The Tent, the Field, and the Battlefield: How the Stories of Biblical Matriarchs Mine and Undermine Each Other

The Tent, the Field, and the Battlefield: How the Stories of Biblical Matriarchs Mine and Undermine Each Other

Judy Klitsner (Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem)
Sunday, February 6 / 8:45 AM
Congregation B’nai B’rith, 1000 San Antonio Road, Santa Barbara

What do the infertile, tent-dwelling mothers of Genesis have in common with the military and spiritual leaders of the book of Judges? In our sweeping exploration of biblical woman, we will read the stories of Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel in light of the chronicles of Deborah, Yael, and the unnamed “wife of Manoah.” These comparisons will offer insight into the complex and constantly unfolding position of biblical woman–in relation to God and to man. Our study will emphasize the Bible’s artfully subversive style, in which certain stories about biblical women boldly challenge and undermine others. Israeli Bible scholar Judy Klitsner is a senior faculty member at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and the author of the new book, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other which won the National Jewish Book Award. Courtesy of The Book Den, copies of Subversive Sequels in the Bible will be available for purchase and signing at this event.

Sponsored by The Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies at UC Santa Barbara, a program of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, is cosponsored by UCSB Arts & Lectures, Department of Religious Studies, Congregation B’nai B’rith, Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara Hillel.

Website: https://www.ihc.ucsb.edu/events/endowed/taubman.html