Negating the mother & the maternal body in the Hebrew Bible : From Eve to Sarah, Rachel and Hannah

• Main Author: Norstedt Hedman, Terese
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för humaniora 2016
• Subjects: feminist theology; biblical mothers; barrenness; creative power; patriarchy; feministisk teologi; bibliska mödrar; patriarki; skapelsemakt
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-23657

The purpose of this study has been to examine and identify a negation of the mother and the maternal body within the Hebrew Bible. The starting point has been an understanding of a denial of feminine powers related to reproduction and women being primarily presented as vessels for paternity. A selection of biblical narratives was made to elucidate this negation through the structure of the texts by using an interdisciplinary method which combines a feminist hermeneutic with Russian Formalism. Previous feminist theologies like that of Ilana Pardes, Phyllis Trible and Esther Fuchs have assisted in highlighting the presentations of the mother and her role in the texts. Formalism has allowed a rejection of authorial context and intent; the study is synchronic, i.e. focus is on the text and its internal structures.  Upon examination, the narratives have shown that the mother’s textual life span is chiefly limited to achieving maternity, but that as a mother she is in secondary position to the father, has no creative powers of her own, and lacks parental rights. The maternal body is entirely excluded from the Creation narratives, it is the sole reason for infertility, and it is rigidly controlled by the Father-God.