Author: Jacob Lassner
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226469157
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Over the centuries, Jewish and Muslim writers transformed the biblical Queen of Sheba from a clever, politically astute sovereign to a demonic force threatening the boundaries of gender. In this book, Jacob Lassner shows how successive retellings of the biblical story reveal anxieties about gender and illuminate the processes of cultural transmission. The Bible presents the Queen of Sheba's encounter with King Solomon as a diplomatic mission: the queen comes "to test him with hard questions," all of which he answers to her satisfaction; she then praises him and, after an exchange of gifts, returns to her own land. By the Middle Ages, Lassner demonstrates, the focus of the queen's visit had shifted from international to sexual politics. The queen was now portrayed as acting in open defiance of nature's equilibrium and God's design. In these retellings, the authors humbled the queen and thereby restored the world to its proper condition. Lassner also examines the Islamization of Jewish themes, using the dramatic accounts of Solomon and his female antagonist as a test case of how Jewish lore penetrated the literary imagination of Muslims. Demonizing the Queen of Sheba thus addresses not only specialists in Jewish and Islamic studies, but also those concerned with issues of cultural transmission and the role of gender in history.
Demonizing the Queen of Sheba
Author: Jacob Lassner
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226469157
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Over the centuries, Jewish and Muslim writers transformed the biblical Queen of Sheba from a clever, politically astute sovereign to a demonic force threatening the boundaries of gender. In this book, Jacob Lassner shows how successive retellings of the biblical story reveal anxieties about gender and illuminate the processes of cultural transmission. The Bible presents the Queen of Sheba's encounter with King Solomon as a diplomatic mission: the queen comes "to test him with hard questions," all of which he answers to her satisfaction; she then praises him and, after an exchange of gifts, returns to her own land. By the Middle Ages, Lassner demonstrates, the focus of the queen's visit had shifted from international to sexual politics. The queen was now portrayed as acting in open defiance of nature's equilibrium and God's design. In these retellings, the authors humbled the queen and thereby restored the world to its proper condition. Lassner also examines the Islamization of Jewish themes, using the dramatic accounts of Solomon and his female antagonist as a test case of how Jewish lore penetrated the literary imagination of Muslims. Demonizing the Queen of Sheba thus addresses not only specialists in Jewish and Islamic studies, but also those concerned with issues of cultural transmission and the role of gender in history.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226469157
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Over the centuries, Jewish and Muslim writers transformed the biblical Queen of Sheba from a clever, politically astute sovereign to a demonic force threatening the boundaries of gender. In this book, Jacob Lassner shows how successive retellings of the biblical story reveal anxieties about gender and illuminate the processes of cultural transmission. The Bible presents the Queen of Sheba's encounter with King Solomon as a diplomatic mission: the queen comes "to test him with hard questions," all of which he answers to her satisfaction; she then praises him and, after an exchange of gifts, returns to her own land. By the Middle Ages, Lassner demonstrates, the focus of the queen's visit had shifted from international to sexual politics. The queen was now portrayed as acting in open defiance of nature's equilibrium and God's design. In these retellings, the authors humbled the queen and thereby restored the world to its proper condition. Lassner also examines the Islamization of Jewish themes, using the dramatic accounts of Solomon and his female antagonist as a test case of how Jewish lore penetrated the literary imagination of Muslims. Demonizing the Queen of Sheba thus addresses not only specialists in Jewish and Islamic studies, but also those concerned with issues of cultural transmission and the role of gender in history.
The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʼān
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004153527
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Republication of Arthur Jeffery's important study, "The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur'?n," offers a new generation of scholars and students access to this foundational text. Arranged in Arabic alphabetical order, Jeffery's compendium of philological scholarship remains an indispensable tool for any serious study of Qur'?nic semantics. Drawing upon etymological examination of languages such as Greek, Persian, Syriac, Ethiopic, Coptic and Nabataean, Jeffery's work illuminates the rich linguistic texture of Islam's holy book. His lengthy introductory essay explores the exegetical analysis offered by medieval Muslim commentators as well as the insights provided by more recent research.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004153527
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Republication of Arthur Jeffery's important study, "The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur'?n," offers a new generation of scholars and students access to this foundational text. Arranged in Arabic alphabetical order, Jeffery's compendium of philological scholarship remains an indispensable tool for any serious study of Qur'?nic semantics. Drawing upon etymological examination of languages such as Greek, Persian, Syriac, Ethiopic, Coptic and Nabataean, Jeffery's work illuminates the rich linguistic texture of Islam's holy book. His lengthy introductory essay explores the exegetical analysis offered by medieval Muslim commentators as well as the insights provided by more recent research.
The Queen of Sheba and Biblical Scholarship
Author: Bernard Leeman
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781515169611
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
This book examines evidence connected with the life of Queen of Sheba, including the Sabaean inscription on the Ethiopian plateau, aspects of the Ancient West Arabian language, and geographical references in Ge'ez Kebra Nagast to offer a third alternative. It argues that the Old Testament is an accurate account but its events took place in West Arabia, not Palestine. It suggests that scholars are unwilling to consider such a strong possibility because, if true, it would not only completely undermine the raison d'être of the State of Israel but also force a total reassessment of Biblical, Arabian, and North East African history. Professional archaeology in the Holy Land dates from the 1920s and has been characterized by Jewish and Christian attempts to substantiate the Biblical record. While evidence has been unearthed that supports the account of the post-Babylonian captivity, well-known archaeologists such as Kenyon, Pritchard, Thompson, Glock, Hertzog, Silberman, and Finkelstein have concluded that the Old Testament is either a fantasy or highly exaggerated. Joshua's invasion of Canaan has been reinterpreted as a peaceful migration and traces have been found of the massive public works allegedly contracted in Jerusalem by Solomon or in Samaria by Omri. If they existed, they would have been little more than petty village headmen with imaginative publicists. This so-called minimalist outlook is fiercely challenged by others who believe that the evidence to support the Old Testament has literally yet to be uncovered. By accepting African traditions in providing a solution to the bitter division in Biblical scholarship, this book ranks with Martin Bernal's Black Athena in its degree of controversy and presenting evidence that most scholars should address.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781515169611
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
This book examines evidence connected with the life of Queen of Sheba, including the Sabaean inscription on the Ethiopian plateau, aspects of the Ancient West Arabian language, and geographical references in Ge'ez Kebra Nagast to offer a third alternative. It argues that the Old Testament is an accurate account but its events took place in West Arabia, not Palestine. It suggests that scholars are unwilling to consider such a strong possibility because, if true, it would not only completely undermine the raison d'être of the State of Israel but also force a total reassessment of Biblical, Arabian, and North East African history. Professional archaeology in the Holy Land dates from the 1920s and has been characterized by Jewish and Christian attempts to substantiate the Biblical record. While evidence has been unearthed that supports the account of the post-Babylonian captivity, well-known archaeologists such as Kenyon, Pritchard, Thompson, Glock, Hertzog, Silberman, and Finkelstein have concluded that the Old Testament is either a fantasy or highly exaggerated. Joshua's invasion of Canaan has been reinterpreted as a peaceful migration and traces have been found of the massive public works allegedly contracted in Jerusalem by Solomon or in Samaria by Omri. If they existed, they would have been little more than petty village headmen with imaginative publicists. This so-called minimalist outlook is fiercely challenged by others who believe that the evidence to support the Old Testament has literally yet to be uncovered. By accepting African traditions in providing a solution to the bitter division in Biblical scholarship, this book ranks with Martin Bernal's Black Athena in its degree of controversy and presenting evidence that most scholars should address.
The Unforgettable Queens of Islam
Author: Shahla Haeri
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107123038
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 283
Book Description
A cross-cultural and ethno-historical perspective exploring the lives and legacies of several Muslim women rulers from medieval to modern times.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107123038
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 283
Book Description
A cross-cultural and ethno-historical perspective exploring the lives and legacies of several Muslim women rulers from medieval to modern times.
Carnal Israel
Author: Daniel Boyarin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520917125
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 294
Book Description
Beginning with a startling endorsement of the patristic view of Judaism—that it was a "carnal" religion, in contrast to the spiritual vision of the Church—Daniel Boyarin argues that rabbinic Judaism was based on a set of assumptions about the human body that were profoundly different from those of Christianity. The body—specifically, the sexualized body—could not be renounced, for the Rabbis believed as a religious principle in the generation of offspring and hence in intercourse sanctioned by marriage. This belief bound men and women together and made impossible the various modes of gender separation practiced by early Christians. The commitment to coupling did not imply a resolution of the unequal distribution of power that characterized relations between the sexes in all late-antique societies. But Boyarin argues strenuously that the male construction and treatment of women in rabbinic Judaism did not rest on a loathing of the female body. Thus, without ignoring the currents of sexual domination that course through the Talmudic texts, Boyarin insists that the rabbinic account of human sexuality, different from that of the Hellenistic Judaisms and Pauline Christianity, has something important and empowering to teach us today.
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520917125
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 294
Book Description
Beginning with a startling endorsement of the patristic view of Judaism—that it was a "carnal" religion, in contrast to the spiritual vision of the Church—Daniel Boyarin argues that rabbinic Judaism was based on a set of assumptions about the human body that were profoundly different from those of Christianity. The body—specifically, the sexualized body—could not be renounced, for the Rabbis believed as a religious principle in the generation of offspring and hence in intercourse sanctioned by marriage. This belief bound men and women together and made impossible the various modes of gender separation practiced by early Christians. The commitment to coupling did not imply a resolution of the unequal distribution of power that characterized relations between the sexes in all late-antique societies. But Boyarin argues strenuously that the male construction and treatment of women in rabbinic Judaism did not rest on a loathing of the female body. Thus, without ignoring the currents of sexual domination that course through the Talmudic texts, Boyarin insists that the rabbinic account of human sexuality, different from that of the Hellenistic Judaisms and Pauline Christianity, has something important and empowering to teach us today.
Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis
Author: Brannon M. Wheeler
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136128980
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 237
Book Description
Relating the Muslim understanding of Moses in the Qur'an to the Epic of Gilgamesh, Alexander Romances, Aramaic Targums, Rabbinic Bible exegesis, and folklore from the ancient and medieval Mediterranean, this book shows how Muslim scholars authorize and identify themselves through allusions to the Bible and Jewish tradition. Exegesis of Qur'an 18:60-82 shows how Muslim exegetes engage Biblical theology through interpretation of the ancient Israelites, their prophets, and their Torah. This Muslim use of a scripture shared with Jews and Christians suggests fresh perspectives for the history of religions, Biblical studies, cultural studies, and Jewish-Arabic studies.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136128980
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 237
Book Description
Relating the Muslim understanding of Moses in the Qur'an to the Epic of Gilgamesh, Alexander Romances, Aramaic Targums, Rabbinic Bible exegesis, and folklore from the ancient and medieval Mediterranean, this book shows how Muslim scholars authorize and identify themselves through allusions to the Bible and Jewish tradition. Exegesis of Qur'an 18:60-82 shows how Muslim exegetes engage Biblical theology through interpretation of the ancient Israelites, their prophets, and their Torah. This Muslim use of a scripture shared with Jews and Christians suggests fresh perspectives for the history of religions, Biblical studies, cultural studies, and Jewish-Arabic studies.
Sheba's Daughters
Author: Jacqueline de Weever
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113482677X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
Exploring how the depiction of otherness or alterity during the Middle Ages became problematic in the aesthetics of the Romance epics written during the centuries of the Crusades, this book offers a vital contribution to the growing interest in the way foreign women are presented in the texts of the Latin West and will be of consuming interest to students in women's studies, cultural studies, and medieval literature.The texts considered are written in the major European languages of the time and range from the Song of Songs through Geoffrey of Vinsauf's Poetria Nova to such epics and romances as Erec et Enide,Doon de Maience, Fierabras, La Prise d'Orange, Ars Versificatoria, The Sowdone of Babylone, and Parzifal.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113482677X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
Exploring how the depiction of otherness or alterity during the Middle Ages became problematic in the aesthetics of the Romance epics written during the centuries of the Crusades, this book offers a vital contribution to the growing interest in the way foreign women are presented in the texts of the Latin West and will be of consuming interest to students in women's studies, cultural studies, and medieval literature.The texts considered are written in the major European languages of the time and range from the Song of Songs through Geoffrey of Vinsauf's Poetria Nova to such epics and romances as Erec et Enide,Doon de Maience, Fierabras, La Prise d'Orange, Ars Versificatoria, The Sowdone of Babylone, and Parzifal.
Solomon & Sheba
Author: James Bennett Pritchard
Publisher: Phaidon Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
Op basis van het bijbelverhaal en de daar omheen geweven legenden beschrijft de auteur een liefdesrelatie tussen Salomo en de koningin van Sheba
Publisher: Phaidon Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
Op basis van het bijbelverhaal en de daar omheen geweven legenden beschrijft de auteur een liefdesrelatie tussen Salomo en de koningin van Sheba
The Feminine Spirit
Author: Lynne Bundesen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0787984957
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 211
Book Description
Using a variety of analytical and descriptive tools, this nondenominational, innovative, and solid approach to the Bible goes deeply into biblical text to uncover new insights about who God is. It provides a fresh and insightful way for women to read the Bible outside the patriarchal framework that has predominated, going beyond stereotypes and male-centered traditional teachings to illuminate how women can better relate both to the Bible and to God.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0787984957
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 211
Book Description
Using a variety of analytical and descriptive tools, this nondenominational, innovative, and solid approach to the Bible goes deeply into biblical text to uncover new insights about who God is. It provides a fresh and insightful way for women to read the Bible outside the patriarchal framework that has predominated, going beyond stereotypes and male-centered traditional teachings to illuminate how women can better relate both to the Bible and to God.
Believing Women in Islam
Author: Asma Barlas
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477315942
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
Does Islam call for the oppression of women? Non-Muslims point to the subjugation of women that occurs in many Muslim countries, especially those that claim to be "Islamic," while many Muslims read the Qur’an in ways that seem to justify sexual oppression, inequality, and patriarchy. Taking a wholly different view, Asma Barlas develops a believer’s reading of the Qur’an that demonstrates the radically egalitarian and antipatriarchal nature of its teachings. Beginning with a historical analysis of religious authority and knowledge, Barlas shows how Muslims came to read inequality and patriarchy into the Qur’an to justify existing religious and social structures and demonstrates that the patriarchal meanings ascribed to the Qur’an are a function of who has read it, how, and in what contexts. She goes on to reread the Qur’an’s position on a variety of issues in order to argue that its teachings do not support patriarchy. To the contrary, Barlas convincingly asserts that the Qur’an affirms the complete equality of the sexes, thereby offering an opportunity to theorize radical sexual equality from within the framework of its teachings. This new view takes readers into the heart of Islamic teachings on women, gender, and patriarchy, allowing them to understand Islam through its most sacred scripture, rather than through Muslim cultural practices or Western media stereotypes. For this revised edition of Believing Women in Islam, Asma Barlas has written two new chapters—“Abraham’s Sacrifice in the Qur’an” and “Secular/Feminism and the Qur’an”—as well as a new preface, an extended discussion of the Qur’an’s “wife-beating” verse and of men’s presumed role as women’s guardians, and other updates throughout the book.
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477315942
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
Does Islam call for the oppression of women? Non-Muslims point to the subjugation of women that occurs in many Muslim countries, especially those that claim to be "Islamic," while many Muslims read the Qur’an in ways that seem to justify sexual oppression, inequality, and patriarchy. Taking a wholly different view, Asma Barlas develops a believer’s reading of the Qur’an that demonstrates the radically egalitarian and antipatriarchal nature of its teachings. Beginning with a historical analysis of religious authority and knowledge, Barlas shows how Muslims came to read inequality and patriarchy into the Qur’an to justify existing religious and social structures and demonstrates that the patriarchal meanings ascribed to the Qur’an are a function of who has read it, how, and in what contexts. She goes on to reread the Qur’an’s position on a variety of issues in order to argue that its teachings do not support patriarchy. To the contrary, Barlas convincingly asserts that the Qur’an affirms the complete equality of the sexes, thereby offering an opportunity to theorize radical sexual equality from within the framework of its teachings. This new view takes readers into the heart of Islamic teachings on women, gender, and patriarchy, allowing them to understand Islam through its most sacred scripture, rather than through Muslim cultural practices or Western media stereotypes. For this revised edition of Believing Women in Islam, Asma Barlas has written two new chapters—“Abraham’s Sacrifice in the Qur’an” and “Secular/Feminism and the Qur’an”—as well as a new preface, an extended discussion of the Qur’an’s “wife-beating” verse and of men’s presumed role as women’s guardians, and other updates throughout the book.