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Households And Holiness: The Religious Culture Of Israelite Women
This brief study provides a clear and succinct overview of the role women played in ancient Israelite religion. Meyers points out that too many scholars have left women out of the picture of Israelite religion all together, and that others have treated them simply as part of "non-orthodox" official religion. The author stresses the diversity of religious practices in ancient Israel and that we should take into account "magic" as an important avenue of inquiry, as well as "practices" (not just beliefs).
105 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 6, 2023
Super quick read. I liked her arguments.
In her book Households and Holiness: The Religious Culture of Israelite Women, Carol Meyers argues that the religious culture of ancient Israelite women was an important and integral part of ancient Israelite society. She argues that despite the patriarchal structure of ancient Israelite society, women played a significant role in shaping and maintaining the religious culture of their households and communities. Meyers focuses on the archaeological evidence (chapter 4), textual sources (chapter 5) of ancient Israelite women's religious practices, as well as ethnographic evidence (chapter 6) to contend that women played a major role in maintaining the rituals and traditions that were central to the religious lives of their households and communities.
Additionally, Meyers claims that the religious culture of ancient Israelite women was deeply intertwined with the daily life of their households and communities. She discusses the ways that women were responsible for helping other women contend with the difficulties associated with child bearing, and that their religious practices and beliefs were reflected in the artifacts and architecture of their homes. Meyers also maintains that women played an important role in upholding the religious traditions of their families and communities, and that their religious practices helped to sustain and transmit these traditions from one generation to the next.
Overall, Meyers argues that the religious culture of ancient Israelite women was a central and important aspect of ancient Israelite society, and that it deserves to be recognized and understood in its own right, rather than simply as an adjunct to the religious culture of men. She concludes, “The conventional wisdom about male dominance in pervasive hierarchical structures affecting all domains of human interaction can be disputed” (p. 70). She instead proposes the idea that (at least outside the city centers, where she states that only 3% of Israel lived) for most people living in the times of the Old Testament, the family was one not where patriarchy reigned supreme, but rather where a heterarchy existed. She explains, “The term heterarchy signifies an organizational pattern in which each element possesses the potential of being unranked (relative to other elements) or ranked in different ways depending on systematic requirements. As such, it allows for systems to be perceived as related to each other laterally rather than vertically. In such a conceptualization, women’s activities are subsystems, each with its own rankings, privileges, and statuses, with some women exercising meaningful leadership and dominance vis-à-vis other women in the system. Women’s systems, together with those of men, are constituent systems of heterarchical complexities… It may be more accurate now, in light of heterarchical models, to say that neither patriarchy nor matriarchy is an appropriate term for designating many traditional societies, ancient Israel included” (p. 71-72).
In her book Households and Holiness: The Religious Culture of Israelite Women, Carol Meyers argues that the religious culture of ancient Israelite women was an important and integral part of ancient Israelite society. She argues that despite the patriarchal structure of ancient Israelite society, women played a significant role in shaping and maintaining the religious culture of their households and communities. Meyers focuses on the archaeological evidence (chapter 4), textual sources (chapter 5) of ancient Israelite women's religious practices, as well as ethnographic evidence (chapter 6) to contend that women played a major role in maintaining the rituals and traditions that were central to the religious lives of their households and communities.
Additionally, Meyers claims that the religious culture of ancient Israelite women was deeply intertwined with the daily life of their households and communities. She discusses the ways that women were responsible for helping other women contend with the difficulties associated with child bearing, and that their religious practices and beliefs were reflected in the artifacts and architecture of their homes. Meyers also maintains that women played an important role in upholding the religious traditions of their families and communities, and that their religious practices helped to sustain and transmit these traditions from one generation to the next.
Overall, Meyers argues that the religious culture of ancient Israelite women was a central and important aspect of ancient Israelite society, and that it deserves to be recognized and understood in its own right, rather than simply as an adjunct to the religious culture of men. She concludes, “The conventional wisdom about male dominance in pervasive hierarchical structures affecting all domains of human interaction can be disputed” (p. 70). She instead proposes the idea that (at least outside the city centers, where she states that only 3% of Israel lived) for most people living in the times of the Old Testament, the family was one not where patriarchy reigned supreme, but rather where a heterarchy existed. She explains, “The term heterarchy signifies an organizational pattern in which each element possesses the potential of being unranked (relative to other elements) or ranked in different ways depending on systematic requirements. As such, it allows for systems to be perceived as related to each other laterally rather than vertically. In such a conceptualization, women’s activities are subsystems, each with its own rankings, privileges, and statuses, with some women exercising meaningful leadership and dominance vis-à-vis other women in the system. Women’s systems, together with those of men, are constituent systems of heterarchical complexities… It may be more accurate now, in light of heterarchical models, to say that neither patriarchy nor matriarchy is an appropriate term for designating many traditional societies, ancient Israel included” (p. 71-72).
September 5, 2018
Interesting book. I cannot say that it was enlightening, because I have accepted her premise quite a while ago. As a priest in parish ministry I would be foolish to not understand the importance of faith in the home. With a week of seven 24-hour days only one or two of which are spent in worship, it is obvious that the household is very important in faith formation. But if you do not think about the household as a center of religion, which apparently many scholars do not, then this is a worthwhile read.
December 22, 2023
3.75 well organized and strong, cogent uses of evidence
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2024
Good! Just quite short.
January 15, 2011
The full title of this short paper is: "Households and Holiness: The Religious Culture of Israelite Women." It was originally a paper written for and delivered at the XVII Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, and was subsequently published by Fortress Press for a wider audience.
It was an interesting read, but I didn't find the argument to be completely convincing. (However, I haven't read any of the literature she cites in support of her argument.) The study is based on archaeological evidence, ethnographic data and both biblical and non-biblical texts. The main thrust of the paper is that women's religious practices centered on fertility (conception, pregnancy, nursing, etc.) and that their household practices (and thus the women themselves) were more important in ancient Israel than scholars believe. She emphasizes the importance of studying not only beliefs, but every-day practices. She also discusses Israelite women's use of magic with protective amulets, clay figurines, saying spells and the like. The magic stuff is the part that I didn't know what to make of. I'd have to look into the research she cites to see where she's coming from.
Her conclusions were that: 1) There existed "...a substantial body of knowledge" that made women professionals such as midwives, necromancers, sorcerers and diviners. 2) Many rituals were performed by "...groups of female kin and neighbors," which led to a strengthened social network for women. 3) These practices should not be viewed as marginal, but empowering. 4) This female culture, just as male religious culture, had its own hierarchies within it. "The gendered spheres of Israelite society, as grounded in household life, are thus best considered complementary rather than hierarchical."
I was expecting to read at least something about how women practiced the religion of the Old Testament (i.e. the Torah/Pentateuch), but there wasn't a word about it.
It was an interesting read, but I didn't find the argument to be completely convincing. (However, I haven't read any of the literature she cites in support of her argument.) The study is based on archaeological evidence, ethnographic data and both biblical and non-biblical texts. The main thrust of the paper is that women's religious practices centered on fertility (conception, pregnancy, nursing, etc.) and that their household practices (and thus the women themselves) were more important in ancient Israel than scholars believe. She emphasizes the importance of studying not only beliefs, but every-day practices. She also discusses Israelite women's use of magic with protective amulets, clay figurines, saying spells and the like. The magic stuff is the part that I didn't know what to make of. I'd have to look into the research she cites to see where she's coming from.
Her conclusions were that: 1) There existed "...a substantial body of knowledge" that made women professionals such as midwives, necromancers, sorcerers and diviners. 2) Many rituals were performed by "...groups of female kin and neighbors," which led to a strengthened social network for women. 3) These practices should not be viewed as marginal, but empowering. 4) This female culture, just as male religious culture, had its own hierarchies within it. "The gendered spheres of Israelite society, as grounded in household life, are thus best considered complementary rather than hierarchical."
I was expecting to read at least something about how women practiced the religion of the Old Testament (i.e. the Torah/Pentateuch), but there wasn't a word about it.
August 20, 2015
A quick and yet thorough intro to Meyers' approach (and probably the current predominant feminist approach) to "women's religious culture" in ancient Israel. Clear and accessible, a definite must-read for anyone interested in ancient Israelite women (though it could be replaced for the more committed reader by Meyers' more recent "Rediscovering Eve"). I particularly appreciated her interdisciplinary approach, and focus on a single environment (the household). My biggest quibble with the book is the author's almost complete association of "women's religious culture" with "religion related to reproduction," which at times elides both ancient mens' involvement in rituals related to reproduction and ancient women's religious lives outside of fertility and childcare.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews