Religion 214 - VIRGINS,VAMPS,AND VIRAGOS

This course focuses on the lives of women in ancient Israelite society through close readings of the Hebrew Bible. We will look at detailed portraits of female characters as well as the role of many unnamed women in the text to consider the range and logic of biblical attitudes toward women, including reverence, disgust, and sympathy. We will also consider female deities in the ancient Near East, women in biblical law, sex in prophetic and Wisdom literature, and the female body as a source of metaphor. (E)