Early Jewish Writings

This collection of essays deals with aspects of women and gender relations in early Judaism (during the Persian, Greek and Roman empires). Some essays focus on specific writings: the Greek (Septuagint) version of Esther, Judith, Joseph and Aseneth and the Letter of Jeremiah. Others explore how certain biblical texts are reinterpreted: Eve in the Life of Adam and Eve; the mixing of the sons of God with the daughters of men from Gen 6:1-4; the Egyptian princess at the birth of Moses; how Josephus retells biblical stories. The third group of essays explore specific social contexts: Philo's views of women in the Roman empire; the Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls and women philosophers, the Therapeutae, in Egyptian Alexandria.