A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s Poetry
In the Hebrew Bible, Jephthah’s daughter has neither name nor heir. The biblical account (Judg. 11:30–40) is somber—a daughter due to be sacrificed because of her father’s rash vow. The theme has inspired numerous midrashim and over five hundred artistic works since the Renaissance. Traditionally ba...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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De Gruyter
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Open Theology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2020-0001 |
| _version_ | 1819121557226651648 |
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| author | Koplowitz-Breier Anat |
| author_facet | Koplowitz-Breier Anat |
| author_sort | Koplowitz-Breier Anat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the Hebrew Bible, Jephthah’s daughter has neither name nor heir. The biblical account (Judg. 11:30–40) is somber—a daughter due to be sacrificed because of her father’s rash vow. The theme has inspired numerous midrashim and over five hundred artistic works since the Renaissance. Traditionally barred from studying the Jewish canon as women, many Jewish feminists are now adopting the midrashicpoetry tradition as a way of vivifying the female characters in the Hebrew Bible. The five on which this article centers focus on Jephthah’s daughter, letting her tell her (side of the) story and imputing feelings and emotions to her. Although not giving her a name, they hereby commemorate her existence—and stake a claim for their own presence, autonomy, and active participation in tradition and society as Jewish women. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:38:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7fce49a294794a9a8ceaf9d20f41e6cf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2300-6579 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:38:27Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Theology |
| spelling | doaj.art-7fce49a294794a9a8ceaf9d20f41e6cf2022-12-21T18:35:30ZengDe GruyterOpen Theology2300-65792020-01-016111410.1515/opth-2020-0001opth-2020-0001A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s PoetryKoplowitz-Breier Anat0Department of Comparative Literature, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, IsraelIn the Hebrew Bible, Jephthah’s daughter has neither name nor heir. The biblical account (Judg. 11:30–40) is somber—a daughter due to be sacrificed because of her father’s rash vow. The theme has inspired numerous midrashim and over five hundred artistic works since the Renaissance. Traditionally barred from studying the Jewish canon as women, many Jewish feminists are now adopting the midrashicpoetry tradition as a way of vivifying the female characters in the Hebrew Bible. The five on which this article centers focus on Jephthah’s daughter, letting her tell her (side of the) story and imputing feelings and emotions to her. Although not giving her a name, they hereby commemorate her existence—and stake a claim for their own presence, autonomy, and active participation in tradition and society as Jewish women.https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2020-0001jephthah’s daughteramerican jewish women’s poetrymidrashmidrashic poetrycontemporary poetry |
| spellingShingle | Koplowitz-Breier Anat A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s Poetry Open Theology jephthah’s daughter american jewish women’s poetry midrash midrashic poetry contemporary poetry |
| title | A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s Poetry |
| title_full | A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s Poetry |
| title_fullStr | A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s Poetry |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s Poetry |
| title_short | A Nameless Bride of Death: Jephthah’s Daughter in American Jewish Women’s Poetry |
| title_sort | nameless bride of death jephthah s daughter in american jewish women s poetry |
| topic | jephthah’s daughter american jewish women’s poetry midrash midrashic poetry contemporary poetry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2020-0001 |
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