This article examines the less commonly used Israelite language of marriage. The thesis is that the literary contexts of the marriage accounts leave traces of significant social, economic, and religious factors. These factors contributed to the shaping of Israelite culture and history. The words under examination are ותח, אשנ, בישה, לעב.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Albright, W.F.1963‘Jethro, Hobab and Reuel in Early Hebrew Tradition’ , CBQ25: 1-9 .
2.
Baab, O.J.1962‘Marriage’ , in IDB, III: 278-287 .
3.
Cody, A.1968‘Jethro Accepts a Covenant with the Israelites’ , Bib19: 153-166 .
4.
Collier, J.F1987‘Rank and Marriage: Or, Why High-Ranking Brides Cost More’, in J.F. Collier and S.J. Yanagisako (eds.), Gender and Kinship ( Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press ): 197-220.
5.
DeVaux, R.1965Ancient Israel (2 vols.; New York: McGraw-Hill ).
6.
Donaldson, E.1981‘Kinship Theory in the Patriarchal Narratives: The Case of the Barren Wife’ , JAAR49: 87-98 .
7.
Engelken, K. 1990 Frauen im alten Israel: Eine begrifftsgeschichtliche und sozialrechtliche Studie zur Stellung der Frau im alten Testament (BWANT, 13; Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer).
8.
Fensham, C.1962‘Widow, Orphan and Poor in Ancient Near Eastern Legal and Wisdom Literature’ , JNES21: 129-139 .
9.
Goody, J.1973The Character of Kinship ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ).
10.
1990The Orient, the Ancient and the Primitive: Systems of Marriage and the Family in the Pre-industrial Societies of Eurasia ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ).
11.
Gottwald, N.K.197The Tribes of Yahweh: A Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel, 1250-1050 B.C.E. ( Maryknoll: Orbis ).
12.
Hamilton, V.P.1992‘Marriage: Old Testament and Ancient Near East’ , in ABD, IV: 559-569 .
13.
Hiebert, P.S.1989‘Whence Shall Help Come to Me: The Biblical Widow’, in Peggy L. Day (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel ( Minneapolis: Fortress Press ): 125-141.
14.
Holy, L.1989Kinship, Honour and Solidarity ( Manchester: Manchester University Press ).
15.
Kutsch, E.1977[see pdf for text] , in TDOT, V: 270-277 .
16.
Mitchell, T.C.1969‘The Meaning of the Noun HTN in the Old Testament’ , VT19: 93-112 .
17.
Muffs, Y.1969Studies in the Aramaic Legal Papyri from Elephantine ( Leiden: E.J. Brill ).
18.
Oden, R.A.1983‘Jacob as Father, Husband and Nephew: Kinship Studies and the Patriarchal Narratives’ , JBL102: 189-205 .
19.
Patai, R.1959Sex and the Family in the Bible and the Middle East ( New York: Doubleday ).
20.
Pitt-Rivers, J.A.1977The Fate of Shechem or the Politics of Sex (Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology, 19; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ).
21.
Pritchard, J.B. (ed.) 1958-75Ancient Near Eastern Texts (2 vols. Princeton: Princeton University Press ).
22.
Porten, B.1968Archives from Elephantine: The Life of an Ancient Jewish Military Colony ( Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press ).
23.
Revell, E.J.1996The Designation of the Individual: Expressive Usage in Biblical Narrative ( Kampen: Kok Pharos ).