Linda Sexson: Women in the Bible

I really enjoyed Linda's visit. I learned so much from her lecture. Here are some of my notes.

We discussed Judges 19, "The Levite's Concubine"

Concubine means secondary marriage; she has wifely status

Story begins at the daughter's father's house. The husband comes for her, and the father invites him to eat and drink. The husband stays for days, and he finally leaves with his wife. But they have a late start, and they find themselves in a strange place. An old man takes them in. The city dwellers find out and want to rape the levite because they believe that treating men like women will keep outsiders out. The theme of hospitality here is that the host does not want to dishonor his male guest, so instead they offer the concubine. This is the theme that hospitality is more important than a woman's life. The men have their way with her all night, and in the morning the husband finds her with her hands across the threshold of the door. She is dead, and he cuts up her body and distributes the bodyparts as a remembrance that this should never happen again. This is an example of the cultural shift from patrilocal to virilocal marriages.

Judges 5-

Song of Deborah, she was a judge. Judges have capacity to know the will of God. The judge is the interpreter/mediator/oracle. Deborah goes to battle. Jael (Kenite) has her own tent on the Hebrew side. Sisera is the opposing general who comes into her tent, she tricks him into getting drunk and drives a tent peg through his head, which is representative of the reverse of rape. She has defeated the enemy. Sisera's mother awaits his victorious arrival her wise women, or attendants, promise will come home full of the bounty of war, carrying fabric adn maidens.

Deception is a theme I have noticed repeatedly in Classical and Biblical tradition. Alcohol is often used to dull the wits of the victim in both. I think the lesson is to enjoy alcohol in moderation. Don't get plowed with people you don't know.

Laban's household gods, or teraphim-

• may have needed them to concieve
• may be deeds to land
• makes everyone laugh

The Ten Commandments is also called the Decalogue. The two laws are worship adn the struggle of monotheism, and social laws.