Constructing Femininity in the Book of Jubilees

Dr. Chontel Syfox is an Assistant Professor in the department of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her work focuses on the early reception and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Second Temple Jewish literature, with a particular focus on gender-nuanced interpretative methods. She holds a Ph.D. in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity from the University of Notre Dame.

• ContentsAcknowledgments1 Introduction1 History of Scholarship on Jubilees, Sex, and Gender2 Methodological Considerations3 Scope of the Study and Summary of ChaptersPart 1: Jubilees2 Leah1 Constructing Hegemonic Masculinities and Idealised Femininities2 Jacob’s Hegemonic Masculinity3 Leah’s Idealised Femininity4 Neutralising Gender Trouble5 Conclusion3 Judith, Basemath, and Bedsuel1 Constructing Pariah Femininities2 Judith’s and Basemath’s Pariah Femininities3 Bedsuel’s Pariah Femininity4 Conclusion4 Sarah and Rachel1 Sarah’s Subordinate Femininity2 Rachel’s Subordinate Femininity3 Conclusion5 Rebekah1 Constructing Complicit Masculinity2 Neutralising Deception3 Gender Trouble: Doubling Down4 Gender Trouble: the Intergenerational Consequences5 ConclusionPart 2: Jewish Novellas and Greek Novel6 Esther1 The Traditions2 Gender Trouble in the Masoretic Text3 Neutralising Gender Trouble in the Greek Rewriting4 Conclusion7 Judith1 The Tradition2 Judith’s Gender Trouble3 The Complicit Masculinity of the Elders4 Assyrian Masculinity vs. Judith’s Femininity5 Neutralising Judith’s Gender Trouble6 Conclusion8 Callirhoe1 The Tradition2 Constructing Hegemonic Masculinity3 Chaereas: from Subordinate to Hegemonic Masculinity4 Constructing Idealised Femininity5 Callirhoe: from Virgin to Mother and Wife6 Pariah Femininities7 Conclusion9 ConclusionsBibliography