Integrating Women into Second Temple History

by ILAN TAL

• ISBN13: 9781565635470
• ISBN10: 1565635477
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-09-01
• Publisher: Hendrickson Pub

Summary

Most studies about women, Jewish and otherwise, are usually confined to the domestic sphere: the home, the family, the bed. Yet women were present at all historical events, and it is not only the presence but also their significance for these events which should be recognized. All the sources seem to militate against an approach which assumes the presence of women in public events: When dealing with politics, war and religion, scholars can ignore women, confining themselves instead to the woman's role in the domestic sphere. Tal Ilan here seeks to discover women in the public spaces and main events of Second Temple Judaism. The main principle guiding her is that if by chance women are mentioned in the sources, they should not be treated as a means for explaining the event but rather as an end in themselves. Thus sources showing women as remote or obscure turn out to yield much relevant material. Ilan investigates women's association with the Pharisees and other sects. She analyzes women's roles in the writings of Josephus, Ben Sira, and other important sources.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Abbreviations	xi
Introduction	1	(8)
Part 1: Women and Sects	9	(74)
``Fear not the Pharisees'' (bSotah 22b): The Attraction of Aristocratic Women to Pharisaism	11	(32)
The Evidence	15	(6)
Josephus	15	(2)
Rabbinic Literature	17	(4)
The Women	21	(10)
Queen Shelamzion Alexandra	21	(2)
Pheroras' Wife	23	(2)
Queen Helene of Adiabene	25	(1)
Martha bat Boethus	26	(3)
The Daughter of Naqadimon ben Gurion	29	(2)
Social Implications	31	(6)
Conclusions	37	(6)
Appendix: The Case of the Dead Sea Sect	38	(5)
``The Daughters of Israel are not Licentious'' (mYevamot 13:1): Beit Shammai on the Legal Position of Women	43	(40)
Marriage Laws	46	(18)
Betrothal	46	(4)
Divorce	50	(2)
Widowhood	52	(7)
Other Topics Pertaining to Marriage	59	(5)
Purity Laws	64	(2)
Queen Helene of Adiabene	66	(5)
Historical Discussion	71	(9)
Beit Shammai and the Sadducees	72	(2)
Beit Shammai and the Zealots	74	(6)
Postscript: The Decision According to Beit Hillel and Women's Position in Judaism	80	(3)
Part 2: Women and Sources	83	(132)
``Things Unbecoming a Woman'' (Ant. 13.431): Josephus and Nicolaus on Women	85	(42)
Josephus on Women	88	(9)
The Sister of Justus of Tiberias	89	(2)
Eleazar Ben Yair's Wise Relative	91	(1)
Queen Berenice	92	(5)
Nicolaus on Women	97	(28)
Queen Shelamzion	100	(5)
Mariamme the Hasmonean	105	(10)
Herod's Sister Salome	115	(10)
Summary and Conclusions	125	(2)
``And Who Knows Whether You have not Come to Dominion for a Time Like This?'' (Esther 4:14): Esther, Judith and Susanna as Propaganda for Shelamzion's Queenship	127	(28)
The Date of Esther	133	(3)
The Dating of Judith and Susanna	136	(2)
Esther Judith and Susanna---The Common Premise	138	(6)
Gender and Leadership in Israel: The Ideological Message of Esther, Judith and Susanna	144	(9)
Susanna	149	(1)
Judith	150	(1)
Esther	151	(2)
Conclusion	153	(2)
``Wickedness Comes from Women'' (Ben Sira 42:13): Ben Sira's Misogyny and its Reception	155	(20)
Babylonian Talmud
bSanhedrin 100b	158	(10)
Other References	168	(2)
Attributed Sayings	168	(1)
Unattributed Sayings	168	(2)
Excursus: The Reception of Ben Sira in other Rabbinic Circles	170	(1)
Conclusions	170	(1)
A Note on Yalta and Ben Sira	171	(4)
``Beruriah Has Spoken Well'' (tKelim Bava Metzia 1:6): The Historical Beruiah and Her Transformation in the Rabbinic Corpora	175	(20)
Beruriah of the Tosefta	176	(3)
Beruriah of the Mishnah	179	(2)
Excursus: Beruriah of the Palestinian Talmud	180	(1)
Beruriah of the Babylonian Talmud	181	(8)
bPesahim 62b	181	(1)
bBerakhot 10a	182	(1)
bEruvin 53a-54a	183	(6)
Rashi's Beruriah	189	(5)
Conclusion	194	(1)
``Bone of My Bones'' (Genesis 2:23): The Use of Skeletal Remains for the Study of Gender and Social History	195	(20)
Infant Mortality	199	(3)
The Sex Ratio: Exposure and Neglect	202	(5)
Excursus: The Case of Qumran	206	(1)
Gender and Age at Death	207	(1)
Violence of War or Violence in the Family?	208	(3)
Death in Childbirth	211	(1)
Gender and Inscriptions	212	(1)
Conclusions	213	(2)
Table 1: The Ossauries	214	(1)
Table 2: Other Finds	214	(1)
Part 3: Women and the Judean Desert Papyri	215	(48)
Julia Crispina: A Herodian Princess in the Babatha Archive	217	(18)
The Criteria	218	(5)
Chronology	218	(1)
Geography	219	(1)
Names	220	(3)
The Case Study of Julia Crispina	223	(8)
Chronology	225	(1)
Geography	225	(2)
Name	227	(4)
Discussion	231	(4)
Late Herodian Genealogical Chart	233	(1)
Genealogical Chart of the Family of Philo of Alexandria	233	(2)
``He Who Eats at his Father-in-Law's in Judaea Cannot Bring a Virginity Suit'' (mKetubbot 1:5): Premartial Cohabitation in the Judaean Desert Papyri and the Mishnah	235	(18)
The Marriage Contract of Salome Komaise	235	(2)
συμβι&omicr;ς	237	(1)
Modes of Interpretation	238	(5)
The Apologetic Approach	238	(4)
The Provocative Approach	242	(1)
Tannaitic Sources	243	(3)
The Jewish Betrothal Practice	246	(1)
The Palestinian Talmud	247	(2)
The Social Implications of Premarital Cohabitation	249	(4)
The Radical Approach	249	(1)
The Conservative Approach	250	(1)
Excursus: Jus Primae Noctis	250	(3)
A Divorce Bill? Notes on Papyrus XHev/Se 13	253	(10)
Text	257	(1)
Translation	258	(1)
Commentary	259	(2)
Conclusion	261	(2)
Bibliography	263	(16)
Indices	279