Was Ancient Israel a Patriarchal Culture? Dr. Carol Meyers

Dr. Carol Meyers (Ph.D. Brandeis) is an American feminist biblical scholar. She is the Mary Grace Wilson Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Duke University. Meyers' field of research is focused on biblical studies, archaeology in the Middle East, and the study of women in the biblical world. In this podcast conversation, we talk about her fascinating essay: "Was Ancient Israel a Patriarchal Culture" (JBL 2014), where she argues for the concept of heterarchy rather than patriarchy as a better description of the role women played in ancient Israelite culture. scholars.duke.... Register for the Austin conference on sexualtiy (Sept 17-18) here: www.centerforf... Register for the Exiles 2 day conference in Denver (Oct 4-5) here: theologyinther...
If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe to my channel!
Support Theology in the Raw through Patreon: / theologyintheraw
Or you can support me directly through Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1
Visit my personal website: www.prestonspr...
For questions about faith, sexuality & gender: www.centerforf...
My Facebook public page: www.facebook.c...
My Facebook private page: / preston.sprinkle.7
Twitter: @PrestonSprinkle
Instagram: preston.sprinkle

[@lisad1623]

Really enjoyed this. Throughout this conversation, I kept thinking I don't think you have to go that far back in history to find this same dynamic. I live in the Midwest and I feel le ypu would find this model in most prairie homes. I even saw parallels to my father's upbringing on a southern cotton farm. This current narrative of a father that goes off to work to earn the living just doesn't map. Everyone worked on the same piece of land every day. My grandmother selling eggs brought in needed income as well. She was the definition of a working mother.

[@biddiemutter3481]

24:54 strange that one would think 'household ' meant the building.

[@Leadeshipcoach]

Absolutely wonderful interview. I love her book “Rediscovering Eve”. I relied upon her work when teaching my series “Who’s the Boss?: Women and Men in Biblical and Cultural Context “. In teaching through the Old Testament on Women I relied and drew upon her work a lot. Thank Preston for a fantastic interview! More people/pastors need to know of her work!

[@JovannaandFriends]

So good! Thank you!

[@biddiemutter3481]

29:14 yes, it was the fuel for hard physical work. Not to be emulated by the office worker 😅

[@Wren_Farthing]

This was a fascinating history lesson!

[@biddiemutter3481]

(Off topic, but Preston, why is there a giant lettuce behind you?)

[@saralee848]

I'm confused why she said there is no mention of a Hebrew queen. There was Athalia

[@jamesbyles7070]

I think she was referring to the lack of someone being called queen, not that there was no queen (around 20:20 in the video) . Regarding Athaliah, in most cases she is described as ruling or reigning over the land, (ie. using verbal forms rather than a specific title.) I'm guessing you could refer to 2 Kings 11:3 where she is called מַלְכַּת , but I'm not educated enough to know the nuances of the word.

[@HonestLeighSpeaking]

🤔🤔🤔 hates to say the word “Gaza “?🤔

[@AcousticUplift]

I wondered about that too...

[@FireflowerDancer]

That was a funky thing to say, wasn't it? When I was a kid, I had certain words that I didn't like but it was only because I thought they 'sounded weird' and I didn't like pronouncing them.

[@biddiemutter3481]

🤔 perhaps because it's so politically charged?

[@FireflowerDancer]

I'm trying to watch, but if we're saying Israel was not patriarchal, that simply does not compute. It could hardly be MORE patriarchal. Patriarchal does not mean women never have a position of power, or that they have zero rights. I feel like maybe we are sugarcoating to make the reality more palatable. Do you know that if a man even SUSPECTED his wife of adultery, like if he was simply a jealous man, he was permitted to bring his wife to the temple and have a priest attempt to poison her. It sounds crazy bit it's totally true, and it's all recorded in the OT.

[@jamesbyles7070]

Did you watch through the video? She makes the distinction between the legal framework and the household.