338 - Countertraditions in the Bible: A Feminist Approach

Countertraditions in the Bible: A Feminist Approach
By Ilana Pardes
Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1992. 194 pp. $29.95.

By "countertraditions" Pardes refers to the submerged and suppressed voices of women in biblical texts, "antipatriarchal perspectives [that] have been partially preserved, against all odds, in the canon," which feminist analysis brings to the surface. Emphasizing the heterogeneity of the biblical presentation of the feminine, Pardes reconstructs versions of the stories of Eve, Rachel and Leah, Zipporah, Ruth and Naomi, Miriam, and Job's wife. This lucidly written book is accessible to general readers, and, although there is little engagement with the secondary literature of biblical studies, Pardes' many suggestive observations make the book of interest to the specialist as well. Particularly creative are the discussions of maternal naming, of the book of Ruth as a rereading of the story of Rachel and Leah, and of the watchmen's role in the Song of Songs. Unnecessary feminine forms appear ("prophetess," "creatress...... ancestresses"), and the terms "lover" and "beloved" for the man and woman in the Song of Songs imply active and passive roles not indicated in Pardes' engaging analysis. I was baffled by the choice of the King James Version for citations.

J. Cheryl Exum
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA.