‘Babylon the Great Mother of Whores’ (Rev 17:5): A Postcolonial Feminist Perspective

Abstract

This article attempts to read the image of Babylon the Whore in Revelation 17—18 from a postcolonial feminist point of view, assuming that Revelation is written in the context of Roman imperialism with a patriarchal mindset. Thus, the article will focus on the antithesis of whore and bride in Revelation, and question the binary approach of the author. From a postcolonial point of view, the image of the whore is read intertextually from a context in which women are scripturally interpreted and treated as promiscuous beings, prone to whoring.