At every juncture in Genesis, women primarily serve as hurdles to be negotiated so that the text’s values may be actualized. They destroy paradise, delay the propagation of the human species, defy the patriarchal structure, and endanger the proliferation of God’s blessed nation. Clearly, there are patterns to the forms of this female subversiveness, such as unreliability, infertility, and disobedience. But, since there is not one single paradigm for female insubordination, the problem of women in Genesis is a narrative device that is integrated into the text to create subversive tension. They are the hurdles that God overcomes in order for the text to prove God’s boundless and all-encompassing power. With their actions, they draw attention to the Genesis value system, prevent its immediate success, and allow for eventual divine triumphs that dramatically reinforce those values and their consequences.
Refernces
Calloway, Mary. Sing O Barren One: A Study in Comparative Midrash. New York: Society of Biblical Literature. 1986.
Graetz, Naomi. “Dinah the Daughter” in A feminist Companion to Genesis. Ed. Athalia Brenner. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic press, 1993.
Bibliography
Refernces
Calloway, Mary. Sing O Barren One: A Study in Comparative Midrash. New York: Society of Biblical Literature. 1986.
Graetz, Naomi. “Dinah the Daughter” in A feminist Companion to Genesis. Ed. Athalia Brenner. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic press, 1993.