Rediscovering Eve Ancient Israelite Women in Context

"Carol Meyers' Discovering Eve was a milestone in feminist scholarship when it was published in 1988, bringing together disciplines that had not previously had much contact. Now, after nearly twenty-five years of further work in feminist and gender studies, archaeological and ethnographic analysis, Meyers' Rediscovering Eve provides a superb study that retrieves the material and cultural conditions of ordinary Israelite women, as well as shedding new light on how to read and understand the account of the mythic Eve. This book is essential reading for introductory courses on Hebrew Bible/Old Testament."--Carol A. Newsom, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament, Candler School of Theology"Meyers elegantly documents the Hebrew Bible's minimalist and misogynist views of women in ancient Israel. More importantly, she then proceeds to document this using perceptive new insights into the biblical texts; the pertinent but neglected archaeological data on household activities; and especially a considerable body of ethnographic data unfamiliar to many scholars in our respective fields. This pioneering work goes a long way toward rescuing ancient Israelite women from obscurity, ably demonstrating that they played far more significant roles than we had imagined in the domestic arena, in communal and public life, in the cult, and even in cultural and political life. This is feminist scholarship at its best--neither doctrinaire nor defensive, but simply factual, honest, incisive, bold scholarship...a landmark publication. It will change the way we view women in ancient Israel, in the church and synagogue, and in the academy."--William G. Dever, University of Arizona"Rediscovering Eve is thus an enlightening update of a classic work of Biblical and Feminist scholarship as well as a worthwhile read for sophisticated and casual readers alike." --Jewish Book Council