Four Weddings and a Funeral—Revisiting Patriarchy and Matriarchy in Biblical Narrative
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Description
It is my custom to honor friends and colleagues by a personal essay remote from our professional preoccupations and dealing with a Biblical theme. The timelessness of the Bible always ensures the freshness of such reflections. If we case our mind to the institution of Biblical marriage, instantly we have the mental image of Patriarchic relations: Fixed polygamous marriages in which wives and daughters are treated as chattels, given in matrimony by their fathers, in furtherance of political and economic interests, and who become baby production machines whose one function is to continue the (male) line. The affective dimension would be expected to play a secondary role. Where more would we expect to find an explication of this model than in the story of the Patriarchs (and Matriarchs) themselves. In this essay I will explore some aspects of the conjugal relationships between the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob, Leah and Rachel. I will have two concerns: First, to explore the affective relationships—the love story if you wish. And second, the nuances of Patriarchy.
Source Publication
Liber Amicorum en l’honneur de/in Honour of Bo Vesterdorf
Source Editors/Authors
Carl Baudenbacher, Claus Gulmann, Koen Lenaerts, Emmanuel Coulon, Barbier de La Serre
Publication Date
2007
Recommended Citation
Weiler, Joseph H. H., "Four Weddings and a Funeral—Revisiting Patriarchy and Matriarchy in Biblical Narrative" (2007). Faculty Chapters. 1515.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/1515
