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Vanderbilt University
1.
Christian, Mark Alan.
Levites and the Plenary Reception of Revelation.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2011, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/14977 
► This project offers comprehensive theory to explain the origin of certain Pentateuchal passages that though few in number contrast sharply with the dominant traditions regarding…
(more)
▼ This project offers comprehensive theory to explain the origin of certain Pentateuchal passages that though few in number contrast sharply with the dominant traditions regarding the divine revelation at Mt. Sinai/Horeb. In the exegetical analyses of the germane passages, literary-historical and redactional models have been brought to bear and situated within the current international Pentateuchal debate. The research has both confirmed problems with wide-ranging redactional models and affirmed their necessity in explaining complex interweaving of contrasting viewpoints. Traditional notions of Pentateuchal authorship have left unsolved literary and literary-historical problems, especially with respect to the developmental stages apparent in the book of Deuteronomy, a text of critical importance for this study.
This dissertation has explored the connections between the prophetically linked tradition of the Plenary Reception of Revelation (PRR; Israelites received direct, unmediated revelation from God as a community) and non-elite levitical priest-prophets based outside of urban centers. The research has shown that they supported this tradition and negotiated with elite priestly supporters of the dominant tradition (the Israelite community did not receive direct but rather mediated divine revelation) in behalf of its survival among the received tradition.
In addition to literary analyses, the application of social (including archaeological), political, and legal theories have revealed a close working relationship between these Levites and lay leaders. Through their involvement in the making of Israelite literature, Levites saw to the inclusion of marginalized, “popular” traditions in the Hebrew Bible, which otherwise comprises a repository of traditions that affirms “official” perspectives. I have found the following “popular” traditions advocated by the Levites to be closely interconnected: the PRR, positive and perhaps repeated experiences of direct encounter with the divine, an expansive notion of Israelite sanctification, and a pronounced openness to alien integration. My research has provided a window through which both the scholars and general readers of the Hebrew Bible can better view the contributions of local, non-elite priests and their lay constituents to the culture and religion of ancient Israel.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jack M. Sasson (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Robert Drews (committee member), Douglas A. Knight (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: H; P; priestly code; torot; torah; theocratic; theocracy; redaction; redactional; priest; prophet; prophecy; priestly; elohist; Israel; Israelite priesthood; Israelite cult; priest-prophet; lay priests; quasi-priest; Verschriftung; Bearbeitung; Isaiah; Nehemiah; Leviticus; Holiness Code; Foucault; openness to the other; alien; theology; sociopolitical; political; theophany; Sinai; Horeb; Kings; sovereign; mountain of god; Yhwh; Elohim; Yahweh; Jhwh; Jesus; kumr; kmr; PRR; Phoenicia; Mesopotamia; Egypt; Persia; Persian period; Achaemenid; Achaemenid period; Neo-Babylonian; translate; translator; priestly power that empowers; reading tobit backwards and forwards; in search of halakhah; revisiting levitical authorship; hexateuch; pentateuch; enneateuch; decalogue; ten commandments; Aaron; aaronide; Zadok; zadokite; Moses; Mosegestalt; Josiah; Hezekiah; David; purity; impurity; sacerdotal; sacral; law; legal; instruction; residential cities; urban; rural; elite; Bethel; Jerusalem; Ezra; Isaiah; Deutero-Isaiah; Third Isaiah; Chronicles; Chronicler; corpus propheticum; ideology; HexRed; PentRed; School of Hexateuch redaction; School of HexRed; Deuteronomy; Deuteronomistic History; preexile; preexilic; exile; exilic; postexilic; Hellenistic; LXX; septuagint; targum; rabbi; rabbinic; priestly authorship; mosaic office; mosaic institution; covenant code; Deuteronomic code; law code; post-P; post-dtr; dtrD; Moab covenant; Horeb covenant; Sinai covenant; exodus; hebrew; greek; aramaic; tradent; iron age; bronze age; tribe; tribal; Assyrian; Akkadian; Sumerian; ancient near east; near eastern; Elephantine; kemarim; oral law; orality; Hosea; Judges; Ezekiel; Ezek 44; Exod 19; Isa 56; Jeremiah; Baruch; religious functionaries; cultic personnel; priestly personnel; foreign; contaminate; Auseinandersetzung; elders; female prophets; female prophecy; prophetess; priestess; village; Judah; yehud; judahite; northern Israel; administrative cities; northern kingdom; southern kingdom; Zion; psalms; psalter; Joshua; law of the king; D; liturgy; liturgical; enoch; fear; fear of the Lord; popular religion; official religion; middle-tier; middle-tier priests; Herrschaftswissen; levitism; Gattung; levitizing; levitisierung; Le jeu de persuasion; rhetoric; rhetorical persuasion; clergy; Samaritan Pentateuch; Zadokite-Levites; Aaronide-Levites; Book of Numbers; mediate; mediator; mediation; intermediary; Yahwistic; covenant renewal; diaspora; Offenbarung; benei yisrael; Landnahmeerzählung; Landnahme; Cultic competence; prophetic Competence; kingship; monarchy; Israelite monarchy; power network; high priest; socioreligious; centralization of the cult; mid-level priest; mid-level priests; second-level functionaries; second-level priest; residential cities; administrative cities; condensation of revelatory events; torah; torot
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APA (6th Edition):
Christian, M. A. (2011). Levites and the Plenary Reception of Revelation. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/14977
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Christian, Mark Alan. “Levites and the Plenary Reception of Revelation.” 2011. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/14977.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Christian, Mark Alan. “Levites and the Plenary Reception of Revelation.” 2011. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Christian MA. Levites and the Plenary Reception of Revelation. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2011. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/14977.
Council of Science Editors:
Christian MA. Levites and the Plenary Reception of Revelation. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2011. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/14977
Vanderbilt University
2.
Russaw, Kimberly Dawn.
Daddy's Little Girls?: An Examination of Daughters in the Hebrew Bible.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2016, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11643
► RELIGION Dissertation under the direction of Professor Herbert R. Marbury Biblical daughters - female members of the household who are not yet mothers - execute…
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▼ RELIGION
Dissertation under the direction of Professor Herbert R. Marbury
Biblical daughters - female members of the household who are not yet mothers - execute particular tactics to navigate antagonistic systems of power in their worlds. In a patriarchal world fathers, male offspring, wives and mothers enjoy privileges unavailable to daughters. Institutions and power structures favor the father as the male head of household, and sons inherit those benefits. Wives and mothers are ascribed special status because they ensure the patrilineal legacy by birthing sons. Instead of privileging daughters, systems and institutions control their bodies, restrict their access, and constrict their movement. Laws and customs regarding virginity control daughters’ bodies in order to increase the financial position of fathers. Traditions restrict daughters’ access to wealth vis-à-vis inheritance practices in order to maintain real property in the patriarchal household. The notion that spatial positioning determines safety constricts daughters’ movement in ways that limit their access to power. This dissertation concludes that despite systemic challenges, daughters often navigate antagonistic systems of power in very fluid ways.
Socio-historical methods connect understandings of the lives of daughters in the ancient world to the ways they are represented in the biblical narrative. Additionally, both philological insights and studies of daughters in the broader ancient Near Eastern world inform this work which employs both ideological and narrative critical methods to analyze the daughters’ stories.
Advisors/Committee Members: Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Douglas A. Knight (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (committee member), Victor Anderson (committee member), Herbert R. Marbury (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: ideological criticism; narrative criticism; power; Hebrew Bible; daughters; ancient Near East
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APA (6th Edition):
Russaw, K. D. (2016). Daddy's Little Girls?: An Examination of Daughters in the Hebrew Bible. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11643
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Russaw, Kimberly Dawn. “Daddy's Little Girls?: An Examination of Daughters in the Hebrew Bible.” 2016. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11643.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Russaw, Kimberly Dawn. “Daddy's Little Girls?: An Examination of Daughters in the Hebrew Bible.” 2016. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Russaw KD. Daddy's Little Girls?: An Examination of Daughters in the Hebrew Bible. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2016. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11643.
Council of Science Editors:
Russaw KD. Daddy's Little Girls?: An Examination of Daughters in the Hebrew Bible. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2016. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11643
Vanderbilt University
3.
Williams, Jennifer Johnson.
Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges: An Analysis of Gendered Pairs and Families.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2015, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11155
► Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges: An Analysis of the Gendered Pairs and Families by Jennifer Johnson Williams Dissertation under the direction…
(more)
▼ Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges:
An Analysis of the Gendered Pairs and Families
by Jennifer Johnson Williams
Dissertation under the direction of Professor
Jack M.
Sasson
This dissertation investigates the creation and dissolution of families in four stories in the book of Judges (Judges 19, 4-5, 11, and 13-16), providing a nuanced feminist interpretation of some of the book’s most challenging and violent stories. The foundation of this study is a literary analysis of the four episodes, focusing principally on characterization of the gendered pairs in each story. The approach also deploys contemporary reading strategies from feminist, anthropological and postcolonial thought.
A literary and ideological reading of these stories reveals that the history in the text is concerned with many issues such as social deterioration and the movement toward kingship, war and families, Israel’s apostasy and YHWH’s guiding hand, the stories of individual people and the story of all of Israel. The project demonstrates that as the condition of Israel deteriorates in the course of the book, clear boundaries and divisions of gender also break down. This blurring of boundaries and narrative ambiguity often occur in the narratives through the exploitation of liminal spaces, times, and characters and in the representation of unhomeliness. In turn, this deconstruction creates elements of complexity and ambiguity, fear and suspicion.
A literary reading that focuses on what happens at the level of family divulges an ideological concern with the roles, places, and statuses of women and the ways in which they operate in domestic and extra domestic functions. A concern with how women contribute to the realization of the ideal group identity becomes apparent. Similarly, the embedded ideology of the text reveals a concern with pressure from inside and outside groups, not just through war but through marriage, kinship, and inheritance issues.
Advisors/Committee Members: Herbert Marbury (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Doug A. Knight (committee member), Theodore A. Smith (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: feminist scholarship; violence; women in the Bible; threshold; mothers; daughters; wives; politics
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APA (6th Edition):
Williams, J. J. (2015). Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges: An Analysis of Gendered Pairs and Families. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11155
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Williams, Jennifer Johnson. “Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges: An Analysis of Gendered Pairs and Families.” 2015. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11155.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Williams, Jennifer Johnson. “Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges: An Analysis of Gendered Pairs and Families.” 2015. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Williams JJ. Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges: An Analysis of Gendered Pairs and Families. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2015. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11155.
Council of Science Editors:
Williams JJ. Ambiguity, Liminality, and Unhomeliness in the Book of Judges: An Analysis of Gendered Pairs and Families. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2015. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11155
Vanderbilt University
4.
Lerner, Ellen Renee.
Manasseh: Reflections on Tribe, Territory and Text.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2014, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/13072
► This study focuses on biblical Manasseh as a tribal entity, a territorial region, and a literary construct to explore facets of ancient Israel’s history and…
(more)
▼ This study focuses on biblical Manasseh as a tribal entity, a territorial region, and a literary construct to explore facets of ancient Israel’s history and the ways in which it (re)constructed this history in the biblical narratives. Many biblical texts describe Manasseh as the only tribe having territory both west and east of the Jordan River – in the central hills region of the west and in northern Gilead in the east. This is a striking characterization because the biblical writers generally cast the Jordan River as a boundary between the eastern and western tribes, and while these two Manassite regions do not necessarily represent a contiguous area of land, they are nonetheless viewed as a single tribal unit. Since the Hebrew Bible presents conflicting views of the legitimacy of the east Jordan region and those Israelites that inhabit it, Manasseh operates, at least conceptually, in both the eastern and western worlds. Given that the Bible was – in the view of most scholars – ultimately written and compiled in a southern Judahite context several hundred years after Israel’s “tribal period,” however, this study considers the degree to which the Bible’s depiction of the northern tribe of Manasseh represents an ideological picture of the nation’s past. By examining Manasseh through the lenses of literary analysis, anthropology, archaeology, and historiography, I argue that 1) the biblical portrait of Manasseh has been shaped by two distinct layers of tradition: one tradition knows Manasseh solely, or at least predominately, as a western entity while a second tradition conceives of Manasseh as a rather obliquely defined eastern entity; 2) although the idea of Manasseh as a tribe that spans both sides of the Jordan is a plausible model of tribal organization, ultimately the concept of east Manasseh only makes sense within the framework of the twelve-tribe system which scholars widely recognize as a later ideological construct; and 3) insofar as Manasseh is cast as an east-west entity, the tribe ultimately stands as a complex, ambiguous object that simultaneously subverts and reinforces the biblical distinctions between the areas east and west of the Jordan River.
Advisors/Committee Members: Douglas A. Knight (committee member), Tom D. Dillehay (committee member), Herbert Marbury (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (committee member).
Subjects/Keywords: Israelite historiography; social sciences; Gilead; Hebrew Bible; ancient Israel
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APA (6th Edition):
Lerner, E. R. (2014). Manasseh: Reflections on Tribe, Territory and Text. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/13072
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Lerner, Ellen Renee. “Manasseh: Reflections on Tribe, Territory and Text.” 2014. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/13072.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Lerner, Ellen Renee. “Manasseh: Reflections on Tribe, Territory and Text.” 2014. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Lerner ER. Manasseh: Reflections on Tribe, Territory and Text. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2014. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/13072.
Council of Science Editors:
Lerner ER. Manasseh: Reflections on Tribe, Territory and Text. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2014. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/13072
Vanderbilt University
5.
Paris, Christopher T.
Narrative Obtrusion in the Hebrew Bible.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2012, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11297
► Narrative critics of the Hebrew Bible can describe the biblical narrators as “laconic,” “terse,” or “economical.” The narrators generally remain in the background, allowing the…
(more)
▼ Narrative critics of the Hebrew Bible can describe the biblical narrators as “laconic,” “terse,” or “economical.” The narrators generally remain in the background, allowing the story to proceed while relying on characters and dialogue to provide necessary information to readers. On those occasions when these narrators add notes to their stories, scholars characterize such interruptions as asides. A narrative interruption occurs when the narrator steps out of the shadows and remarks on the story, perhaps by providing a historical reference or information about a character. The omniscient narrator employs most of these notes to aid reader understanding. In rare cases, the narrator wishes to force the narrator’s opinion on the reader, exceeding the boundaries of omniscience and becoming an obtrusive narrator.
Obtrusions are comments that the narrator inserts into the text actively attempting to hinder reader response because the narrator wishes to foreclose potential issues in the text that will create problems for readers, either because of questions the narrator believes the reader may ask or because of the assumptions the narrator fears the reader may have. An obtrusion may be recognized by the forcefulness of the comment as well as its essentiality and location within the narrative. Although previous scholarship has characterized these narrative intrusions as asides or redactions, this study argues that the narrator occasionally breaks into the text to respond to reader questions and assumptions or to protect a favored character. In many cases, the narrator obtrudes by invoking the divine. This project examines localized break frame and non-breakframe obtrusions in the Deuteronomistic History while considering examples of omniscience and obtrusiveness in other books of the Hebrew Bible and in ancient Near Eastern literature.
Advisors/Committee Members: Douglas A. Knight (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (committee member), Herbert Marbury (committee member), Alice Hunt (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), David Wasserstein (committee member).
Subjects/Keywords: Deuteronomist; Ancient Near Eastern Literature; Omniscient Narrator; Narrative Criticism; Obtrusion
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APA (6th Edition):
Paris, C. T. (2012). Narrative Obtrusion in the Hebrew Bible. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11297
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Paris, Christopher T. “Narrative Obtrusion in the Hebrew Bible.” 2012. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11297.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Paris, Christopher T. “Narrative Obtrusion in the Hebrew Bible.” 2012. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Paris CT. Narrative Obtrusion in the Hebrew Bible. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2012. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11297.
Council of Science Editors:
Paris CT. Narrative Obtrusion in the Hebrew Bible. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2012. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11297
Vanderbilt University
6.
Whitcomb, Kelly Ann.
Religious and communal practices in three traditions of Esther: practices in texts and contexts.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2013, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10931
► Dissertation under the direction of Professor Douglas A. Knight The story of Esther has a complex history of transmission and interpretation. This project examines the…
(more)
▼ Dissertation under the direction of Professor Douglas A. Knight
The story of Esther has a complex history of transmission and interpretation. This project examines the Hebrew (Masoretic Text) and Greek versions (Septuagint and Alpha Text) in order to understand how and why the texts depict the practices of fasting, prayer and circumcision differently. The lenses of historical criticism, literary criticism and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice shed light on the relationship of the texts both to one another and to their ancient socio-historical contexts. Both practices and religious texts play important roles in an individual's and group's identity and relationship to others, and the versions of Esther indicate different understandings of Judean/Jewish identity in the Diaspora.
Each main body chapter highlights a particular practice related to Judean/Jewish identity and religion: fasting, prayer and circumcision. After engaging historical criticism in order to understand how the versions relate to each other developmentally, investigations of ideology and identity point to different perspectives associated with positions and power relations within the empires of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. In general, the history of redaction of each version is complex, so that the Masoretic Text, for example, is more developed than the Greek versions in some places in the text and less developed in others. Concerning ideology and identity, the Masoretic Text displays an interest in allegiance within the empire, making no explicit claims about God or Torah. In contrast, the Greek versions retain an interest in this allegiance, but observance of Torah is also vital to Judean/Jewish identity. Yet, each Greek version developed in different times and places, so they also differ with regard to allegiance and the roles the practices play.
Ultimately, each version makes different claims about fasting, prayer and circumcision within larger narrative complexes espousing different notions of Judean/Jewish identity which developed out of different socio-historical contexts in the Second Temple period.
Advisors/Committee Members: Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Ted A. Smith (committee member), Kathy L. Gaca (committee member), Herbert Marbury (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (committee member), Douglas A. Knight (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: gender; Hellenism; genre; textual criticism
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APA (6th Edition):
Whitcomb, K. A. (2013). Religious and communal practices in three traditions of Esther: practices in texts and contexts. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10931
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Whitcomb, Kelly Ann. “Religious and communal practices in three traditions of Esther: practices in texts and contexts.” 2013. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10931.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Whitcomb, Kelly Ann. “Religious and communal practices in three traditions of Esther: practices in texts and contexts.” 2013. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Whitcomb KA. Religious and communal practices in three traditions of Esther: practices in texts and contexts. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2013. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10931.
Council of Science Editors:
Whitcomb KA. Religious and communal practices in three traditions of Esther: practices in texts and contexts. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2013. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10931
Vanderbilt University
7.
Tamber-Rosenau, Caryn.
Striking Women: Performance and Gender in the Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2015, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11129
► In recent decades, feminist exegesis has had a profound and wide-ranging effect on biblical studies. Many scholars have treated the accounts of Jael in Judges…
(more)
▼ In recent decades, feminist exegesis has had a profound and wide-ranging effect on biblical studies. Many scholars have treated the accounts of Jael in Judges 4 and 5 from a feminist perspective, examining the interplay of gender and violence in the story. Other scholars have done similar work for the Book of Judith, and a handful have taken a feminist look at Pseudo-Philo’s reimagining of Jael in Biblical Antiquities. In the last few years, a small number of scholars have begun to look at one or the other of these stories through the lens of queer theory. To date, however, no one has undertaken a systematic study, both text-centered and deeply engaged with queer-theoretical frameworks, of the motif of the woman-turned-warrior in ancient Jewish literature.
This dissertation asks how the character of Judith and the two different portrayals of Jael play with the signifiers of gender and sexuality, also researching possible parallels for this play in Ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman literature. I also ask how gender interacts with the tone and goals of each book. I show that Judith and both Jaels were characters who did not closely resemble the feminine ideal of their time periods. I argue that “putting on” the gender “female” and playing with the signs of women’s sexuality allowed these characters to get in position to slay their respective enemies. In other words, their efficacy as assassins is directly tied to their performance of the feminine.
This project advances the scholarship on Judith and the two Jaels regarding how gender and sexuality factor into the portrayals of the main characters and the resolution of their stories. More broadly, it provides a new understanding of how the “woman warrior” motif plays with conventional notions of sex and gender. Feminist interpretation has helped bring these characters out of the shadows, but it has not gone far enough. I employ promising methods of analysis derived from queer theoretical frameworks to shine new light on three strong female characters from the Hebrew Bible and the early days of Jewish literature.
Advisors/Committee Members: Douglas A. Knight (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Herbert R. Marbury (committee member), David J. Wasserstein (committee member), Ellen T. Armour (committee member).
Subjects/Keywords: women in the Bible; Biblical Antiquities; Pseudo-Philo; Book of Judges; Jael; Judith; Second Temple literature; queer theory; Hebrew Bible
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APA ·
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APA (6th Edition):
Tamber-Rosenau, C. (2015). Striking Women: Performance and Gender in the Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11129
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Tamber-Rosenau, Caryn. “Striking Women: Performance and Gender in the Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature.” 2015. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11129.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Tamber-Rosenau, Caryn. “Striking Women: Performance and Gender in the Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature.” 2015. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Tamber-Rosenau C. Striking Women: Performance and Gender in the Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2015. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11129.
Council of Science Editors:
Tamber-Rosenau C. Striking Women: Performance and Gender in the Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2015. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11129
Vanderbilt University
8.
Pumphrey, Nicholaus Benjamin.
Names and power: the concept of secret names in the Ancient Near East.
Degree: MA, Religion, 2009, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11509
► Secret names are a common folkloristic concept found in the Ancient Near Eastern society. The thesis examines four stories of various cultures in the Ancient…
(more)
▼ Secret names are a common folkloristic concept found in the Ancient Near Eastern society. The thesis examines four stories of various cultures in the Ancient Near East in search of secret names and how they relate to the system of order and chaos of each society. First, the Egyptian story of Isis where Isis steals the secret name of Ra is analyzed. Second, Jacob’s wrestling match is examined and the attention is given to the Jacob asking the angel for his/her, which the angel refuses to give. Then, Marduk and his fifty names show that names in the Ancient Near East are sources of power, but Marduk’s need not be secret. Finally, YHWH’s name exemplifies both Marduk’s names of power as well as Ra’s secret name. All these examples from the various areas show that the concept of secret names is common throughout the Ancient Near East.
Advisors/Committee Members: Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: Ra; Hebrew Bible; Secret Names; Marduk; YHWH
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APA (6th Edition):
Pumphrey, N. B. (2009). Names and power: the concept of secret names in the Ancient Near East. (Thesis). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11509
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Pumphrey, Nicholaus Benjamin. “Names and power: the concept of secret names in the Ancient Near East.” 2009. Thesis, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11509.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Pumphrey, Nicholaus Benjamin. “Names and power: the concept of secret names in the Ancient Near East.” 2009. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Pumphrey NB. Names and power: the concept of secret names in the Ancient Near East. [Internet] [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2009. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11509.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Council of Science Editors:
Pumphrey NB. Names and power: the concept of secret names in the Ancient Near East. [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2009. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11509
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Vanderbilt University
9.
McCullough, Lori Theresa.
Dimensions of the Temple: The Temple in 1 Kings 5-9 Compared with Ancient Near Eastern Paradigms.
Degree: MA, Religion, 2007, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10487
► Studies of the Solomonic Temple rely on the descriptive account found in 1 Kings 5-9 as the most extensive source available for understanding the form…
(more)
▼ Studies of the Solomonic Temple rely on the descriptive account found in 1 Kings 5-9 as the most extensive source available for understanding the form of the ancient temple. Although the description is superfluous by contemporary standards, there is much left to be desired: the text ignores many critical details such as the presence and location of an altar and important architectural specifications.Often scholarly studies of the temple attempt to resolve the difficulties and theorize the temple’s actual appearance. This study, however, integrates several new approaches within ancient Israelite naology that appreciate the text for its symbolic value as a created space or built environment rather than as a source of historically based data. To this end, the temple description of 1 Kings 5-9 is compared to paradigmatic features of ancient Near Eastern temples. In this light, it seems that the text’s main concern is not the form but the function of the temple as a working link between the heavens and earth and the concomitant societal features sanctioned by this connection.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jack M. Sasson (Committee Chair), Annalisa Azzoni (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: solomon; david; chronicles; ezekiel; ezra; nehemia; ben Sira; Egypt; Mesopotamia; Israel; Lebanon; Levant; architecture; sacred space; heaven and earth; literature; archaeology
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MLA ·
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APA (6th Edition):
McCullough, L. T. (2007). Dimensions of the Temple: The Temple in 1 Kings 5-9 Compared with Ancient Near Eastern Paradigms. (Thesis). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10487
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
McCullough, Lori Theresa. “Dimensions of the Temple: The Temple in 1 Kings 5-9 Compared with Ancient Near Eastern Paradigms.” 2007. Thesis, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10487.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
McCullough, Lori Theresa. “Dimensions of the Temple: The Temple in 1 Kings 5-9 Compared with Ancient Near Eastern Paradigms.” 2007. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
McCullough LT. Dimensions of the Temple: The Temple in 1 Kings 5-9 Compared with Ancient Near Eastern Paradigms. [Internet] [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2007. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10487.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Council of Science Editors:
McCullough LT. Dimensions of the Temple: The Temple in 1 Kings 5-9 Compared with Ancient Near Eastern Paradigms. [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2007. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/10487
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Vanderbilt University
10.
Davis, Ryan Conrad.
Divine Inscrutability in Wisdom Literature in Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia.
Degree: MA, Religion, 2010, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11768
► This thesis investigates the notion of divine inscrutability as expressed in Wisdom Literature of Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. Working with a definition that Wisdom Literature…
(more)
▼ This thesis investigates the notion of divine inscrutability as expressed in Wisdom Literature of Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. Working with a definition that Wisdom Literature is a group of texts that advocates a way of living life, this thesis analyzes these texts divided into compositions that convey traditional thought and those that provide a nuanced approach to traditional thought. It is argued that critical wisdom compositions—particularly the categories of the "Righteous Sufferer" and the "Vanity Theme"—were not marginal viewpoints but prevalent and important manifestations of ancient thought.
While divine inscrutability occurs in a variety of ways and serves a variety of functions, this notion challenges the worth of human efforts to change one’s circumstances. The emphasis upon the unknown sin, the failure of omens, the inability to understand the behavior of gods, the inability to enter the divine realm, and the concealment of wisdom render the correlation between sin and suffering—itself an emphasis upon human action—to be unimportant. The change of focus finds two answers within compositions of the Hebrew Bible and Mesopotamia: total submission to divine mercy and the exhortation to enjoy the moment.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jack M. Sasson (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: Qohelet; Akkadian; Sumerian; ancient Near East; penitential prayer; comparative literature; cuneiform; Job
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APA ·
Chicago ·
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CSE |
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APA (6th Edition):
Davis, R. C. (2010). Divine Inscrutability in Wisdom Literature in Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. (Thesis). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11768
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Davis, Ryan Conrad. “Divine Inscrutability in Wisdom Literature in Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia.” 2010. Thesis, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11768.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Davis, Ryan Conrad. “Divine Inscrutability in Wisdom Literature in Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia.” 2010. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Davis RC. Divine Inscrutability in Wisdom Literature in Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. [Internet] [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2010. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11768.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Council of Science Editors:
Davis RC. Divine Inscrutability in Wisdom Literature in Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2010. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11768
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Vanderbilt University
11.
Fisher, Daniel Shalom.
Representations of the Poor in The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant.
Degree: MA, Religion, 2008, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/12768
► Structurally and substantively, the two ancient Near Eastern folktales The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant have a great deal in common. Both…
(more)
▼ Structurally and substantively, the two ancient Near Eastern folktales The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant have a great deal in common. Both tales tell the stories of lower stratum protagonists whose livelihoods are confiscated unjustly by members of the upper strata of society. By comparing these two tales this project explores some of their common themes, with a view toward the role of poverty in the construction of their plots. Although Khunanup is less poor than Gimil-Ninurta, they are both far poorer than their antagonists, and their poverty establishes a context of need in which the tales play with social location to advance their plots. The relative poverty of the two protagonists raises the stakes in both tales and leaves them vulnerable to the abuse of members of the upper stratum.
Although folktales often function to reinforce social norms and institutions—in the case of The Poor Man of Nippur and the Eloquent Peasant, social stratification and proper behavior—they need not conform to them. Accordingly, the unique contribution of the two tales among other ancient Near Eastern texts that talk about the poor is in the way that their storytellers represent lower strata characters, and as such the tales serve as indispensable artifacts of ancient life even if they cannot necessarily be relied upon as historical records.
Advisors/Committee Members: Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: wealth in literature; poverty in literature; ancient near eastern literature; ancient near eastern poverty; ancient near east; poor
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APA ·
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APA (6th Edition):
Fisher, D. S. (2008). Representations of the Poor in The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant. (Thesis). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/12768
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Fisher, Daniel Shalom. “Representations of the Poor in The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant.” 2008. Thesis, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/12768.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Fisher, Daniel Shalom. “Representations of the Poor in The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant.” 2008. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Fisher DS. Representations of the Poor in The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant. [Internet] [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2008. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/12768.
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Council of Science Editors:
Fisher DS. Representations of the Poor in The Poor Man of Nippur and The Eloquent Peasant. [Thesis]. Vanderbilt University; 2008. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/12768
Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:
Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation
Vanderbilt University
12.
Jovanovic, Ljubica.
Through Hellenistic Eyes: Joseph as Scientist in post-Biblical Literature.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2008, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/15174
► The Hellenistic period witnesses the expansion of ancient science encompassing many diverse schools of thought. Similarly, multiple interpretations of biblical texts thrived, promoting the simultaneous…
(more)
▼ The Hellenistic period witnesses the expansion of ancient science encompassing many diverse schools of thought. Similarly, multiple interpretations of biblical texts thrived, promoting the simultaneous continuation of diverse interpretive traditions. This work aims to show that the popularity of the image of a Hellenistic scientist nourished a flourishing contemporaneous Hellenistic literature on Joseph, wherein an image of Joseph was constructed by associating his divinatory practices and dream interpretations with the professional activities of Hellenistic scientists.
After an introductory chapter that establishes perimeters for this study, analyses are presented of relevant elements in the works of Josephus and Philo, The Ethiopic Story of Joseph, Rabbinic midrashim, Jubilees, The Testaments of 12 Patriarchs, and Joseph and Aseneth. They show that Joseph’s specialty was the science of vision or ancient optics. Joseph’s dream interpretations and divinations through a cup are said to belong to the same scientific phenomena. Given that the literary genre has social and cultural dimension, this study proposes a new category of cultural adaptation at a distinct period in Jewish history, with oneiromancy and lecanomancy belonging to the genre we might call “revelation by visual effects.” In the process, the still accepted scholarly division of dreams between symbolic and message dreams is shown to be artificial. My research indicates that those texts that supported Joseph’s holistic scientific approach generally selected him as the chosen brother through whom the divine secrets and mysteries of the world were transmitted to future Hebrew and Jewish generations.
The popularity of Joseph and the boom in the literature about him were due to the existence of a sufficient number of Hellenistic Jews who held that their creative integration into Hellenistic culture could be successful and indeed sharpen their own identity as Jews.
Advisors/Committee Members: Amy-Jill Levine (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Douglas A. Knight (committee member), Kathy L. Gaca (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: religion and science; Levitical tradition; Joseph tradition; theories of light; Pseudepigrapha; Joseph story
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APA ·
Chicago ·
MLA ·
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CSE |
Export
to Zotero / EndNote / Reference
Manager
APA (6th Edition):
Jovanovic, L. (2008). Through Hellenistic Eyes: Joseph as Scientist in post-Biblical Literature. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/15174
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Jovanovic, Ljubica. “Through Hellenistic Eyes: Joseph as Scientist in post-Biblical Literature.” 2008. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/15174.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Jovanovic, Ljubica. “Through Hellenistic Eyes: Joseph as Scientist in post-Biblical Literature.” 2008. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Jovanovic L. Through Hellenistic Eyes: Joseph as Scientist in post-Biblical Literature. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2008. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/15174.
Council of Science Editors:
Jovanovic L. Through Hellenistic Eyes: Joseph as Scientist in post-Biblical Literature. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2008. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/15174
Vanderbilt University
13.
Harkins, Robert Justin.
Jonah and the Prophetic Character.
Degree: PhD, Religion, 2010, Vanderbilt University
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11693
► This study argues that the story of the book of Jonah may be interpreted as a transformation of a familiar topos in which the protagonist…
(more)
▼ This study argues that the story of the book of Jonah may be interpreted as a transformation of a familiar topos in which the protagonist undergoes a rite de passage during a quest that takes him towards a foreign land. While in a liminal "no man's land" the hero overcomes several challenges before reintegrating with humanity in an act of communitas, but Jonah fails in this and the prophet is consequently depicted as an antihero. To demonstrate how the story's structure adapts recognizable components from this topos, I have compared the Jonah story with two other fantastic tales from the ancient Near East. This portrayal of Jonah reflects the unsettled social situation in which the narrative took form, and I suggest several ways the story might be interpreted in this context.
Advisors/Committee Members: Douglas Knight (committee member), Annalisa Azzoni (committee member), Volney Gay (committee member), Herbert Marbury (committee member), Jack M. Sasson (Committee Chair).
Subjects/Keywords: Jonah; Propp; biblical folklore
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APA ·
Chicago ·
MLA ·
Vancouver ·
CSE |
Export
to Zotero / EndNote / Reference
Manager
APA (6th Edition):
Harkins, R. J. (2010). Jonah and the Prophetic Character. (Doctoral Dissertation). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11693
Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):
Harkins, Robert Justin. “Jonah and the Prophetic Character.” 2010. Doctoral Dissertation, Vanderbilt University. Accessed April 20, 2021.
http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11693.
MLA Handbook (7th Edition):
Harkins, Robert Justin. “Jonah and the Prophetic Character.” 2010. Web. 20 Apr 2021.
Vancouver:
Harkins RJ. Jonah and the Prophetic Character. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2010. [cited 2021 Apr 20].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11693.
Council of Science Editors:
Harkins RJ. Jonah and the Prophetic Character. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Vanderbilt University; 2010. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1803/11693
. 
Open Access Theses and Dissertations