Sex and slaughter in the tent of Jael : a cultural history of a biblical story

233 Pages·2017·8.382 MB·English

by  Conway, Colleen M.

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Sex and Slaughter in the Tent of Jael
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Sex and Slaughter
in the Tent of Jael
A Cultural History
of a Biblical Story
z
COLLEEN M. CONWAY
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Conway, Colleen M., author.
Title: Sex and slaughter in the tent of Jael: a cultural history
of a biblical story/Colleen M. Conway.
Description: New York, NY: Oxford University Press, [2016] |?2016 |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016006303 | ISBN 9780190626877 (hardback: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Judges, IV-V—Criticism, interpretation, etc. |
Jael (Biblical figure) | Sisera (Biblical figure)
Classification: LCC BS1305.52 .C66 2016 | DDC 222/.3206—dc23 LC record
available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016006303
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
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To Hendrikus Boers and Carol Newsom
With deep appreciation
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Contents
List of Figures  ix
Acknowledgments  xi
1.  Introduction: A Cultural History of Jael and Sisera  1
2. Ancient Stories of Jael and Sisera: The Biblical Versions  11
3. Problem Solving in Ancient Retellings of Jael and Sisera  27
4. From Allegory to Morality: Jael and Sisera Go Public  43
5. Painting Jael and Sisera in the Renaissance  68
6. Motives for Murder in Nineteenth- and Early- Twentieth-
Century Cultural Performances of Jael and Sisera  90
7.  Jael Rides the Second Wave of Feminism  120
8. Gender and Cultural Memory in A. S. Byatt’s “Jael”  146
9. Old Tales in New Forms: Reflections on a Cultural History
of a Biblical Story  161
Notes  171
Bibliography  199
Index of Scriptural Citations  209
Index of Subjects  211
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List of Figures
4.1 Erhard Schön’s woodcut series of The Twelve
Exemplary Women of the Old Testament. The
Illustrated Bartsch. Vol. 13. 120. 50
4.2 Nicolaas Braeu after a drawing by Hendrick
Goltzius, c. 1586— in or after c. 1600. The
Illustrated Bartsch 115, Part 1. Image courtesy of
Rijks Museum: http:// hdl.handle.net/ 10934/
RM0001.collect.87188.  52
4.3 Maarten de Vos: Women of the Old Testament,
Philip Galle © Trustees of the British Museum.  54
4.4 Lucas van Leyden, From Small Power of Women,
ca. 1517. Rogers Fund, 1922, Metropolitan Museum
of Art (www.metmuseum.org). Accession
Number: 22.10.6.  56
4.5 Jaël en Sisera, printmaker Jan Saenredam after
a drawing by Lucas van Leyden. The Illustrated
Bartsch, Vol. 4. 107. http://h dl.handle.net/ 10934/
RM0001.COLLECT.169468.  58
4.6 Jael printmaker Philips Galle After a drawing
by Maarten van Heemskerck, c. 1560—c . 1570.
Digital Image Courtesy of Rijks Museum. http://
hdl.handle.net/ 10934/ RM0001.COLLECT.322875.  59
4.7 Dirck Volckertz Coornhert, Jael slaying Sisera.
Etching, engraving (1522–1 590). After a drawing
by Maarten Heemskerck. The Power of Women,
1551. Bequeathed by the Rev. R. E. Kerrich 1872.
© Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK/A rt
Resource, New York.  60