In this eye-opening book, llana Pardes explores the tense dialogue between dominant patriarchal discourses of the Bible and counter female voices. Pardes studies women's plots and subplots, dreams and pursuits, uncovering the diverse and at times conflicting figurations of femininity in biblical texts. She also sketches the ways in which antipatriarchal elements intermingle with other repressed elements in the Bible: polytheistic traditions, skeptical voices, and erotic longings. Editorial Reviews From Library Journal Pardes begins with a thorough anlaysis of six leading feminist discussions of the biblical creation stories. She then provides analyses for maternal naming, Rachel's dream, Zipporah's struggle for deliverance, the book of Ruth, the Song of Songs, and Job's wife's sentence. In doing so, she reveals various concepts of femininity which at times unite with other elements contrary to the dominant patriarchal, monotheistic, covenantal tradition. This important book for feminists and biblical scholars may also appeal to serious general readers. Recommended for academic and large public libraries. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Review This book marks the much needed next step in feminist biblical criticism. (Mieke Bal) This lively and stimulating book probes the words and the silences of such figures as Eve, Rachel, and Zipporah, using their stories in turn to test a variety of contemporary feminist approaches to the Bible...[An] original blend of text history, feminist theory, and literary analysis. (David Damrosch) Distinguishing herself from feminists Biblical scholars who regard the Bible as a wholly patriarchal work, Parders sees the text itself as challenging gender distinctions...Her arguments are buttressed with an impressive command of Biblical scholarship and an awareness of the sensitive, nuanced readings to be found in Rabbinic literature. (Yehudah Mirsky Forward) Ilana Pardes planes the Bible's surface to expose the lineaments that run against the grain, challenging the pat assumptions of our predecessors. Pardes focuses on the unconventional, the irregular, in Biblical literature and points up instances in which a female voice in permitted its say--until the masculine voice resumes. (Edward L. Greenstein Jerusalem Report)