Home Religion, Bible and Theology The 'Foreignness' of the Foreign Woman in Proverbs 1-9
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The 'Foreignness' of the Foreign Woman in Proverbs 1-9

A Study of the Origin and Development of a Biblical Motif
  • Nancy Nam Hoon Tan
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2008

About this book

This study is on the figure אשה זדה and נכד׳ה, also commonly called the ‘Strange Woman’ in Proverbs 1-9. It is an attempt to understand the meaning which defines her, and the origin and development of her motif. The first part argues against defining her as a sexual predator, but as an ethnic foreigner according to the lexical studies of זד and נכד. It traces her origin within the Hebrew scripture, the legal documents and especially to the DtrH's portrayal of foreign women/wives. Hence, it distinguishes the two motifs: the motif of the adulteress and the motif of the foreign woman; the latter, which symbolizes the temptation to apostasy. The study will then go on to explain how the writer of Proverbs 1-9 employs this motif of the foreign woman in his poetic composition. The second part tracks the development of this motif through the subsequent Jewish Wisdom literature and observes how it changes and loses the ‘foreignness’ of her original motif in Eccl. 7:26; 4Q184; LXX Proverbs; Hebrew Ben Sira; Greek Ben Sira; and finally disappears in Wisdom of Solomon. It proffers to understand this gradual transformation against a background of social and religious change.

Author / Editor information

Nancy Nam Hoon Tan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China.

Reviews

"[...] this is an engaging and well-researched monograph."
L.-S. Tiemeyer in: Book List - Society for Old Testament Study 2009

"[Eine] Studie, die eindrucksvoll zeigt, wie die innerjüdische Tradition die Exegese von Prov 1-9 erhellen kann."
A. C. Hagedorn in: ZAW 121/2009

"A thouroughly worthwhile book, and a welcome addition to the literature."
David Nicoll in: New Directions 3/2009


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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
December 10, 2008
eBook ISBN:
9783110209839
Hardcover published on:
May 20, 2008
Hardcover ISBN:
9783110200638
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Front matter:
16
Main content:
222
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