
In The Hebrew Bible, Judges 4-5 Tells The Lurid Story Of The Heroic Figure Of Jael, The Formidable Woman Who Saves Israel From The Canaanite Army By Seducing Their General, Sisera, And Then Nailing His Head To The Ground With A Tent-peg. Once Separated From Its Original Theological Context, The Jael And Sisera Tradition Transforms Into A Story About Gender Identity And Conflict Between The Sexes. This Gruesome Tale Has Long Intrigued Scholars And Artists Alike, Repeatedly And Creatively Building On Its Gendered Themes. In Sex And Slaughter In The Tent Of Jael, Colleen Conway Offers The First Sustained Look At How This Biblical Tradition Has Been Used Artistically To Articulate And Inform Cultural Debates About Gender. She Traces The Cultural Retellings Of This Story In Poems, Prints, Paintings, Plays, And Narratives Across Centuries. Conway Examines The Ways In Which Jael Has Been Reimagined By Turns As A Wily Seductress, Passionate Lover, Frustrated And Bored Mother, Peace-bringing Earth Goddess, And Deadly Cyborg Assassin. Meanwhile, Sisera Variously Plays The Enemy General, The Seduced Lover, The Noble But Tragically Duped Victim, And The Violent Male Chauvinist. Ultimately, Conway's Analyses Demonstrate How Cultural Productions Of This Ancient Text Intersect With Broader Conversations About The Often Conflicted, And Sometimes Violent, Relationship Between The Sexes.
This book investigates how the biblical narrative of Jael and Sisera has been repurposed across centuries to articulate and influence cultural debates regarding gender identity and conflict. Colleen M. Conway, a scholar of religion, utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the reception history of Judges 4-5. By examining diverse artistic and literary interpretations, she argues that the story functions as a flexible cultural vessel for exploring the complexities of power and violence between the sexes.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars recognize this work as a significant contribution to the field of biblical reception history and gender studies. Readers frequently note the accessible yet rigorous nature of the analysis, which effectively bridges the gap between ancient text and modern cultural critique.
Page Count:
288
Publication Date:
2016-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190626887
ISBN-13:
9780190626884
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