International Voices in Biblical Studies Women at Work in the Deuteronomistic History Mercedes L. García Bachmann Women at Work in the Deuteronomistic history international Voices in Biblical studies General Editors monica J. melanchthon Louis c. Jonker Editorial Board eric Bortey anum Ida Fröhlich Jione Havea Hisako Kinukawa Sam P. Mathew Néstor Míguez Nancy Nam Hoon Tan number 4 Women at Work in the Deuteronomistic history Women at Work in the Deuteronomistic history mercedes L. 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Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible (London, HarperCollins Publishers), copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Educa- tion of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. SBL Hebrew Fonts and BWHEBB and BWTRANSH PostScript® Type 1 and TrueType fonts Copyright ©1994-2013 BibleWorks, LLC. All rights reserved. These Biblical Hebrew fonts are used with permission and are from BibleWorks (www.bibleworks.com). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data García Bachmann, mercedes L.. Women at work in the Deuteronomistic history / by mercedes L. Garcia Bachmann. pages cm. — (international voices in biblical studies / society of Biblical Literature ; volume 4) includes bibliographical references and indexes. isBn 978-1-58983-755-3 (paper binding : alk. paper) — isBn 978-1-58983-756-0 (electronic format) — isBn 978-1-58983-761-4 (hardcover binding : alk. paper) 1. Women—employment—Biblical teaching. 2. Women in the Bible. 3. Bible. o.t. Deuteronomy—criticism, interpretation, etc. i. title. Bs1199.W7B33 2013 221.8’3054—dc22 2013004947 to my family to my faithful friends, those close by and those far away They know what they mean to me. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiii ABBREVIATIONS xv INTRODUCTION: ON FEMALE LABOR IN THE HEBREW BIBLE 1 How Did I Come to This Book 2 A LONG, LONG ROAD 4 A Short Guide to This Road: The Book’s Organization 5 THE SEMANTIC FIELD OF “WORK” 6 “Slave or Free?” Is Not Enough 7 THE POLITICAL, THE RELIGIOUS, AND THE SERVICE REALMS 9 Summing Up 14 CHAPTER 1: THE CHALLENGE OF STUDYING WORKING WOMEN 17 THE BODY OF RESEARCH 19 Limitations Imposed by the Sources 19 Where Do Designations for Bonded Women and for Occupations Intersect? 20 Advantages to Choosing DtrH 22 AN INTRIGUING COMBINATION OF TERMS 23 Seven Cases of Syntactical Variation 25 Loose Women” and “Prostitutes” 25“ — זונה and אשה זונה Workers on Duty 26 — הנצבות and הנצבים The Women in Service 26 — (הנשׁים) הצבאות The Women Performing 27 — הנשׁים המשׂחקות A Woman Prophetess 27 — אשׁה נביאה Breast-feeding Woman 28 — אשׁה מינקת Concubine” and Other Loaded Terms 28“ — אשׁה פילגשׁ Summing Up 29 METHODOLOGIES USED IN THIS WORK 30 Social-Historical Criticism 30 Social-Scientific Criticism 31 Ideological Criticism 46 BORROWING FROM EXISTING MODELS 48 The “Continuum of Powerlessness” Model 48 The “Distribution of Power and Privileges” Model 49 The “Women and Class in Antiquity” Model 50 Defining Class 52 Elements in a Working Model 52 Summing Up 53 vii viii | WOMEN AT WORK IN THE DTRH CHAPTER 2: ON THE SHOULDERS OF OUR PREDECESSORS 57 Feminist and Gender Studies 58 Ancient Near Eastern Studies Focusing on Women 61 Biblical Studies 62 Social-Scientific Studies 64 Studies on Labor 66 Studies on Slavery, Semi-free and Unfree Workers 67 CONCLUDING REMARKS 77 CHAPTER 3: SOCIETY’S CONDITIONS AFFECTING WOMEN’S LIVES IN ANCIENT ISRAEL 79 GENERAL CONDITIONS OF LABORERS IN AGRARIAN SOCIETIES 80 “Peasantry” as a Concept 80 Financial Obligations 83 UNFREE LABOR IN THE ANE 91 Modes of Acquisition of Slaves 94 Manumission of Slaves 96 Run-Away Slaves 101 TYPES OF LABOR 102 State Laborers 104 Temple Laborers 106 Private Laborers 109 OTHER FORMS OF UNFREE LABOR 112 CONCLUDING REMARKS 113 CHAPTER 4: FEMALE SLAVES AND DEPENDENTS 115 MEAN “SLAVE”? 117 נערה AND ,שׁפחה ,אמה SECTION I: WHEN DO A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PERTINENT TEXTS 122 When There Is No Paterfamilias 122 — נערה Used Literally: Bound Women 127 שׁפחה and אמה A CLOSER LOOK AT PERTINENT TEXTS OUTSIDE DTRH 128 Biblical Legal Material 133 Three Test-Cases on Women 136 Another Case of Spoils of War 146 SECTION II: WHY THESE ONES ARE NOT SLAVES 147 147 ” (אני) אמתך“ or ”( אני) שׁפחתך“ Naming Oneself Using “Son of a Slave” as Insult 149 Judges 19: The “Concubine” of a Levite 152 in an Argument 154 אמהות Using Used Ideologically 157 ”שׁפחה“ and ”אמה“ Conclusion to CONCLUDING REMARKS 158 TABLE OF CONTENTS | ix CHAPTER 5: HIDE AND SEEK: MISCELLANEOUS WOMEN 161 SECTION I: WOMEN HIDDEN IN OCCUPATIONS DENOTED BY MASCULINE TERMS 166 Those Donated 168 — נתינים The Wood Hewers and Water Drawers 169 — חטבי עצים ושׁאבי מים The Company of Solomon’s Servants 171 — בני עבדי שׁלמה Those Submitted to Forced Labor 171 — מס־עבד and מס The Company of the Prophets 173 — בני־הנביאים and חבל־נביאים The Home-Born 174 — בית (ה)יליד The Hired Laborer 175 — שׂכיר The Client 176 — חפשׁי Summing up 176 SECTION II: DTRH REDACTORS FALL SHORT OF THE MARK 177 Women on Duty 177 — (ה)נצבות and (הנשׁים) הצבאות 178 הנצבות and הנצבים The Constructions Bringers of News 181 — מבשׂרת Comforter(s) 186 — מנחם ים() Spinning and Weaving 187 — ארג and טוה Enjoying The Arts 192 Dancers 200 — המחללות Singers 200 — שׁרים ושׁרות Players of Stringed Instruments 202 — נגן Drummers 204 — תופפות Performing alongside King David 205 Entertainers, Singers, and Dancers 205 — המחלות ,הנשׁים המשׂחקות Leaping and Dancing, in Two Versions (2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 15) 210 Wailing Women or Lamenters 215 — מקוננות Summing Up the Evidence for Musicians 218 SECTION III: NOTABLE ABSENTEES FROM DTRH 220 Midwife and Health-Care Giver 220 — מילדת Pottery Making 224 Our Daily Bread 226 Grinders at the Mill 227 — טוחן/ ות Beer Brewing 229 CONCLUDING REMARKS 235 CHAPTER 6: FEMALE WORKERS RELATED TO THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD 237 Bakers 238 — אפות Cooks, and — טבחות ,Perfumers — רקחות Perfume-Makers or Cosmeticians 241 Butchers or Cooks 245 Bakers 246 Personal Assistant 249 — סכנת Wet Nurse 255 — מינקת Guardian, Child-Care Giver 262 — אמנת CONCLUDING REMARKS 264 x | WOMEN AT WORK IN THE DTRH CHAPTER 7: PROSTITUTES AND OTHER SEX WORKERS 267 CONCEPTUAL DIFFICULTIES 267 What Do I Take to Be Prostitution 268 What Do I Take Not to Be Prostitution 270 A BRIEF TRIP THROUGH THE ANE MATERIAL 271 BIBLICAL TEXTS OUTSIDE DTRH 277 A Wide Range of Meanings 277 Which Biblical Texts to Consider? 279 Genesis 38 279 The Prophetic Corpus 280 The Book of Proverbs 285 Concluding Remarks on Texts Other than DtrH 291 TEXTS IN THE DTRH 292 Deuteronomy 23 292 The Larger Context 294 The Immediate Context 298 The Two Elements of the Law Itself 299 Concluding Remarks on Deuteronomy 23:19 303 First Kings 22:38 304 Judges 16:1–3 307 Joshua 2 312 First Kings 3:16–28 318 Judges 11 320 AGAIN: AN INTRIGUING COMBINATION OF TERMS 322 Legal Material 323 Pay For Sex 325 Term of Comparison 325 Special Attire 325 Out-of-Wedlock Motherhood 326 Innkeepers? 326 Texts Which Seem to Contradict All These Conclusions 326 CONCLUDING REMARKS 327 CHAPTER 8: REASSESSING THE SOCIAL LOCATION OF FEMALE LABOR IN DTRH 331 A MODEL FOR WOMEN AND CLASS 332 Visible Women 334 Slaves and Dependents 334 — נערה/ות and ,שׁפחה / ו ת ,אמה/ות Belittled Women 336 Women and Occupations 336 Invisible Women 337 REDEFINING HONOR 339 The Prostitute 340 Women Brought into the Harem 341 The Midwife 342 The Wet Nurse 343 TABLE OF CONTENTS | xi The Performer or Singer 344 CONCLUDING REMARKS 344 CHARTS 347 I. FEMALE TERMS FOR “SLAVE” AND “DEPENDENT” IN DTRH 347 II. TERMS USED WITH IDEOLOGICAL INTENTION IN DTRH 348 III. FEMALE TERMS FOR “SLAVE” AND “DEPENDENT” ELSEWHERE 349 IV. FEMALE TERMS FOR SERVICE-TYPE OCCUPATIONS IN DTRH 350 V. FEMALE TERMS FOR SERVICE-TYPE OCCUPATIONS ELSEWHERE 351 VI. FEMALE TERMS FOR RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL OCCUPATIONS IN DTRH 352 VII. FEMALE TERMS FOR RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL OCCUPATIONS ELSEWHERE 353 VIII. INVISIBLE WOMEN IN THE DTRH 354 IX. INVISIBLE WOMEN ELSEWHERE 355 SOURCES CONSULTED 357 INDEX OF BIBLICAL REFERENCES 409 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Scholarship is both a very lonely activity and a collective enterprise, as one enters into an ongoing dialogue with colleagues, both living and “printed” ones. The “printed” friends are recorded, to the best of my memory, in the footnotes and bibliography. The people I would like to thank for their help are too many to be included here by name. Thus, only a few names will be publicly acknowledged in these pages. Going back some years, I am indebted to the Lutheran World Federation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for a scholarship; and to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago for their teaching and accompaniment, which turned me into an accredited scholar (1994-1999). I hold fond memories of classmates, teachers, school personnel (especially those at the International Office), and friends who became family outside the school.