A transgender gaze at Genesis 38
While queer interpretation of the Hebrew Bible has begun to flourish, readings which focus particularly on trans and gender-diverse experiences remain lacking. In this article, I offer a trans reading of Gen 38, the Judah and Tamar narrative, drawing the text into dialogue with a trans hermeneutic....
Subtitles: | The Bible: Transgender and Genderqueer Perspectives |
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Main Author: | |
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sheffield Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies
2020
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In: |
Journal for interdisciplinary biblical studies (JIBS)
Year: 2020, Volume: 1, Issue: 2, Pages: 25-39 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Judah Biblical character
/ Tamar Daughter-in-law of Judah
/ Bible. Genesis 38
/ Bible reading
/ Transgender
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IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament ZB Sociology |
Further subjects: | B
Transphobia
B Queer interpretation B Queer and gender studies |
Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Summary: | While queer interpretation of the Hebrew Bible has begun to flourish, readings which focus particularly on trans and gender-diverse experiences remain lacking. In this article, I offer a trans reading of Gen 38, the Judah and Tamar narrative, drawing the text into dialogue with a trans hermeneutic. This allows me to reflect on trans and gender-diverse experiences while also shedding new light on the biblical narrative. In the course of this reading, I focus on three narrative aspects which I believe are particularly relevant to trans and gender-diverse lives: Tamar’s precarity, her engagement in sex work, and the complexity of her motives for doing so. This reading is intended to counter transphobic uses of the Bible, contributing to a growing body of trans affirmative biblical studies and providing some new answers to questions about the text. |
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ISSN: | 2633-0695 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for interdisciplinary biblical studies (JIBS)
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.17613/wbs2-qj93 |