Her Master's Tools?: Feminist And Postcolonial Engagements of Historical-critical Discourse (Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, No. 9) (Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship)

Scholars have long noticed the many parallel passages in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds and have offered various explanations for them. The current scholarly consensus is that these parallels are not due to the Babylonian Talmud’s knowledge of, and reliance on, the earlier. In this book, Alyssa Gray sets out an original methodology for studying parallels in a Babylonian Talmud tractate and its Jerusalem Talmud counterpart (tractate Avodah Zarah), demonstrating that BT Avodah Zarah drew upon its predecessor. She argues that this dependence can be demonstrated through what she terms “macro” and “micro” analysis, and that differences between the parallels can often be traced to BT’s reworking of prior materials in keeping with its own cultural concerns. HER MASTER’S TOOLS? Feminist and Postcolonial Engagements of Historical-Critical Discourse......Page 4 CONTENTS......Page 8 PREFACE......Page 10 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 12 Caroline Vander Stichele & Todd Penner: MASTERING THE TOOLS OR RETOOLING THE MASTERS? THE LEGACY OF HISTORICAL-CRITICAL DISCOURSE......Page 16 The Master’s Voice?......Page 18 Challenging and/or Changing the Paradigm?......Page 26 Moving Beyond and Moving Back......Page 32 The Tools and the House......Page 41 Hanna Stenström: HISTORICAL-CRITICAL APPROACHES AND THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN: UNFULFILLED PROMISES AND REMAINING POSSIBILITIES......Page 46 Mi and the New Testament Seminar—A Story......Page 48 Reflections on the Story......Page 50 Retelling This Story Today......Page 53 Susanne Scholz: “TANDOORI REINDEER” AND THE LIMITATIONS OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM......Page 62 From Subversion to Status Quo......Page 63 Opposition from the Margins......Page 67 Feminist Compliance with Androcentric Historiography......Page 71 Cultivating Alternative Ways of Reading Biblical Literature......Page 77 Conclusion: Toward a Holistic Hermeneutic of the Bible......Page 83 Hjamil A. Martínez-Vázquez: BREAKING THE ESTABLISHED SCAFFOLD: IMAGINATION AS A RESOURCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION......Page 86 Confronting Traditional Historiography......Page 89 Borderlands as a Theoretical Paradigm and Discursive Location......Page 98 Building New Modes of Interpretation, Breaking Down Old Ones......Page 103 John W. Marshall: POSTCOLONIALISM AND THE PRACTICE OF HISTORY......Page 108 Methodological Issues......Page 109 Representation and Advocacy......Page 111 Scope and Modernity......Page 113 Universality and Meta-narrative......Page 114 Martyr Acts: Slavery and Ethnicity......Page 116 The Apostolic Acts: Portals of Colonization......Page 118 Conclusion: Programmatic Contributions......Page 120 Vernon K. Robbins: THE RHETORICAL FULL-TURN IN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION AND ITS RELEVANCE FOR FEMINIST HERMENEUTICS......Page 124 The Location of Sociorhetorical Interpretation in Transmodernism......Page 126 Oppositional Rhetoric as a Half-Turn......Page 131 Sociorhetorical Interpretation as Translocational and Transdiscursive......Page 133 Sociorhetorical Interpretation as Transcultural Rhetorical Criticism......Page 138 Conclusions......Page 142 Priscilla Geisterfer: FULL TURNS AND HALF TURNS: ENGAGING THE DIALOGUE/DANCE BETWEEN ELISABETH SCHÜSSLER FIORENZA AND VERNON ROBBINS......Page 144 Vernon Robbins’s Sociorhetorical Criticism......Page 146 Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza’s Feminist Biblical Criticism......Page 149 The Contradiction of Oppositional Rhetoric in Feminist Interpretation......Page 152 Historical Site and Political Context of Schüssler Fiorenza’s Use of Oppositional Rhetoric......Page 153 Engaging the Discussion......Page 157 Kristin De Troyer: “AND THEY DID SO”: FOLLOWING ORDERS GIVEN BY OLD JOSHUA......Page 160 Modern Methods?......Page 161 Traditional Text Criticism......Page 162 Renewed Text Criticism......Page 163 Orders Need To Be Followed!......Page 165 Relevance For Feminist And Cultural Studies......Page 170 Judith E. McKinlay: SARAH AND HAGAR: WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH THEM?......Page 174 First Close Reading......Page 175 Engaging with the Gaps......Page 177 Opening Up A Dialogue......Page 182 Revisiting History through a New Historicist Lens......Page 186 Conclusion......Page 190 Madipoane Masenya (ngwana’ Mphahlele): THEIR HERMENEUTICS WAS STRANGE! OURS IS A NECESSITY! REREADING VASHTI AS AFRICAN-SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN......Page 194 A Journey and Struggle......Page 195 The BOSADI Approach......Page 198 Traditions of a Foreign Master......Page 199 Vashti from a BOSADI Perspective......Page 204 Vashti as Example......Page 206 Reading the Bible Cross-Textually......Page 210 The Historical-Critical Approach to Lamentations......Page 212 The Bereaved Mother in Lamentations and the Mothers of Tiananmen......Page 214 An Inconclusive Postscript......Page 223 Esther Fuchs: THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN ANCIENT ISRAEL: THEORY, METHOD, AND THE BOOK OF RUTH......Page 226 Reconstructing Women’s Lives in Ancient Israel......Page 228 Recovering Ruth......Page 238 Conclusion......Page 244 Roland Boer: NO ROAD: ON THE ABSENCE OF FEMINIST CRITICISM OF EZRA-NEHEMIAH......Page 248 On the Limits of Micro-Readings......Page 250 A Motley Crew of Dissenters......Page 260 Halperin’s Demurrer......Page 266 Ann Graham Brock: SCRIBAL BLUNDER OR TEXTUAL PLUNDER? CODEX BEZAE, TEXTUAL- RHETORICAL ANALYSIS, AND THE DIMINISHED ROLE OF WOMEN......Page 268 Textual Variants in Luke......Page 270 Textual Variants in Acts......Page 271 Conclusion......Page 278 Joseph A. Marchal: MILITARY IMAGES IN PHILIPPIANS 1–2: A FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF THE RHETORICS OF SCHOLARSHIP, PHILIPPIANS, AND CURRENT CONTEXTS......Page 280 Overview of Military Imagery in Philippians......Page 282 Feminist Assessment: Reconsidering the Scholarship on Military Imagery in Philippians......Page 286 Feminist Analysis: Reconsidering Military Imagery in Philippians 1–2......Page 295 Caroline Vander Stichele & Todd Penner: PAUL AND THE RHETORIC OF GENDER......Page 302 The Crux of (the) Matter......Page 306 Paul’s Ontological Move......Page 309 The Nature of Hair in Greco-Roman Moral Philosophers......Page 315 Paul’s “Hairy” Rhetoric......Page 323 Jorunn Økland: WHY CAN’T THE HEAVENLY MISS JERUSALEM JUST SHUT UP?......Page 326 Gender Theory, Philology, and Linguistic Difference......Page 327 Male and Female Virgins......Page 331 The 144,000 Παρθένοι......Page 334 Miss Jerusalem......Page 340 Conclusion......Page 346 Athalya Brenner: EPILOGUE: BABIES AND BATHWATER ON THE ROAD......Page 348 Babies and Bathwater......Page 349 Coming Clean......Page 350 On the Road......Page 352 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 354 INDEX OF PRIMARY SOURCES......Page 390 INDEX OF MODERN AUTHORS......Page 396 CONTRIBUTORS......Page 404 Presents a collection of essays exploring the reception of historical criticism in feminist biblical studies. By framing the discussion in the context of the evaluation of both historical criticism and feminist exegesis, the contributors highlight the need to engage methodological issues.