Postcolonial approaches to the Hebrew Bible| Witchcraft accusations and gendered language in Ezekiel and other polemical prophetic texts

• Main Author: Ortega, Christopher E.
• Language: EN
• Published: California State University, Long Beach 2015
• Subjects: Religion|Biblical studies|Judaic studies
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1603104

<p> Postcolonial theory, while often reserved for analysis of modern political conditions, is often overlooked in biblical studies. The purpose of this thesis is to employ postcolonial analysis to the book of Ezekiel and demonstrate its value in biblical studies. Postcolonialism critiques national origin myths as political propaganda; seeks to retrieve the voices of those suppressed by hegemony; explores the power relations involved in ethnic and religious representation and authority; and examines how gender is used in hegemonic discourse. This study begins with an interrogation of the imperial politics behind several biblical national origin myths. A polyphony of contrapuntal voices are retrieved through archaeological, textual, and comparative evidence, demonstrating a plurality of Israelite religions for both the popular, illiterate, agrarian majority, as well as for officially state-sanctioned religions of the literate, urban, male elite. Finally, portions of the book of Ezekiel, a byproduct of imperialism itself, are analyzed for its use of gendered and sexualized language in continued polyphonic conflicts over religious representation and authority during a period of imperial crisis.</p>