Early Jewish Writings (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780884142331)

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.