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....

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:The Bible: Transgender and Genderqueer Perspectives
Main Author: Ross, Samuel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sheffield Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies 2020
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
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
ZB Sociology
Further subjects:B Transphobia
B Queer interpretation
B Queer and gender studies
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
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.
ISSN:2633-0695
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for interdisciplinary biblical studies (JIBS)
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17613/wbs2-qj93