Gender, genocide, Gaza and the Book of Esther: engaging texts of terror(ism)
"Gender, Genocide, Gaza and the Book of Esther: Engaging Texts of Terror(ism) bridges the gap between gendered and geopolitical analyses by interrogating both the sexual and ethnic violence embedded in the Book of Esther. While much scholarship has examined the potential genocide of the Jews in...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| WorldCat: | WorldCat |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
London New York
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
2025
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| In: | Year: 2025 |
| Series/Journal: | Routledge Focus
Rape culture, religion and the Bible |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible
/ Esther Biblical character
/ Genocide
/ Violence
/ Gender
|
| RelBib Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Bible. Esther
Feminist criticism
B Excommunication (Jewish law) B Violence in the Bible B gender-based violence Religious aspects B Harems |
| Summary: | "Gender, Genocide, Gaza and the Book of Esther: Engaging Texts of Terror(ism) bridges the gap between gendered and geopolitical analyses by interrogating both the sexual and ethnic violence embedded in the Book of Esther. While much scholarship has examined the potential genocide of the Jews in the narrative, far less attention has been paid to the Persian "retaliation genocide." Framed within decolonial feminist perspectives, this book shifts between the harem-the royal institution where women were sequestered for the king's use-and herem, the practice of divinely sanctioned warfare that justifies the extermination of an enemy. Rather than operating as discrete forms of violence, the book argues that the harem and the herem are co-constitutive, revealing how gendered and ethnic domination function in tandem. Through a combination of narrative inquiry, inter-textual readings, critical discourse analysis, and theological assessments of both the biblical text and its contemporary reception, Gender, Genocide, Gaza and the Book of Esther invites interpreters to consider the larger frameworks of ethnicity and racialization within which hermeneutics of sexual violence take place. A close literary reading of Esther is paired with an analysis of its contemporary geopolitical appropriations, particularly its use in Christian Zionist rhetoric. The explicit invocation of the Amalekite extermination trope by Israel's prime minister in October 2023 to justify attacks on Gaza, underscores the enduring political afterlives of texts of terror. This book contends that a feminist reading of Esther cannot limit itself to the analysis of sexual violence but must extend its critique intersectionally, engaging with the broader necropolitical economies that structure both ancient and modern deployments of biblical violence"-- Provided by publisher |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references |
| Physical Description: | xv, 140 Seiten |
| ISBN: | 978-1-032-89549-9 978-1-032-89553-6 |
