Judith (Wisdom Commentary | WC)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The striking scene of Judith cutting off Holofernes’s head with his own sword in his own bed has inspired the imaginations of readers for millennia. But there is more to her story than just this climactic act and more to her character than just beauty and violence. This volume offers a comprehensive examination of gender ideologies in the book of Judith, from the hyper-masculine machinations of war and empire to the dynamics of class in Judith’s relationship with her enslaved handmaid. Overall, this commentary investigates the book of Judith through a feminist lens, informed by critical masculinity studies, queer theory, and reception criticism.
- Offers a comprehensive examination of gender ideologies in the book of Judith.
- Investigates the book of Judith through a feminist lens.
- Offers the best of what feminist criticism has to offer in this eminently readable commentary.
There are many ancient Jewish stories that feature women, but in the book of Judith the woman fully dominates. This volume achieves every goal of the Wisdom Commentary series! This beautifully written introduction to Judith is a treat; great reading for students, scholars, religious professionals, and a general audience, as well. In keeping with the series, the authors bring a feminist and an intersectional approach, but manage also to include literary and comparative studies and art history. This book is as engaging as its subject matter!
--Lawrence M. Wills, author of Judith in Hermeneia series
Koosed and Seesengood offer the best of what feminist criticism has to offer in this eminently readable commentary on the book of Judith. Masculinity studies, gender theory, and queer theory are all skillfully deployed to illuminate the shifting performances of gender at the center of this book. The result is a nuanced, provocative, and fascinating analysis of the book of Judith. Readers will especially benefit from the authors’ suspicion of easy resolutions for this complex narrative featuring a wealthy, pious, seductive, and slave-owning heroine.
--Colleen M. Conway, Seton Hall University
This sophisticated commentary illuminates the textual issues and clarifies the historical from the literary. Not your grandmother's commentary, and suitable for readers who want their worlds widened.
--WATER
- Title: Wisdom Commentary: Judith
- Authors: Jennifer L. Koosed, Robert Paul Seesengood
- Series: Wisdom Commentary
- Publisher: Liturgical Press
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Pages: 272
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- ISBN: 9780814881152
- Resource ID: LLS:WISDOMCOMM41JDT
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-06T20:37:20Z