Gender trouble in the Old Testament three models of the relation between sex and gender

Abstract

Conceptions of sex and gender are cultural fictions. Three models of the relation between sex and gender have been analysed: 1. turned out to be a masculine universalist concept. 2. Even if we were to rediscover our modern conception of sexual/biological difference in the Old Testament ( is reserved for women), this does not imply a causal connection between sex and gender on the linguistic level. 3. In the concepts of and the Old Testament provides a gender‐neutral conception of the human body.     

Ordeal,Infidelity, and Prophetic Irony in Jeremiah 2,1-9

ABSTRACT

Jer 2,1-9 commences a -lawsuit, yet much of the imagery and many of the themes found therein have not been fully explained. For example, what is the rationale behind the metaphor of Israel as Yahweh's ‘holy thing’ () or ‘his first fruit’ () in tandem with the motif of marriage? How do these positive portrayals of Israel function within the lawsuit, and in particular how do they relate to the unflattering allegations in verses 4–9? And what is the significance of the repetition of the verbal elements “to eat” () and “to enter” () in the first two oracles of this lawsuit? It is my contention that the answers to these questions are found in the subtle allusion that Jeremiah 2,3 makes to a type of ordeal in which a consumable that was imbued with magical properties was ingested and subsequent illness served as a sign of guilt and judgment.     

Imagining Shi‘ite Iran: Transnationalism and Religious Authenticity in the Muslim World

Religious authority in the Shi‘ite world is often claimed and justified by drawing on national ideologies. Examining the relations between the ruling religious elite in Iran and Lebanese Shi‘ite party of Amal and followers of the Lebanese Shi‘ite scholar Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, this article shows how the latter two actors seek to break official Iran's hegemonic claim to lead the Shi‘ite world through parody and critical narratives about the history and society of Iran. This politics of religious authenticity is not limited to debates among Shi‘ite scholars but also involves other actors such as political party members, students of religion, and pilgrims as they take part in shaping claims to seniority and authenticity in Shi‘ite tradition.     

Korea — squandering a mandate for change?

In winning the presidential and legislative elections of 2007–8, the Grand National Party and its leader Lee Myung-bak have attained a potentially unique opportunity to influence South Korea's political, economic and diplomatic trajectory. This paper reviews Korea's ‘once in a generation’ election and prospects for change under President Lee. Despite the political capital accrued from his party's landslide victories, Lee appears set to replicate previous incumbents of the presidency, each of whom has been overwhelmed by the high expectations of the public on the one hand, and the harsh constraints imposed by Korea's geopolitical position on the other.