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One Becomes Two: the Gender Anthropology of the Eden Narrative

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One Becomes Two: the Gender Anthropology of the Eden Narrative ONE BECOMES TWO: THE GENDER ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE EDEN NARRATIVE AND ITS RECEPTION JOURNEY By Barbara Constance Deutschmann BA, Dip Ed, MTh A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2019 ABSTRACT This thesis is a literary study of the female-male pair in the non-P creation narrative (Gen 2:4a–3:24). It takes its place alongside, and builds upon, historical- critical and feminist readings to recapture a vision of the place of sex/gender diversity within this creation account of the Hebrew Bible. This study argues that, in the Eden narrative, the interaction between woman and man drives the story, and reveals the interest of the tradent in לעבד את־ sex/gender partnership. At the outset, the question of the lack of one to serve the arable land,” 2:5) is answered by the creation of differentiated“( האדמה and ,עזר כנגדו humanity. The attributes of the pair, enigmatically suggested by the by other semantic and syntactic features, are revealed as the story progresses. The theme is developed further through the Cain/Abel narrative in Genesis 4 and adumbrates the salient role of partnerships in Israel’s Primary History. Study of the reception history of the Eden narrative shows that subsequent interpretation elided the woman under the influence of Hellenism’s single-sex anthropology, especially conveyed through the Septuagint (LXX) translation. The work of feminist and gender critical scholars since the twentieth century has restored the woman and revealed the ideological stances of both author and reader but not fully recovered the agential dynamic of the human pair. Rabbinic midrashim show an alternate thread of interpretation that better reflects the trajectory of the HB. The study concludes that a recovered reading of Genesis 2–4 which highlights differentiated humanity, can contribute fruitfully to sex/gender ii discourse in the twenty-first century. While still bearing the marks of its development within a patriarchal context, the Eden narrative challenges single- sex and male-dominant ideologies. The Genesis human pair foreshadows the cooperative work of diverse humanity in the task of serving and keeping the earth. iii DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other institution, and affirm that, to the best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signed: Date: Feb 22, 2019 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A work such as this one has a long gestation. It began with the encounter of two young women in Myanmar and northern India who watched over their dying babies. I acknowledge these two women and the millions like them whose lives will ever show the toxic effects of the distorted narratives that underpin their lives. Conversations began with work colleagues at TEAR Australia and continued with the opportunity for a fellowship at Duke Divinity School in 2012, secured with the encouragement of Dr. Jo Bailey-Wells. During that time, I was inspired by the teaching of Prof. Ellen Davis and her love of the Old Testament. Groups of interested friends have kept the questions bubbling and I acknowledge the special place of my Alice Springs interlocutors, Celia Kemp, Anke Klevjer, Mikaila Mangohig, Mel Quilliam, and Sue Woods, in grounding my reflections in the real lives of women. Closer to home, Fran Boydell, Mavis Payne and Marilyn Jones have blessed me with prayer, questions, and conversation while we tramped many hiking trails around Australia. Deborah Storie, ever the interested and perceptive friend, and Gordon Preece, who has encouraged my writing, and speaking, both deserve special thanks. This research has needed more than inspiration and encouragement. Sabine Voermans and the helpful staff at the Dalton-McCaughey Library in Melbourne have kept me richly supplied in resources. Chris Mulherin has assisted with skilled editing. I also acknowledge with gratitude the Australian v Postgraduate Award from the Commonwealth Government of Australia as well as a grant from the University of Divinity in Melbourne that enabled travel to the ANZATS conference in Adelaide in July 2017. This study would never have seen light of day without the midwifery of my supervisors Dr. Mark Brett and Dr. Merryl Blair. With incisiveness, commitment and humour, they have encouraged me and stretched my thinking in fruitful directions. It has been an enormous privilege to work under them. In the back of my mind at all times have been my daughters, daughter-in- law, and grand-daughters, Julia, Anita, Nat, Iva, Ana and Jindi, for whom I hope that this small contribution to gender thinking has been worth my distraction and absences. This work is fundamentally for them. I acknowledge with special appreciation the men in our circle, son Andrew, and sons-in-law Alex and Gordon, whose partnership brings joy into our lives. And finally, to Peter, who has provided food, conversation, laughter, .in every way ,עזר כנגדי perspective, and peace, my everlasting gratitude: an vi Table of Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. II DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................................................. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................... VII ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................ XI BIBLICAL TEXTS AND VERSIONS................................................................................................. XI ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN TEXTS ................................................................................................ XI JOURNALS, PERIODICALS AND MAJOR REFERENCE WORKS ......................................... XI GENERAL ............................................................................................................................................... XII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 FRAMING THE STUDY ............................................................................................................................... 1 FOCUS OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................ 10 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................................... 11 HYPOTHESIS ........................................................................................................................................... 11 THESIS OUTLINE .................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER TWO: APPROACH TO COMPOSITION AND HERMENEUTICS ....................... 16 FOCUS TEXT: GEN 2:4A–4:26 ............................................................................................................ 16 COMPOSITION ......................................................................................................................................... 17 WISDOM RESONANCES ......................................................................................................................... 21 CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................... 23 Two Creation Narratives ....................................................................................................... 23 The Genesis Context ................................................................................................................. 26 Historical Context ..................................................................................................................... 28 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................................... 31 Feminist Hermeneutic ............................................................................................................ 31 Other Hermeneutical Considerations ............................................................................... 32 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER THREE: EXEGESIS OF GENESIS 2:4B–25............................................................... 36 THE PRELUDE GEN 2:4B–25 .............................................................................................................. 37 The Elements of Creation ...................................................................................................... 37 Order and Relationship .......................................................................................................... 44 vii The Human Vocation .............................................................................................................. 45 Establishment
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