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159 11 / The Bible andWomen’s Studies 1994 In the past two decades there has been a tremendous change in biblical studies. The scientistic philosophy that prevailed for more than a century has given way, in biblical studies as in other humanities, to a more sophisticated understanding of the interaction between the now and the then, the reader and the text. Old ideas of history as “what actually happened ” and text as having one correct and original meaning have yielded to a current view of the continual interaction of the viewer and what is seen, of the text and its reader. No longer do we believe that there is a truly “value-neutral” way of reading literature or reconstructing history. Women’s studies did not cause this paradigm shift, but they are part of an enormous change in our perception of reality. When only European middle-class Protestant men were doing the reading, they were able to see their consensual understandings as objective. When new voices entered the cultural dialogue—the voices of Catholics, Jews, Asians, Afro-Americans, Africans, people speaking from the perspective of poverty, and women—then the presuppositions that underlay the old objective readings increasingly came to the surface, and the context was understood as part of the reading of the text. This new understanding has made it possible to see beyond the traditional readings of biblical texts to reach newer interpretations and insights. The impact of this paradigm shift in biblical studies can be seen in several ways. There are increasing numbers of new readings of biblical stories from the perspectives of liberation, the third world, womanism, and feminism. In addition, literary criticism of the Bible has grappled with the ways that stories have multiple codes that signify meanings and the way that reader responses can be shaped by the text as well as by the culture of the reader. This turmoil in biblical studies has brought a general openness in the field studies to women’s studies—an expectation that women’s studies can provide fresh perspectives on the texts—and 160 Feminist Perspectives I an almost eager receptivity to solid feminist scholarship. There are relatively few people actively doing women-centered analyses of the Bible, but there is general awareness of their efforts and a willingness to learn from them. RECOGNIZING PATRIARCHY The first impact of women’s studies on biblical studies has been the recognition that the Bible is a patriarchal document from a patriarchal society. Feminism and women’s studies have enabled us to see the parameters of this patriarchy. Biblical society was patrilocal: women left their fathers’ households and authority at marriage and physically moved to their husbands’ domain. If the husband was still under the authority of his father, then the wife would also come under his authority. Women were subordinate to the men of the household, and men exerted control over women’s sexuality. Patriarchy has a strong economic component. In ancient Israel, women did not normally own land, which made them economically dependent on men, first on their fathers, then on their husbands, and ultimately on their sons. The Bible contains repeated injunctions to care for widows and the fatherless. This humanitarian command is nevertheless predicated on the assumption of patriarchy: the widow is dependent on the concern and goodwill of males only because she herself has no real property. Women were not part of the great public hierarchies that developed. The central public organizations of court, temple, and army did not include them. They were not judges, courtiers, or diplomats; they were not military leaders; and they were not priests. To a very large extent, their activity was confined to the private sphere. Yet women were not secluded in their homes. They could be seen in public, they could sing and dance, and women of talent could compose and perform victory dances, love songs, and laments. Surprisingly, women could be prophets. Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Deborah the Judge are both termed prophet in biblical text. Moreover, 2 Kings 22 relates an episode in which the High Priest Hilkiah and the scribe Shaphan go to the prophet Huldah, who confirms that the scroll they have found while repairing the temple is significant and, moreover, that God will carry out its predictions of disaster. The text does not comment on the fact that the prophet was a woman. The casual way she is mentioned indicates that her position was not .129.39.55] Project MUSE (2024-04...

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