, but if you go to http://www.templemountfaithful.org/Newsletters/2001/5761-9.htm they have an image of one and of the twelve stones.
Random Fact- According to the Talmud, the wearing of the ephod atoned for the sin of idolatry on the part of the Children of Israel.

Acronym

Acronym for the Bible in Seven Words


Create
Excellence,
Love
Wittiness
and
Prepare
Great
Answers
for your teacher