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To be human means to resist dehumanization. In the darkest periods of human history, men and women have risen up and in many different voices said this one thing: “Do not treat me like this. Treat me like the human being that I am.” Claiming Her Dignity explores a number of stories from the Old Testament in which women in a variety of creative ways resist the violence of war, rape, heterarchy, and poverty. Amid the life-denying circumstances that seek to attack, violate, and destroy the bodies and psyches of women, men, and children, the women featured in this book absolutely refuse to succumb to the explicit, and at times subtle but no less harmful, manifestations of violence that they face.
Prof. Juliana Claassens is currently professor in Old Testament with a focus on human dignity at the Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Prior to this, she studied and taught in the United States for thirteen years. She is the author of Mourner, Mother, Midwife: Reimagining God’s Liberating Presence (Westminster John Knox, 2012) and The God who Provides: Biblical Images of Divine Nourishment (Abingdon, 2004).
ContentsAcknowledgments ixIntroduction xiiiChapter 1. Resisting the Violence of War 11. Understanding Collective Violence 12. Rizpah’s Lament (2 Samuel 21) 43. Abigail’s Hospitality (1 Samuel 25) 174. Rizpah’s and Abigails of “These Modern Days” 31Chapter 2. Resisting the Violence of Rape 341. The Terrorizing Reality of Rape 342. Tamar’s Cry (2 Samuel 13) 383. Susanna’s Prayer 504. A World without Rape 64Chapter 3. Resisting the Violence of Patriarchy Heterarchy 671. From Patriarchy to Heterarchy 672 The Daughter of Jephthah’s Elegy (Judges 11) 713. The Daughters of Zelophehad’s Resolve (Numbers 27) 844. Smashing Patriarchy? 99Chapter 4. Resisting the Violence of Precarity 1021. Poverty as the Worst Form of Violence 1022. Hagar’s Tears (Genesis 16, 21) / Sarah’s Laughter (Genesis 18, 21) 1063. Ruth, Naomi, and Tamar’s Resilience 1214. Transforming Narratives, Transforming Communities 133Conclusion 1371. Telling Stories 1372. Memory 1393. Salvation 1414. Agency 1445. Complexity 1486. Hope 151Postscript 153Author and Subject Index 157Scripture Index 163
"Claiming Her Dignity introduces us to fourteen biblical women who bravely responded to the violent evils of war, rape, systemic injustice, and poverty in seemingly small but effective and creative acts of nonviolent resistance and in the process retained their dignity and agency as full human beings. Claassens brilliantly demonstrates how the complex, realistic, and hopeful accounts of these ancient biblical women continue to reverberate in the stories of women and other marginalized people in our world today. Highly recommended!"Dennis Olson, Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary